In 2006, Panamanians approved a referendum to expand the Panama Canal, doubling its capacity and allowing far larger ships to transit the 100-year-old waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific. Work began in 2007 to raise the capacity of Gatun Lake and build two new sets of locks, which would accommodate ships carrying up to 14,000 containers of freight, tripling the size limit. Sixteen massive steel gates, weighing an average of 3,100 tons each, were built in Italy and shipped to Panama to be installed in the new locks. Eight years and $5.2 billion later, the expansion project is nearing completion. The initial stages of flooding the canals have begun and the projected opening date has been set for April of 2016.
1. The bridge to Russky Island is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, with a 1104 m long central span. 2. The bridge also has the second highest pylons after the Millau Viaduct and the longest cable stays. 3. The design of the bridge crossing has been determined on the basis of two primary factors: Shortest coast-to-coast distance in the bridge crossing location 1460 m. Navigable channel depth is up to 50 m. The locality of the bridge crossing construction site is characterized by severe climate conditions: temperatures vary from -31 °C to 37 °C; storms bring winds of up to 36 m/s and waves of up to 6 m in height; and ice formations in winter can be up to 70 cm thick. Total Length : 3100meters Width : 29.5m Height : 320.9m Longest Span : 1104m Clearence Above : 70m Building Cost : $1.1 billionUSD Opened : 2012 Source : Wikepedia, Google
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