The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal and Lock, located within the limits of the city of New Orleans was completed by the Port of New Orleans in 1923. The five-mile canal was completed to provide navigation between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain in addition to stimulating industrial development in areas away from the Mississippi River.

During World War II the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) was rerouted through the Industrial Canal, and the Federal Government assumed its operation and maintenance in 1944, ultimately purchasing the lock in 1986.

The current Industrial Canal Lock's dimensions are 31.5 feet deep, 75 feet wide and 640 feet long. The average delay to the navigation industry for passing through the lock is 11 hours, but can be as much as 24-36 hours on many occasions.

It is interesting to note that the official name of the authorized project is the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal (IHNC) Lock Replacement Project. However, we use the name Industrial Canal Lock Replacement Project interchangeably with the official title on this web site because most residents of the New Orleans metropolitan area know the existing lock as the Industrial Canal Lock.

View a fly-over of the IHNC Lock Replacement Project site! (12,619 kb, mpg format)