After the two hurricanes, the Florida State Legislature created the "Okeechobee Flood Control District". The organization was authorized to cooperate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in actions to prevent similar disasters. U.S. President Herbert Hoover visited the area personally, and afterward the Corps designed a plan incorporating the construction of channels, gates, and nearly 140 miles of levees to protect areas surrounding Lake Okeechobee from overflow. The Okeechobee Waterway was officially opened on March 23, 1937, by a procession of boats which left Fort Myers, Florida on March 22 and arrived at Stuart, Florida the following day. The dike was then named the "Herbert Hoover Dike" in honor of the president.