Bertha moving slowly during first weekend of viaduct closure
Apr 30, 2016, 4:47 PM | Updated: 5:59 pm
Traffic was tough for commuters on the first day of the viaduct closure and the weekend isn’t so easy either. Bertha might be the only thing moving slower.
The Washington State Department of Transportation is warning drivers of congestion for Mariners games at Safeco Field.
“It took me 45 minutes to get out of a Sounders match about 40 minutes after it was over,” KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz reported after Saturday’s game against the Columbus Crew. “That’s never the case. I-5 was a nightmare.”
Sound Transit’s Sounder train will run on Sunday to help alleviate traffic ahead of the Mariners game.
Meanwhile, WSDOT called Bertha the tunneling machine’s progress “slow and deliberate” in its daily update.
After completing the first ring, STP crews have been preparing the machine to move out of the concrete of the maintenance stop. The transition from concrete into soil is an important part of tunneling under the viaduct and STP crews have been working to ensure that the transition goes smoothly. Once the machine is fully prepared to mine through this transition, crews will advance slowly and deliberately.
Bertha made her first moves toward the viaduct on Friday, tunneling about 6.5 feet of the 385 feet it needs to go before the viaduct will reopen to traffic.
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