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
Location	Gulf Coast of the United States
Country	United States
Specifications
Length	1,300[1] miles (2,100 km)
History
Date completed	June 18, 1949 (1949-06-18)
Geography
Start point	Brownsville, Texas
End point	Saint Marks, Florida[2]
Branch of	Intracoastal Waterway
Connects to	Various

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]