The Panama Canal expansion demanded reliable, cost-conscious erosion control for vast, steep lateritic slopes under intense rainfall and strict environmental oversight. Early phases used hydroseeding with wood fiber mulch and Turf Reinforcement Mats, but the Panama Canal Authority later specified Flexible Growth Mediums® to improve efficiency. Hydroseeding with Flexterra® High Performance-Flexible Growth Medium® (HP-FGM®) was demonstrated on severely eroded slopes at Corte Culebra, bonding instantly to soil and providing 18 months of functional longevity. Non-toxic and 100 percent biodegradable, Flexterra HP-FGM helped prevent sediment from entering canal waters while promoting strong vegetative growth and reducing labor compared with TRMs and blankets.
Key Points
- Expansion requires dry excavation of approximately 49 million cubic meters of material along the 6.1 kilometer Pacific Access Channel, with strict limits on sediment runoff into canal waters.
- The Panama Canal Authority shifted from TRMs and blankets to hydroseeding with Flexible Growth Mediums to stabilize 30-degree and intermediate slopes reaching 45 degrees.
- Flexterra HP-FGM bonds instantly to soil with no cure time, offers functional longevity of 18 months, and is 100 percent biodegradable and non-toxic.
- Tests show Flexterra HP-FGM can provide up to 200 percent better germination and growth than rolled excelsior and straw blankets, while retaining more than 99% of soil and reducing runoff turbidity for up to 18 months.
