The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway is a protected green belt corridor, more than one and a half miles (1.6 km) wide in places, that was the former route of the proposed Cross Florida Barge Canal. It is named for the leader of opposition to the Cross Florida Barge Canal, Marjorie Harris Carr, and was originally a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers canal project to connect the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean across Florida for barge traffic. Two sections were built, but the project was ultimately cancelled because of local opposition related to environmental concerns, including protecting the state's water supply and conservation of the Ocklawaha River Valley ecosystem, as well as national opposition for the costs being perceived as "government waste" with "limited national value." The greenway is part of the system of Florida State Parks, including the Santos Trail System, and is managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. History The idea of a canal across the Florida peninsula was first proposed by Philip II of Spain in 1567 as a shorter and safer route for Spanish treasure ships. It was repeatedly considered over the years but found to be economically unviable. Secretary of War John C. Calhoun once again proposed a canal in 1818 as a remedy for commercial losses from shipwrecks and piracy. The Florida Railroad, finished in 1861, served a similar purpose, connecting the Atlantic Ocean at Fernandina to the Gulf of Mexico at Cedar Key. In the 1930s, regional politicians lobbied the federal government to fund canal construction as an economic recovery program, including the creation of the Canal Authority of the State of Florida in 1933. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized $5 million in funding for the project in 1935, and the entire project was estimated at $143 million to complete. In 1936, Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg challenged the canal, stating that the project never received authorization from the United States Congress. At the time, 13 million cubic yards of material had already been excavated, 5,000 acres of land cleared and four bridge piers constructed near Ocala. Funds for construction were also exhausted, so construction stopped. Work was reauthorized by Congress in 1942 as a national defense project, and $93 million was authorized for construction. Dams and locks were used to protect the underground water supply. Support for the project from Washington was sporadic, and funds were never allocated