Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
The ferry that ran between Montgomery County, Maryland, and Loudoun County, Virginia once carried 600-800 vehicles across the Potomac River every day. On weekends, there would be over 1,000 vehicles transported every day. However, this stopped in December 2020 when the owner of the property on the Virginia side couldn’t agree on landing rights. Now the Executive of Montgomery County Marc Elrich has contacted both property owners to offer a $3 million financial incentive to get the ferry running again.
This is not the first time that outside entities have tried to re-open the ferry. However, Link Hoewing, chair of the Fair Access Committee for the Western County in Poolesville, Maryland said, “This is the most generous by a long shot that the county has offered,” and for that reason, he’s hopeful that will “make a difference” in kick-starting fresh discussions about the future of the ferry.
