Alaskan Way Viaduct2018-02-21T16:53:00-08:00

The Alaskan Way Viaduct

This $3.2 billion Seattle project is actually a collection of 32 individual projects that launched in 2010 to replace an outdated section of State Route 99. The most famous part is the 2-mile-long tunnel dug by the “Bertha” drill, which started burrowing into the Seattle soil in summer 2013. After a two-year delay to diagnose and repair technical troubles with the drill, Bertha finished tunneling on April 4, 2017. State and local government officials estimate the entire project will be completed in 2023.

Lawmakers push bill to kill Seattle’s Bertha tunnel project

KOMONews.com » Two Washington State Senators introduced a bill to discontinue the use of Bertha and find another way to replace the viaduct because the $3.1 billion Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project has failed. Bertha is an $80 million boring machine that stalled after drilling only 1,000 feet into the two-mile tunnel project.

January 27, 2015|

Rescue pit digging resumes, massive crane prepares to lift 2,000-ton broken Bertha parts

Puget Sound Business Journal » Crews are preparing to lift the 2,000-ton, 57-foot-diameter cutting head from the pit where Bertha has been stuck for over a year. Work on the Alaskan Way Viaduct was halted when Bertha, the boring machine, stalled in 2013.

January 9, 2015|

Highway tunnel under Seattle to open August 2017

SeattlePI.com » Nearly two years behind schedule, the Alaska Way Viaduct is expected to open in August 2017. The project was delayed when the Bertha boring machine stalled in December 2013. Recent efforts to repair Bertha were halted when dewatering around the access pit caused uneven ground settlement.

December 22, 2014|

Crews to resume Bertha excavation after settlement

KIRO News 7 » Bertha excavation continues following reports that settlement has stabilized.

December 16, 2014|

Sinking viaduct stalls Bertha

SeattlePI.com » The ground below the Alaska Way Viaduct is collapsing unevenly, and some of the settlement is uneven, increasing the risk of structural damage to the freeway and nearby buildings as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) works to reach and replace the damaged head of the Bertha boring machine.

December 8, 2014|
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