Port of Seattle, King County and BNSF agree land swap deal
The state of Washington's King County, the Port of Seattle and the BNSF Railway Co. Monday signed two agreements that would see the exchange of ownership of an Eastside rail corridor and King County International Airport.
Under terms of the memoranda of understandings, King County will take over BNSF's rail line along the eastern edge of Lake Washington, running from North Renton to Snohomish.
The Port of Seattle, on behalf of King County, will pay BNSF $103 million for about 40 miles of the rail corridor. The port will also contribute up to $66 million to King County toward development of a major new regional trail, in exchange for the airport, most commonly known as Boeing Field.
Among other provisions, the agreements also commit the three parties to cooperate in the siting and development of an intermodal freight facility in the central Puget Sound region.
'I can't overstate how important these MOUs are for the Port of Seattle, our business partners, and the economic health of the Northwest,' said Mick Dinsmore, the port's outgoing chief executive officer. 'By helping surface and rail traffic locally, they will make sure we are competitive with other regions in the movement of waterborne international trade. They also consolidate airport operations in the region under one governing body.”
Dinsmore is leaving the port next month after 15 years as its CEO to join Milwaukee-based Stark Investments as president of its infrastructure investment division.