Friday, November 8, 2013 at 12:00pm Frank H. T. Rhodes Hall, 253 Ezra's Round Table/Systems Seminar: Jorge De La Guardia (Panama Canal) - The New Locks at the Panama Canal: A Modern Marvel of Engineering The Panama Canal Expansion presentation tells the story of one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects. The notion of a third canal is not new. Most notably, the onset of World War II abruptly halted construction of a third set of locks. As will be discussed during the presentation, the remnants of this effort were used in the current design. The need for a third set of locks was resurrected once again in the late 1990s, and culminated on October 22, 2006, when the citizens of Panama approved the Panama Canal expansion project. This presentation outlines the chronology of the current project, starting with planning activities including studies involving water supply, water quality, financing, and market drivers such as the objective of being able to transport Post-Panamax vessels through the Canal. The presentation also discusses key design, configuration, and operation factors such as the size of the chambers, the optimum filling and emptying system, piloting the vessels through the lock chambers, and even the types of gates to be employed for operation. Other aspects that went into the contracting and claims resolutions, especially how a major infrastructure project is developed, will also be discussed. Finally, the presentation concludes with a short overview of construction, the present status and major challenges that have been encountered along the way.