Several small-craft facilities are on both sides of the pass from the highway bridge N for about 1 mile. Berths, electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, storage, launching ramps, and marine supplies are available, and hull and engine repairs can be made. The largest mobile hoist, at a boatyard about 0.9 mile NE of the highway bridge, can handle craft to 20 tons.
Navigation:
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Chef Menteur Pass, a connecting passage between Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain, is located about 10 miles SW of The Rigolets. The pass is about 6 miles long and 0.2 mile wide. There is a considerable range in depths in the pass with shallow water off the entrances. The pass, used by pleasure and fishing craft, is usually entered through the Intracoastal Waterway. A light marks the entrance from Lake Borgne, and another light marks the entrance from Lake Pontchartrain; two lights mark the Intracoastal Waterway crossing. A new Intracoastal Waterway alinement channel, completed in 1972, crosses Chef Menteur Pass 1 mile SE of the original Intracoastal Waterway crossing. A light and daybeacon mark the new crossing.
Two swing bridges cross the Chef Menteur Pass. The Chesapeake Seaboard X Transportation, Inc. (CSX) bridge has a clearance of 10 feet. The U.S. Route 90 highway bridge, crossing 0.3 mile NW of the railroad bridge, has a clearance of 11 feet.
The town of Chef Menteur is between the bridges. A large spherical tank 0.4 mile NW of the highway bridge is conspicuous.
