Page 138 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

How does the Panama

Canal work? Increased traffic

Once the renovations

are finished, the volume
of cargo transported
annually through
This engineering marvel The new Panama will double to
600 million tons.
is getting an upgrade a Panama Canal
century later See how the new design
will compare to the old
once it is completed in
hen the Panama Canal first opened in the coming years

August 1914, many considered it to be
Wthe greatest engineering feat ever
accomplished. It allowed ships travelling
between New York and San Francisco to cut their
journey by a colossal 12,669 kilometres (7,872 Gatun Lake
miles), as they no longer had to go around the Located at about 26 metres
southernmost point of South America. Roughly 27 (85 feet) above sea level, this
lake provides the water that
million kilograms (60 million pounds) of helps operate the locks.
dynamite were used to excavate and construct
the canal, along with 3.8 million cubic metres (135
million cubic feet) of concrete.

Traffic in the world’s oceans has quadrupled
over the past 20 years; mammoth cargo ships now
transport 95 per cent of imported goods to
American shores. Due to this, it was decided that
the canal needed some serious renovation and
expansion to keep pace with the modern
shipping industry. More than 100 studies were

conducted to find out what would be the most The Panama canal
appropriate plan of action, taking into account the offers a direct route
between the Atlantic
environmental impact of the changes and the and Pacific Oceans
technical engineering that would be required.
A £3.5 billion ($5.25 billion) project has been
devised, which will involve four major

components: a Pacific access channel, an
additional set of locks, improvements to the water
supply and enhanced navigation channels. Once
complete, the canal will be able to support a third
lane of traffic, and will be roomy enough to allow Panama Canal’s two-way locks

ships almost three times the current maximum See how Panama’s original locks work to transport ships
size permitted, carrying 2.5 times the number of from one side to the other
containers. Passage through the new locks will
The first lock chamber Once the water levels Water is then released

not be cheap for the largest vessels, which
1 releases 100 million litres 2 have evened out (which 3 from the second chamber
currently pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to
(26 million gallons), the usually takes around eight into the first, helping level

pass through.
equivalent of 40 Olympic minutes) the lock gates up the two chambers. Once
The renovations were scheduled to be
swimming pools of open and the ship is able to this is achieved, the ship can
completed in 2015, but a considerable number of
freshwater into the ocean, enter the first chamber. The enter the second chamber.

issues have resulted in delays. Nevertheless, the
levelling out the water level valves and gates are then This process continues until
canal’s improvements will have a huge impact;
so that it matches the sea. closed off. it reaches the other side.
trade will become more efficient as it will require

less time, money and fuel to get products to
American ports. Much of the intercontinental
traffic will no doubt flock to Panama to take

advantage of this, boosting American economy
much like it did when it opened in 1914.
138 How It Works