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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