The international inspection aims to reinforce the technical diagnosis and guarantee total safety before normalizing traffic completely. The reviews include structural analysis, measurements, and field verifications to determine if the bridge—with over 63 years of operation—maintains its integrity after exposure to fire. A team of U.S. Army engineers began a technical inspection of the Bridge of the Americas on Friday, April 10, following the fire and explosion recorded at its base last Monday. The objective is to determine if the structure maintains safe conditions for vehicular traffic, currently limited to vehicles up to 10 tons. According to authorities, the evaluation is part of international cooperation and is being carried out voluntarily, in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) and other Panamanian entities. The group is composed of two structural engineers and two support specialists, who will be tasked with issuing an independent analysis of the bridge's condition and verifying if its use is safe, even for heavy vehicles. This inspection takes place after the fire that occurred on Monday, April 6, under the bridge's structure, where three tank trucks were involved in an explosion that generated high temperatures and subsequently a large fireball that spread to the upper part of the roadway, forcing the temporary closure of the bridge. This event raised alarms about possible damage to the metallic and concrete components of this key infrastructure for the country's connectivity. This is how the inspections with U.S. engineers on the Bridge of the Americas are progressing. Previously, on Tuesday, April 7, technicians from the Ministry of Public Works conducted initial assessments and reported that no serious structural damage was detected. The structure, inaugurated in 1962, is one of the main routes of connection between Panama City and the country's interior. The Director of Studies and Design of the MOP, Edwin Lewis, explained that it is necessary to conduct laboratory tests and take samples of the metal exposed to heat to send them to specialized centers in the United States. Likewise, deformation gauges will be placed in critical areas of the structure. It is expected that after completing the inspections, the specialists will present a technical report next week, which will allow authorities to make decisions on possible restrictions, full reopening, or future interventions in this strategic infrastructure.
