SR99 repair pit construction begins

摘要

USA-Contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) has begun digging the circular pit crews will use to access and repair Bertha, the 17.5m-diameter SR 99 tunnelling machine. On 17 October, an excavator rolled into position to the west of the Alaskan Way Viaduct near Pier 48, where STP stopped tunnelling last December after Bertha overheated. There, crews began taking the first scoops of soil from what will become a 36m-deep, 24m-wide pile-supported pit. Because a number of "important construction activities" are competing for space near the pit, there will be many days when excavation doesn't occur.