Design and Construction Innovations for the Puente Centenario, Panamá

The Puente Centenario over the Panama Canal, named to commemorate 100 years of Panamanian independence, includes the longest mainspan for a concrete cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere. With the completion of the approach routes, the 420m mainspan bridge was opened to traffic in September 2005. The entire crossing measures 1050m between abutments and traverses the canal east-west and forms part of a new bypass highway connecting the northwestern part of Panama City with the Panamerican Highway. The alignment crosses the canal at its narrowest point, north of the Pedro Miguel Locks, near the town of Paraiso. The project required design and construction innovations to satisfy the strict project criteria within the context of the existing geology, seismic hazard, limited material availability, canal security, complex logistics and optimized construction methods.