Sandpoint is getting more than $20 million in federal money to rebuild two major railroad crossings and permanently shut down a third, in what city officials are calling the largest grant award in the community's history. The money, awarded through the Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Crossing Elimination program, targets long-standing safety and traffic problems along the Great Northern Road corridor in northwest Sandpoint.
Sandpoint City Hall announced the award of more than $20.2 million to address railroad crossings along Great Northern Road, according to the Sandpoint Reader. The city described the grant as the largest in Sandpoint's history and a major milestone for longstanding transportation and infrastructure needs in the area, per a city news release cited by the Reader. Separately, the Coeur d'Alene Press reported that the Federal Railroad Administration has awarded more than $20 million for the project, while the trade outlet Trains put the figure at $20.2 million for design and construction of the project.
What Changes at Gooby Road and Woodland Drive
At Gooby Road, the grant will fund road and crossing realignment, an improved layout, and robust warning gates, lights and safety signage, the Reader reports. The Coeur d'Alene Press similarly described the Gooby Road work as realigning the roadway and railroad crossing and installing upgraded active warning gates, flashing lights and related safety signage.
At Woodland Drive, crews will install and upgrade warning systems, alter the intersection to better separate it from the tracks, and lower the crossing's height profile, according to the Reader. The Press described that same work as adjusting the railroad track profile to improve crossing conditions. Mayor Jeremy Grimm called the grant award extraordinary, telling the Press, “This is a historic investment in Sandpoint and an extraordinary achievement for a community our size.”
Mountain View Drive Crossing Will Disappear
The Mountain View Drive crossing will be eliminated entirely, with traffic redirected to the improved crossings at Gooby Road and Woodland Drive, both outlets reported. Per the Reader, the closure is also expected to eliminate train whistle-blowing at that location, while rerouted traffic will flow through Goodman Drive — a change expected to affect residents of the Timberline Estate subdivision. The city plans to work with those neighbors to install speed bumps or other traffic-calming measures to offset the increased traffic.
City officials framed the project as something broader than a single intersection fix. The Coeur d'Alene Press noted that officials described the grant as intended to improve the surrounding transportation network comprehensively, rather than an individual crossing in isolation. Mayor Grimm identified stormwater drainage on the west side of the airport as a long-standing challenge for the railroad tracks, according to the Reader.
Years of Planning Behind the Award
The federal award follows years of local groundwork. Sandpoint and the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency spent roughly $1 million over several years bringing the Great Northern Road corridor project to 60% design, the Reader reports, and that planning has now expanded into an opportunity to leverage past work into actual construction with the federal award. The corridor project is identified in the Sandpoint Multimodal Transportation Master Plan and is considered the top project for the Northern Sandpoint Urban Renewal Area, per the Reader.
The Sandpoint City Council voted on June 2, 2026, to approve submission of the grant application to the FRA's Railroad Crossing Elimination program, according to Citizen Portal. That application sought about $24.88 million toward a roughly $31 million project, paired with a 20% local match of roughly $6.2 million through the city and SURA, and described funding for crossing upgrades, drainage, utility work and a multimodal trail, Citizen Portal reported. The Reader similarly notes the project requires a 20% non-federal funding contribution, which will be supported by SURA and the Sandpoint Water and Sewer enterprise funds, and estimates the overall corridor project at about $30 million.
Open Questions on Final Costs and Timeline
Sandpoint officials said final project costs, funding commitments and grant conditions will be addressed during formal grant acceptance and project implementation, the Reader reports. Federal money is expected to support final design, right-of-way acquisition and construction, subject to final agreement terms. The Reader also notes that railroad crossings are regulated under state statute governing closure procedures for railroad companies and public entities, and the city plans to post project updates, including further information and frequently asked questions, on its Great Northern Road project webpage.
A separate account from Sandpoint Magazine had previously reported that an initial phase of Great Northern Road reconstruction, running from Gooby Road to Woodland, was already funded and slated to begin construction in spring 2025, underscoring how long this corridor has been in the planning pipeline. The project also fits into a much larger national push: according to the trade outlet Trains, the FRA awarded $1.24 billion for 91 grade-crossing projects across 37 states this funding round, selected from 264 applications that together sought $4.9 billion. Nearby in Idaho, Trains reported that Nampa received $43 million for an overpass eliminating a crossing frequently blocked by trains, while the Idaho Transportation Department received $640,000 for a planning study of crossing separation in Athol.
