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First gate for Panama expansion arrives on site

27 Oct 14 The first gate for the new locks in the Pacific side of the Panama Canal has been shipped through the waterway to site.

The gate was taken aboard the Crowley 455-4 barge from a temporary dock on the Atlantic side.

It is the smallest of the Pacific gates, standing 22m tall and weighing 2,300t. The new locks will have 16 rolling gates, eight in the Pacific and eight in the Atlantic. All have been fabricated in Italy by Cimolai. The height of each gate depends on its position inside the lock chambers. The tallest ones, which are 33m high, will be located in lock-head four facing the Pacific Ocean due to the tidal change in the area. The height of the tallest gate can be compared to an 11-storey building. The gates weigh on average 3,400t.

During the next two months, the remaining seven gates that belong to the new locks in the Pacific will be transiting one by one through the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal Expansion is 80% complete. It consists on the construction of a third lane of traffic allowing the passage of bigger vessels, which will double the Canal's capacity.

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