Bertha under Bell: Where the boring machine is now
Jan 26, 2017, 3:59 PM | Updated: 5:12 pm
Bertha has made it to Zone 9 out of its 10 zone journey. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
It wasn’t too long ago that MyNorthwest reported Bertha was in Zone 2. Back then, in May 2016, there was a long way to go for the world’s largest boring machine on its 10-zone journey. This week, tunnel crews entered Zone 9.
Bertha is on a schedule to reach top side by June 2017. Crews are currently working about 211 feet under Bell Street, near Fourth Avenue. A recent photo published by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows a surface view of the Space Needle, near where the boring machine will exit the ground.
Related: Has public perception of Bertha changed?
Crews have tunneled a total of 7,218 feet. That leaves just 2,052 feet to go. A total of 1,102 rings have been constructed — out of the 1,426 rings that will form the tunnel when it is complete.
What’s above Bertha?
Bertha is currently making a slight right turn under Fourth Avenue to face its final destination. It just passed under an apartment building built in 1978.
Above the machine on this stretch of its trip are a few old Seattle buildings, starting with a masonry-style office building constructed in 1914. Then it will pass under a masonry-style retail building — built in 1923 — before skimming under the edge of an apartment building built in 1918.
As it takes its turn under this block, Bertha will pass under Fourth Avenue, then a retail store constructed in 1923 — this site is expected to be torn town and developed into a condo building in the future. Nextdoor is a fire station, built in 1922. Bertha will pass under the station before exiting the Fourth Avenue block.
If you know your downtown Seattle geography well, then you know that up next is Battery Street. That means it will soon pass underneath the Battery Street Tunnel.
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