On September 3, 1935, a five million allocation was made for the cross-Florida ship canal, announced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on this date.
The canal would have connected the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico, which proponents argued would cut down on shipping costs and be safer than traveling through the Florida Straits.
Although the idea of a cross-peninsular canal was first theorized as early as the sixteenth century, it was not until President Roosevelt allocated funds as an economic recovery project that any real construction began.
Almost immediately, however, serious environmental concerns were brought forth.
Construction stalled over the course of the next few decades until President Nixon finally halted the project in 1971.
Official cancellation occurred in 1991, after $74 million had been spent on the project, which was approximately 28 percent completed by that time.
Sections of the canal still exist today, and part of the planned right of way across the state became the Majorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway in 1998, providing natural hiking and biking trails.
