Video: Bertha has moved…8 feet!
Dec 23, 2015, 2:58 PM | Updated: 2:59 pm
A new concrete ring has been installed behind Bertha after the boring machine moved 6.5 feet. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Bertha has finally moved after nearly two years of repairs.
You read that correctly. The massive boring machine under Seattle has moved — 8 feet to be exact.
That makes a total of 1,099 feet that Bertha has tunneled under the city since July 2013.
Related: Bertha, Seattle tunnel timeline
Movement from testing on Tuesday and the 6.5 feet on Wednesday was enough movement forward for crews to install a new concrete ring behind the machine. It is the 160th ring added to the new tunnel wall.
With 8 feet behind them and a new ring installed, crews will now head off for a holiday break. Boring will begin again during the first week of January, when Bertha will continue to tunnel through the now-filled repair pit, through the pit’s concrete wall, and on to the next stopping point that is 450 feet ahead.
