The Port of Seattle Commission on Aug. 15 voted to approve the sale of portions of the Eastside Rail Corridor to King County, as a multi-year process nears the end.

Commissioners also agreed to grant King County a permanent easement over a portion of the corridor that still has freight service; the easement will allow King County to develop a recreational trail. The transaction now goes to the King County Council for final approval.

In 2003, BNSF Railway announced it intended to divest itselfof the 42-mile corridor. In 2007, the Port of Seattle signed a memorandum of understanding with BNSF, setting the stage for the port’s 2009 acquisition of the corridor and the beginning of the federal rail-banking process. King County has been a partner since 2007; Sound Transit, Puget Sound Energy, and the cities of Kirkland and Redmond joined the effort to preserve the corridor in 2009.