+ click to enlarge ACP The Panama Canal Authority put the second of five dry excavation contracts required for the canal's $5.25-billion expansion on the street this past week. On Tuesday, the agency, known by its Spanish acronym ACP, released a request for proposal for a contract for removal of 7.5 million cubic meters in a 2.4-kilometers stretch. The expansion will add larger sets of locks on each end of the canal, creating a new lane of traffic through the waterway. When completed in 2014, the project will double the tonnage capacity and allow the transit of substantially larger vessels.
+ click to enlarge C.J. Schexnayder First expansion dredging will begin near the Bridge of the Americas which spans the canal's Pacific entrance. The massive $5.25–billion expansion of the Panama Canal took a large step forward on Sept. 11 when the officials with the the Panama Canal Authority released a request for proposal for the first major excavation – the dredging of the Pacific entrance to the waterway. Dredging approximately 9.1 million cubic meters from the Pacific Ocean entrance to the canal will allow passage of the larger ships that will be using the waterway when the expansion project is
The final two sections of the $1.3-billion Interoceanic Highway in southern Peru were awarded in late August. The two sections make up the final 1,500 kilometers and will upgrade existing highways to be connected to the new system. The combined estimated costs of the two sections is $282 million. The first section, which runs from the Pacific port of San Juan de Marcona to the mountain town of Urcos, was awarded to the Peruvian Consorcio Interoceanica, made up of Grana y Montero, JJC Contratistas Generales and Ingenieros Civiles y Contratistas Generales S.A. The second section, which extends from just outside
C.J. Schexnayder Cracks in the roads hampered the delivery of assistance into the damage zone from Lima. LIMA, Peru – With the award of the final two contracts for the $1.3–billion Interoceanic Highway that will create a paved connection between Peru's Pacific coast and the Altlantic, the necessity for improvements for the country's North–South coastal corridor – the Pan–American Highway – has become even more critical. But when the 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck the southern coast of Peru earlier this month, it threw an ongoing upgrade effort into disarray. The Aug. 15 earthquake caused severe cracking along the highway and
+ click to enlarge C.J. Schexnayder Gatun locks mark Atlantic side of Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Authority took a first step in the $3.35–billion effort to construct a new set of locks, with the Aug. 28 release of a request for pre–qualifications. The locks, which will be located on each end of the canal and add a new lane of traffic, are the largest and most complicated aspect of the $5.25–billion expansion of the historic waterway. It is expected to be completed in 2014. Often known by its Spanish–language acronym, ACP, the quasi–governmental organization intends to build both new
C.J. Schexnayder Homes made with heavy adobe brick suffered most. PISCO, Peru–It took just two minutes to reduce the town of Pisco, Peru to rubble. On Aug 15 a massive magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck just off the coast of Southern Peru and this bucolic fishing town was the closest community to the epicenter. Officials estimate that more than 70 percent has been destroyed. The quake also punished Chancha and Ica, two other towns, and delivered a heavy blow to the regional road network, a vital part of the economy. After several frantic days of searching the rubble for survivors, rescue
Expansion design-build contract will cover 60% of total project cost. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced Aug. 17 its selection of CH2M Hill Cos., Denver, to be program manager for the $5.25–billion expansion of the historic waterway. The firm had been competing against Parsons Brinckerhoff, New York City, and URS Holdings Inc., San Francisco for the management role, which will involve assisting the agency in overseeing the design–build effort to build two new lock structures able to handle larger "post–Panamax"–size vessels. ACP based its decision on "best value," with much weight attached to experience levels of each
ACP Initial excavation will occur in the foreground area of the canal. Pedro Miguel locks are to the right. A Panamanian contractor landed the first construction contract of the $5.25-billion expansion to the Panama Canal on July 18. Constructora Urbana S.A., known by its Spanish-language acronym CUSA, submitted the winning bid of $41.1 million for the removal 7.3 million cubic meters of material near the Pacific entrance of the canal. Site work could begin as early as two weeks after the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) gives CUSA the order to proceed, officials said. "It's a significant step forward in the
Conirsa Peruvian child tries a new toothbrush. MAZUCO, Peru - The 700 kilometers of the Interoceanic Highway Conirsa is constructing cross some of the most remote regions of Southern Peru. The existing dirt-packed highway allows only limited access to the regions of mountains and the jungle that the road cuts through and none at all during the four-to-six-month rainy season. The road is impassable then. The people that live in the small communities along the route are looking for the new all-weather roadway to improve their standard of living - one of the worst in the country. Conirsa has inaugurated
