Bertha stops for additional inspection of cutter tools
Jan 6, 2017, 8:00 AM | Updated: 8:13 am
Crews will continue to inspect Bertha and make repairs as needed before they resume digging the SR 99 tunnel. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Bertha, the Highway 99 tunneling machine, stopped for routine maintenance over the holidays. This week, the contractor for the tunnel project decided to stop for additional inspections of the machine’s cutter tools.
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Crews from Seattle Tunnel Partners plan to spend up to two weeks inspecting the machine’s cutterhead tools.
The duration of the stop could be longer or shorter depending on the number of tools that need to be replaced.
The most recent maintenance stop in late October lasted about a week.
Bertha is located approximately 160 feet below Third Avenue. It is about halfway between Blanchard and Bell streets. Crews are less than 2,500 feet away from the point near Seattle Center where Bertha will emerge.
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