SANDPOINT — A project to designate Kootenai Bay Road a railroad quiet zone is moving ahead.

Bonner County commissioners are scheduled to take up an $11,337 contract Tuesday to install a median and bollards in the at-grade railroad crossing, one of the final steps in attaining the designation from the Federal Railroad Administration. It would be the third quiet zone railroad crossing zone in the state. There is a quiet zone in Rathdrum and one in East Hope.

The median and bollards are meant to prevent motorists from snaking past the crossing arms as trains approach.

“It needs a center median so you can’t cross lanes and swing around gates,” said Bonner County Road & Bridge Director Steve Klatt.

Klatt said the finished product on Kootenai Bay Road will be virtually identical to the quiet zone cross on Centennial Boulevard in East Hope.

Federal rules require locomotives to sound the horn 15-20 seconds prior to its arrival at a public rail crossing, but not more than one quarter mile in advance of the crossing.

The FRA requires train horns to be between 96-110 decibels. Those levels are on par with a Boeing 737 one nautical mile before landing and a steel mill or live rock concert, according to IAC Acoustics, a company which specializes in sound-dampening technologies.

But improving safety at a crossing enables localities throughout the U.S. to lift the horn sounding requirement. Federal regulations require that a quiet zone be at least a half-mile in length and include at least one public highway-rail grade crossing.

“These are the guidelines that have been established nationally,” Klatt said.

Once the improvements are installed, the county notifies the FRA and awaits the agency’s declaration of a quiet zone. It was not immediately clear Friday how long it will take to obtain the declaration.

“Knowing the federal government, I suspect there is going to be some lag time,” said Klatt.

Funding for the $15,000 project was raised privately in the community. The county, which has jurisdiction of Kootenai Bay Road, acts as the project’s sponsor.

A fundraising effort on gofundme.com raised $3,778 before it was deactivated.

The balance of the $15,000 funds raised will be held in reserve to pay for maintenance and upkeep of the improvements.

News Editor Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.