State says now it ‘will take months’ to fix stalled Big Bertha View Larger Image 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. Michelle2018-02-05T14:47:41-08:00February 10th, 2014|Alaskan Way Viaduct, Design-Build, Roads, Washington| Share This Story, Choose Your Platform! FacebookTwitterEmail Related Posts With 100 People Per Day Dying in Crashes, Lawmakers Weigh Road Safety Options April 9th, 2019 Getting There: Congestion pricing isn’t coming to Spokane, but these roads aren’t free and never were April 8th, 2019 The Boring Company: What 8 Cities Really Think of Elon Musk’s Tunnel Vision March 26th, 2019 Trump Fiscal 2020 Budget Request Prioritizes Infrastructure Grants March 11th, 2019 ‘Fix the Damn Roads’: States Step In After Trump’s Plans Stall March 11th, 2019 Andrew Cuomo announces $128 million for state highways March 11th, 2019 Carbon fee returns in Olympia as lawmakers consider $15 billion transportation package March 6th, 2019 Can America Still Build Big? A California Rail Project Raises Doubts February 25th, 2019 It’s time to fund infrastructure in Connecticut February 1st, 2019