A canal boat has made a test journey along the 1.6 mile Leeds-Liverpool canal link, part of a £20m scheme that has taken more than a decade to be completed.

The Liverpool Canal Link extends the UK’s longest single canal from its current exit into the Mersey at Clarence Dock, to the South Docks via the disused Central Docks.

The new link crosses the Pier Head and goes in front of the ‘Three Graces’ – the name given to the three buildings – the Liver Building, Cunard Building and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Building – constructed on the filled-in George’s dock at the beginning of the 20th Century.

The canal link’s official opening follows in April, while work continues on another project, the new World Museum.

The route includes two new locks, open channels, tunnels and culverts.

Funding for the project has been secured from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), the Merseyside Objective One programme (European Regional Development Fund), English Partnerships, Peel Holdings and British Waterways.