Prior to 1914, the worldwide shipping industry had a little problem-the North, South, and Central American land mass. Shipping goods from the Atlantic to the Pacific presented two options: Either drive across the landmass, where crumby roads and often hostile territory were a constant companion or send a ship to the bottom of the globe, around Cape Horn.
For many of the countries on this landmass, having a shoreline on each ocean meant the need for two separate naval forces. If all your ships were on the Atlantic side and an attack came on the Pacific side of the country, the battle could be over before the big guns could get there.
Of course, since shipping something from England to San Francisco or from Japan to New York involved the same long, expensive trip, the need for an alternative shipping route was a worldwide problem. What this world needed was a shortcut.
Engineering Project Against All Odds
The solution to the world's shipping problem sounded simple: Build a waterway through Panama, where only 50 miles separated the Atlantic from the Pacific. To send a ship through such a waterway would chop a 14,000 mile trip from New York to San Francisco down to less than 6,000 miles.
France took up the task of building a canal through the isthmus of Panama. The French intended to dig a trench that would be at sea level on both sides, with no locks needed to lift the ships. The magnitude of the engineering project overwhelmed the French, but a minuscule demon would turn their efforts away. Malaria, spread by the unimaginable numbers of mosquitoes in the jungle of Panama, would sicken and kill French workers in droves.
In less than 10 years, the mosquitoes, landslides and other accidents of the construction project would claim 22,000 lives. This, coupled with the seemingly impossible task at hand, would cause France to withdraw from Panama.
Panama Canal Becomes a US Construction Project
Armed with knowledge gained from the failed French effort, the United States began work on the Panama Canal in 1904. The American design had a major difference from that of the French. A system of locks would raise ships at one side of the canal and lower them back to sea level at the other coast. The total lift of the locks would be around 85 feet, which greatly reduced the amount of material that had to be removed.
Also, a dam across the Chagres River would create Gatun Lake, which eliminated 15 miles of waterway that would've been needed for a sea level waterway.
Even with all the lessons learned from the French effort, 5,600 more lives were lost during the American construction, but the Panama Canal would be completed in 1914.
In addition to the locks, waterway and related infrastructure, this engineering project would also include a pair of bridges toward the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. The Centennial Bridge and the Bridge of the Americas are both used by traffic on the Pan American Highway.
Panama Canal – Present and Future
Everything that passes through the Panama Canal pays for the privilege. Vessel type, size and the type of cargo all have an effect on the toll to be paid. A Disney Cruise Line ship might pay more than $300,000 and take between 8 and 10 hours to go from Atlantic to Pacific. By contrast, an American man swam through the Panama Canal in 1928, and paid a total of thirty six cents.
Ironically, a ship (or swimmer) that exits on the Pacific coast will be slightly east of where it entered the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side.
During the 1930's, pieces of the Golden Gate Bridge made their way from Philadelphia to San Francisco. Due to the size of the pieces and the state of the roads in the US, shipping had to be done via cargo ships. It would've been possible to stand by the Panama Canal and watch the Golden Gate Bridge go by; much of the bridge was shipped through the isthmus.
Today, around one-third of the shipping vessels, the iconic container ships, are too big for the Panama Canal. This brings about another engineering problem: Can the Panama Canal be made bigger? The answer would appear to be yes, because an expansion project is currently underway, and by 2014, the Panama Canal should have double it's current capacity.
This expansion project is expected to cost over $5 billion US. Paying that bill will require a whole bunch of swimmers.
Dave Lovejoy - Dave is a graduate of the University of Nebraska. He is involved in farming and has a custom made furniture business that has customers ...
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