Bertha testing underway as Seattle crews race to meet December schedule

The machine responsible for boring a tunnel under Seattle could be back to work by the holiday season.

Bertha is undergoing testing, in preparation to resume mining the SR 99 tunnel, the Washington State Department of Transportation reported Thursday.

Initial tests were performed last week, WSDOT reports. Several more tests are scheduled to occur in the next few weeks.

The most recent schedule from Seattle Tunnel Partners shows Bertha will be mining again on Dec. 23. Before that happens, workers will continue to weld the machine back together and reconnect wires and hoses. The machine’s cutterhead will be tested in late November.

Anyone who has followed the progress of Bertha, which is only one-tenth of the way into completing its 1.7-mile mission under the city, knows delays have become common. Even Lynn Peterson, secretary of WSDOT, told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson that the department is frustrated with the progress. The opening date for the tunnel is April 2018. The four-lane toll tunnel was supposed to open at the end of 2015.

So it’s anyone’s guess if Bertha will actually be ready by December, but to have it moving again could bring some holiday cheer.