History of the Panama Canal
During World War II, the canal proved a vital part of the U.S. military strategy, allowing ships to transfer easily between the Atlantic and Pacific. Politically, the Canal remained a territory of the United States until 1977, when the Torrijos–Carter Treaties began the process of transferring territorial control of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, a process completed on 31 December 1999.
Balboa, Panama
Formerly a part of the Canal Zone, Balboa is now part of Panama City's township of Ancón. Since its incorporation into the Republic of Panama, part of Balboa has been developed to enhance the port's capacity and to adapt to private ownership of residences (previously owned by the U.S. Government/Canal Zone Government/Panama Canal Company, and rented to employees thereof) and some small companies and restaurants. The rapid growth of the West-side population of Panama's province has resulted in increased car traffic because one of the only two ways available to cross towards the west side of the country is the Bridge of the Americas, which is an issue being solved by the construction of new streets. Demographic changes resulting from the departure of most of the American population (because of Torrijos-Carter Treaties) brought the closure of related facilities and institutions, such as Balboa High School and some English-language churches, obviously because they were mostly available for Americans.