drilling.jpg
Crews set up the drill that will make room for the SR 99 tunnel boring machine launch pit. (Image courtesy WSDOT)

Viaduct replacement crews digging giant launch hole for ferry-sized tunnel boring machine

BY KIRO Radio Staff  on August 23, 2012 @ 5:21 am (Updated: 9:52 am - 8/23/12 )

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Crews are now drilling a launch pit to hold the massive tunnel-boring machine for the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement project.

The project will be using the largest diameter tunnel boring machine ever built. The 57.5-foot diameter machine, which the Washington State Department of Transporation says is roughly the size of the Washington State Ferry system's largest vessel,* will enter the earth through a hole being dug in the construction area just west of Seattle's stadiums.

Matt Preedy, Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program deputy administrator with WSDOT tells KING 5 they're preparing the hole for when the machine arrives next summer.

"The hole is big enough with just enough room to work around it to drop the tunnel boring machine into."

The launch pit will be a length of 400 feet, with a width and depth of 80 feet. Excavators will be pulling out 86,000 cubic yards of soil.

The tunnel boring machine will begin digging from the site in the summer of 2013.

The tunnel project is expected to be completed by December 2015.

*Washington State Ferries' largest boat, the Jumbo Mark II, has a 90 foot beam (width) and 17'3" draft. It's over 460 feet long and is able to carry 2,500 passengers and 202 cars.

There are three of these boats in Washington state, the Puyallup, Tacoma, and Wenatchee. On Thursday morning, the Puyallup was on the Edmonds-Kingston route and the Tacoma was on the Seattle-Bainbridge route.

KIRO Radio Staff, Staff report
Straight from the newsdesk.
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Comments (7)


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  • SickofSeattleite wrote...
    how are we paying for this again?
    August 23, 2012 5:53 am
    where am i going to see my share of this viaduct....car tabs? sales tax? first born? Oh wait, Obama already owns my first born from the FAILED stimulus. Keep voting to spend money WE DONT HAVE!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    My Question is
    August 23, 2012 7:06 am
    WHY did they have to Build a brand new boring machine. Afterall, they have built several, why not use one of those?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Fuego wrote...
    My money is on
    August 23, 2012 7:20 am
    them finding human remains within 2 months of the machine in operation. Then all the local tribes will be up in arms over the disturbing of their "ancestral burial site" and the project will come to a complete halt.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • vanderleun wrote...
    From your lips to
    August 23, 2012 7:28 am
    God's ear.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    WHY did they have to Build a brand new boring machine? . . . .
    August 23, 2012 8:16 am
    because it is cheaper to get a new one than rebulid the old one. By the time the bore is done the machine is junk. How are we paying for this again? The question should be "Overruns". How many will lose their homes because of taxes put on them because of the "Overruns". All "Overruns" will be 'Bore' by Seattle. If they hit an "ancestral burial site" game over. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Nickatnyt wrote...
    Hope that thing can float like a ferry
    August 23, 2012 8:17 am
    Because if it doesnt find dem bones first, it will soon find a whole lot of H2O...oh oh Shhhh*** !
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mike in Pioneer Square wrote...
    Boring Comments
    August 23, 2012 11:09 am
    What a bunch of ignorant comments. Use on "old" boring machine? The hole isn't the same size! (Duh.) And you're complaining about the cost, yet you want them to use used equipment...which could break down and cause cost overruns? Sheer genius.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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