When it first opened nearly 100 years ago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Panama Canal was the engineering marvel of its time. The 48-mile canal shortened the trip between San Francisco and New York by 8,000 nautical miles, changing the way goods and services cross the globe. Right now, up to 40 ships a day transit the canal, saving ships an average of 29 days at sea. But, there is a backlog of ships each day that wait to make the journey across the canal.

Now, almost a century later, they are building a second, even bigger canal. The $5.25 billion project involves dredging miles of ocean floor, the creation of a 4-mile bypass channel and new locking systems. On the old canal, ships known as Panamax cross through the canal with just 5-6 inches to spare on each side. The new canal will be built to accommodate the much larger Post-Panamax vessels that can hold three times the amount of cargo. U.S. ports are also upgrading facilities to be able to fit these ships.

It’s one of the biggest construction projects the world has ever seen. Watch the final stages of the building process and find out what this means for our global economy today in Peter’s latest CBS This Morning report.

For more information on Panama, check out the Hidden Gems of Panama.