In the mid-20th century, the creation of alternate routes was considered, including the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO), which was ultimately selected, funded and constructed.
[4] The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considered the construction of a channel to the east of the Mississippi River but instead accepted an alternative proposed by James Buchanan Eads.
[5] Eads proposed the construction of parallel jetties that would concentrate the flow of the river thereby scouring the bottom and maintaining deeper depths.
Cowdon's plans for an alternate project to construct a ship channel along the Barataria that he prepared for the Atlantic and Mississippi Valley Canal and Improvement Company.
Cowdon presented his plan to The Property Holders Association of New Orleans in an address, "The Barataria Ship Canal and its Importance to the Valley of the Mississippi".
Cowdon believed that Eads' jetties was an experiment bringing only a temporary fix and thought the year-to-year costs of maintenance would prove that his permanent solution of a Barataria Ship Canal was superior.
[12] Oil and gas exploration and production near and below Lafitte, initially by the Texas Company in 1935,[14] prompted the need for greater depths for river barges to access the fields from the GIWW and Gulf of Mexico.
Congressman Hale Boggs backed a bill that provided federal funding for the project,[15] which was authorized in the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1958.
The prospectus referenced attached letters from John Devereaux O'Reilly, "builder of the Industrial Canal and locks," a reference to the IHNC.
[17] In 1943, two separate deep draft projects were presented by the Ship Channel Committee of the Jefferson Parish Police Jury and by the Dock Board of New Orleans to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
[19] The New Orleans route was an extension of previous plans for the Industrial Canal (IHNC), which included an eventual ship outlet into Lake Borne and the Mississippi sound.
A new four-lane toll highway was associated with the Jefferson Seaway project, which would parallel the full length of the new ship channel between Westwego and Grand Isle.
The Jefferson Seaway proposal claimed several advantages over the competing project, including a significantly shorter route, direct access to the oil and gas of the Texaco Company Lafitte Field, access to the Freeport Sulphur Grand Ecaille mines, being closer to Central and South America, and less expensive land appropriation costs.
[2] However, upon its review of the District's findings, the USACE Vicksburg Division returned the report with recommendations to utilize the existing Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) locks to connect the Alexander Seaway project to the Mississippi River.
The Louisiana Legislature in 1944 empowered the governor to aid the federal government in completing the tidewater seaway proposed on the east side of the river.
In its public plea, Jefferson Parish cited significant cost savings because of flawed estimates for the Alexander Seaway project.
[19] Jefferson also called attention to the Dock Board's control of ownership of all riverfront property in Orleans Parish and, by extension, along the full length of Inner Harbor Navigation Canal.
[19][23] In 1956, despite Jefferson's pleas, Congress arrived at a final selection and formally authorized the Alexander Seaway project, which assumed the name "Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet", in the River and Harbor Act bill approved on March 29, 1956 (Pub.L.
[2] 1958, the Jefferson Industrial Seaway Commission met with legal, fiscal and engineering experts in continuing its pursuit of its project, which at that point would have required the sale of local bonds to finance construction.