Tag: WSDOT: Page 5

Roadbuilding

Washington state DOT testing zig-zagged road lines to get drivers’ attention

Washington is trying out a European approach to getting drivers attention at a busy crossing path. According to KIRO TV, the Washington State Department of Transportation recently painted the zig-zagged lanes on a state highway in Arlington, Washington. WSDOT traffic engineer Mark Bandy said he got the idea from spending part of his youth in […]

August 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Cigarettes are causing roadside fires in Washington almost daily

Cigarette-sparked fires are becoming a daily occurrence in Washington, and the problem has worsened to the point that the state’s Department of Transportation has issued a warning. According to the Seattle Times, the latest fire caused by cigarette butts thrown from a vehicle shut down traffic on Interstate 5 on Thursday during rush hour near Lacey, Washington. The […]

July 28, 2015

Roadbuilding

Big Bertha is set to start drilling again in November after extensive repairs, testing

The world’s largest tunnel-boring machine is now scheduled to get back to work on November 23, nearly two years after it overheated and stalled while digging beneath Seattle. The Seattle Times reported that the construction team handling the massive undertaking of drilling the 1.8-mile Highway 99 tunnel released the new timetable and a new completion date of […]

July 21, 2015

Roadbuilding

Crews begin installation of Big Bertha’s new seal system

While the rest of her massive frame waits below ground, Big Bertha has undergone the most pivotal portion of her badly-needed brain surgery. According to a report from the Puget Sound Business Journal, repair crews with Seattle Tunnel Partners, the lead contractor on the drilling of a new State Route 99 tunnel beneath Seattle, have begun […]

June 16, 2015

Roadbuilding

Top FHWA official says unfinished Spokane project proves need for long-term highway bill

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s acting administrator toured the incomplete North Spokane Corridor last week and said the half-built project shows why the federal government needs to act on long-term transportation funding. After touring the NSC, Gergory Nadeau said the project “exemplifies exactly what has been happening all over the country.” About half of the […]

May 28, 2015

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

Roadbuilding

Board rules WSDOT should have given contractor more warning about pipe struck by Big Bertha before stall

In regard to the drilling of the new State Route 99 tunnel below Seattle, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has few friends left. There remains disagreement between the department and the city of Seattle over who will pay to repair a water main damaged during the excavation of a repair pit for Big Bertha, […]

May 12, 2015

Roadbuilding

Washington state will have $1.8 billion backlog of pavement preservation projects by 2025, report finds

In its recent report on Washington’s transportation challenges, The Road Improvement Program says the state needs $2.8 billion for pavement preservation from now until 2025, but that only $1 billion will be available. As a result, the condition of state-maintained roads would decline drastically.   “Making needed improvements to Washington’s transportation system could provide a significant boost to […]

April 24, 2015

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