below spalding, there were no restrictions on headroom, which allowed small coasters to reach the town. the bridge at fosdyke was a swing bridge, to comply with the provisions of the fosdyke bridge act of 1870. the demise of such traffic allowed it to be replaced by a fixed bridge with headroom of , but the powers of the original act had to be rescinded, and the port of fosdyke act was obtained in 1987 to allow this to happen. the redundant wharfs at fosdyke have been developed to provide moorings for yachts and other pleasure craft. the lock at fulney has three sets of gates, two pointing towards the sea, and a third between them which points upriver. the lock can thus only be used when the level below it is higher than the level above it, and as the tide falls, the intermediate gate closes to prevent its use.