For ad

ditiona

l informa

tion ab

out the Gulf Intra

coasta

lW

aterw

ay, ca

ll (504) 862-2201, or write to: U.S. Arm

yC

orps of Eng

ineers, New

Orlea

ns District, Pub

lic Affairs

Office, P.O

. Box 60267, New

Orlea

ns, LA 70160-0267,or visit our W

eb site a

t:

The Gulf Intracoastal

Waterw

ay Project

Port Allen Lock

Structu

res Alon

g the G

IWW

11C

alcasieu L

ock:completed 1950;75 feet w

ide,1,200feet long,-13 feet m

ean low gulf;operated 24 hours a

day;46 million tons passed annually,13,000 average

annual lockages.

22L

eland

Bow

man

Lock:com

pleted 1985;110 feetw

ide,1,200 feet long;-15 feet mean low

gulf;operated 24hours a day;43 m

illion tons passed annually,10,000 aver-age annual lockages.

33P

ort Allen

Lock:com

pleted 1961;84 feet wide,

1,200 feet long;-13.7 feet mean low

gulf;operated 24hours a day;25 m

illion tons passed annually,6,000 aver-age annual lockages.

44A

lgiers Lock:com

pleted 1956;75 feet wide,760 feet

long,-13 feet mean low

gulf;operated 24 hours a day;19m

illion tons passed annually,8,400 average annual lock-ages.

55H

arvey Lock:com

pleted 1934;75 feet wide,415 feet

long,-12 feet mean low

gulf;operated 24 hours a day;4.5m

illion tons passed annually,8,500 average annual lock-ages.

66In

ner H

arbor N

avigation C

anal L

ock:completed

1921;74 feet wide,626 feet long;-31.5 feet m

ean lowgulf

(only ship lock in New

Orleans D

istrict);operated24 hours a day;20 m

illion tons passed annually,13,500average annual lockages.

77B

ayou Sorrel L

ock:completed 1952;56 feet w

ide,790 feet long,-14.75 feet m

ean low gulf;operated 24

hours a day;25 million tons passed annually;9,300 aver-

age annual lockages;part ofthe A

tchafalaya BasinProject.

88B

ayou B

oeuf

Lock:com

pleted 1954;75 feet wide,

1,156 feet long,-13.8 feet mean low

gulf;operated 24hours a day;25 m

illion tons passed annually;15,400average annual lockages;part of

the Atchafalaya Basin

Project.w

ww

.mvn.usa

ce

.arm

y.mil

New

Orlean

s District H

igh

ligh

ts

New O

rleans District serves a 30,000 square m

ilearea ofsouth and coastal Louisiana.W

e help make the ports ofSouth Louisiana

number one in the nation in total tonnage and

number one in grain exports.

We m

aintain 2,800 miles of

navigable waterways,including 400 m

iles ofdeep-draft channels (45 feet deep from

the GulfofM

exicoto Baton Rouge),and operate 12 navigation locks.W

e make it possible to live and work along the

lower Mississippi River.

The district has built 950m

iles oflevees and floodwalls,and six major flood

control structures to protect against river and hurricane flooding.W

e keep the Mississippi River on its present

course.The district’s O

ld River Control Structure,northwest ofBaton Rouge,prevents the M

ississippifrom

changing course to the Atchafalaya RiverBasin.W

e care for the environment by regulating dredge

and fill activities in all navigable waters and wetlands.

The district also manages clean up of

hazardous waste sites for the Environmental

Protection Agency.W

e provide recreationalopportunities in the Atchafalaya Basin,BonnetCarré Spillway,and the O

ld River Control.W

e are on the frontline ofefforts to reduce the rateofcoastal landloss.

Thedistrict has com

pleted twoM

ississippi River freshwater diversion structuresat Caernarvon and D

avisPond to reduce saltwaterintrusion by deliveringfresh water to m

arshlands.W

e also create new wetlands and restore barrier islands with m

aterialdredged from

navigation channels.

IHN

C Lock is operated 24 hours a day.

Location

and

Size

The Gulf

Intracoastal Waterw

ay (GIW

W)

is often referred to as the most rem

arkableartery of

transportation in Am

erica.Linking

deep-water ports,tributaries,rivers and bayous,

the GIW

W stretches for m

ore than 1,300 miles

from the M

exican border at Brownsville,

Texas,along the entire coast ofthe G

ulfof

Mexico to A

palachicola,Florida.This vital inland w

aterway w

as constructedfrom

the 1920s to 1949.The Louisiana

segment stretches for 302.4 m

iles from the

Texas-Louisiana state line in the west to the

Louisiana-Mississippi state line in the east.

The GIW

W A

lternate Route from Port A

llento M

organ City adds another 64 miles to its

length for a total of366.4 m

iles.In Louisiana,the N

ew O

rleans District,

U.S.Arm

y Corps ofE

ngineers,operates andm

aintains the GIW

W and its six locks for

both navigation and agricultural purposes.The Corps m

aintains channel dimensions in

the GIW

W to 12 feet deep and 125 feet w

idefrom

the Mississippi River w

est,and 12 feetdeep and 150 feet w

ide from the Inner H

arborN

avigation Canal (IHN

C) to the Rigolets.Channel enhancem

ents and additions continueto this day.

Diverse E

nvironm

ents

In Louisiana,the GIW

W laces together

the numerous isolated bayous and lakes w

hichcharacterize the southern portion of

the state.The bayous are essential to the shrim

p,fishingand oysterindustries ofsouth Louisianaand serve assupply routes tothe coastal andoffshore drillingoperations thatfeed the energyneeds of

thenation.

Wildlife

refuges areinterspersed w

ith areas ofhistorical im

por-tance and ethnic flavor.

Between the busy

ports ofLake Charles and N

ew O

rleans,theG

IWW

meanders through the unspoiled world

ofA

cadiana,the moss-draped banks of

BayouTeche and a bird sanctuary on Avery Islandbefore entering the vast w

ilderness area ofthe A

tchafalaya Basin.H

ere,abundantw

aterbodies create an imm

ense habitat forw

ildlife,as well as a huge resource for

fishermen,hunters and naturalists.

Just eastof

New

Orleans are the scenic fishing villages

ofBarataria and Lafitte.

Navigation

The GIW

W experiences its heaviest traffic

along Louisiana's coast.The N

ew O

rleansD

istrict operates and maintains a series of

locksto m

ake this navigation possible.A

bout 157m

illion tons ofbulk cargo pass through these

six locks annually:A

lgiers,Harvey,IH

NC,Port

Allen,Leland Bow

man and Calcasieu.

BayouBoeuf

and Bayou Sorrel locks are located on theG

IWW

but are part ofthe A

tchafalaya Basinproject.

The GIW

W is the lifeline for industries in

Louisiana,with both sm

all and large craft usingthe route to reach the channels flow

ing into theG

ulf.It is at the Port of

New

Orleans w

herethe G

IWW

has its major connection w

ith theinterior of

the country.There,it joins w

ith theM

ississippi River system.

Combined,the

Mississippi River ports of

south Louisiana arerated num

ber one in the nation in total tonnageand num

ber one in the world in grain exports.A

t Morgan City,traffic bound for Baton

Rouge and other upriver Mississippi and O

hioports has access to the shorter alternate routew

hich connects the GIW

W w

ith Baton Rouge.Picturesque fishing vessels and graceful sailboatsdot the channel,joining the bustling stream

ofbarge traffic on the G

IWW

.

Louisiana’s coastal waters account for nearly 37 percent ofthe nation’s

total shrimp landings.

Barges provide low cost transportation for a variety ofcommodities.

Live oaks grace the banks ofthe

GIW

W in A

cadiana.

Th

e Structu

res

Algiers L

ockis located just below

New

Orleans on the w

est bank ofthe M

ississippi Riverat m

ile 88 above Head of

Passes.The lock

provides an alternate waterw

ay connection from

the Mississippi River to the G

IWW

at mile 6 w

estof

Harvey Lock.

It is also used to introduce freshw

ater into the coastal area west of

the Mississippi

when both gates are partially opened simultanously.

The Calcasieu L

ockis located at the intersection

ofthe Calcasieu River and m

ile 238 ofthe G

IWW

.It serves as a barrier preventing saltw

ater intrusionfrom

the Calcasieu from entering the rice-grow

ingareas of

the Merm

entau Basin via the GIW

W.

Itoperates in conjunction w

ith Leland Bowman

Lock,and Catfish Point and Schooner Bayou control

structures.The H

arvey Lock

is on the west bank of

the Mississippi R

iverin H

arvey,across theriver from

New

Orleans.

Thelock

connects the GIW

Ww

ith the Mississippi

River via the 6.5-mile-

long Harvey Canal.

The Inn

erH

arbor N

avigationC

anal L

ockcan be

found at mile 92.7

above Head of

Passeson the east bank ofthe M

ississippi inN

ew O

rleans.This lock provides an im

portantwaterway link connecting the M

ississippi Riverw

ith the GIW

W,Lake Pontchartrain,and the

Mississippi R

iver-Gulf

Outlet.

The lock also

prevents the flooding oflow

areas east ofthe

structure from high w

ater on the Mississippi.

In southwestLouisiana,two m

iles westof

Intracoastal City,the L

eland Bow

man

Lock serves several

purposes.It prevents

salt water from entering

the Merm

entau RiverBasin.

While used to

pass flood flows from

the low-lying area

between the Vermilion

and Calcasieu rivers,thelock also retains freshwater in that area forirrigation and enhance-m

ent offish and wildlife.Leland Bow

man is

operated in conjunctionw

ith Calcasieu Lockand the Catfish andSchooner Bayoucontrol structures to

achieve these purposes.O

n a side note,theLeland B

owm

an Lock staffare C

ooperativeW

eather Observers,com

piling daily temperature

readings and rainfall amounts for the N

ationalClim

atic Data Center,N

ational Weather Service,and

the secretary ofthe Merm

entau Basin Association.

The Port A

llen Lock is at the southern

end ofthe Port of

Baton Rouge on the west

bank ofthe M

ississippi River.The lock provides

vessel and barge traffic between the M

ississippiRiver and the M

organ City-to-Port Allen route

ofthe G

IWW

.This route is 160 m

iles shorterthan travelling the M

ississippi River and takingthe H

arvey Lock at New

Orleans to reach the

GIW

W.

The Port Allen Lock prevents flooding

oflow

areas southwest of

the structure duringhigh w

ater stages on the Mississippi.

It is alsoused to freshen the w

aterway southw

est ofthe

lock by diverting Mississippi River w

ater throughthe structure.

Algiers Lock

Calcasieu Lock

Leland Bowman Lock

Port Allen Lock

Harvey Lock

Inner Harbor N

avigation Canal Lock

Barg

es m

ea

n:Le

ss co

nge

stion a

nd fe

we

r ac

cid

ents

Ha

zard

ous c

arg

o is ke

pt fa

r from

de

nsely-

po

pula

ted

are

as

Fuel Efficiency

Dista

nce

one

ga

llon o

f fuel

ca

n ca

rry one

ton o

f ca

rgo

60 mile

s by truc

k

202 mile

s by ra

il514 m

iles

by b

arg

e

.20 Barge.64 R

ailcar1.90 Truck C

apacity & Safety

.53 Barge1.83 R

ailcar10.17 Truck

Hy

dro

ca

rbo

ns

Ca

rbo

n M

on

oxid

e

Oxid

es o

f Nitro

ge

n

.09 Barge.46 R

ailcar.63 Truck

How

Navigation

Locks W

ork

The lower gates (B) are closed; the upper gates are partially

opened allowing the cham

ber to fill to the upper level; and thenthe upper gates (A) are fully opened allow

ing the towboat to

enter the lock chamber.

Once the tow

boat is in the lock chamber; the upper gates (A)

are closed; the lower gates (B) are partially opened allow

ing thew

ater to drain out into the lower level. The tow

boat is lowered

as the water level low

ers.

When the w

ater level reaches the lower level, the low

er gates (B)are fully opened allow

ing the towboat to leave the lock cham

berand proceed along the w

aterway.

A. Upper Gates ClosedB. Lower Gates Open

A. Upper Gates ClosedB. Lower Gates Partially Open

A. Upper Gates OpenB. Lower Gates Closed

Cu

ltural R

esources

Southern Louisiana's 300-mile coast

contains large tracts ofm

arshes,swam

psand m

any lakes and bayous.This extensive

near-sea level area makes up the deltaic

plain ofthe M

ississippi River,created bydeposition of

river sediment.D

eltaic areashave been im

portant to man since earliest

prehistoric times.They abound in w

ildlifeand edible plants,and the m

any waterw

aysprovide natural routes of

transportation.M

ore than 600 prehistoric and numerous his-

toric sites are known in the Louisiana coastalzone where early econom

ies depended on hunt-ing-gathering or prim

itive agriculture.Some sites

date to the Paleo-Indian Period (8000 B.C.).Of

the many historical sites,Forts Pike and M

acomb

Fort Pike on the GIW

W at Rigolets Pass is now a state

historic site.

North Bend Plantation archeological site

are the most significant,built between 1820-1828 as

defenses against possible invasion ofNew O

rleans.

More recently,archeological investigations of

North Bend Plantation in St.M

ary Parish representthe first excavation ofa plantation site in theAtchafalaya Basin.The investigation uncovered awealth ofinform

ation on the virtually unknown African-Am

erican lifeways during the early-twenti-eth century.The site is eligible for nom

ination tothe N

ational Register ofHistoric Places.

Natural R

esources

The GIW

W spans the entire G

ulfCoast,form-

ing a network with the many feeder channels both

north and south ofthe waterway.This network ofwaterways provides farm

to market "roads" for the

wealth ofnatural resources found in coastalLouisiana.From

here,rice,cotton,soybeans,salt,lum

ber,seafood and sugarcane,in addition to bil-lions ofdollars in oil and gas products are bargedupward and outward over m

uch ofthe continentalU

nited States.

Value to the Nation

Environmentally Friendly

Pounds of Pollution Produced to Move 1 Ton of C

argo