Marc Elrich on White’s Ferry Reopening: “I believe it’ll take about a year to get it operational”

This past week, White’s Ferry owners-Chuck and Stacy Kuhn- formally offered to donate the White’s Ferry operation to Montgomery County. At his weekly media briefing, Elrich stated he believed it would take a year for the ferry to be operational, “I will say I believe it’ll take about a year to get it operational. By the time all of our legal stuff is being cleared and by the time the issues are settled in Virginia…”

Elrich previously released a statement on White’s Ferry, the day the news of the donation offer was made public, and touched on the topic again in his weekly message to the community (seen below).

“There was some good news this week about White’s Ferry in Poolesville, bringing us closer to resolving the dispute that forced the ferry to close in 2020. The dispute arose due to disagreements between two private parties and led to the unfortunate closure of the ferry.

Chuck and Stacy Kuhn, who purchased the Poolesville property in 2021, have offered to donate the White’s Ferry operations to the County. We greatly appreciate their generous donation.

While the offer to donate the ferry is a major step forward, we still need to restore public use of the ferry landing in Virginia so it can operate. The County Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Transportation, is continuing conversations with the Virginia landowner, with Loudoun County and with the Virginia Department of Transportation to find a solution that will allow ferry service to resume. This will also include the need to find an operator for the ferry.

Before shutting down four years ago, White’s Ferry was the last operational ferry of the 100 that used to operate on the Potomac River. The ferry’s history dates back to the 1700s. Before it closed, it provided an important link between the two states, carrying about 600 vehicles daily on the four-minute trip.

I want to thank County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin and Dale Tibbitts of the County Government for their dedicated work to help bring us closer to a resolution. I am optimistic that we will resolve the remaining issues and reopen the ferry.”