Under Seattle, a Big Object Blocks Bertha. What Is It?

[micjer]

Jan. 28 update: SR 99 tunneling machine inches forward


Posted on Jan 28 2014 4:08 PM


Seattle Tunnel Partners pushed the SR 99 tunneling machine forward approximately 2 feet today. Doing so allows crews to build the next concrete ring of the tunnel. Workers are now testing systems and evaluating the machine to see what maintenance might be needed before they resume tunneling.


http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/Viaduct/

[Gigas]

This ain't got nothin to do with berthas troubles but...

Way back in the early 90s I was sent to christmas valley oregon for a cat litter plant pick up. It was in the middle of nowhere. I got loaded and asked how to get back to the main highway which was 395 to 20.

The guy goes, well ya go down here to the dirt road there and take that north. Don't worry bout it being gravel and such cause it will bring you out on the highway. I go ok.

I drive over to the dirt and gravel road and start the journey. I notice its light gravel with the looks of a grader brushed it out with excess ground pushed up either side of the path. There was big thick power lines running along this path and I said to myself, well, since they have power lines running along side this gravel path, it must go somewhere I shouldn't worry bout.

A few miles up the way I see cattle standing around and as I get to them a couple a cows decide to play in the road and run in front of my truck looking over their shoulders every now and then. Than its only a little baby cow running in front a me as it obviously was having fun.

Nothing to worry yet cause those high power lines are still running along side the gravel path. Then up the way I see they stop and cross the road and go down into the ground where a little shack with a man door entry was standing.

I wonder what was underground out there that needed high power lines to go down underground. Ya, I found the highway just like the guy said I would.

So whats this got to do with big bertha, I dunno, just another weird story we'll never know about.

[micjer]

Jan. 31 update: Further evaluation required before tunneling can resume


Posted on Jan 31 2014 8:33 AM


As we reported earlier this week, Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) pushed the SR 99 tunneling machine forward approximately 2 feet on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Moving the machine forward allowed crews to further test the functionality of the machine and determine if they could resume full-production mining. It also created sufficient space to build the next concrete tunnel liner ring on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

When the machine moved forward, crews saw indications of above-normal temperature readings in part of the machinery, similar to readings encountered before crews initially decided to stop mining on Dec. 6. On Wednesday, STP made adjustments and mined an additional 2 feet. The above-normal temperatures persisted, and STP made the decision to stop and perform further evaluations.

Over the next week, outside tunneling experts brought in by WSDOT will meet with the WSDOT and STP project teams to review the situation and determine the best path forward.

STP crews and tunnel engineers are operating the world's largest tunneling machine in complex conditions. Although their investigations to date have provided a great deal of information, we will not be able to definitively identify the issue or issues facing the machine until tunneling experts complete their review. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/Viaduct/



Well it looks like it is more than a well casing that is the problem.  Back to the drawing board.

[micjer]

A clogged cutterhead

Tunnel workers performed 158 hours of hyperbaric inspections between Jan. 17 and Jan. 28. They found that many of the cutterhead openings were clogged with dirt and other material. A clogged cutterhead can affect the tunneling machine's performance in the same way that a major obstruction would affect its performance. Once the hyperbaric work was completed, it was determined that a major obstruction was not the cause of the mining difficulty. The more likely cause was the clogged cutterhead.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/Viaduct/


Looks like it wasn't an underground UFO base after all!

[Norval]

Now it is being said that it will take months to fix some bearing seals and other maintenance, uhmmm k, , who the F hired these dweebs?!?!?   

ohhhh I forgot about the incompetency syndrome. 

[Norval]

, , and Bertha is still sitting there. Now they are going to did an 80 foot dia. hole down to it and work on it for the next 6 MONTHS ! !!   

[Shasta56]

So the obstruction was a fantasy and the real problem is an equipment maintenance issue?  What a mess.  I'm using my polite voice.

Shasta

[micjer]

Giant crane to lift 4 million pounds of tunnel drill Bertha

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025473456_berthacranexml.html


To rescue the world's largest tunnel-boring machine — and the future of the Highway 99 project — you need one of the world's strongest cranes.

The Mammoet Co. has been gathering and erecting steel parts since September from Malaysia, Europe and Canada, to prepare to lift 4 million pounds along the Seattle waterfront sometime in the next few weeks.

That's where tunnel drill Bertha has been stranded underground for more than a year, awaiting front-end repairs.

There's no crane that just does this. This modular lift tower was custom-engineered to fit the limited space next to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and to steer its payload within millimeters of a target.

"That's why I like working for this company. It's like a big Lego box full of stuff," said Jaroen van Kooperen, the 37-year-old project manager responsible for the high-tension lift.

Millions of dollars are being devoted to a few moves — to lift the damaged drive assembly, spread the pieces over the ground, and eventually return the refurbished section to the repair vault 120 feet below.

[zorgon]

Those things can cut trough just about anything. I want to know what really stopped this thing.  Not buying it was a small pipe

[Norval]

What stopped it?


FOCLMAO, , , , ,


Brilliant modern engineering skills I think, , , , 

[WarToad]

If I was still a King County tax payer I'd be a little bit miffed about this cluster.

[micjer]

Published on Apr 6, 2017
On April 4, 2017, one of the world's largest tunneling machines chewed through more than 1,000 tons of concrete and fiberglass to end a 1.7 mile journey underneath downtown Seattle. With a drone's eye view, this video shows the raw power of Bertha's breakthrough - start to finish.

[micjer]

[zorgon]

Nice  So they finished the project. I forgot to follow up on this. Did we ever find out what stopped it?

[biggles]

Why in hell are they digging that far beneath Seattle for God's sake, did I read that right above, can't find the quote now; must be jumping timelines at a quick pace.