We believe that back in 1987 then-commissioners Vern Veysey, Dave Sturdevant and John McKibbin were farsighted when they bought the rail corridor that runs from Fruit Valley Road (just south of Northwest 78th Street) through north Minnehaha, Barberton, Glenwood, Brush Prairie, Battle Ground, Heisson, Moulton Falls, Yacolt and East Amboy to Chelatchie. As Veysey has said, “You would never be able to put together that kind of land again for the money we paid.”

On the economic front, parts of the western half of the 33-mile ribbon of rails and greenery known as the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad is on track (pun intended) for upgrades beginning in late spring.

Thanks to a $1.1 million state transportation grant announced last week, $110,000 from the county and potentially a chunk of another $8.5 million in state rail money, much of the line from Vancouver to Battle Ground will be upgraded to allow higher speeds. That could lead to more businesses and jobs along the rail line.

Way back in 1888, when a fledgling enterprise called the Vancouver, Klickitat and Yakima Railroad began laying tracks across present-day Clark County in hopes of connecting to Yakima, the rails themselves weighed 66 pounds per three linear feet. That’s a modern-day equivalent of highway bridges built for horse-and-buggy traffic. Much of that early rail is still in place, and that’s why what little freight traffic the line carries is restricted by federal regulation to 10 mph. And that’s partly why the county’s investment hasn’t paid off. It will be replaced by 110-pound rail, and the trains’ speed limit will increase to 35 mph.

County Rail Coordinator Fred Abraham said Monday that replacing the old rails and ties and adding rock ballast and replacing switches could begin by late June.

Recreation, the other potential dividend from this investment, has been too long in coming. But it, too, is now on track (pun intended) to return gains to the public. Open houses have been held, comments received and a terrific county Web site
(chelatchie.org) is operative, with photos, maps and other details. County commissioners will get an update from the staff this spring. By midsummer they should move the recreation dividend closer to payout by approving a trail alignment and selecting the first segment to be built.

“There’s been tremendous community support,” said Lisa Goorjian, trails coordinator for Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation. “This is absolutely going to happen.”

She’s reluctant to predict a start date, but when pressed says the first shovel of earth could be turned in late 2009. In pursuit of this long-awaited dividend, that sounds like a target worth hitting.