WASILLA — With the help of a few hefty grants, the city will begin work on a new train station officials here hope will become the transportation hub of Wasilla’s future.

The proposed new station would be north of the Wasilla airport. It will be accessed from the north past the Curtis D. Menard Sports Center and from the south once the Mack Road extension is complete, Wasilla Public Works Director Archie Giddings said.

The idea, he said, is to make a more convenient stop for passengers and drivers. “Where it stops now, at Knik-Goose Bay and the Parks Highway, it blocks the road,” Giddings said. “We’re trying to plan ahead.”

What he is referring to is the possibility of a commuter train between Anchorage and the Valley. The new location will allow for the parking needed for the daily travelers and the train will not lock up Knik-Goose Bay Road.

But even if commuter rail service is still in the conceptual stage, the new station will serve as a Share-A-Ride location and possibly a MASCOT bus stop in the meantime, Giddings said.

The city recently received a $430,000 grant from the state for the project. This allows Wasilla to access a $900,000 federal grant that required matching funds. The city has another $600,000 to build the access road to the station from the sports complex, Giddings said.

With money secured, the city is sending out a request for proposals to engineering firms for plans for the station. Giddings said he expects the planning process to last about a year.

“We might be able to do some rough dirt work this coming construction season, and maybe rough in a road,” Giddings said.

However, Giddings does not expect the current funding to complete the project. The priorities, he said, are to finish the road, the parking lot and at least a platform for the train. Part of the planning process, he said, is to see just how far the money will go.

Giddings said the Wasilla Depot building will not be moved. Even once the new station is complete, the train could still make stops at the existing location for tourists or other reasons, he said.

“That’s a railroad decision,” he said. “We just don’t want commuters to have to stop there.”

The Wasilla City Council will hold a public hearing on appropriating the state grant money at its meeting on Monday. The meeting will begin at the council’s new starting time, 6 p.m.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.