Originally published May 12, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified May 12, 2008 at 9:02 PM
Final OK for $107 million rail-line deal
Port of Seattle and King County executives signed a final deal this morning that will put a 42-mile Eastside rail corridor into public ownership. The Port will pay BNSF Railway $107 million for the Renton-to-Snohomish rail line.
Seattle Times staff reporter
ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
King County Executive Ron Sims, left, and Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani sign an agreement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, acquiring the 42-mile rail corridor located in King and Shonomish Counties. In the background at right, King County Council member Pete von Reichbauer (yellow tie) and John Creighton, President of the Port of Seattle Commission, celebrate the signing. The agreement grants King County an easement to develop a trail on 32 miles of the corridor.
Port of Seattle and King County executives signed a final deal this morning that will put a 42-mile Eastside rail corridor into public ownership.
The deal paves the way for a possible combination of freight rail, commuter trains and biking and hiking trails, but many details remain to be worked out.
With the spectacular Wilburton Trestle as a backdrop, Port CEO Tay Yoshitani and County Executive Ron Sims made official the deal under which the Port will pay BNSF Railway $107 million for the Renton-to-Snohomish rail line.
Port Commission President John Creighton said the Port wanted to make sure the rail line wasn't sold off in pieces and felt the corridor could support the goal of moving people and goods.
King County will pay the Port $1.9 million for an easement to build a trail from Woodinville to Renton and Woodinville to Redmond. The county and Port will negotiate trail alignment only after a public process on uses of the corridor that will start soon and will finish early next year.
BNSF CEO Matt Rose signed the deal earlier.
Yoshitani and Sims signed the agreement at Bellevue Fire Station 7 shortly after the Port Commission met at Bellevue City Hall and unanimously approved the deal. The Metropolitan King County Council gave its OK last week.
"One day very soon, I hope we will see bicyclists commuting to work as well as hikers and strollers using the corridor. ... I hope to have the opportunity to be one of the first users of the trail," said Yoshitani, who lives in Bellevue.
After nearly five years of discussion about how the public could buy the rail line that BNSF no longer wanted, Sims said, "In the end we've ensured that this irreplaceable 42-mile corridor stays in public ownership and is not broken up and sold piecemeal for private development."
The deal was praised both by trail and commuter-rail advocates.
Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?
NEW - 01:26 AM
Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Husky Men's Basketball Blog | Saturday's Pac-10 games in review
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
134 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
129 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
123 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
122 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
89 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
88 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
65 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
54
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Protect yourself from baggage loss
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Northwest Living | On Whidbey, a unified home from multiple recycled parts








