It's a long, strange, trip with plenty of downtime but Bertha the boring tunnel machine has broken out of it's concrete access fault and is officially tunneling underneath Seattle for the first time since December 7th, 2013. So far, the drill has moved 73 feet since it started moving forward this past December 22. Don't get too excited just yet, though. Bertha's still in the "testing phase" and has about three weeks before she reaches a "safe haven" near Yesler Way where she'll stop again for maintenance. At that point the machine will stop for three weeks as it gets checked out. At that point, once Bertha starts up again she's (theoretically) not stopping as she tunnels under Alaskan Way Viaduct. FYI, Highway 99 will be closed through downtown for roughly two weeks until she clears the space as a precaution. Check out raw video of Bertha in motion as well as the people controlling her here.
· Bertha making progress, tunnels 73 feet since repairs [ST]
· As Bertha's Big Delay Turns One Year Old, It Gets Longer [CS]
· Jan. 7 project update: Bertha exits the access pit [WSDOT]
· All Bertha coverage [CS]
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