Where’s Bertha? Machine breaks into new zone under Seattle
Nov 18, 2016, 5:41 AM | Updated: 8:49 am
Bertha is about 265 feet below the surface, roughly the height of this building that stands above it. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Bertha entered a new phase of its journey underneath Seattle — zone 7.
Zone 7 runs from Stewart Street to Lenora Street moving diagonally from First Avenue to Second Avenue as it starts to curve toward its end goal near Denny Street.
The boring machine left zone 6 earlier this month. It is currently about 265 feet below the surface.
Bertha has moved 5,681 feet under downtown Seattle and crews have constructed 865 concrete rings to form the tunnel.
Bertha is under Virginia Street as it passes an alleyway running behind the buildings between First and Second Avenues.
There are a handful of buildings directly above Bertha on Virginia Street at the moment. At the northwest corner is a construction site where a tower is being built. There’s surface parking and a concrete building built in 1916 at the northeast corner of the street. At the southeast corner is another concrete building built in 1923. And at the southwest corner is a mixed-use condominium building constructed in 1994.
