County seeking stop sign grant
SANDPOINT — Bonner County is seeking an $815,000 grant from the state to improve safety at 81 intersections controlled by stop signs.
Bonner County commissioners approved on Tuesday a grant request to the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council, which assists local highway jurisdictions fund road construction and maintenance projects.
"In looking over the crash data over the last five years we see a pattern of accidents where people fail to obey stop signs, resulting in a couple of fatalities and a lot of serious injuries throughout the county, especially at our higher-speed intersections with arterials and state highways," said Matt Mulder, staff engineer for Bonner County Road & Bridge.
There have been 59 stop/yield crashes at two-way, stop-controlled intersections in Bonner County during the past five years, two of which were fatal and four of which resulted in serious injuries, according to the county's grant application
Mulder said traditional stop signs will swapped out with larger signs ringed by LED lighting. The signs will also be radar controlled and will begin flashing when it detects an oncoming vehicle. The frequency of the flashing will increase if it does not detect that the vehicle is slowing, according to Mulder.
"These have been proven to have a pretty good reduction in accidents at stop signs," Mulder told commissioners.
The size of the signs will increase from 36 inches to 48 inches. Advance warning signs will also be installed to advise motorists of the oncoming stop sign and solar panels will be used to power the LED stop signs.
The county is seeking the funding through LHTAC's Local Highway Safety Improvement Program during the 2023 funding cycle. The county's local match would be 7.34 percent of the grant request, which Mulder said works out to be approximately $59,821.
In other local transportation news, Bonner County is proceeding with plans to close down Heath Lake Road's intersection with U.S. Highway 95 in Sagle. The project has been in the works for six years, according to Road & Bridge Director Steve Klatt.
In 2013, a Bonner County woman was killed after colliding with a 28-car train. A family member stated publicly that it's believed she intentionally crashed into the train in an act of suicide.
Bonner County and BNSF Railway Co. reached an agreement to obliterate the intersection, barricade the railroad tracks and install a hammerhead-style turnaround. Klatt said BNSF is footing the bill — $256,207 — for this portion of the project.
Klatt said BNSF donated 2 1/2 acres at the intersection of Heath Lake and Algoma Spur roads, which the county will improve.
"We will reconstruct the intersection and move it a little further to the north so it will be a safer intersection for people on the Algoma Spur," said Klatt.
The timing of the closure of the Heath Lake Road and U.S. 95 intersection remains unclear, Klatt said after Tuesday's meeting with the board. However, Klatt said it would make sense to have the work completed before the next school year starts.
"That way bus routes get straight before school starts and they're not trying to shuffle and reorganize during the school year," Klatt said.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee