This Saturday, April 11th, technical personnel from the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, continued the inspection and structural evaluation of the Bridge of the Americas. These actions are part of efforts to ensure the safety of this vital transportation route. The MOP reported that national and international technical teams advanced during the morning and part of the day in the detailed review of critical structural components, including columns—especially pier 10—steel beams, the superstructure, and the underside of the slab. Since yesterday, specialized American personnel has been conducting field assessments, providing support to Panamanian technicians to determine if the bridge has maintained its integrity following the fire that occurred last Monday, April 6th, in the La Boca sector, where three tanker trucks exploded and caused a large fireball that reached the lower part of the structure. Meanwhile, the Director of Studies and Designs for the MOP, Edwin Lewis, explained that the work will allow for the definition of short, medium, and long-term measures. Personnel from the U.S. Embassy has also remained at the evaluation site. The Trump administration offered Panama immediate support to evaluate the Bridge of the Americas following this week's incident. «The bridge's columns and superstructure are being evaluated to determine the necessary actions to guarantee its safety,» indicated Lewis. He clarified that once the evaluations are complete, an official report with preliminary results will be presented next Monday, April 13th, and will be delivered to the MOP and the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino. In the meantime, the U.S. Army team, composed of two structural engineers and two support technicians, arrived in Panama last Thursday to collaborate voluntarily on the inspections and will remain in the country until next Tuesday. The Bridge of the Americas is of great importance, as its structure is located over the navigation route used by ships entering and exiting the Panama Canal from the Pacific side.
