The repair a.k.a money pit
Oh, Bertha. Has it really been two years since you blew out under the Seattle waterfront? It's taken that long to dig an access pit, haul you to the surface, figure out what broke (more than they thought) and then make repairs. Your front end is still in pieces along the waterfront and the new start date to resume digging is November 23, which is three months after the goal set by Seattle Tunnel Partners. Well, what's another delay?
Even the lawsuits are delayed. Washington DOT announced they are suing the tunnel contractors for "failing to fulfill its obligations." They said this lawsuit will spare the taxpayers from having to pick up the tab, although I guess we'll be paying for the lawyers. Anyway, we won't know for some time how this turns out. For the sake of "cooperation" during construction, the state asked the courts not to hear the case until the tunnel is done.
March 2018 is now slated for the grand opening for traffic to enter the four-lane, tolled (of course) Highway 99 tunnel.
Here in Seattle we are trying to be optimistic, but once Bertha is back in the ground and the pit is filled over, there isn't a contingency plan if she jams or breaks again. Bertha has only tunneled 1,019 ft or 11%, of the total 9,270 ft. We still have a long way to go before we drive through our fancy new tunnel.
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