The Bertha tunnel boring machine has resumed chewing away beneath Seattle after a ‘suspension for cause’ order from WSDOT shut it down in January following two safety incidents. The BTM began tunneling with some conditions in place late in February, and those conditions were lifted when the demonstration period ended on March 7. Bertha has now reached her next scheduled maintenance stop, having tunneled a total of 1,560 feet. [Source: WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project Page. Image: WSDOT]
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Seattle Light-Rail Tunnel Likely to Break Ground This Year
February 11, 2008
rockman
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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.