A New Set of Locks at the Panama Canal

A New Set of Locks at the Panama Canal

John A. MacGiffert, PMP, LEED-AP, CIEC

Course Outline

The Panama Canal is currently undergoing a $5.2 billion transformation to add a new and third set of locks to accommodate larger transit vessels. This eight-hour online courser will first present the history of the existing Panama Canal including location selection and the French building attempt. Next, the original Canal design and construction will be discussed including geological considerations, design of the locks, new technologies and construction innovation for the era. Upgrades to the canal over the first 100 years of operation will be presented along with drivers that point to the expansion of the Panama Canal. The current expansion project design and scope of work will be discussed including new technologies for the use of water saving basins. Finally, the current status of the expansion project will be presented based first by on-hand site reviews performed to establish progress to date along with an array of progress photos.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Learn about the history of the existing Panama Canal;
Be familiar with the design considerations of the existing Panama Canal;
Gain an understanding of the American construction of the Canal including significant construction innovation;
Learn about the Canal upgrades that have been performed such as the Maddan Dam and the first attempt at a third set of locks;
Gain an understanding of the need for the Panama Canal Expansion Project;
Learn about design and construction of the existing Panama Canal;
Gain an understanding of the need for an expanded and larger canal;
Be able to recognize the design attributes of the current Panama Canal Third Set of Locks Project; and
Gain an understanding of the current status of the project including progress, issues and anticipated completion.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers and contractors.

Benefit to Attendees

Attendee of this course will learn about the expansion program currently under way at the Panama Canal.

Course Introduction

The Panama Canal as it exists today is one of the wonders of the modern world. Currently, this same water transit way is being expanded to carry more and larger ships from the West to the East or vice versa. The Panama Canal Expansion that is currently under construction supports the installation of the Third Set of Locks by its owner, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) since the expansion project is adding one more set of larger locks adjacent to the existing and original two sets of locks. The current canal is configured with two side-by-side locks, allowing different ships to travel in opposite directions at the same time.

Course Content

In this lesson, you are required to study the following document:

A New Set of Locks at the Panama Canal

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

The Panama Canal just celebrated 100 year anniversary of successful operation. Soon, the Canal will add a third set of locks with the anticipated completion of a $5.2 billion expansion project. The expansion program is one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects as was the original construction of the canal in its era. The successful completion of the new locks that will accommodate larger vessels will have a significant impact on global transportation.

References

For additional technical information related to this subject, please refer to:

ACP (Panama Canal Authority). 2001. “History of the Panama Canal: French and American Construction Efforts.” http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html.

United States Department of Agriculture, 2010. “Impact of Panama Canal Expansion on the U.S. Intermodal System.” http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5082003

Canal De Panama, Panama Canal Expansion Program, various dates and reports, http://www.pancanal.com/eng/expansion/

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.