Washington transportation officials conducted inspections during the weekend of Dec. 6 and 7 around the Alaskan Way Viaduct Tunnel Project in Seattle.
The inspections were needed after a monitoring system detected some ground settling in the area. The equipment detected about an inch of settlement near a pit being dug so workers can access Bertha, a tunneling machine, for repairs.
On Dec. 3, 2013, Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, sliced through a steel pipe. The cutterhead became clogged and the machine overheated, damaging the seals around the vital main bearing, which need to be replaced now.
The Washington Department of Transportation says repairs were supposed to be well underway by now, but construction of the access pit to fix Bertha still isn’t done. As of Dec. 9, the pit is only 74 feet deep. Bertha is at 120 feet.
Officials hope to have Bertha repaired and tunneling to resume in April 2015.
The Washington DOT keeps a website updated daily on the status of the project. You can also follow Bertha on Twitter (@BerthaDigsSR99)
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