Remember the Panama Canal Expansion?

[ASD]

Opps!!

Cracks Put April 2016 Delivery of Panama Canal Expansion At Risk - gCaptain

[s/v Beth]

Sigh...Was Guatemala ever serious about making a canal?

[denverd0n]

Oh man! That picture does NOT look good!

[hpeer]

Toilet bowl wax or 5200?

[four winds]

A crack was "detected". Someone with sharp eyes no doubt.

Notice in the video here..... a plume of silt coming through. That can't be a good sign. Maybe the crack is not the biggest issue here. Could be the result of a foundation proplem?

A Big Crack Threatens the Panama Canal Expansion - VIDEO - gCaptain

Edit..... on second look, the dirty water could be washing down off the sill.

[garrobito]

so... I gonna need to keep waiting to pass my zuper duper megayacht from mediterraneo to the pacific.. ohh my good!!! how sa d!!

[category4jay]

This is a MAJOR PROBLEM!! It is obvious that the "step" or "sill" that the canal lock "door" slides in and out on has a horizontal thru crack in it. Thus there is a crack that extends completely thru the sill. I suspect that when they water tested the lock and shut the "door" the water level rose to a point that the horizontal pressure on the sill on the filled side of the lock "pushed" the sill enough for it to fail. Thus the horizontal crack and spalling seen in the pictures. The sill cannot be repaired. It needs to be removed and replaced. IMHO. But replaced with what? The same size and design sill? A bigger and more structurally sound sill? AND if all the sills on the new canal are the same design and that design is deficient they may have a billion $ problem on their hands. We shall see.

[Bill Seal]

Hmmmm...

The old locks were designed 100 years ago, the DC3 80 years ago and they still work.
Maybe the engineers should forget computer simulation and Finite Element Analysis and go back to slide rules.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Bill Seal

Hmmmm...

The old locks were designed 100 years ago, the DC3 80 years ago and they still work.
Maybe the engineers should forget computer simulation and Finite Element Analysis and go back to slide rules.

They are going to phase out the DC-3 one of these days.

[Stumble]

There was an article discussing a core sample they pulled from the concrete. It looked like Swiss cheese. The entire sample was riddled with air holes and cavities. At least so far this doesn't look like a design problem, but with a construction one. Unless they were trying a new aerated concrete foam.