Construction on Seattle Monorail begins ahead of National Hockey League's fall arrival

Downtown Seattle's historic monorail is finally getting a facelift ahead of the National Hockey League's much-anticipated arrival in the city this fall.

The Seattle Monorail announced on Monday that construction on a series a projects meant to improve the service and connections to other transit networks was officially underway.

The projects, which will be complete by the fall, include:

• Modernizations that double system capacity, provide better access, and strengthen the connection to Link Light Rail and the regional bus network
• Increasing the size of the passenger boarding area at Westlake Station
• Allowing boarding through all eight doors to increase the number of trips the trains can make during peak service
• Adding ticket machines and a faregate system at both stations that enables passengers to scan their ticket or ORCA card for entry.

The new enhancements will give the monorail the capacity to carry 6,000 passengers per hour in each direction according to construction plans, a major asset for reducing congestion in the area on game days.

Last year, the NHL announced a partnership with the monorail to provide free transportation to and from Kraken games at the Climate Pledge Arena. The league also made a capital investment of up to $7 million in the project, of which $6.6 million is expected to be used.

Rob Johnson, vice president of transportation for NHL Seattle, expressed hope that 25% of fans would use the free public transit service in the first year.

"The use of public transit can become a unique part of the fan experience and will likely be the quickest and most reliable way to get to and from our games," Johnson said. "Our data shows that from Westlake Center fans can transfer from light rail to Monorail and be at the arena in as little as six minutes."

Built for the World's Fair in 1962, the monorail has become an icon of the Emerald City's growth in the last half century.

During the construction, the monorail will suspend passenger service from April 12-30, however it will remain open for the rest of the construction phases. Alternative routes for the closure include King County Metro lines 3 and 4.