Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) has announced a new timetable for the embattled tunnel boring machine known as Bertha. Despite the fact that she's still in pieces as they fix what caused her to break down in December 2013 after traveling just 1,000 feet, Bertha will recommence digging on November 23, three months later than the previous restart date. According to the new schedule, the four-lane Seattle tunnel that Bertha is digging will open to traffic in Spring 2018 (Originally, it was supposed to open later this year). Of course, Seattle has heard about a lot of timetables and dates when it comes to this project so it's unlikely too many folks will be writing that in their calendars in pen. Case in point, WSDOT's Highway 99 administrator has already told the Seattle Times that "it's too early for him to say with confidence whether Bertha will really burrow forward by Nov. 23."
· New schedule released for Bertha, Seattle tunnel project [MyN]
· New Bertha start date for tunneling: Nov. 23 [ST]
· All Bertha coverage [CS]
Image: Bloomberg
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