Skip to main content

Chalmette-Lower Algiers Ferry (Chalmette, LA)

The newest of the Mississippi River ferry services in the greater New Orleans region, the Chalmette-Lower Algiers Ferry takes vehicles and pedestrians between the southern terminus of LA Highway 47 in Chalmette and Patterson Drive in southeastern Algiers in the city of New Orleans. Like its neighboring ferries, this crossing requires the payment of a toll and ferries depart from each landing every 30 minutes on most days.

The ferry service at this location was initiated in 1969 and has changed little over the years. The ferry's most profitable and useful years were those immediately after its opening, as the communities on the east bank of the Mississippi River in St. Bernard Parish considered this crossing to be a relief route for the often-congested Greater New Orleans Bridge (it had not yet been renamed "Crescent City Connection"), as that bridge had not yet seen the massive expansion of the 1980s that would modernize that crossing. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, it was often the case that the fastest route between the Westbank communities and those of St. Bernard Parish involved crossing the river either here in Chalmette or at the next ferry crossing downriver in Belle Chasse.

In the years since the completion of the Crescent City Connection parallel span in 1988 and the additional improvements to the city's expressway system that were largely built simultaneously, traffic volume at this ferry dropped substantially, however it's still a useful, scenic piece of the cross-river puzzle for traffic unwilling to navigate downtown New Orleans in order to cross the Mississippi River.

The following pictures were taken during my westbound crossing of the Chalmette Ferry in January 2017. Click on each photo to see a larger version.










The following pictures were taken in November 2023 and showcase the Lower Algiers approach to the ferry landing on Patterson Drive. Click on each photo to see a larger version.

Dashcam video of the westbound trip over the Chalmette-Lower Algiers Ferry was filmed in January 2017 for the 'roadwaywiz' YouTube channel and is available for viewing at the link below:


How To Get There:

Bridges, Crossings, and Structures of the Lower Mississippi River
Next Crossing upriver: Canal Street-Algiers Point Ferry (New Orleans, LA)
Next Crossing downriver: Belle Chasse-Scarsdale Ferry (Belle Chasse, LA)
Return to the Bridges of the Lower Mississippi River Home Page
__________________________________________________

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Back in 2015 I went searching the Lecanto Sand Hills for the original Citrus County Seat known as Mannfield.  Unlike Centrailia in Hernando County and Fivay in Pasco County I did find something worth seeing. Mannfield is located in the Lecanto Sand Hill section of Withlacoochee State Forest somewhat east of the intersection of Citrus County Route 491 and Mansfield Road. Mannfield was named after Austin Mann and founded in Hernando County in 1884 before Citrus County Split away.  In 1887 Citrus County was split from northern Hernando County while Pasco County was spun off to the south.  Mannfield was selected as the new Citrus County seat due to it being near the county geographic center.  Reportedly Mannfield had as many as 250 people when it was the County Seat.  The town included various businesses one might include at the time, even a sawmill which was common for the area.  In 1891 Citrus County voted to move it's seat to Inverness which set the s...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

The mystery of Hawaii Route 144 and temporary Hawaii Route 11

The 1959 Gousha Road map of Hawaii features two largely unknown references in the form of Hawaii Route 144 and Temporary Hawaii Route 11.  Both corridors are shown running from the boundary of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park east to Glenwood via Volcano Village.  At the time Hawaii Route 11 was using the so-called "Volcano Road" which was constructed as a modernization of Mamalahoa Highway during 1927-1928.  This blog will examine the two map references and will attempt to determine what they might indicate.  The mystery of Hawaii Route 144 and Temporary Hawaii Route 11 Hawaii Route 11 is part of Mamalahoa Highway (the Hawaii Belt Road) and is the longest Hawaiian State Route at 121.97 miles.  The highway begins at the mutual junction of Hawaii Route 19 and Hawaii Route 190 in Kailua-Kona.  From Kailua-Kona the routing of Hawaii Route 11 crosses the volcanic landscapes of southern side of the Big Island.  Hawaii Route 11 terminates at Hawaii Route 19/Ka...