 To extend the canal further to the north-east, a £ 1.6 million project was funded by the European Union Objective 1 project, the Welsh Assembly and Neath Port Talbot Council. This included complete replacement of the Ynysbwllog aqueduct, part of which had been washed away in a flood in 1979. The commercial role of the canal at that time was to provide water to industries near Swansea, so the water flow had been maintained by replacing the missing arch with pipes. 20 years later a steel footbridge was built to reinstate the towpath. Finally, the canal itself was taken over a new aqueduct, completed in March 2008. The 35-yard (32 m) plate girder aqueduct is believed to be the longest single span aqueduct in the UK. It is 23 feet (7.0 m) wide, and includes a footpath on both sides of the navigation channel. A new car park and slipway were provided from the B4242, and the Clun locks were renovated, to give 6 miles (9.7 km) of navigable canal from central Neath to Abergarwen. Following improvements, the towpath between Briton Ferry and Tonna has become a cycle route, in conjunction with Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity.
