streetcar system. By late 2017, questions arose regarding the streetcar's ridership projections and increased cost of $177 million as it neared the start of construction. King County Metro was contracted to operate the route, but found the baseline operating budget to be too small to handle the expected staffing that it needed. Mayor Jenny Durkan ordered an independent review of the Center City Connector project's cost estimations and halted all ongoing construction on the line in March 2018. The independent review was delivered several months late and found issues with vehicle procurement, including exceeding the project's limits for vehicle weight and size. The review estimated that the project would cost $252 million to construct. The streetcar project remains suspended , with a potential opening in 2026 if $286 million in funding is found. Route The South Lake Union Line is long and connects Downtown Seattle to Denny Triangle and South Lake Union. Northbound trains begin at McGraw Square in Downtown Seattle, located next to the Westlake Center and Pacific Place. The terminal is also part of the Westlake transit hub, which includes the Seattle Center Monorail terminal at Westlake Center and the Westlake station in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel for 1 Line trains. The dual-tracked line travels north via a set of curbside transit-only lanes on Westlake Avenue and stops at 7th Avenue to serve the Amazon headquarters campus (including the Amazon Spheres) and the U.S. Courthouse. The streetcar passes several high-rise office and residential buildings before reaching its next stop, located between 9th Avenue (Blanchard Street) and Denny Way just east of Denny Park. The northbound track splits from Westlake Avenue at Thomas Street, running parallel one block to the east on Terry Avenue; a set of platforms between Thomas and Harrison streets serve the center of South Lake Union's office district. The northbound track is also connected to a spur track along Harrison Street that travels east to the line's operations and maintenance facility. After stopping between Mercer and Republican streets, the parallel streetcar tracks pass through the under-construction Google campus and rejoin on the north side of Valley Street, stopping at the entrance of Lake Union Park near the Museum of History & Industry and Center for Wooden Boats at a former naval armory. The tracks briefly travel east before turning northeast onto Fairview Avenue, traveling in the street's median for one block. It reaches the