On October 3, we got the news that Bertha had reached the halfway point in her 9,270-foot-long trip across Downtown Seattle. Now on November 3, we get news that she has officially crossed the one mile mark.
Bertha is past Stewart St. & the 1-mile mark! https://t.co/cnUtJuPHJd Surveyors Juan (L) & Steve welcomed her to Zone 7. #BalloonsOverBertha pic.twitter.com/DDOlSdUywA
— Bertha (@BerthaDigsSR99) November 3, 2016
Specifically, Bertha passed the 5,280-foot mark of the SR 99 tunnel on Thursday, which leaves less than 4,000 feet to go before she arrives at her destination. Right now she’s located more than 200 feet below First Avenue, just north of Stewart Street. Bertha has followed First Avenue for much of the way through Downtown but now she’ll follow Stewart Street to Lenora Street as she veers inland.
If you’ve wondered how they actually steer Bertha to where they want it to go, WSDOT and STP have created a video to show us how. Meet Jerry Roberge:
Nov. 3 project update: Bertha passes the one-mile mark [WSDOT]