Possibly a Significant Problem with New Pacific Locks

Just when everything was looking like it was finally moving along as planned albeit a tad behind schedule, what could be a serious problem has surfaced. A large crack has developed between the middle and lower chambers of the Cocoli Locks which is allowing water to pass through the concrete chamber floor. I have no idea just how serious this condition may turn out to be or what the remedy will be.

Anyway here is a link to the article and a video showing the leak.

http://gcaptain.com/a-big-crack-now-threatens-the-panama-canal-expansion-video/#.VdrvDJcnXGs

Wow -- interesting development! And thanks again for the updates. We've done four full transits of the Panama Canal, and my husband actually lived in the Canal Zone for four years as a kid so we have followed the building of the new locks with great interest.

Thanks for sharing this and for all of the updates.

Keith

The latest article states that the opening date won't be impacted by the crack discovered in the Pacific Locks. There also is no indication what caused the crack or what the repairs will entail.

http://gcaptain.com/panama-canal-authority-says-new-locks-timeline-not-impacted-by-crack/#.VdxDzpVRFLM

Not yet any info on the extent of the crack/leakage or what the repairs will involve, the latest article doesn't paint a bright picture. Core sample shows voids in the concrete pour.

http://gcaptain.com/a-concrete-sample-was-pulled-from-the-new-panama-canal-locks-and-it-does-not-look-good/#.VeAs7JcnXGs

The Canal issued a press release yesterday (Sept. 7) that they are awaiting a for a report detailing the problem and the fix. They won't know until after assessing the report whether there will be any impact on the April '16 projected opening. This seems to be a wee bit contrary to what the main contractor (GUPC) said earlier that the leak problem will not have any impact on the planned completion date.

UPDATE: PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION PROGRAM TESTING

Date: 07-SEP-2015

• ACP AWAITS FORMAL GUPC DETAILED REPORT ON WATER SEEPAGE ISSUE
  
• PROGRAM IS 93 PERCENT COMPLETE
  

Panama City, Panama, September 7, 2015 - Earlier in June, the filling of the new locks began, marking the start of a planned and methodical phase of operational testing of the Locks, including its culvert valves, maintenance bulkheads and gates. This stage of testing is meant to timely detect and correct any deficiencies in the project. The Panama Canal technical team is closely involved to ensure that all tests meet the quality standards established in the contract.

As part of this testing, some water seepage was detected in a specific area of the new Pacific Locks in a section that separates the middle chamber and lower chamber, as they were being stressed tested through exposure to level differentials much higher than those required for normal operations, but that may occur during dry-chamber maintenance works in the future.

The ACP is now awaiting a formal report from GUPC following detailed inspections. The report, will be inclusive of the root cause analysis conducted, as well as the recommended repair methodology. Upon evaluating the report's findings, the ACP will assess and communicate if the project's completion timeline will be altered in any way.

At this time, ACP has designated two independent external structural engineers to conduct an objective evaluation of the reasons for this localized issue and assess GUPC's solution.

While this important step takes place, the ACP is encouraged by the overall progress of the program, which has now reached 93 percent completion. Parallel work presses ahead with testing in other areas; the removal of the strip of land - known as a ‘plug'- separating the new Cocolí Locks from the Pacific Ocean, and the culmination of the Pacific Access Channel work. Likewise last week the removal of the dike or plug that separates the Atlantic ocean waters from the new Atlantic Lock was initiated and progresses at a good pace.

GUPC has the obligation to ensure the long-term performance on all aspects of the construction of the locks and to correct this deficiency. Moreover, GUPC's contract with the ACP dictates that the group is responsible for modifications and corrections that may be required. As with all of its operations and its infrastructure improvement projects, the ACP is committed to deliver world-class services and products.

As it has been the case for more than 100 years, the ACP maintains its commitment to safe, reliable and efficient service. Updates will continue to be issued as information becomes available to ensure that customers, the Panamanian people and all other key stakeholders are informed on the latest developments of the program.

About the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is run by an autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the ACP's website: http://www.pancanal.com or follow us on Twitter @thepanamacanal.

I picked this up this evening re: problems with the new portion of the canal... http://fortune.com/2015/11/02/the-new-panama-canal-is-leaking-water-and-money/?xid=yahoo_fortune

Interesting... one of the few articles I have seem that summarizes some of the "possible" areas of conflict of interests.

Interesting... one of the few articles I have seem that summarizes some of the "possible" areas of conflict of interests.

Kind of reads like an addition to McCullough's "Path Between the Seas" details of the French consortium on the original canal. :rolleyes:

“When one of the bidders bids $1 billion less than the next, there is something very wrong.”

Duh! :mad:

I am curious to see how far they will go to correct the deficiencies on a structure that has an intended lifetime of 100 years or more.

If they don't do it right they will be doing it again.

“When one of the bidders bids $1 billion less than the next, there is something very wrong.”

 

Duh! :mad:

 

I am curious to see how far they will go to correct the deficiencies on a structure that has an intended lifetime of 100 years or more.

 

If they don't do it right they will be doing it again.

I think most construction experts (I'm not one) would be of the opinion the best way to correct the problem, would be to break up the bad pour, add rebar if necessary and then re-pour the affected area. Now the real world comes in... they already are pushing two years behind the scheduled completion, they are sitting on huge notes that they are probably have to be paying something on, even it is just some interest. They have just got to start bringing in some real money and the quicker the better. In light of that, they are going with the quick fix of more rebar and some sort of epoxy material pumped in. I really don't think the Canal Authority and ultimately the Panamanian Government can afford to do much else. Public pressure at home as well as I would think there is some pent up demand for shippers and so on. Also I would think the possible shortening of the structure's life expectancy will be the basis for future legal pursuits.

Pretty sure it was Bechtel had the bid for a billion more than GUPC, the "successful" bidder.

I think most construction experts (I'm not one) would be of the opinion the best way to correct the problem, would be to break up the bad pour, add rebar if necessary and then re-pour the affected area. Now the real world comes in... they already are pushing two years behind the scheduled completion, they are sitting on huge notes that they are probably have to be paying something on, even it is just some interest. They have just got to start bringing in some real money and the quicker the better. In light of that, they are going with the quick fix of more rebar and some sort of epoxy material pumped in. I really don't think the Canal Authority and ultimately the Panamanian Government can afford to do much else. Public pressure at home as well as I would think there is some pent up demand for shippers and so on. Also I would think the possible shortening of the structure's life expectancy will be the basis for future legal pursuits.

 

Pretty sure it was Bechtel had the bid for a billion more than GUPC, the "successful" bidder.

Given that this was one of the first major construction projects to use concrete on this scale, and seeing the "pour lines" where successive pours were lumped on top of each other, I'm always amazed at how long the locks have lasted.

I think that the epoxy filling program will be sufficient, given that this is not a suspended load like the Bunker Hill bridge, which had similar problems and a similar repair, but it will require more frequent monitoring (sonar scans of the lock walls to find new cracks or voids), and will add to the cost.

You are right... it probably will be sufficient and maybe not too much of a detriment to the long term life of the new locks. I still am scratching my head as to how it happened. Particularly the Canal Authority had a major dust up with GUPC very early on over the concrete quality which led to one of the first significant setbacks. As far as I know it is only one sill that is affected, but they are going to do similar repairs to the other sills as well. Maybe when they scanned them, the problem may have been more wide spread, just no leaks had appeared.