Can you take a car across the Panama Canal?

Answer 1

Yes, currently there are three places to cross the Panama Canal via car. The oldest and least used is a swing together bridge at Gatun Locks near the Atlantic entrance near Colon Panama. This bridge is only opened to traffic when it is closed. The two pieces swing together or close in order for cars to cross in one direction at a time. Ship traffic has pirority and the bridge folds into the concrete walls of the Gatun Locks to allow ships to pass. This bridge is build similar and looks much like the lock gates that control the water in the locks.

The next oldest is the Bridge of the Americas which is a rename, in 2000, of the Thatcher Ferry Bridge. The Thatcher Ferry Bridge replaced the Thatcher Ferry in 1962 as the crossing point on the Pacific side near Panama City. This is the most used bridge and is part of the Pan American Highway. The Thatcher Ferry was named after a Congressman from Kentucky, Maurice Thatcher, who also served on the Panama Canal Commission. Again, the ferry had to give way to ship traffic and was not a fast way to cross the canal.

The newest Bridge is the Centennial Bridge and the first bridge to be built by Panama that crosses the canal. It was started in 2003 when Panama was 100 years a country, thus the name. It is located almost midway on the canal and provides a by-pass of the older sections of Panama City.

Prior to the Thatcher Ferry Bridge, there was a swing bridge that sat on top of Miraflores Lock and would swing close to allow traffic to cross the canal. It too was subject to ship traffic and the associate limitations. It was rarely used once the Thatcher Ferry Bridge opened. It was maintained in case of closure of the TFB so that it could be placed in service if needed.

The only other bridge to cross the canal was a swinging bridge during construction that allowed workers to cross at the deepest cut of the canal at the construction town of Empire. This was foot traffic only, maybe an occasional donkey might have crossed too. Each of the three sets of locks allow for workers to cross using the flat top of the lock gates. These too are limited to foot traffic and only used when no ship is passing.

You can not cross the Darien Gap by car once you have crossed the Panama Canal. To drive from Alaska to the tip of South America, you must transport your car by boat from Panama to Colombia. The Darien is all that prevents you from driving all the way.