If we stare at this long enough, maybe well forget that the tunnel is supposed to open in 2018.
If we stare at the mouth of the tunnel long enough, maybe we'll forget that the tunnel is supposed to open in 2018. SB

Today, Mike Lindblom at the Seattle Times broke the news that Bertha's contractor had pushed back the downtown tunnel project's schedule AGAIN. Tunneling is now supposed to start November 23, and contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners expects the whole project to be ready for cars by March of 2018. That's 27 months later than the original schedule's December 2015 end-date.

Perhaps sensing the growing frustration with a lack of public information about why Bertha's outer seals and gears became so chewed up; the dissolution of the Expert Review Panel (a three-person, independent oversight group that issued annual reports on Bertha's progress); and, duh, the delayed tunnel news, WSDOT decided to organize a tour of the tunnel's maw for media.

This is a temporary ramp where the lower deck will eventually (?) go. The abyss is the abyss.
This is a temporary ramp where the lower deck will eventually (?) go. The abyss is the abyss. SB

WSDOT's Laura Newborn led a group of roughly 20 reporters, photographers, and worker escorts down an emergency exit route near the spot where tunneling began so we could take a peek at construction of the tunnel's upper deck. It turned out that path had been blocked off by ongoing work, so we filed onto a lower-level ramp and stared into the first part of the 1,083 feet Bertha has already dug out. (That's less than 12 percent of the total tunnel drive; the machine still has 8,187 feet beneath downtown Seattle to go.)

STP has constructed 432 feet of the upper deck for cars, but the lower deck of the tunnel can't be finished until tunneling is complete. In the meantime, STP is leaving the lower level open to move tunneling equipment in and out.

At a briefing after the tour, STP's Chris Dixon explained why the contractors had decided to extend a period of Bertha testing from one month over the summer to two months in the fall. The first part of testing will have Bertha's cutterhead grinding against nothing (a "no load" test) to replicate the machine's conditions on Hitachi Zosen's factory floor in Japan. "The next phase will be what we call the 'load performance test,'" Dixon said. "In other words, with the soil and groundwater load on the machine, we're going to run a whole new series of tests in the bottom of the shaft, make sure everything's functioning properly."

One of Berthas damaged cutter drive pinions, which are made of softer metal than the bull gear, which turns the cutter.
One of Bertha's damaged cutter drive pinions. The pinions are made of softer metal than the main bull gear, which turns the cutter. WSDOT

But the cause of what made Bertha broke down? There are several theories that are still under discussion, Dixon said. (The steel pipe left in the ground is one of those theories.)

WSDOT's Todd Trepanier expressed disappointment with STP's extension of the schedule to March of 2018. Distancing the state from the continued delays, Trepanier also said that WSDOT isn't verifying STP's completion date, and that the agency is still reviewing STP's more detailed schedule outline.

This is the third time that STP has extended its schedule. (First the tunnel opening date was set for December 2015, then November 2016, then August 2017, and now March 2018.) So what does this mean for cost overruns? The last proclamation from the Expert Review Panel is that the cost overrun issue wouldn't be a problem. But now the Expert Review Panel doesn't exist.

WSDOT's Trepanier said that the state is still holding STP to the contract. And STP's Chris Dixon said that he had confidence in the altered schedule. But what if Bertha gets stuck again? Is there a certain point at which it becomes too expensive or too stupid to continue pushing forward with STP's plan? Trepanier once again stressed a cool distance from Bertha's failures. "I have not heard any indication from Seattle Tunnel Partners that if this happens again we can't do anything," he said.

That's not a real answer. Maybe we'll get a better one when WSDOT briefs the city council on Bertha 10 days from now, on July 27. But don't count on it.