Full steam ahead for Canal expansion

The project to deepen and widen the Canal’s Pacific entrance channel will ensure that longer, wider ships can reach the new locks. The work will include the dredging of approximately 9.1m cubic metres of material and will widen the 8.9 mile-long navigation channels by at least 218 m and deepen them to a maximum level of 15.5 m Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS).

“The Pacific entrance dredging is integral to expansion and the construction of the new lane. The Pacific side’s geological characteristics make it more challenging than the Atlantic side. We will need a firm with the specialised equipment and experience to meet the demands of the project,” said ACP project administration division manager John Langman. Bids are due by January 28, 2008, and the ACP will make its choice based on a combination of best value and individual consultations with bidding firms.

The second RFP is for the second of five dry excavation projects to create the new Pacific locks access channel. This channel will link the new Pacific locks with the existing Gaillard Cut, the narrowest stretch of the Canal. The excavation involves the removal of 7.5m cubic metres of material in a stretch of approximately 2.4 km, which will serve as the entrance of the new access channel.