The Panama Canal locks is a lock system that lifts a ship up 85 feet (26 metres) to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again. It has a total of six steps (three up, three down) for a ship's passage. The total length of the lock structures, including the approach walls, is over 1.9 miles (3 km). The locks were one of the greatest engineeringworks ever to be undertaken when they opened in 1914. No other concrete construction of comparable size was undertaken until the Hoover Dam, in the 1930s.
There are two independent transit lanes, since each lock is built double. The size of the locks limits the maximum size of ships that can transit the canal; this size is known as Panamax.
Construction on the Panama Canal expansion project began in September 2007.[1] This will double the canal's capacity, allowing more and larger ships to use the canal.[2] The project is expected to be completed in April 2015.
Going through the Canal
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