Bertha headed toward another pit stop underneath Seattle
Jun 15, 2016, 7:16 AM | Updated: 11:06 am
Bertha is making its way toward another planned stop under Seattle.
Bertha has now tunneled 2,724 feet and installed 411 rings, meaning the machine has traveled more than 25 percent of its total goal of 9,270 feet. Bertha’s current position is in the vicinity of Madison Street, east of Western Avenue.
Related: Completed Seattle tunnel will be “one of the safer structures in town”
The machine is now 115 feet below Madison Street and is about to exit zone three — out of 10 zones. Zone four spans a distance between Madison Street and Seneca Street but does not cross 1st Avenue.
The next maintenance stop for the boring machine is slated for sometime in July — the exact date is unknown. Crews will inspect the machine and perform maintenance for “several weeks,” according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Once finished, Bertha is expected to continue digging the tunnel that will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
