Tag: Bertha tunnel-boring machine

Roadbuilding

WSDOT wins $57.2M suit over Bertha’s breakdowns during Alaskan Way Viaduct project

The Washington State Department of Transportation has won a $57.2 million jury award in its lawsuit over delays in the Alaskan Way Viaduct project due to tunnel boring machine Big Bertha’s breakdown in 2013. The project was delayed for about three years as the contractor team of Seattle Tunnel Partners worked to get Bertha, then […]

December 31, 2019

Roadbuilding

Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel, dug by TBM Bertha, nears completion

The State Route 99 tunnel in Seattle, Washington is officially getting its stripes which is a sign that the project is almost completed. Get more details here.

September 7, 2018

Roadbuilding

Last road panel installed in Seattle SR-99 tunnel dug by Bertha

The Washington State Department of Transportation reports that the last of 1,152 road panels have been installed on the new State Route 99 tunnel, which will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The panels form the lower deck of the double-deck highway, which will allow drivers to travel under downtown Seattle as a bypass or stay […]

April 2, 2018

Roadbuilding

Final piece of Bertha removed from Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel

The last piece of Bertha, the world’s largest tunneling machine, has been removed from Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel, marking the end of a four-month disassembly process. The machine finished its boring of the tunnel in early April, work that lasted four years. This breakthrough was roughly three years later than the original projected completion date, […]

August 25, 2017

Roadbuilding

Bertha sees daylight, finishes 1.7-mile boring work for SR 99 tunnel

Sixty-four years after the Alaskan Way Viaduct was first opened to traffic, Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine, broke through the end of a more than 9,270-foot tunnel for Seattle’s SR 99. “This is a historic moment in our state’s transportation history,” says Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee. “Innovation and perseverance are the engines […]

April 6, 2017

Roadbuilding

A 360-degree view inside Bertha and construction of the SR 99 tunnel

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has created a video featuring 360-degree views inside the SR 99 tunnel as Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine, makes its way underneath Seattle. The department says this feature provides the best way to provide a view of the “record-breaking size” of the tunnel without taking a […]

March 14, 2017

Business

Year in Review: The Biggest Construction Equipment News Stories of 2016

While everyone has their sights on ConExpo in March, it might be easy to overlook what a busy year 2016 turned out to be. Here’s an quick overview, plus a timeline, of what happened in the construction equipment industry last year. Bonus: check out our editors’ quick predictions for 2017 on page 30. (Note: In order to meet […]

December 22, 2016

Roadbuilding

Bertha pushes past halfway point of tunneling for Washington’s SR 99

Bertha, the largest tunnel-boring machine in the world, has made it past the halfway point of its 9,270-foot journey beneath Seattle to create a tunnel for State Route 99. The tunnel will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct and is expected to open to traffic in early 2019, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. […]

October 4, 2016

Roadbuilding

As Bertha visits the dentist, a look at how this machine digs and builds the SR99 tunnel at the same time

Bertha, the world’s largest and perhaps most beleaguered tunnel boring machine, has been halted deep below the streets of Seattle once again. But this time the stoppage is for routine maintenance following significant progress. Plus, the stoppage gives us an opportunity to look at an often overshadowed portion of this project: construction of the State Route […]

July 18, 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

Home

No. 6 in 2013: Big Bertha digs in before being stopped in her tracks

There’s been a lot of excitement this year about the world’s largest tunnel boring machine. Named “Big Bertha,” she arrived in Seattle in April where she is digging a 1.7-mile tunnel for the new State Route 99. The $80 million machine stands five stories tall and moves along at 3 inches per minute. Despite her […]

December 30, 2013

Construction Equipment

Big Bertha, world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, arrives in Seattle

The “Big” in Bertha’s name isn’t there for the catchiness. It’s there because it’s apt. With a 57-foot diameter and a length of a football field, Big Bertha is the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine. She’s quite hefty too. Bertha is assembled from 41 parts, the largest of which weighs in at 900 tons. And she […]

April 4, 2013