An impressive 1,118-metre-long bridge is set to be built above the Panama Canal for £1.2 billion. (Image: TYLin)
An incredible fourth bridge stretching across the is currently being built, one that is set to cost an eyewatering $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion).
The 1,118 metre-long cable-stayed will feature two impressive towers and a main span of 510 metres long by 51 metres wide. The centre span will sit an impressive 75 metres above the canal’s waters.
TYLin, the owner’s engineer to the Republic of Panama Ministry of Public Works (MOP), said the huge is hoped to have a significant economic impact on the Panama City metropolitan area and is a key step in growing the Pacific Panama region.
The new crossing will alleviate the traffic congestion along the Bridge of the Americas and the Centennial Bridge and will benefit more than 500,000 residents living on the west side of the canal.
In addition to six traffic lanes, the bridge will also accommodate two extra lanes for the Metro Line 3 and footpaths.
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Funding for the new bridge was postponed to focus on a £2 billion metro line instead. (Image: Getty)
The West Tower – built with an inverted ‘Y’ shape with an overall height of about 185 metres – will also feature a high-end restaurant below the superstructure and an observation deck at the top of the tower.
Due to the project location in a high seismic region, the specified bridge design criteria account for seismic effects and near-fault effects. The bridge will have a 100-year design life and incorporates the latest in bridge design and construction technologies.
This project has been a long time in the making, with the Panamá Cuarto Puente consortium between the Harbour Engineering Company and the China Construction Communications Company winning a deal to build the bridge in 2018.
However, the Panamanian government postponed funding for the bridge to focus on the construction of a £2 billion metro line instead.
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The most impressive of the three is the Bridge of the Americas, with its cantilever design. (Image: Getty)
Construction recommenced in 2023, however, it is running behind schedule, with only around 18% of the work completed as of January 2025, .
The Panama Minister of Public Works, Jose Luis Andrade, acknowledged the slow pace of construction on the bridge but noted that a significant turnover of between £16 and £20 million is anticipated in March in order to keep the project on track for its August 2028 completion.
At present, three bridges cross the 51-mile artificial waterway – The Atlantic Bridge, the Centennial Bridge and the Bridge of the Americas (Puente de las Americas). The most recently constructed bridge is the 9,250-foot-long, 697-foot-high Atlantic Bridge, which opened in 2019.
The most impressive of the three is the Bridge of the Americas, originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge. It was completed in 1962 at a cost of £16 million and connects the north and south American land masses (hence its name), connecting the American Continent. The bridge is a cantilever design, with the suspended span being a tied arch.