Tag: Seattle Tunnel Partners

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

Big Bertha’s cutterhead lifted for repairs

State Route 99 closed in Seattle for tunnel alignment; crews making good progress

With the closure of State Route 99 due to tunnel work, construction crews are on schedule with good weather, including unusually warm daytime temperatures.

January 18, 2019

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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

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

Screenshot-2018-4-2 Final assembly of the double-deck highway in the SR 99 tunnel – YouTube

Bertha is half disassembled, cutterhead completely removed

Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine at 8,000 tons, has been half disassembled by Seattle Tunnel Partners and all of the machine’s cutterhead has been removed. Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reports that much of the trailing gear is still inside the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Crews are continually working to cut and haul […]

July 17, 2017

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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

Crews working for Seattle Tunnel Partners fill in the pit used to access and repair Bertha, the SR 99 tunneling machine on Dec. 14, 2015. Sand was delivered into the pit through the flexible pipe on the left, and was then spread out and compacted by crews inside the pit. Photo credit: WSDOT via Flickr

Bertha’s repairs push Seattle’s SR99 tunnel $200 million over budget. And it could get worse

Following two years of costly repairs and downtime, Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine, is $223 million over budget, with Washington state facing a lawsuit from the prime contractor on the State Route 99 tunnel project that, if successful, would double that amount. According to a report from the Seattle Times, the 1.7-mile tunnel, which will replace the […]

July 27, 2016

Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine undergoes repairs via a 120-feet-deep access pit in 2015. Credit: WSDOT Flickr

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

A March 2016 photo from the WSDOT looks north toward the back end of Bertha, the SR 99 tunneling machine. The steel hooks on both sides of the circular wall of the tunnel will become part of the foundation that will support the decks and walls of the future roadway inside the tunnel.

Bertha is nearly ready to start tunneling again

The massive tunnel-boring machine that’s been sidelined in Seattle for two years could be back to boring by New Year’s. The Washington State Department of Transportation announced that the Seattle Tunnel Partners had begun the final preparations before drilling gets started again with soil and sand being poured into the 120-foot-deep access pit on Sunday. Bertha […]

December 17, 2015

In March, Bertha chewed through the pit wall and parked to be prepared for repair. Credit: WSDOT Flickr

Bertha delayed again; won’t restart drilling until late December

The Seattle Tunnel Partners have once again delayed the restart of drilling for the State Route 99 tunnel, with Bertha not expected to start work again until Dec. 23. The Washington State Department of Transportation announced the revised schedule Thursday and said the tunnel most likely would not open until April 2018. That puts the project two years and four […]

October 26, 2015

Crews put the final touches on piecing Bertha’s front end back together after extensive repairs to the machine.

Crews prepare soil for Bertha to begin tunneling again

One of the last steps to getting Big Bertha back to boring beneath Seattle is underway. The Washington State Department of Transportation announced October 14 Seattle Tunnel Partners would begin doing jet grouting in the soil to stabilize the ground above where the massive tunnel-boring machine is set get to work. With jet grouting, a mix of […]

October 16, 2015

Crews put the final touches on piecing Bertha’s front end back together after extensive repairs to the machine.

PHOTOS > Big Bertha gets her head together: How to repair the world’s largest tunnel machine

With the final repairs having been made earlier this summer and Big Bertha finally picked back together underground, Washington State Department of Transportation and Seattle Tunnel Partners crews are hopeful that their 18-month nightmare is nearing a close. Now two years behind schedule, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine is pegged for a return to digging in […]

September 29, 2015

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