Wallace, Pridemore named Representative and Senator of Year

February 10, 2009

OLYMPIA – Rep. Deb Wallace and Sen. Craig Pridemore have been named the Representative of the Year and the Senator of the Year by the Washington State Shortline Railroad Association.
The Vancouver Democrats were recognized for their work to help rehabilitate and upgrade the Clark County/Chelatchie Prairie Rail Line.
The Clark County-owned rail line runs for 33 miles across the county beginning from the BNSF mainline near Vancouver and then goes to Battle Ground, Brush Prairie, and Yacolt ending at Chelatchie. The line had fallen into disrepair in the last 50 years but is considered vital to growth in Southwestern Washington.
The Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad has signed a long-term lease with Clark County to operate the rail line and has helped to increase freight shipments more than 1000 percent in less than 5 years. That, in turn, has sparked interest from several companies in locating new businesses along the line if it is upgraded.
“It’s so important to our community and local economy to move forward on this project,” Wallace said. “I look forward to watching how these improvements transform the corridor.”
“This is a critical infrastructure project that makes sense on two fronts,” Pridemore said. “It will improve our freight mobility immediately and into the future, and its rehabilitation would provide a boost to the economy and local jobs.”
The upgrade involves two phases of track improvements. Phase 1 would upgrade the track to Class 2 (25 mph) condition between Vancouver and Battle Ground. The second phase would be to upgrade the line from Battle Ground to Chelatchie to a Class 2 (25 mph) track condition.
The award credits the lawmakers’ efforts to secure Phase 1 funding to install new rail on the first 5 miles of the line from Fruit Valley Road to 88th Street, as well as new sidings and interchanges between 78th Street and 88th Street.