Tag: Seattle tunnel

Roadbuilding

Damage to Big Bertha worse than previously thought

Now that crews are well into the process of dismantling her front-end for necessary repairs, it’s clear that damage to Big Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, is worse than previously thought. Making matters worse, the tunneler likely won’t resume its work drilling the State Route 99 tunnel beneath Seattle by August as the project’s […]

May 26, 2015

Construction Equipment

Before Bertha repairs begin, archaeologists will test soil for artifacts

Before workers in Seattle begin to dig a 12-story pit to make the necessary repairs to get the world’s largest tunnel boring machine running once again, they must step aside to allow archaeologists to search the soil for artifacts. Sixty vertical holes were drilled into the soil 48 feet above dormant Big Bertha, the tunnel-boring […]

March 25, 2014

Construction Equipment

A steel pipe is what brought Big Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, to a halt

The mystery is solved—in part at least. After Big Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, was brought to an abrupt halt on December 6th, officials at the Washington State Department of Transportation were stumped as to what was in the way. Now they know that the obstruction is a large steel pipe. A steel pipe […]

January 6, 2014

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