- Location: Balboa, Panama
- Overall Length: 1.654 m
- Bridge width: 10.4 m
- Opening: October 12, 1962
In the Republic of Panama there is a unique road bridge that crosses the approach of the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean in Balboa and is part of the Pan-American Highway. Originally it was called Thatcher Ferry Bridge (Thatcher's Ferry Bridge), but later it was renamed the Bridge of the Two Americas (Puente de las Américas).
General information about the attractions
The discovery occurred in 1962, and the cost of construction was more than 20 million dollars. Until 2004 (until the Bridge of the Century was built), it was the only unreasonable bridge in the world that connected the two American continents.
The bridge of the two Americas was designed and built by an American firm called Sverdrup & Parcel. The given object has allowed to increase considerably quantity of automobile crossings through the channel. Before that, there were 2 drawbridges with limited capabilities. The first of these was the automobile-railway bridge at the Miraflores Gateway , and the second one at the Gatun Gateway.
History of creation
After the Panama Canal was built, it turned out that the cities of Panama and Colon separated from the state. This problem worried not only the local residents, but also the government. The number of cars wishing to cross the isthmus also increased. Due to the constant passage of the ships at the drawbridges, long traffic jams formed. Several ferries were launched, but they could not unload the road.
After that, the Panamanian administration decided to build an unreasonable bridge, and in 1955 the famous Treaty of Remon-Eisenhower was signed.
The construction of the Bridge of the Two Americas began in 1959 with a ceremony attended by US Ambassador Julian Harrington and President Ernesto de la Guardia Navarro.
Description of construction
The bridge of the two Americas has simply excellent technical characteristics: it is made of concrete and iron cantilever construction, in which the overhead is made in the form of an arch. The total length of the bridge is 1654 m, the number of spans from the support to the support is 14 m, the main of them is 344 m and it is connected by an arch (the central part of the main span), which has a size of 259 m.
The highest point of the structure is 117 m above sea level. As for the lumen under the main span, at the tide it is 61.3 meters. For this reason, all ships that pass under the bridge have clear height restrictions.
The bridge from its two ends has wide ramps that ensure safe entry and exit from it, and is divided into 4 lanes. Also there are pedestrian and bicycle paths for those who want to cross the landmark on their own.
The bridge of the two Americas in Panama is a pretty spectacular sight, especially at night, when it is illuminated from all sides by lights. The best view on it opens from the observation deck, located on a hill, near the canal. A good view will also be from the yacht club in Balboa , on one of the numerous boats moored here.
If you want to see how the ships pass under the bridge, you do not have to choose a certain time for this: a large number of ships constantly pass under it.
Initially, the Bridge of the two Americas crossed over 9.5 thousand cars per day. In 2004, it was expanded, and through it more than 35,000 cars began to pass. But even this figure was not enough for increased needs, so in 2010 the Bridge of the Century was built.
How to get there?
If you have a car, then it's easy to get to the Bridge of two Americas, for this you need to follow the Pan-American Highway. Also here you can take a taxi from the center of the nearest cities, the cost is no more than $ 20.