Vote: It’s time to rename Bertha

The tunnel boring machine under Seattle got its name, “Bertha,” through a contest for kindergarten through twelfth graders.

The name had to be female and have roots in Washington state history. Bertha was chosen to honor former Seattle Mayor Bertha Knight Landes.

“This project is about breaking new ground,” said Charley Royer, a former mayor of Seattle and a judge in the name contest, shortly after it was decided. “Like the SR 99 tunneling machine, Bertha Knight Landes was one of a kind. It’s only fitting that the machine bears her name.”

Only the machine hasn’t actually broken a lot of new ground and now might not be something Landes would want carrying her name, said KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

“Wherever she is looking down on us, she probably doesn’t want to be associated with this gigantic boondoggle under downtown Seattle that is stuck, bloated, and can’t move,” said Monson. “We’ve got to come up with a different name.”

Dori’s suggestion is “Christine.” He explains why here. A number of Dori Monson Show listeners also submitted new name ideas, and now it’s time to vote.