Toll possibility for fourth Canal bridge

PLANS FOR the fourth bridge across the Panama Canal are moving  quickly forward, with tenders expected to be called in the second half of the year, and the possibility that it will be a toll bridge. 

 It will be located to the north of the Bridge of the Americas near the facilities of the Port of Balboa, and be 500 meters Between two support columns and 160 meters high. It will have six lanes for vehicles and two tracks for the Panama Metro extension to La Chorrera. The entire length of the bridge project, which must be gradually graded to accommodate the trains, will be six kilometers.
The overall transportation project will include the expansion of the highway to Arraiján to eight lanes, with the aim of reducing traffic jams between La Chorrera and Panama City.
While the bridge was originally supposed to be included in the contract for the Metro expansion, they will now be separate projects with Individual contracts reports La Prensa.

Minister of Public Works Ramón Arosemena’ said he hopes to launch the tender in the second half of this year and that the construction period would be about three and a half years.
The cost of the project, it has been estimated at between $1billion and $1.5 billion.
The government is expected to receive help from the Inter-American Development Bank in arranging the financing of the project.
Arosemena said that the possibility of obtaining funding-through the National Company of Motorways (ENA) – the entity that administers the Corredor Norte and Corredor Sur is being studied along with a toll for the use of the bridge.