Road in front of Gatun Dam by taxi from Colon?

We did a full transit in 2012 and are doing a partial this December with my parents. I saw a tour that went across the bridge in front of the dam, but then I realized that it was for people coming from the Panama City side, which we won't be. But it got me thinking: would it be feasible/safe to just take a cab from Colon? If so, how much time should I allow? We will be doing the "Today's Lock System and the Future" tour through Princess. I would like to fit this in before re-boarding. Our itinerary is as follows:

Panama Canal (Scenic Cruising) Panama

6:00 AM 3:30 PM

Colon, Panama

5:00 PM 8:00 PM

Call me weird, but I just think seeing it from the "front" would be an incredible sight. Thanks!

While it would not be unsafe, I don't think there would be sufficient time to get back out to the Gatun Spillway after you return to the pier in Colon following your tour. The times for the ship in Colon are just a mark on the wall, sometimes they will shorten the stay if all the tours have returned and stay way longer if they need to.

Another problem is there is no way of telling how long it will take to cross both Gatun and the new Agua Clara Locks since vehicle traffic may be stopped for ship traffic. There is also a small ferry that makes the crossing but I'm not sure how that operates.

Not to tease you but here is a picture you don't see very often, a fourteen gate spill. Quite impressive! I did not take the picture but I was there that day.

Thanks for the information. Though disappointing, that is exactly what I wanted to know.

And thanks so much for the photo! Probably the closest I will be able to get in the foreseeable future. Absolutely incredible! What time of year was it?

I am still trying to figure out the particulars of doing the partial. I realize that there are a lot of variables, especially with the new locks. How high would you put the likelihood of us getting to see our own ship exiting the canal while we are on our tour? Thanks again.

You welcome. Time a year... don't remember exactly but it was Rainy Season around 1982. That is not what was significant... opening all 14 spillway gates is something that probably has only been done a handful of times in the last 100 years. This spill was actually a test to see how much water could be discharged from Gatun Lake during a "1000 year flood." The uniqueness of the event caused a bit of local enthusiasm for us Canal aficionados. Now a days it is a fairly rare sight even to see a couple of gates open.

Regarding seeing your ship lock back through Gatun, it is all timing. I have seen a number of photos of ship's passengers taking pictures of their ship going through Gatun Locks from the observation area, I have no idea how often it happens.

A partial transit cruise is a great cruise, have done several.