Yet more fund-raising took place, as the Foulridge Tunnel was proving difficult and expensive to dig. The new route took the canal south via the expanding coal mines at Burnley, Accrington and Blackburn, but would require some sizable earthworks to pass the former. The completion in 1796 of the long Foulridge Tunnel and the flight of seven locks at Barrowford enabled the canal to open to eastern Burnley. At a cost of £40,000 (about £3.65 million in 2014) the tunnel became the most expensive single item in the whole project.