Panama's Centennial Bridge (Spanish: Puente Centenario) is a major bridge crossing the Panama Canal, and hence connecting North and South America. It was built to supplement the overcrowded Bridge of the Americas, and to replace it as the carrier of the Pan-American Highway; upon its opening in 2004, it became only the second permanent crossing of the canal. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... The Pan American Highway from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. ... The Gaillard Cut, or Culebra Cut, is a man-made valley cutting through the continental divide in Panama. ... Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns (normally referred to as towers or pylons), with cables supporting the bridge deck. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... The Bridge of the Americas (Spanish: Puente de las Américas; originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge) is a road bridge in Panama, which spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. ... The Pan American Highway from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Description

The Centennial Bridge is only the second major road crossing of the Panama Canal, the first being the Bridge of the Americas. (Small service bridges are built in to the lock structures at Miraflores and Gatún Locks, but these bridges are only usable when the lock gates are closed, and have limited capacity.) Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... The Bridge of the Americas (Spanish: Puente de las Américas; originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge) is a road bridge in Panama, which spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. ...

The Centennial Bridge is located 15 km (9 miles) north of the Bridge of the Americas, and crosses the Gaillard Cut close to the Pedro Miguel locks. New freeway sections, connecting Arraijan in the west to Cerro Patacon in the east via the bridge, significantly alleviate congestion on the Bridge of the Americas. The Gaillard Cut, or Culebra Cut, is a man-made valley cutting through the continental divide in Panama. ... The Bridge of the Americas (Spanish: Puente de las Américas; originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge) is a road bridge in Panama, which spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. ...

History

View of the Centennial Bridge at night.

The Bridge of the Americas, which opened in 1962, was the only major road crossing of the Panama Canal. The traffic over this bridge was originally around 9,500 vehicles per day; however, this expanded over time, and by 2004 the bridge was carrying 35,000 vehicles per day. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... The Bridge of the Americas (Spanish: Puente de las Américas; originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge) is a road bridge in Panama, which spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Since the bridge represented a major bottleneck in the Pan-American Highway, Panama's Ministry of Public Works requested tenders for a second canal crossing in October 2000.^[1] The contract to build a replacement bridge was awarded in March 2002. An ambitious schedule of just 29 months was set for construction, in order that the bridge could open on the 90th anniversary of the first ship transit of the Panama Canal by the cargo ship Ancon, on 15 August 1914. The bridge was named for Panama's centennial, which occurred on 3 November 2003. The Pan American Highway from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A centennial is a 100-year anniversary of an event, or the celebrations pertaining thereto. ... November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The new bridge was designed by a joint venture between TY Lin International and the Louis Berger Group Inc. Boston-based transportation architect Miguel Rosales from Rosales + Partners created the concept and initial aesthetic designs for the Panama-Centennial Bridge. The final structural and construction engineering contracts were awarded to Leonhardt, Andra and Partner. Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... Miguel Rosales (born in Guatemala in 1961) is president and principal designer of Rosales + Partners, a transportation architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. ...

The bridge was inaugurated on schedule on 15 August 2004, although it was opened for traffic on 2 September 2005, when the new highways leading to it were finished.^[2] August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Construction

The Centennial Bridge, under construction, dwarfs the sailboat passing beneath it, whose mast is approximately 17 metres (55 ft) high.

The bridge is a cable-stayed design with a total span of 1,052 m (3,451 ft). The main span is 320 m (1,050 ft), and clears the canal by 80 m (262 ft), allowing large vessels to pass below it. The bridge is supported by two towers, each 184 m (604 ft) high. The deck carries six lanes of traffic across the canal. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 500 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1280 pixel, file size: 450 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The Centennial Bridge over the Panama Canal under construction. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 500 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1280 pixel, file size: 450 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The Centennial Bridge over the Panama Canal under construction. ... A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns (normally referred to as towers or pylons), with cables supporting the bridge deck. ...

The bridge is designed to withstand the earthquakes which are frequently recorded in the canal area. An earthquake is the result from the sudden release of stored energy in the Earths crust that creates seismic waves. ...

Trivia

A shot of the Bridge was shown in a GMC commercial that aired in the United States in 2006. The commercial was about GMC taking inspiration from great engineering achievements. The initialism GMC can mean either: GMC, a division of General Motors formerly named GMC Truck Game Maker Community, a game making utility forum. ...

See also

• Crossings of the Panama Canal

Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ...

References

External links

• Panama Canal Authority - Photos of the Centennial Bridge
• Panama Canal Authority - Live webcam at Centennial Bridge