From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Government Cut is a manmade shipping channel between Miami Beach and Fisher Island, which allows better access to the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida. Before the cut was established, a single peninsula of dry land stretched from what is now Miami Beach to what is now Fisher Island, and boats destined for the port at the mouth of the Miami River had to pass around Cape Florida, to the south of Key Biscayne.

Opened in 1905, the cut across the peninsula that is now Miami Beach was authorized by the U.S. government (hence the name), in order to provide a direct route from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the seaport on Biscayne Bay to the west, without having to detour southward. The cut across the mangroves and beach at the southern end of the peninsula created Fisher Island, which likewise is part of the city of Miami Beach. The now-famous South Beach is to the north of the cut.

Government Cut was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1902, after the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the U.S. House of Representatives approved it on June 13th of that year. Dredging began in 1903, and finished in the summer of 1905. Fill from the dreging was used to add to the privately-owned Fisher Island. Later dredging to widen and deepen the cut also added land area to the Port of Miami, and created the foundation for the MacArthur Causeway (east of Interstate 395).

Operation of the cut falls upon three government agencies. The Port of Miami is responsible for navigation, while the United States Coast Guard is responsible for safety and security, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the channel itself, including dredging.

Local ocean tides for Miami are reported for the entrance to Government Cut. The next-closest point on the mainland for tide information is Jupiter Inlet, to the north.

In December 2005, a seaplane (Chalk's Ocean Airways flight 101) crashed immediately offshore of Government Cut, temporarily closing the channel to all traffic and trapping freighters and cruise ships on both sides.

With the start of Prohibition Captain McCoy he began to bring rum from Bimini and the Bahamas into south Florida through Government Cut. The Coast Guard soon caught up with him, so they began to bring the illegal goods to just outside of the U.S. territorial waters and let smaller boats and other captains such as Habana Joe take the risk of bringing it into shore.

• Miami-Dade County: Government Cut centennial
• US Army Corps of Engineers records