In 1998 Huntons were commissioned with the design and build of a new automatic displacer based Radial Gate on the River Medway in Kent. At 11m wide the gate was the widest of its kind and operates based on the given water levels, requiring no human intervention or electrical power to regulate the river level.
The gate arms were designed as a box section lattice framework to reduce weight and provide the necessary strength to support the substantial counter weight.
The gates were also fitted with a hand operated hydraulic jacking system to manually lift the gates for maintenance purposes. This consisted of a cylinder each side of the lock with connecting pipework operated from 1 hand pump.
