Has the perception of Bertha and the Seattle Tunnel project changed?

Jul 14, 2016, 5:34 AM | Updated: Aug 15, 2016, 9:55 am

Former MyNorthwest Editor

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Bertha, one of the world’s largest tunnel boring machines, sits idle 120 feet under Spring Street on Seattle’s waterfront after a relatively decent stretch of work. She tore through 1,500 feet of soil and crews have already installed 1,500 feet of northbound walls and 750 of southbound walls in her wake.

But none of that matters to one of Bertha’s staunchest critics: Dori Monson.

“My perception has not changed one iota,” Dori exclaimed. “My original criticism was that there was no way that this project was going to be on time or on budget. And you might remember that the state director of transportation [Paula Hammond] at the time went before the Seattle Rotary and made fun of my prediction. They are years behind schedule. They won’t tell us how far over-budget they are. Clearly, when the final tab is tallied, they are going to be billions of dollars over-budget. So no, everything that I predicted about this project is coming to fruition. It’s not on time, it’s not on budget. It’s been a financial disaster for the taxpayers of this region.”

“I said that I would quit my job if it was on time and on budget and I have never made a safer bet in my life.” (And Dori is no stranger to Las Vegas.)

“Obviously, when they made the decision not to pull the plug, it would be better to finish it than not finish it. But again, at what cost?” Dori asked. “If you throw enough billions of dollars at something, you can do anything. But they promised this at $2.8 billion and who knows how many billions over-budget it’s going to be whenever we get the tab.”

“I know they have internal projections of how far over-budget they are, but they won’t release them to us. We’ve asked the questions and I think the number is going to be much bigger than anyone realizes.”

While not easily measured, Laura Newborn, spokesperson with the Washington State Department of Transportation, said they have noticed a change in the random feedback they get while doing outreach at community events (Ballard Seafood Fest and the West Seattle Fair to name a couple).

As compared to questions posed in 2014, “The questions were much more positive in nature,” she explained. “They were really questions about expressing curiosity about the project, certainly about the timing of the project. There were questions about how people were going to get around after the tunnel was finished. So there seemed to be much more presumption that the project was going to finish and that questions were focused on how it is going to change Seattle down the road.”

“I think we’re all pleased that the machine is running so well and it’s doing what it’s intended to do,” she continued. “There are still many months to go and different kinds of soils and I’m sure, different kinds of challenges that will arise, but Seattle Tunnel Partners, who is the design-build contractor for this project, is handling issues that come up very well.”

Newborn said that, so far, WSDOT is “very pleased” with Seattle Tunnel Partners’ performance and the relationship is strong.

“It’s definitely easier in the sense that when things are going well it’s easier to have a good relationship and a positive relationship,” she said. “But it has always been an open relationship so it never reached a time, even at its worst, where we weren’t talking to each other. That has always continued.”

That said, Newborn admitted she would understand any skepticism.

“I think most of us would understand skepticism, certainly,” she said. “I mean the project is delayed. There’s no getting around that. But all signs point to a well-repaired and well-functioning machine that will be finished with tunneling next year. After the tunneling is complete, there certainly is a lot of work to do. It’s going to be awhile before the tunnel opens. I’m not sure that most people really do appreciate the tremendous amount of civil work that has to happen.”

Bertha has been parked below Spring Street since June 23. She’s expected to resume mining by the end of July.

Fingers crossed.