1 Running head: PANAMA CANAL The Panama Canal Nikki Redden, Benjamin Hayes, Austin Kratz Saint Louis University Intro to Civil Engineering Dr. Amanda Cox August 31, 2015 2 PANAMA CANAL The Panama Canal according to Nix (2014), is a fifty mile long passage that created a shortcut for ships wanting to travel in between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. American construction began in 1903 after several failed attempts by French engineers ("Building the Panama Canal, 1903­1914"), and was completed on August 15, 1914. The canal cuts through the Isthmus of Panama near the modern day cities of Colón and Balboa on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans respectively ("Outline Map of Central America "). The Panama Canal was constructed as a waterway to connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Before the canal was built, the quickest route between the two oceans was around Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, which was a 12,000 mile, 67 day voyage for a ship sailing from New York to San Francisco (Lively, n.d.). After the completion of the canal, the 50 mile, eight to ten hour transition through Panama cut the total distance of a trip by nearly 8,000 miles (Dowdey, 2008). The implications of this canal affected all aspects of life, both directly and indirectly, at the time of its grand opening, and it continues to have a major impact in the world today. Commercially, it allowed for goods to be shipped easier and faster across the US and the world, instead of taking the longer, much more dangerous route around Cape Horn or relying on the railroads. It also had giant military impacts as Navy ships, especially US ships, were able to navigate the canal to travel from base to base. Though not a direct purpose, the canal also increased foreign relations between the east and the west since they were more closely tied and the distance was cut in half (Lively, n.d.). The Panama Canal was such a major and innovative feat of engineering that the project was abandoned by the French in the late 1800’s because they had become overwhelmed by the challenges and intensity of the project. The US bought the project and were able to complete the dam, but not after they made major changes to the original plans, overhauled the old Panama Railroad, and bought their own brand new equipment. The new pieces of equipment, such as steam shovels, steam­powered cranes, hydraulic rock cutters, cement mixers, dredges, and power drills for planting explosives, created more efficient and innovative methods that saved extreme amounts of time, money, and resources (“The Panama Canal”, n.d.). However, the most innovative aspect of the canal is the system of locks and dams that it uses to raise ships up and drop them down to and from a man­made lake that lies above sea level. The initial idea was to create a sea­level canal that carved through the Isthmus of Panama at a constant level. When plan became too difficult and expensive to carry out, the Chief Engineer at the time, John Stevens, designed a dam on the Chagres River in order to create Gatun Lake. A set of locks were then made at both the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean side of the canal to raise and lower ships to and from the elevated lake (Dowdey, 3 PANAMA CANAL 2008). This design decreased the amount of earth that needed to be excavated by nearly half and saved years of time and millions of dollars on the project. At the time when the Panama Canal was finished in 1914, it was the world’s largest dam and man­made lake, largest and most extensive concrete pour, and was one of the world’s first and most complex electrical systems that was used for the flow of water into the locks (“The Panama Canal”, n.d.). Many structures and devices built in the modern world are innovative, but it takes more than just innovation to be classified as a “wonder.” The ancient wonders and the civil engineering modern wonders share one major trait, size. Both wonders surpassed supposed exceptions of human capability within the respective eras. However, the wonders do differ in one aspect. The ancient wonders, such as the Statue of Zeus or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, tended to be of more ornamental or religious value. The modern wonders were constructed for a purpose, to fill a genuine need. The Panama Canal fits both the criteria of a wonder, size and practicality. The canal spans a total length of fifty miles making it one of the largest engineering projects undertaken in the twentieth century (Gordon, 2014). The dirt removed from the canal was estimated at 265,000,000 million cubic yards and the total cost at $370,000,000. In terms of practicality, the Panama Canal eliminated the need for ships to travel around the peninsula of South America and passing through Cape Horn (Morgan, n.d.). The construction of the Panama Canal required the collaboration of Civil Engineers from each of the five specialization areas. Considering the main purpose of the canal was to make transportation of goods easier and quicker, Transportation Engineers provided the most valuable insight in to project. Transportation Engineers began by surveying the land and deciding the best locations for the dams. The engineers made important decisions regarding the dimensions and capacity, setting tolls, and designing transportation infrastructure for the initial construction. All other specializations aided the Transportation Engineers in different ways. Structural Engineers recommended a lock canal as opposed to a sea level canal (Espinal Jr., n.d.). Water Resources Engineers ensured the dams would have a suitable supply of water regardless of rainfall totals. Environmental Engineers worked to solve the malaria issue as well as overseeing the creation of the man­made lake Gatun and the Gatun Dam. Lastly, Geotechnical Engineers analyzed the soil and rock types to determine how steep slopes of the excavation should be and worked to keep landslides from occurring (Membreño, n.d.). 4 PANAMA CANAL Resources Building the Panama Canal, 1903­1914. ​
Retrieved from US Department of State, Office of the Historian website, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899­1913/panama­canal Dowdey, S. (2008, August 28). “How the Panama Canal Works”. Retrieved from How Stuff Works website, http://geography.howstuffworks.com/central­america/panama­canal.htm. Espinal Jr., F., Salinas, C., & Smith, Z. (n.d.). Civil Engineering Specialties – Civil Engineering and the Panama Canal. Retrieved August 31, 2015. Gordon, J. (2014, August 15). 100 Years of the Panama Canal – AEI. Retrieved August 31, 2015. Lively, A. (n.d.). “What Is the Purpose of the Panama Canal?” Retrieved from USA Today website, http://traveltips.usatoday.com/purpose­panama­canal­63793.html. Membreño, M., Rodriquez, C., & Rico, P. (n.d.). Environmental Engineering – Panama Canal CVEN. Retrieved August 31, 2015. Morgan, L. (n.d.). Panama Canal Facts. Retrieved August 31, 2015. Nix, E. (2014, August 15). 7 Fascinating Facts About the Panama Canal. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/news/7­fascinating­facts­about­the­panama­canal Outline Map of Central America. ​
Retrieved from Worldatlas website, http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/camerica/pncanal.htm “The Panama Canal”. (n.d.). Retrieved from 100 Years Panama Canal website, http://www.100yearspanamacanal.com/index.php/panama­and­the­canal.