ICC Extension Renders White’s Ferry Obsolete
On a December morning in 2020, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was hanging cloth face masks on the drying rack when he received a frantic phone call from Chief of Staff Rich Madaleno: White’s Ferry had closed after negotiations between landowners hit a brick wall. Transportation and trade with Loudoun County had come to an abrupt halt.
Five years later, more than 8,000 daily trips on an extended Maryland Route 200, the Intercounty Connector (ICC), take place across the same stretch of the Potomac River where White’s Ferry once carried a few hundred vehicles.
The extension of the ICC from Gaithersburg to Leesburg is the direct result of fast action and ferocious deal-making by a visionary County Executive who seized the opportunity. Leveraging a multi-billion-dollar windfall of federal pandemic funding disbursed during the first Trump administration, Elrich pulled off the seemingly impossible: construction of a 13.2-mile, six-lane, state-of-the-art highway without spending a nickel of county money.
With the new 13.2 mile Intercounty Connector Extension, it is a 35 minute commute from Laurel, MD to Leesburg, VA
"White’s Ferry dates back to 1786, and its closure marked the end of a colonial transportation relic," said Elrich at a ribbon-cutting for the ICC extension last week. "With six lanes carrying commuters and commerce, the ICC extension, embodying my lifelong commitment to upcounty residents, demonstrates how phenomenal leadership harnesses resources to improve his reputation with impeccable timing," said the term-limited County Executive, who will instead run for the County Council next year.
Candidates React at Forum
At a Montgomery County Executive candidate forum organized last week by the Poolesville Board of Trade, candidates pledged to carry on Elrich’s remarkable legacy of transportation infrastructure growth and community development.
In a 45-second response punctuated by 17 exaggerated winks, Andrew Friedson claimed he could ensure multi-family, multi-level residential development along the ICC extension's route to create an "affordable housing corridor in western Montgomery County." Will Jawando said he would likewise focus on housing opportunities but expressed concern that Friedson's proposal would displace the upcounty's historically black and brown cow populations.
Evan Glass dismissed Elrich's role and claimed full responsibility for the extension’s construction. "When a resident suggested a highway between Gaithersburg and Leesburg, my office acted faster than a Lidl cart sinking below the mud in the retention pond behind Glenmont Shopping Center," he said.
Mithun Banerjee promised that if elected, he would make buses on the ICC free for all Montgomery County students.
The ICC extension to Leesburg is open 365 days a year. Toll rates in Maryland will remain unchanged. The 0.3-mile section extending into Virginia will operate on VDOT's flexible tolling system, with rates ranging from $14 off-peak to $187.50 during the morning and afternoon rush.
