Planetizen Newswire
Keep up with essential planning news and commentary, delivered to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.
Bertha Stuck Again: Sinkhole Prompts Suspension of Highway 99 Tunnel Project
The adventure of Bertha the tunnel-boring machine, already two years behind schedule, has a new twist.
Mike Lindblom reports: "Gov. Jay Inslee ordered Highway 99 tunnel contractors Thursday to suspend drilling the deep-bore tunnel along the Seattle waterfront, until a sinkhole that formed this week is fully investigated."
Though the sinkhole has been filled, ground above the Bertha tunnel-boring machine is continuing to sink, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). "But in calling for the work to stop, the governor aired the worry shared by many citizens — that if Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) continues to dig too much soil as Bertha proceeds north, the viaduct and downtown buildings could be threatened," according to Lindblom.
The article includes details about how the steps the state is taking to inspect the project while its suspended. The state's actions reflect a new twist in its relationship with contractors on the project. More also can be found on the document announcing the suspension of the project.
Published on Thursday, January 14, 2016 in
Topics
- Transportation Trends for 2020 (And What Cities Can Do About Them)
- The Journal of the American Planning Association's Single-Family Zoning Debate
- U.S. Cities Where Homeowners Stay Put the Longest
- Analysis: Parking Won't Save Struggling Commercial Corridors
- A New Mixed-Use Superblock for Portland
- Coastal Property Ownership Contested as the Gulf of Mexico Rises in Louisiana
- The State of Public Meetings
- Vision Zero, Meet VMT Reductions
- Making Space for Corner Stores
- Miami Has the Most to Lose From Climate Change, Study Says
- Zoning Code Update Makes the Nightly News in Cleveland
- To Curb the Honking, Mumbai’s 'Punishing Signal'
- The Smart Cities Revolution Happened, but Cities Were Left Out of Loop
- Congestion Pricing Has Mayoral Support in San Francisco
- The Complex Story Behind the Failure of California's Upzoning Bill
- Prop 13 on the Ballot in California—Just Not the Prop 13 Everyone's Worried About
- L.A. Officials to Look at Possibility of Car-Free Downtown Broadway
- All Vehicle Traffic Imposes Danger. Vision Zero Requires Vehicle Travel Reduction Policies
- N.Y.C. Parking Reform Takes Step Forward as Debate Rages On
- Real-Time Art Installation Reveals the Many Dimensions of Data
