Considering how badly Bertha's first couple years under Seattle went, it's been a pleasant surprise to see how smoothly her journey has gone since restarting.
Her trip under the Alaskan Way Viaduct went so well they re-opened the roadway early and the tunnel boring machine cruised right past it with no problems. Now she's hit another milestone on her way to South Lake Union by finishing her 2,000 foot trip to the end of Zone 2 at Columbia Street.
That means the machine is 20 percent done with it's tunneling trip and will now dig below Downtown Seattle as it moves through Zone 3. Bertha will now pass under Western Avenue near Marion Street and make her way to First Avenue.
· Bertha has reached 2,000 feet and is headed under downtown Seattle [MyN]
· Tracking Bertha, the SR 99 tunneling machine [WSDOT]
· Holy Cow, The Alaskan Way Viaduct Re-Opens Ahead of Schedule [CS]
· Bertha Passes 385-Foot Mark But Isn't Stopping To Celebrate [CS]