Bridge of the Americas

Also known as Puente de las Américas, Thatcher Ferry Bridge

road bridge in Panama, spanning the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal

Key facts

Coordinates: 8°56′35″N 79°33′54″W / 8.9431°N 79.565°W / 8.9431; -79.565
Carries: Four lanes of Carretera Panama-Arraijan, pedestrians and bicycles
Crosses: Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal
Locale: Balboa, Panama
Official name: Puente de las Américas
Design: Steel through arch bridge , John F. Beasly & Company
Total length: 1,654 m (5,425 ft)
Width: 10.4 m (34 ft)
Longest span: 344 m (1,128 ft)
Clearance below: 61.3 m (201 ft) at high tide
Opened: October 12, 1962
Daily traffic: 35,000 (2004)

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Article

The Bridge of the Americas (Spanish: Puente de las Américas; originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge) is a road bridge in Panama which spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. Designed by American civil engineering company Sverdrup & Parcel, it was completed in 1962 at a cost of US$20 million. Two other bridges cross the canal: the Atlantic Bridge at the Gatun locks and the Centennial Bridge.

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