Finally, a breakthrough we've all been waiting for: Bertha is on the move again in Seattle and will soon be ready for repairs. The tunnel Bertha was built to drill will have to wait, however.
"After being stalled for more than a year, project contractors Seattle Tunnel Partners started operating Bertha at 10:15 p.m. Tuesday [February 17] as part of a rescue plan that requires the machine to mine through 20-feet of concrete on its way to a 120-foot deep access pit. Once the machine makes it to the pit, crews are expected to lift Bertha’s broken front end to the surface for repairs," according to a blog post Lewis Kamb and Mike Linblom.
The two correspondents provided constant updates as the tunnel boring machine made its way into the repair pit, including the speed and temperature at which the machine is running.
Unclear, despite the hoopla surrounding Bertha's long-delayed progress, is when the project to replace the Alaskan Way Viduct, now two years behind schedule, will get moving again.
The Associated Press has also provided full coverage of the rescue plan. Bertha's re-emergence into fresh air is available for all to witness in the video below.
FULL STORY: Bertha breaks into repair vault
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