Quiet zone sought in Kootenai area
A motorist passing through an improved railroad crossing on Centennial Boulevard in East Hope. Landowners in the Kootenai Bay area are raising funds to establish a railroad quiet zone for their neighborhood. (Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD)
KOOTENAI — Bonner County commissioners unanimously agreed on Tuesday to sponsor an application to make the Kootenai Bay Road railroad crossing an area where locomotives need not blow their whistles.
A coalition of residents formed a limited-liability corporation called the Ponderay Kootenai Quiet Zone to fund Federal Railway Administration requirements to kick-start the process, which involves the installation of a median and delineators at the at-grade crossing, which prevents motorists from defeating downed crossing arms when a train is passing through. Those items are forecasted to cost $15,000.
“It’s my understanding they’re getting close to raising $15,000,” Bonner County staff engineer Matt Mulder told commissioners on Tuesday.
Close enough, it turns out, to trigger an application to the Federal Railway Administration for a quiet-zone application.
Under the terms of the agreement, local landowners raise funds for the improvements, which are inherited by the county.
“The railroad crossing at Kootenai Bay Road in Bonner County Idaho has hundreds of nearby residences. The railroad line has seen a recent dramatic uptick in rail traffic resulting in trains blowing the required horns (four blasts over 100 dB) nearly every hour 24/7,” the LLC said in a gofundme.com pitch.
Under the terms of the agreement, funds will be placed and drawn from an escrow account to pay for the improvements at the crossing.