The Bridge of the Americas at Balboa on the Pacific end of the canal. To the left is one of a number of container cranes that offload ships too large to transit the canal. The containers are then put on the train for transshipment to the Atlantic container port and reloading on ships.

The canal expansion project will solve this bottleneck by building parallel locks and channels that will be able to handle any ship afloat or planned. The Panamanians are justly proud that they have been able to design, finance, and build this since taking over full control in 1999. Completion is slated for 2014, the 100th Anniversary of the original canal opening.