Tag Archives: bridge of the Americas

The Centennial Bridge

Posted on by
Reply

For more than 30 years, the only fixed crossing of the Panama Canal was the Bridge of the Americas, and although this allowed two-lanes of traffic in each direction, it was not designed to cope with the levels of traffic that were using it by the end of the twentieth century. Originally, it carried around 9,500 vehicles per day, but by the time that the Centennial Bridge opened it was carrying more than 35,000 vehicles every day.

Since the Bridge of the Americas represented a major bottleneck in the Pan-American Highway, the Panamanian government decided that a second fixed crossing was needed, and in 2000, Panama’s Ministry of peoples Works invited tenders for a second canal crossing. The contract to construct the bridge was awarded in March 2002m and a very ambitious construction schedule was set in order that the bridge could be inaugurated on the 90th anniversary of the first ship transit of the Panama Canal by the cargo ship Ancon, on 15 August 1914.

The bridge was named for Panama’s centennial (100 year anniversary of the establishment of the independent nation), which occurred on 3 November 2003. The bridge was designed as a joint venture between T.Y. Lin International and the Louis Berger Group Inc, and constructed by German based Bilfinger Berger utilizing resources from its Australian subsidiary Baulderstone Hornibrook. Boston-based transportation architect Miguel Rosales from Rosales + Partners created the concept and initial aesthetic designs for the Panama-Centennial Bridge. Structural engineering contracts were awarded to Leonhardt, Andrä and Partner.

The bridge was inaugurated on schedule on 15 August 2004, although it was opened for traffic on 2 September 2005, when the new highways leading to it were finished. The bridge is designed to withstand the earthquakes which are frequently recorded in the canal area, and was built with the west tower approximately 50 meters inland to allow for the planned canal widening. The bridge is a cable stayed design with a total length of 1,052m and a central span of 420m. With 80 meters of clearance above the waters of the can, it is significantly higher than the Bridge of the Americas.

The Centennial Bridge is 15km north (inland) of the Bridge of the Americas, and crosses the famous Gaillard Cut section of the Panama Canal close to the Pedro Miguel locks. New road links connecting Arraijan in the west to Cerro Patacon in the east via the bridge, enabled the new bridge to provide the alleviation of traffic on the Bridge of Americas for which it was designed. The rapid construction schedule did prove to have some consequences, and in December 2010, the sub-standard construction of one of the access roads was demonstrated when heavy rains and flooding caused it to collapse.

The Bridge of the Americas

Posted on by
Reply

 

In response to the growth of motorised transport in the twentieth century, and the efforts to inaugurate a Trans-American Highway, various stop-gap measures were introduced by the US Canal authority. The first semi-permanent link capable of carrying vehicles was a ferry link provided by the Panama Canal Mechanical Division. Two ferries, the Presidente Amador and Presidente Washington were built and entered service in August 1931, carrying passengers and vehicles across the canal. In August 1940, another similar service started, linking US military installations on either side of the canal. On June 3, 1942, the Miraflores swing bridge opened, but like the ferries, this did not provide a permanent link. In November 1942 another ferry, the Presidente Porras, was added in response to the increase in vehicular traffic.

The idea of a bridge spanning the Canal had been around almost as long as the canal itself, and in 1923, provision of a permanent bridge became official Panamanian government policy and was identified as a priority. However, it was not until the Remón-Eisenhower treaty between Panama and the US was signed in 1955, that the US finally made a commitment to build the bridge. The $20,000,000 contract was awarded to John F. Beasly & Company. The Thatcher Ferry Bridge opened on October 12th 1962 at a cost of US$20 million. The bridge crosses the Pacific approach to the Panama Canal at the port of Balboa, near Panama City. The bridge is 1,654m in length, with the main span being 344m long. At its highest point, it is 117 metres above sea level, and provides 61.3 metres of clearance over the canal (at high tide).

The Americans always officially called it the ‘Thatcher Ferry Bridge’, although unofficially, many (including a US Under-secretary of State in his speech during the opening ceremony) referred to it as the ‘Bridge of the Americas’. In Panama it has always been known as the Bridge of the Americas, a name that was made official in a National Assembly Resolution of October 2, 1962. The resolution reading: “The Bridge over the Panama Canal shall bear the name Bridge of the Americas. Said name will be used exclusively to identify said bridge.”