Preliminary works on a fourth bridge over the Panama Canal are progressing well, according to information from the national government.

The Panama Cuarto Puente consortium, comprised of state-owned firms China Communications Construction Company and China Harbour Engineering Company, which has been tasked with completing the project, is currently conducting topographical and geotechnical studies.

The group is also identifying areas for which rights-of-way still need to be secured, the public works ministry (MOP) said in a release.

Works for the cleanup and remediation of unexploded ordnance (UXO) are also being performed at the site.

Panama has a significant amount of unexploded ordnance due to US military exercises and testing in the Canal Zone prior to Panama assuming complete jurisdiction over Canal Zone territories and functions in 1999.

Meanwhile, the environment ministry has already certified that the category III EIA submitted for the project is still valid, and that the consortium is performing all the environmental measures outlined in the assessment.

The consortium signed the US$1.42bn contract for the bridge at the end of last year.

The bridge will be built north of the Bridge of the Americas to help alleviate traffic congestion. It will be a continuation of the Corredor Norte highway to Panamá Oeste province, connecting with the Pan-American highway, which also crosses the canal, allowing users to travel from the Tocumen area to the region west of the canal without having to go through the city.

The cable-stayed toll bridge will have eight lanes, six for vehicles and two central ones for the future metro line No. 3. There will also be two emergency lanes.

Two interchanges will be built at each end of the canal.

Construction is expected to take 60 months and the bridge is designed to have a lifespan of 100 years.