Pacific View of the Panama
Canal
The Panama
Canal is a 77.1km (48-mi) ship canal located in the Central American
country of Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The canal
stretches through a narrow passage in Panama and is a key channel for
international maritime trade. Two water locks were constructed, one at each end,
they were designed to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, which is 85 feet (26 m)
above sea-level; this feat reduces the amount of work required for a sea-level
connection. Currently the locks are 110 feet (33.5 m) wide.
Construction on the canal actually began in 1881 by the French
government but was abandoned in 1889; a second effort was initiated in 1904, and
was completed 10 years later in 1914 by the United States government. This
construction effort made it possible for ships to avoid the lengthy Cape Horn
route around the southern tip of South America known as the Drake Passage and
to avoid sailing the dangerous waters of the Straits of Magellan positioned
along the southern edge of the South American. The Panama Canal is one of the
largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the resulting “shortcut”
made it possible for ships to travel to and fro the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
in half the time formerly required. The new shipping lane saved a distance of
around 8,000 miles (1,287.48 km).
Ownership of the territory that is now the Panama Canal was held
by the South American country of Colombia beginning in 1819; followed by the
French government, then the US government; and finally coming under the control
of the Panamanian government in 1999; 96 years after becoming an independent
nation. The Canal has witnessed its annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships
when it opened in 1914, to 14,702 vessels in 2008 . . . By 2008, more than
815,000 vessels had ventured through the canal, many of which was larger than
the imaginative planners could have possibly envisioned.
It may surprise you to learn that today’s
Panama Canal is too narrow to fit 92% of the world’s shipping fleet through its
passage but a third, wider lock is now under construction (the renovation began
in September of 2007) and is anticipated to be completed by the Panamanian
government in 2014 at an estimated cost of 5.2 Billion US Dollars. The original cost in 1914 US Dollars was
around 639 Million; that would be equivalent to 14.3 Billion (with a B) 2007 US
Dollars, when considering inflation.
You’ve heard a lot said / told about Pikeville, KY; most likely as
the city best known for the legendary Hatfield – McCoy feud. As I recall it was
the McCoy’s who lived in Pike County (Pikeville’s the county seat), or was it
the Hatfield’s? In any event, either
way, it makes little difference to anyone today.
There is another worthy topic of discussion that comes to
mind whenever the city of Pikeville is mentioned. The positive effect it has on
anyone who elects to visit the small eastern Kentucky city or is perhaps just
driving past will surely have an effect that lasts a long, long time.
It’s called the “Pikeville Cut-Through” and is
a rock cut created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, through which passes a
four-lane divided highway (‘Corridor B’/ routes US 23, US 119, US 460, and KY
80);, there’s also a railroad line (CSX), and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy
River. There is a reason the corridor is such an impressive
sight to see, in light of the little known fact that it’s one of the largest
civil engineering projects in the entire western hemisphere (that’d be the half
of the world on your left); nearly 18,000,000 cubic yards (14,000,000 m3) of soil and rock were moved, although that’s a distant 2nd
to the Panama Canal which moved an estimated 240 million cubic yards of
material, regardless it will remain an impressive accomplishment and site for
many years to come. . . . Cut-through image
depicted below:
The project was originally envisioned by Dr. William Hambley back
in 1960; you see; he had been raised in the city of Pikeville, so you could say
he had a special interest. He’d longed to relocate the rail bed with hopes of eliminating
the dust that came from coal hauling trains that passed through the city on a daily
basis. By 1965, the good doctor’s plan
had broadened to accommodate “Corridor B” of the Appalachian Development
Highway System; along the way it was also decided there was a need to relocate
the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, which then twisted through the downtown
area. Such a task would completely
eliminate flooding events that occurred practically every year. To lower costs,
the river bed (after being re-routed) was reclaimed or “filled-in” with a good
bit of the material generated during the cut-through process; increasing the
available space for development and further growth of the city.
Construction on the Pikeville Cut-through began on November
26, 1973; the project was officially dedicated / opened on October 2, 1987,
nearly 14 years later.
Even though Radio Controlled (RC) Construction Equipment similar to the “fleet”
available today at many modern Hobby Stores,
had not likely been thought of in 1881 prior to the first construction efforts made on the canal nor was such equipment readily available in late 1973 Pikeville, KY;
none the less, it’s safe to theorize that if such equipment had been utilized, both efforts
would still be ongoing as is insinuated by the title of this critique.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Wonders_of_the_Industrial_World http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/panamacanal.htm http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/magellan.htm http://historical.whatitcosts.com/facts-panama-canal.htm http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2008/02/24/the_list_the_worlds_biggest_construction_projects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikeville_Cut-Through
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