Washington Governor Jay Inslee was on the shore of Lake Union in Seattle Wednesday to launch a cross-border flight service between the Emerald City and Vancouver, British Columbia.

A direct, one-hour, seaplane flight has long been sought by executives in the tech industry, as well as by tourists who want to avoid heavy traffic on Interstate 5.

Inslee called it the next step in building the so-called “Cascade Innovation Corridor” with Washington’s Canadian neighbors.

“You know, we share so much in this commercial union. The development of a biotech that’s going like crazy, the development of a software industry that’s going crazy,” Inslee said. “We share our orcas and have done so for decades and now we’re going to share our otters and our beavers too.”

The governor was referring to models of de Havilland aircraft known as Otters and Beavers. They will fly the 120-mile route operated by Kenmore Air in Washington and Harbour Air in British Columbia

The airlines will partner to offer two flights in the morning and two in the afternoon. A rail corridor between Seattle and Vancouver also is still in development.