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Navigation
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Use of Cape Cod Canal saves mariners an average of
135 miles of coastwise travel while circumnavigating
Cape Cod. Support for the navigation mission at the
Canal includes a state of the art Marine
Traffic Control System, Marine
Traffic Patrol by Corps vessels, and maintenance
and improvement of the Canal channel and mooring basins.
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The Cape Cod Canal is the world's widest sea-level
canal at 480 feet wide and has authorized depth of 32
feet at mean low water. The swift running Canal
current changes direction every six hours and can
reach a maximum velocity of 5.2 miles per hour, during
the ebb (westerly) tide. The three bridges that span
the Canal were designed to allow for 135 feet of vertical
clearance above mean high tide.
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Vessels up to 825 feet in length can use the Canal's
safer, shorter route, but many small recreational craft
enjoy the waterway as well. All mariners should familiarize
themselves with the Canal's navigation
regulations before entering. Recreational boaters
are also strongly urged to review the Canal
boating safety guide, which outlines the unique
hazards boaters face while transiting the Canal. The
navigation bulletin advises
all mariners about shoaling and current construction
projects that affect navigation in the Canal.
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Supporting the nation by maintaining and improving
navigation channels was among the Corps of Engineers'
earliest Civil Works missions, dating to Federal laws
in 1824 authorizing the Corps to improve safety on the
Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and several other ports.
The Corps maintains navigable waterways, such as the
Cape Cod Canal, by keeping them at Congressionally authorized
depths and widths through dredging and other means.
The improvement of the original
privately owned Cape Cod Canal is one example of
how the improvement process works.
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Today,
the Corps maintains more than 12,000 miles (19,200 km)
of inland waterways and operates 235 locks. These waterways,
a system of rivers, lakes and coastal bays improved
for commercial and recreational transportation, carry
about 1/6 of the Nation's inter-city freight, at a cost
per ton-mile about 1/2 that of rail or 1/10 of trucks
transportation. Ports and waterways also play a role
in national defense. Practically all the heavy equipment
and supplies bound for overseas military deployments
moved by ship through ports maintained by the civil
works program. Contact the Navigation
Data Center for more information on the Corps navigation
mission nation wide.
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