  Using a composite fermion picture, we study the lateral transport between two
two-dimensional electron gases, at filling factor 1/2, separated by a potential
barrier. In the mean field approximation, composite fermions far from the
barrier do not feel a magnetic field while in the barrier region the effective
magnetic field is different from zero. This produces a cutoff in the
conductance when represented as a function of the thickness and height of the
barrier. There is a range of barrier heights for which an incompressible
liquid, at $\nu =1/3$, exists in the barrier region.
