Tag: Washington State Department of Transportation: Page 5

Roadbuilding

Did Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel really require Big Bertha? Indeco argues breakers are the answer

Tunnel boring machines such as Big Bertha, the 7,000-ton machine sidelined after a massive fail under the streets of Seattle, shouldn’t always be considered the most efficient option for creating big dig projects, says a new publication produced by Italian hammer manufacturer Indeco and released at the Intermat construction equipment trade show this week. […]

April 23, 2015

Roadbuilding

Water main damaged by Big Bertha repair excavation could cost WSDOT $4 million

Four months after crews temporarily stopped excavation on a repair pit for the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine due to ground sinkage, Seattle officials have now identified a major repair needed on a water main damaged by the sinking. Back in December, excavation stopped on the repair pit through which Big Bertha’s massive cutterhead was recently lifted as officials suspected groundwater pumping […]

April 14, 2015

Roadbuilding

PHOTOS: Big Bertha’s 2,000-ton front end lifted to the surface. How the world’s largest tunneler was raised

[imagebrowser id=225] After a year of slumber and almost a month after chewing her way into a 12-story repair pit, Big Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, is finally under repair in Seattle. Crews worked for the better part of March to disassemble the machine’s front end before lifting the machine’s cutterhead and body shield panels—a […]

April 1, 2015

Roadbuilding

Crane sends pipe careening into Seattle bus on Highway 520 bridge followed by a crashing traffic sign

Eight passengers on a bus traveling across the Highway 520 in Seattle were hospitalized Tuesday night after a construction accident resulted in a traffic sign toppling atop the bus. According to a report from the Seattle Times, Washington State Department of Transportation and Washington State Patrol officials said a crane lifting pipe as part of the Highway […]

March 19, 2015

Roadbuilding

Big Bertha breaks through: tunnel-boring machine enters repair pit, ready for disassembly

Though she remains very far from being done, Big Bertha completed a very important leg in her journey beneath Seattle last week, breaking through a thick wall of concrete and into a 12-story pit. According to a report from the Associated Press, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine moved 57 feet since February 17 to enter […]

March 9, 2015

Roadbuilding

Big Bertha wakes from one-year nap, begins to chew her way into repair pit

For the first time in more than a year, Big Bertha actually bored. According to a report from the Seattle Times, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine, dormant deep below Seattle since late January 2014, has drilled forward a total of 6 feet between late Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon as crews begin the process of moving Bertha into […]

February 19, 2015

Roadbuilding

PHOTOS: Fixing Bertha: How workers dug a 12-story pit to raise world’s largest tunnel boring machine from the dead

No. 8 Story in 2015 « No. 9 No. 7 »   [imagebrowser id=194] The Big Bertha saga recently received a major update: crews with lead contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners have finished digging the 120-foot pit that will be used to access the world’s largest tunnel boring machine for necessary repairs. Now that the pit […]

February 11, 2015

Construction Equipment

Excavation stopped on Big Bertha repair pit due to major ground sinkage in area

The latest in a long string of delays to affect tunnel-boring machine Big Bertha has far greater implications than any of the others, this time threatening the structural integrity of the Alaskan Way viaduct and nearby buildings in the Seattle neighborhood of Pioneer Square. According to a report from The Seattle Times, Washington State Department of Transportation officials […]

December 15, 2014

Roadbuilding

PHOTOS: Six bridge/transportation projects receive 2014 PCI Awards

[imagebrowser id=19]   Winners of the 2014 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Design Awards competition have been announced, and six bridge/transportation projects were honored. “It was a tough competition,” said Don Powell Jr., principal-in-charge at BOKA Powell architecture firm and one of the building awards judges. “We saw many innovative applications of this technology that resulted […]

October 14, 2014

Roadbuilding

Watch time-lapse of Highway 99 construction

The Washington State Department of Transportation was kind enough to release the following time-lapse video of construction on Highway 99. The video shows crews working through the night to demolish and replace the section of SR 99 that crosses above Broad Street. “We thank commuters for their patience and their help,” said Dave Sowers, WSDOT’s […]

September 3, 2014

Construction Equipment

Truck hauling excavator collides with 5 bridges, taking a chunk out of each (PHOTOS)

While being hauled by a truck traveling through Thurston County, Washington, last week, an excavator’s boom collided with five different bridges before the driver finally pulled over. According to a report from The News Tribune in Tacoma, the Washington State Department of Transportation says that all five of the bridges will require repairs. The driver of the truck, […]

July 23, 2014

Roadbuilding

State agencies focus on travelers for July 4th weekend

With many highway work zones closing for the long weekend, some state agencies are turning their focus to safety and ease of travel for drivers. The Illinois Tollway is putting a major focus on child safety this weekend. The agency suggests drivers in Illinois stop by a Kids Identification and Safety Seat (KISS) event to […]

July 3, 2014