Belle Chasse–Scarsdale ferry: the parish crossing that passed to the port and got its toll back

For years the ferries of Plaquemines Parish were simply a department of the parish government. That changed with Ordinance No. 21-116, which handed the Ferry Department and the running of the boats to the Plaquemines Port, Harbor & Terminal District, the body that now trades as Louisiana Gateway Port. The parish council did not step away altogether: it sits as the port district's sole governing authority, and the fare decisions of the last few years have been taken there.

Those decisions went back and forth. Ordinance No. 24-38 abolished the ferry tolls outright; then Ordinance No. 24-106 brought back a $2.00 toll, from June 17, 2024, but only for drivers from outside the parish. Residents were to show proof of address and cross free, which is how the Belle Chasse–Scarsdale boat still works today.

The timetable is the steadiest part of the story: a sailing every thirty minutes, seven days a week, from 05:00 at Belle Chasse to 22:15 at Scarsdale. What has not been steady is the boat. In 2026 the M/V Plaquemines Pride went to the shipyard in March, broke down again in April and June, and for a month was replaced by the vessel from Pointe à la Hache. On October 1 the port's status board showed it running normally.

Thirty-five boats each way, from 5 a.m. until after ten at night

Regular service schedule of the M/V Plaquemines Pride as published by Louisiana Gateway Port, undated; read and status checked on October 1, 2026   Louisiana Gateway Port — Plaquemines Parish Ferry Schedule · 2026-10-01

A toll for visitors, a free ride for Plaquemines residents

Who pays depends on where you live. A vehicle driven by someone from outside Plaquemines Parish pays $2.00 a crossing, the same whether it is a car, a motorcycle or a truck towing a boat. Parish residents who can show a license or registration with a parish address cross free, and so do senior citizens aged 65 and over, people with government-issued identification of a disability, and staff of the parish's public agencies with a badge. Walk-on passengers and bicycles pay nothing.

The port also says that non-resident passengers riding in a vehicle, children from age four included, need a ticket to board. It does not publish a price for that ticket, so ask at the ferry office before assuming a carload travels for the price of the car.

Toll in force since June 17, 2024 (Ordinance No. 24-106); checked on October 1, 2026   Louisiana Gateway Port — Fare & Ticketing; Plaquemines Parish — Ferry Tolls · 2026-10-01

Croatian Way on the west bank, English Turn Road on the east

Ten minutes across the Mississippi below New Orleans

The route is a straight run across the Mississippi between the two banks of Plaquemines Parish, Belle Chasse on the west bank and Scarsdale, in the Braithwaite area, on the east. It is one of two public crossings the port runs in the parish; the other, much farther downriver, links Pointe à la Hache and Port Sulphur.

The port's timetable allows about ten minutes a trip each way, so a single boat can cover both directions on a half-hourly beat, with a few minutes at each ramp for loading. Florida's A1A car ferry at Mayport keeps the same thirty-minute rhythm on a crossing of about five minutes.

Crossing at Belle Chasse in a year of breakdowns

• Look at the alerts page before you leave

  The port posts a daily status for each vessel and a list of advisories. On October 1, 2026 the status was 'Normal Operations' with no advisories, but earlier in the year the route was down for weeks at a time.

• Sign up for alerts, or get the app

  Louisiana Gateway Port sends service alerts by email and runs a ferry app with tickets and schedules. The parish government also relays ferry notices on its own alert center.

• Bring two dollars in coins or singles

  The toll is exact change only. Residents should carry the license or registration that shows their parish address.

• Sixty feet, trailer included

  On the Plaquemines Pride the limit is 60 feet of total length, vehicle and tow together. The parish lists shorter limits for the other two boats, which matters if one of them stands in.

• Walking or cycling costs nothing

  Pedestrians and cyclists ride free in both directions, whether or not they live in the parish.

• Two numbers for one ferry

  The port's ferry office on Croatian Way answers on (504) 635-3115. The parish government's page gives 504-934-6500 for ferry inquiries.

Ordinances 21-116, 24-38 and 24-106, and two new boats on order

What happened in spring and summer 2026 shows how thin the margin is. When the Pride went out of service on June 8, the port stretched the hours of its downriver Pointe à la Hache ferry to compensate. Nine days later the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development closed the Pointe à la Hache and Port Sulphur landings over safety concerns found in inspections, and the port moved that boat, the M/V Pointe à la Hache, up to Belle Chasse. It broke down there on June 25. The Pride returned on July 17, and by August 2 each vessel was back on its own crossing.

The port's own minutes point to the way out. In June 2025 the executive port director's report listed two new-build diesel-electric ferries, one of them at $26.5 million, each with an estimated completion date of December 2028. Until they arrive, both of the parish's river crossings depend on the boats already in service. The nearest other Gulf Coast car ferry on this site, between Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan in Alabama, has the same habit of posting the day's reality on social media and alerts rather than in its timetable.

The Pride, and the boat that stood in for it

What drivers ask about the Belle Chasse ferry in 2026