Almost exactly two years ago, our $80 million tunnel boring machine named Bertha went kaput. The machine, part of the state’s $3.1 billion tunnel project to replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct along the Seattle waterfront, had drilled only a thousand feet (out of a planned 9,270) before hitting a steel well casing left in the ground by the state. Three days later, on December 6, the machine overheated and eventually shut down.
In the two years since the machine’s breakdown, the state and its contractor, Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP), have dug a pit to reach Bertha, excavated the surprisingly damaged machine, replaced the main bearing, and added new reinforcement parts—all the while downplaying growing concerns about cost overruns and the viaduct sinking. Project delays have frustrated both Republican state senators and local Democratic legislators alike, and the state has now sued STP preemptively to try to keep its legal options open.
There’s little evidence to support the idea that this project will suddenly start running smoothly on December 23, when Bertha is scheduled to restart in a kind of right-before-Christmas gift to tunnel backers. This past October, Seattle Tunnel Partners delayed the tunnel’s completion date for the fourth time in two years; now the whole project is supposed to wrap up in April of 2018. Plus, Bertha’s past is replete with failure…
