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$3.2 billion Seattle project is actually a collection of 32 individual projects that launched in 2010 to replace an outdated section of State Route 99.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.

Bertha burrows ahead 3 feet

The Seattle Times » After stalling in December 2013, Bertha, the tunnel-boring machine, has moved forward three feet and will bore upward 20 feet in order to be repaired. Reduced payments on the $1.44 billion design-build contract for the Alaskan Way Viaduct will continue to be made to the Seattle Tunnel Partners while repairs are made. Bertha is expected to resume digging in March 2015.

September 8, 2014|

Alaskan Way Viaduct contractor releases plan to get Bertha drilling again

Puget Sound Business Journal » The Alaskan Way Viaduct project is a massive design-build (DB) project ongoing in the Washington State. The main drilling machine, known as Berta, has been stalled since December 2013 causing an extensive delay in the project. This article covers the plan to get the drill up and running again. Some good news can be gleaned from the situation: it will be the responsibility of the contractor and the drill manufacturer, Hitachi Zosen to cover the costs of fixing the machine. However there is no detail as to who will pay for the costs of the schedule delay, a common issue in major DB projects such as this one, and one that can lead to great cost increases to the public. The machine is not anticipated to begin drilling until March 2015. Watch the video below to see how the machine will be repaired!

June 16, 2014|

State says now it ‘will take months’ to fix stalled Big Bertha

Q13Fox » This news story focuses on the ongoing problems on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project, a mega design-build project in Washington State. In early February 2014, Washington State Department of Transportation officials announced that the tunnel boring machine, known as Bertha, may be stalled underground for months to come. The $80 million machine stalled in December 2013 has yet to resume work. Both state and contractor inspectors were set to work to discover the issue with the machine. These inspections revealed that the seals on the machine’s cutter head were contaminated with sand, dirt and water which in turn caused the machine to overheat. Currently the contractor is working with the tunneling machine’s manufacturer Hitachi Zosen to repair the seal but all the alternatives are complex and will take months to complete. This delay has raised questions over who will be responsible for the time delays and corresponding cost increases. While WSDOT has assured the public that their contractor, Seattle Tunnel Partners, will be held responsible, often in design build projects it is the public that pays.

February 10, 2014|
Go to Top