The steel gates each weigh hundreds of tons and are attached to steel girders just as heavy. In order to relieve pressure on their hinges, the gates are designed to float which is incredible when considering their size. Each one varies in height, is seven feet thick and 65 feet wide. The biggest gate is found at [V 009 / Miraflores] which is 82 feet high and weighs 730 tons. The gates are moved by a 25 horsepower engine and are controlled hydraulically. They were originally protected from vessels accidentally bumping into them by a fender chain - these have long since been removed.
