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Tag: SR99 tunnel
Roadbuilding
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
Roadbuilding
Bertha sees daylight, finishes 1.7-mile boring work for SR 99 tunnel
Sixty-four years after the Alaskan Way Viaduct was first opened to traffic, Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel boring machine, broke through the end of a more than 9,270-foot tunnel for Seattle’s SR 99. “This is a historic moment in our state’s transportation history,” says Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee. “Innovation and perseverance are the engines […]
April 6, 2017
Roadbuilding
Bertha stopped after veering off course in home stretch of Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel
Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) stopped Bertha, the largest tunnel boring machine in the world, on Feb. 28 to make adjustments before it continues on its last 1,000 feet of the 9,270 tunnel for SR 99. Officials report recent surveys indicate the machine is potential out of alignment by several inches. “STP is conducting additional survey […]
March 3, 2017
Roadbuilding
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
Roadbuilding
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
Roadbuilding
As Bertha visits the dentist, a look at how this machine digs and builds the SR99 tunnel at the same time
Bertha, the world’s largest and perhaps most beleaguered tunnel boring machine, has been halted deep below the streets of Seattle once again. But this time the stoppage is for routine maintenance following significant progress. Plus, the stoppage gives us an opportunity to look at an often overshadowed portion of this project: construction of the State Route […]
July 18, 2016
Roadbuilding
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
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
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
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
Tunnel-boring machine Big Bertha moves forward 2 feet in test run to see if blockage is fully removed
After nearly two months of downtime caused by a steel pipe stuck in her teeth, Big Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, briefly went back to work beneath Seattle. According to a report from the Associated Press, the Washington State Transportation Department announced that Bertha moved two feet on Tuesday which was just enough progress […]
January 30, 2014
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