Seattle’s next underground tour: The world’s biggest tunnel boring machine Bertha
Apr 30, 2014, 12:31 PM | Updated: 1:48 pm
John Curley says the deep-bore drill known as Bertha might be a great tourist attraction for the city of Seattle.
The Seattle Underground Tour is already a popular attraction, but KIRO Radio’s Tom and Curley think they could have an expansion on their hands.
If tunnel boring machine Bertha can’t get up and running again, John Curley thinks she could be another great attraction for visitors to the Emerald City.
“For the people who do the Underground Tours, they’re like ‘jackpot,'” says Curley. “We don’t have to show anybody the elevated four-foot toilet with the dehydrated turd in it anymore. We can show people the gigantic digging machine.”
Curley turned on his best tour guide voice: “Now folks, if you’ll come right along here, what you’re seeing is the most expensive digging machine in the world. About 20 years ago, Seattle had the crazy idea of digging this giant tunnel.”
Bertha has been stalled since December. Washington State Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson on Tuesday there is a small possibility that the machine might not be fixable. If that’s the case, look out for tours led by John Curley.
Related:
WSDOT: No guarantee Seattle tunnel project will be completed
A Bertha timeline: From conception to today
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for John Curley and Shari Elliker.
