The Spokane Transit Authority plans to construct a new 100-stall park-and-ride facility to offer extended services to riders on Spokane’s South Hill.

The facility, to be called the Moran Station Park and Ride, will be located at 5625 S. Palouse Highway, at the northeast corner of the Palouse Highway and 57th Avenue. The project will include a 210-square-foot passenger shelter and a 1,080-square-foot operations support building, along with 100 parking stalls where customers can park their cars during operating hours and ride the bus system around the Spokane area, according to  building permit application information on file with the city.

A representative of the Spokane Transit Authority couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

The total valuation of the project is estimated at $2.6 million, which is expected to be funded through $1.23 million in local funds and a $1.34 million Washington state Regional Mobility Grant, according to information on the STA’s website.

The planned development site is on 2.3 acres of undeveloped commercial land owned by the STA, according to Spokane County Assessor’s records.

The project also will include an off-street passenger-boarding area, real-time departure signage, and electric bus charging infrastructure. In addition to the 100 parking stalls, the site also will include bicycle racks and electric vehicle charging stations. 

Construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks and be completed by fall, with service anticipated to begin in September.

Toronto, Canada-based IBI Group, which has an office in Seattle, and Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., which has a Spokane office, were the engineers and designed the new facility. The project went out to bid in the first quarter, with proposals due by May 21. 

The Moran Station Park and Ride will serve as the beginning and end points for two new routes in 2019, which will be the South Commuter Express to downtown and the Monroe-Regal line, according to STAs website.

STA has 13 park-and-ride lots throughout the region where riders can park their cars and ride public transit around the city. They consist of four lots on the North Side, two downtown, two in the West Plains, three in Spokane Valley, and one each on the South Hill, Cheney, and Medical Lake.

STA has been busy this year, with a $3 million transit station relocation project in the works at Spokane Falls Community College that is expected to be funded through a $2.1 million Washington state regional mobility grant and $830,000 in local funds.

The project will relocate an existing bus stop on Fort George Wright Drive to an on-campus station that will include an off-street passenger boarding area and shelters.

The agency also obtained permits earlier this month for a $2.5 million project that will include relocating and enlarging a transit station on the Spokane Community College campus. The transit station will serve as the eastern terminus for STA’s planned Central City Line, a rapid transit route for buses that is expected to be operational by 2021, according to permits filed with the city.

Also included in that project will be road improvements on Mission Avenue and Nora Avenue, the reconstruction of the south parking lot, and the construction of a 1,020-square-foot new rider and employee services building.

STA was awarded a $53.4 million federal grant in April to fund the Central City Line.