LaHood tours Panama Canal

LaHood tours Panama Canal

LaHood

   U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on his 'Fast Lane' blog described his trip last week to the Panama Canal as 'one of the thrills of a lifetime.'
   LaHood observed the canal expansion work and wrote that he was given the opportunity to close one of the locks from the control room.
   His first-hand experience comes as the Congress and Department of Transportation consider a multiyear surface transportation plan in which transportation policy and funding levels for infrastructure projects are determined. The expansion of the Panama Canal will impact the U.S. transportation system as larger container vessels are able to call on East and Gulf coasts ports, putting pressure on port facilities and connecting road and rail systems used to transport cargo to consumers.