Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Leland Bowman Lock near Intracoastal City, Louisiana, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
The route of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
LocationGulf Coast of the United States
CountryUnited States
Specifications
Length1,300[1] miles (2,100 km)
History
Date completedJune 18, 1949 (1949-06-18)
Geography
Start pointBrownsville, Texas
End pointSaint Marks, Florida[2]
Branch ofIntracoastal Waterway
Connects toVarious
Map

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW[1]) is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately 1,300 mi (2,100 km)[1] from Saint Marks, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.

The waterway provides a channel with a controlling depth of 12 ft (3.7 m), designed primarily for barge transportation. Although the U.S. government proposals for such a waterway were made in the early 19th century,[3] the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was not completed until 1949.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Transportation Research Board 2004, p. 30.
  2. ^ US Army 2013.
  3. ^ Leatherwood, Art (15 June 2010). "Gulf Intracoastal Waterway". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Lynn M. Alperin. "History of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-12-08. Retrieved 2006-04-03.