Panama Canal Expansion Moves Ahead
The works for the grout curtain to protect the foundation of Borinquen 1E Dam concluded today. The grout curtain is 2.4 kilometers long and 15 meters deep under the core of the foundation of Borniquen 1E Dam, located on the west side of Pedro Miguel Locks.
“This is another important component of the Expansion Program that is successfully moving forward,” said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano. “Borinquen 1E Dam is crucial to the completion of the access channel to the new locks in the Pacific side.”
The grout curtain will prevent ground-water seepage and erosion of materials through the foundation of Borinquen 1E Dam, by filling with cement the rock fractures, void spaces and discontinuities located below the dam's foundation.
The works are part of the Pacific Access Channel 4 (PAC-4) project, which is one of the components of the Expansion Program. A crucial part of this project, Borinquen 1E Dam is a 2.3 kilometer-long clay core rock-fill dam that will create part of the access channel’s eastern bank. It will separate the waters of Miraflores Lake from those of the new channel, to allow operating the channel nine meters above the level of the lake.
The contract was awarded to FCC-ICA-Meco, a Spanish, Mexican and Costa Rican joint venture.
Overall, the Panama Canal Expansion is 84 percent complete.