A federal judge in Seattle dismissed a lawsuit Friday aimed at stopping construction of a tunnel replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Judge John Coughenour said the people who brought the suit in September hadn’t established their standing. In his ruling he said they hadn’t specified how they’d be damaged by the lack of a full environmental-impact statement on all of the viaduct construction projects. [Source: SeattlePI via AGC SmartBrief]
Standards and Codes
US House Passes National Tunnel Inspection Program
The US House of Representatives passed legislation approving a national tunnel inspection program. This of course came about as a result of a fatal accident from 2006 in a tunnel on Boston’s Big Dig project where a concrete ceiling tile fell on a car killing one person. More after the break.
Project Related
Voids Open as a Result of Tunneling Under Seattle’s Beacon Hill
The Seattle Times (hat tip to ASCE SmartBrief) has reported that seven voids have been discovered above the Beacon Hill Tunnel with one opening up at the ground surface. The tunnel is being constructed by Sound Transit, the area’s transportation agency as part of a roughly $2.6 billion (yep, billion) light-rail project connecting downtown Seattle with the University of Washington and SEA-TAC airport. The voids were a result of running sand pockets in the otherwise stable clay units that were encountered by the tunnel boring machine or TBM. These voids migrated up like a chimney with one reaching the surface, almost 160-ft above the tunnel. This void was apparently 21-ft deep and opened up in a resident’s front yard and could have easily swallowed her up as she noticed it while gardening. The other voids were discovered at a depth of 20- to 65-ft below the ground surface. More after the break. (Illustration from Seattle Times)
Failures
Wal-Mart Sues over 2006 Kilbuck Landslide
In case you missed the background on the Kilbuck Landslide (or here or here), it happened in Kilbuck Township, PA back in in September of 2006. To deal with the political hot potato and media nightmare, Wal-Mart bought out the developer on the unfinished property and began handling remediation of the slide itself. Now, it appears as if they want their money back from the developer! Read on for more details.