Tag: Big Bertha: Page 3

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

Home

Big Bertha’s delays have pushed back the opening of the tunnel it’s digging by 20 months…so far

Seattle’s new State Route 99 tunnel is officially 20 months behind schedule, and it’s all Bertha’s fault. The Associated Press reports Washington State Department of Transportation officials are now saying that the new tunnel being dug beneath Seattle by Big Bertha, the largest tunnel-boring machine in the world, won’t open until August 2017. And they […]

December 24, 2014

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

Construction Equipment

Drilling delays a problem for tunnel-boring machine Big Bertha even as she slumbers below ground

Crews in Seattle are now expected to finish digging a 12-story pit to reach stalled tunnel-boring machine Big Bertha one month later than planned due to concrete pilings proving more difficult to drill through than expected, according to a report from the Seattle Times. Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine went down from overheating in late January, […]

July 31, 2014

Construction Equipment

Repairs to Big Bertha will include 86 tons of steel reinforcement to tunnel-boring machine’s bearing, cutter drive

The largest tunnel-boring machine in the world needs a bit of reinforcement against the “wet and abrasive soils” deep below Seattle, according to a report from the Seattle Times. As such, repairs for Big Bertha will include the installation of 216 steel ribs and plates that will add 86 tons to the 7,000-ton machine, the paper […]

June 18, 2014

Construction Equipment

Camera gives a live view of construction on Big Bertha’s 12-story repair access pit

Just because Big Bertha is down for nearly a year, that doesn’t mean work around the world’s largest tunnel boring machine has come to a halt. And now thanks to a camera set up by the Washington State Department of Transportation, anyone can watch as that work progresses. After completing one-tenth of the 1.7-mile State Route 99 […]

May 13, 2014

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

Repairs to Big Bertha will require a 12-story pit and removing the tunnel-boring machine’s cutterhead

Officials from the Washington State Department of Transportation have announced that in order to repair the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, her head will need to come off. The announcement, which came during a presentation to city council members in Seattle, comes nearly three weeks after WSDOT officials announced that Big Bertha would be out of […]

February 27, 2014

Construction Equipment

Tunnel-boring machine Big Bertha shut down for “months” due to complexity of needed repairs

Washington State Department of Transportation officials say Big Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, is likely out of commission for months. An inspection conducted after the machine overheated in late January found that several cutterhead openings were clogged with dirt along with considerable damage to seals around the machine’s main bearing, according to a report […]

February 11, 2014

Construction Equipment

Baby Bertha? Bechtel builds mini tunnel-boring machine using 50,000 Legos

The Lego Movie, which hit theaters this past weekend, is fantastic. But we wish the folks who made it had talked to Bechtel first to include the company’s incredible miniature tunnel-boring machine (TBM). The company commissioned professional Lego builders Bright Bricks who assembled a moving, 6-1/2 foot TBM using 50,000 Lego bricks. Like Big Bertha, […]

February 10, 2014

Construction Equipment

Another mystery overheats, halts tunnel-boring machine Big Bertha once more

The Washington State Department of Transportation officials in charge of the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine have another mystery on their hands deep below Seattle. After finally getting moving again last week following a two-month period of downtime, Big Bertha has been halted once again. This time, for a different, and unknown, reason. Workers put Bertha […]

February 4, 2014