A bicyclist went around the barricades at the California Highway 1 Devil’s Slide Tunnel project after work hours and rode his bike through one of the tunnels, recording video as he went. I don’t advocate that kind of dangerous behavior, but I must admit that it is neat to see a tunnel nearing completion after several years of work. [Source: YouTube]
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Building the world’s longest tunnel tests advanced surveying technologies
The Gotthard Base Tunnel will eventually be a 35-mile rail tunnel through the famed Alps in southern Switzerland. So what does it take to survey the world’s longest tunnel? How about setting some 7,000 points […]
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Seattle Light-Rail Tunnel Likely to Break Ground This Year
Thanks to approximately $100 million from President Bush’s proposed 2009 budget, the $1.8 billion project creating a light-rail line from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington is likely to break ground some time this year. The project will involve twin bored tunnels on the order of 3 miles in length. It is scheduled to open for use in 2016.
There is another notable tunnel project associated with the Seattle Light Rail, known as the Beacon Hill tunnel which I have blogged about before.
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Feb. 7 Bertha update: Two factors contributed to tunnel stoppage
WSDOT released an update on February 7 with some conclusions regarding the blockage that has stopped the Alaska Way Viaduct Tunnel Boring Machine, Bertha’s progress since December 6. Now they don’t think it was necessarily the well casing after all.
They cite two factors that contributed to the blockage. First, the cutterhead was clogged with material. You can see an cool short video of a worker unclogging the cutterhead. Not terribly dramatic, but still cool. The second factor was increased temperatures inside the equipment. STP discovered damage to a seal that protects the machine’s main bearing. They are still determining how the repairs will be done.
If you want to follow the chronology of this issue, read below for summaries and links to previous updates from WSDOT. And Check out the videos too! [Source: WSDOT]