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This Week In Seattle Tunnel Project Mishaps: Bertha At A Standstill. Again.

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On January 28, we found out that Bertha was finally going to move forward again and re-commence her trip under Seattle to create the Highway 99 Tunnel. She did in fact move two feet. And then she stopped again. And she hasn't moved since. According to the Seattle Times, there are no plans in motion to get her moving again anytime soon.

A week after tunnel-boring machine Bertha overheated during a restart attempt, contractors have not submitted a plan to resume drilling. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) has stopped making public statements, while its engineers, a special expert panel, contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) and drill manufacturer Hitachi-Zosen troubleshoot the Highway 99 project.

Bertha has drilled only 36 days, or 1,023 feet, since the 9,270-foot bore from Sodo to South Lake Union began July 30.

According to the original schedule, Bertha is supposed to hit 1,850 feet by February 18. We'll see about that.
· New plan to get Bertha moving has yet to move [Seattle Times]
· Bertha Finally Ready To Move Forward, Kinda [Curbed Seattle]
· Bertha Stops To Remove Fragments, Mystery Of Missing Rosettes Solved [Curbed Seattle]
· Bertha Moves Two Feet Forward, Big Burke-Gilman Trail Detours Coming [Curbed Seattle]