State land officials believe the 54-year-old pass about 50 miles southeast of Houston is hastening beach erosion along the peninsula slammed by Hurricane Ike in 2008. Texas General Land Office spokesman Jim Suydam tells the Houston Chronicle the state will begin filling in the 1,600-foot-long, 200-foot-wide, five-foot-deep waterway as soon as the Corps issues a permit.
Suydam says the state plans to replace the pass with a fishing pier.