Just in time for the debut of the Seattle Kraken hockey team this fall, the monorail is getting a major revamp. The one-mile line connects Westlake Center and Seattle Center, home to Climate Pledge Arena.
Starting Monday, monorail service will be suspended until April 30. After that, the monorail will remain open through the rest of the construction process.
Mayor Jenny Durkan tells KNKX the remodel is one of the steps the city is taking to prepare for the arena’s reopening.
“Upgrading the monorail is going to be one of the essential components that we have in making sure we get people to and from the games without creating a lot of traffic,” Durkan said. “It’s not as soon as we’d like, but we’re hoping to get Sound Transit built and located near there. Bus service will be there, bike paths and the like.”
Upgrades to the monorail itself include a bigger passenger boarding area at Westlake, automated fare gates at the both stations and other changes that will increase passenger capacity.
The work is expected to be completed in the fall.
During the temporary monorail closure in April, alternate routes to travel between downtown and Seattle Center are King County Metro bus routes 3 and 4.
Last year, the National Hockey League announced a partnership with the monorail to provide free transit access to get and from Kraken games through ORCA, the regional transit pass.
