The Engineering Marvel – The Panama Canal part 3
By admin. Filed in Panama Canal |
The U.S. faced unprecedented challenges with this project in engineering, health, and organization. Learning from the errors of the French, the U.S. was determined not to underestimate the difficulties of creating a canal in the tropics. Work “began” on May 4, 1904 when the officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lieutenant Mark Brooke, received the keys to the hospital at Ancon. One of the first to arrive was Chief Sanitation Officer Dr. William C. Gorgas. Dr. Gorgas brought to Panama a wealth of experience garnered in Cuba under Dr. Walter Reed in regard to the control of tropical diseases, especially Yellow Fever and Malaria. Unfortunately, the Isthmian Canal Commission did not fully support Dr. Gorgas and considered his safety measures a waste of time and money. However, in 1905, John F. Stevens became the chief engineer of the canal and he provided Dr. Gorgas with full funding and support. With the support of Stevens, Gorgas was able to eliminate Yellow Fever completely from Isthmus and almost eliminate Malaria, which had been the scourge of the French.
As chief engineer, John F. Stevens laid out the plans for the canal, plans partially based on a study conducted by French engineer, Adolphe Godin de Lepinay. In this plan the U.S. would forgo the original French design of building a sea-level canal because it was deemed too costly thus, taking far greater time to complete; in the practical sense a sea-level canal was virtually impossible to create. It was therefore deduced that a lock and artificial lake system would be the most prudent course of action. The final design would call for a lock on the Atlantic side, artificial lakes created by dams, and two locks on the Pacific side to try to manage the extreme tides. Stevens initially began with improvements to the Panama Railroad due to the railroad eventually becoming the lifeblood of the Canal as it would be used for transporting workers and for the removal of spoil (rock and soil).
Col. George Washington Goethals succeeded Stevens as chief engineer in 1907 during the construction phase of the Canal. Until completion, Goethals stated: “Stevens devised, designed, and made provision for practically every contingency connected with the construction and subsequent operation of the stupendous project… It is therefore to him, much more than to me, that justly belongs the honor of being the actual ‘Genius of the Panama Canal…’”
On August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal opened its floodgates for the first time to allow the S.S. Ancon to traverse from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in nine hours and forty minutes. The dream of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans had become a reality. Construction was completed in 10 years, with the labor of over 75,000 men and women and with a final cost of 375 million dollars with another $12 million for fortifications. At the time of the Canal’s completion, the U.S. had created the largest earthen dam, largest artificial lake, and largest sets of canal locks in history and was also the most expensive construction project in U.S. history. Canal construction consumed more than 2.5 million barrels of concrete and 61 million pounds of dynamite. By July 1914, the U.S. had excavated 238,845,587 cubic yards of spoil. Together with the 30,000,000 cubic yards that the French excavated, the grand excavation total was approximately 268,000,000 cubic yards, more than four times the volume originally estimated for de Lesseps’ vision of a sea level canal.
The first crossing of the S.S. Ancon through the canal was not marked by the grandiose celebration that was originally planned due to the start of World War I in Europe. Instead, a smaller commemoration took place for the opening of the Panama Canal and became part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Both the U.S. and Panama rejoiced since both nations played a part in bringing to realization a dream 400 years in the making. Once the canal was completed and after dismantling equipment and breaking down towns, the men and women of the canal went their separate ways. Gorgas left Panama for the shores of South Africa to assist gold miners who were sick with pneumonia and later would become Surgeon General of the Army. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed George Washington Goethals as the first Governor of the Panama Canal Zone.
The Hay/Bunau-Varilla Treaty had always been a source of tension for the Panamanians. The treaty had always been thought of as being unjust because it truly felt like it had given more to the U.S. than it had to Panama; this made the citizens of Panama believe their country was not fairly compensated. The issue of perpetual U.S. ownership of the Canal Zone was a major concern. Over the years, Panamanians voiced their concerns over the inequality of various treaties with peaceful demonstrations. However, on January 9, 1964, demonstrators from both the Canal Zone and Panama lost control and got into violent altercations; people on both sides lost lives and property. It became clearer to both countries that a nation inside of another nation would not work. As a result, the Republic of Panama and the United States of America agreed to sign the Torrijos/Carter Treaty, which eliminated the Canal Zone as of October 1, 1979. It also set in motion the process that would give Panama back complete control over the canal and the former territory of the Canal Zone by December 31,1999. On December 31,1999, at noon, the Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) or Panama Canal Authority took full control of the canal and with this tremendous transition, the country of Panama became whole again.
The Panama Canal is approximately 80 km long running northwest to southeast. The Atlantic entrance to the canal is approximately 43 km west of the entrance on the Pacific. Ships entering the Panama Canal from the Atlantic side enter via the Bahia Limon; a natural harbor that is the “waiting area” for this side of the canal. Once a ship leaves the Bahia there is an approach to the Gatun Lock. The 1.9 km long Gatun Lock is composed of three chambers of locks that raise ships to a height of 26 meters above sea level. Each chamber is 33.5 meters wide and 306 meters long and takes eight to 15 minutes to fill with water. Once ships exit the Gatun Lock, they are in Gatun Lake, which was once the largest artificial lake in world. Most ships travel the 37.6 km through the Gatun Lake and the Chagres River to reach Culebra Cut (formerly the Galliard Cut), where the canal passes through the continental divide. Culebra Cut was one of the biggest nightmares for construction crews as landslides were, and still are prevalent, requiring continuous dredging. Once ships pass the Culebra Cut they arrive at the single chamber Pedro Miguel Lock that lowers ships 9.4 meters for entry into the 1.7 km long Lake Miraflores. The Miraflores Lock is composed of two chambers and is the final lock system of the Canal; it lowers ships the final 16 meters back to sea level. Upon exiting the Miraflores Lock, ships travel the 13.2 km channel and under the Puente de las Americas to the Gulf of Panama and the Pacific Ocean. The typical voyage time through the Panama Canal is usually 24 hours and approximately half of that time is used simply waiting for a slot in lock. With each ship traversing through the canal, 52 million gallons of freshwater is released into the oceans, thus giving the Charges River the distinction of being the only river in the world whose waters flow into two oceans. The Panama Canal is open 365 days of the year and runs continually all 24 hours offering its services to ships of all nations.
At the Pacific side of the Canal, the Miraflores Locks are open to the general public via the Miraflores Visitors Center. More than 300,000 visit this modern engineering marvel every year to get a closer perspective of the canal locks at work. The Visitor Center has an observatory, a restaurant, shops for refreshments and souvenirs, an event hall, and a museum with numerous displays. These displays enlighten visitors with scientific, historical, and virtual displays of the canal.
Written by - A Panama Guide
Tags: history, Panama Canal