No new information on Bertha, project timeline not released when promised
Jul 6, 2015, 2:45 PM | Updated: 5:04 pm
An update on the Seattle tunnel project timeline is late, along with the project itself. In this photo from June, workers watch as a crane lowers a new seal on to the tunnel boring machine, Bertha. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
(Washington State Department of Transportation)
An update on the Seattle tunnel project timeline is late.
The contractor for the project originally said there would be a new estimated completion date by the end of June.
The Washington State Department of Transportation is waiting for an update as well.
“We are awaiting more information from [Seattle Tunnel Partners] about their projected schedule, so we expect to have more information to release within the coming weeks,” spokesperson for the tunnel project Laura Newborn said in an email.
With June come and gone, it’s now been about a month since new information regarding Bertha the tunnel boring machine has been provided. Repairs on the machine continued in early June, including the installation of a new seal system. Repairs began in April.
The $1.35 billion project is expected to resume in August. The project is part of the $3 billion viaduct replacement program. The tunnel project is already about two years behind schedule. As of March 3 it traveled 1,083 of the needed 9,270 feet.
Before the project’s tunnel review panel was eliminated by the Legislature, it reported that the most significant risk to the project was Bertha itself.
“This will remain as the single most significant project risk until the tunnel boring machine breaks through at the north end of the tunnel alignment,” the report states.
