Tag: Washington State Department of Transportation: Page 3

Roadbuilding

WSDOT building world’s first flexible bridge

The Washington State Department of Transportation is building an offramp from Highway 99 to South Dearborn Street in Seattle that has a flexible column designed to sustain so little damage in an earthquake that that it can be used immediately afterwards. The Seattle Times reports that it will be the first bridge in the world with […]

March 13, 2017

Roadbuilding

WSDOT fabricators make all traffic signs for the agency at cost

A team of seven sign fabricators at the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) regional headquarters in Union Gap is responsible for creating all the signs for the DOT, as well as signs for other government agencies and some outside entities, Yakima Herald.com reports. Every year, the fabricators create approximately 100,000 square feet of signage at a cost of […]

January 3, 2017

Home

The engineering behind the new earthquake-proof bridge near Seattle’s SR99 tunnel project

The bridge being built near the south entrance of the tunnel for the State Route 99 project under Seattle is designed to be earthquake-proof, King 5 reports. If that project sounds familiar that’s because it’s the tunnel being dug by Bertha, the largest tunnel boring machine in the world and a piece of equipment whose exploits we’ve […]

November 21, 2016

Roadbuilding

Twelve finalists named for America’s Transportation Awards Grand Prize, People’s Choice Award

Twelve projects from 10 state departments of transportation have been named finalists in the 2016 America’s Transportation Awards competition. The projects will be considered for the Grand Prize and People’s Choice Award to be presented at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) annual meeting November 14 in Boston. “From a record […]

September 12, 2016

Roadbuilding

Bertha’s repairs push Seattle’s SR99 tunnel $200 million over budget. And it could get worse

Following two years of costly repairs and downtime, Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine, is $223 million over budget, with Washington state facing a lawsuit from the prime contractor on the State Route 99 tunnel project that, if successful, would double that amount. According to a report from the Seattle Times, the 1.7-mile tunnel, which will replace the […]

July 27, 2016

Roadbuilding

Bertha will soon begin digging below the viaduct its path will replace

The world’s largest tunneling machine will soon begin its dig beneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, its first activity since mid-March. In January tunnel-boring machine Bertha broke through its repair wall following two years of down time only to be brought to a halt once again later that month at the order of Washington Gov. […]

April 27, 2016

Roadbuilding

WSDOT bridge inspectors detail their work to a curious public

Bridge inspectors in Spokane regularly inspect bridges to make sure they are safe for vehicles. And there’s nothing especially surprising about that fact to those within the transportation industry. But it’s a fact those inside the Washington State Department of Transportation reiterated to a public growing more and more worried about the stability of their […]

April 18, 2016

Roadbuilding

Bertha back to drilling after suspension is “conditionally lifted”

Bertha hasn’t been blessed with the best of luck in Seattle, but the world’s largest tunnel boring machine is back to drilling again for now. The Seattle Tunnel Partners announced that the Washington State Department of Transportation has decided to conditionally lift the suspension for cause that Gov. Jay Inslee enacted in January following the formation of a sink […]

February 26, 2016

Roadbuilding

Washington governor halts Bertha tunneling after sinkhole forms

Bertha didn’t get back to work for long. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has put the brakes on the massive tunnel boring machine once again after a sinkhole formed. According to King 5, Inslee announced on Thursday that the machine boring the tunnel for the new State Route 99 in Seattle had to be halted over safety […]

January 18, 2016

Roadbuilding

Bertha breaks through repair wall and begins tunneling soil once more

It’s taken two years in repairs and delays, but Bertha has broken through her concrete repair pit. The Washington State Department of Transportation said in a press release last week that the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine had broken through the pit and mined 73 feet in a little more than three weeks. The Seattle Tunnel Partners were […]

January 13, 2016

Roadbuilding

Bertha is nearly ready to start tunneling again

The massive tunnel-boring machine that’s been sidelined in Seattle for two years could be back to boring by New Year’s. The Washington State Department of Transportation announced that the Seattle Tunnel Partners had begun the final preparations before drilling gets started again with soil and sand being poured into the 120-foot-deep access pit on Sunday. Bertha […]

December 17, 2015

Roadbuilding

Washington State DOT seeks input on $2.4 billion 2016-2019 STIP

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) seeks public input on the draft 2016-2019 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. The public has until Dec. 19 to provide comments on the $2.4 billion program that covers more than 1,200 transportation improvement projects across the state. Projects include pavement overlay work, roadway widening efforts, bridge repair and replacement […]

December 8, 2015