The original truss bridge carries the Panama Canal railway over the Chagres River. It dates from 1911. The attached one lane wooden bridge carries highway traffic—very slowly. As a construction point for the canal work, Gamboa (which means a tree of the quince family) first came into prominence when the French Canal Company began excavation.
Over the Chagres River, at Gamboa de French built a bridge over which materials were hauled across the river and to a nearby spillway. The bridge was about 365 feet long, the north span being a girder about 58 feet long. In a flood in 1890, this girder was carried away and the pier on which the channel end of it rested, was tipped. When work on the Panama railroad started. a relocation bridge at Gamboa was initiated in 1907. The pier was righted and the two truss spans used for construction purposes.
Gamboa is located on a sharp bend of the Chagres River at the point which feeds Lake Gatun. Just south of Gamboa, Lake Gatun and the Chagres meet the Gaillard Cut also known as Culebra Cut where the Canal cuts through the Continental Divide.
A single lane iron and wood bridge crosses the Chagres and is the only road access to Gamboa. This bridge is still in use today. Vehicles waiting to pass over the bridge must wait for a stoplight to enter the bridge, since it is only capable of providing space for one lane of traffic at a time. In December 2010 this bridge was the site of massive flooding and huge floating islands passing under the bridge, with trees violently hitting it, which led to the temporary closure of the Panama Canal.
Below are several snapshots of this picturesque bridge adjacent to the Panama Canal. Here we go.
Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge next to the Panama Canal. It's one of the many icons of the famous international waterway. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
The same shot as before, only in bright color. You can see my shadow taking the picture. The sun was radiant this Sunday morning in Gamboa. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge and the Gatun Lake towards your left. The sight of the Panama Canal on this intersection is magnificent. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from a different angle. The bridge is used by the Panama Railroad to transport containers from one ocean to the other. This railroad functions like a dry canal moving merchandise to different ports of the world. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from the railroad. This is the same railroad where I fell after taking these pictures. Glad nothing serious happened. Only a good shakeup. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
