Engineering the Panama Canal

Proceedings of sessions honouring the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal at the ASCE Global Engineering conference 2014, held in Panama City, Panama, October 7-11, 2014. Sponsored by the history and heritage Committee of ASCE. The history of the Panama Canal began nearly 500 years ago with the discovery by the Spanish of the isthmus between the oceans. Almost 400 years with several failed attempts would pass before the canal finally opened to boat traffic in August 1914. This collection of nine papers presents the lives and experiences of the engineers and planners who struggled for decades to get the canal accepted, funded, built and launched in order to ensure its successful operation during the last 100 years.