Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Seattle's Behemoth Boring Machine, Idle Since 2013, Makes Some Progress

Posted by timothy on from the bertha's-muscles dept.

After being blocked by an obstruction ("the object") which left it idle just over two years ago, repair work has continued on Bertha, Seattle's enormous tunnel-boring machine. Now, reports KOMO News and The Seattle Times, Bertha is once again ready to work. From The Times' coverage: Tuesday morning's push of one and a half feet provided Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) enough space behind Bertha’s drive motors to fasten the next concrete ring at the 1,085-foot mark of the planned 9,270-foot tube. Chris Dixon, STP project manager, is calling this a testing phase. The team is measuring how Bertha responds while rotating through heavy loads of compacted sand. Last week, a fixed steel arm in the front end broke and needed a one-day repair. ... This week’s two-day push would leave the nose of the drill just short of the north edge of the concrete vault, dug in 2014 so STP could reach and lift the 4million-pound front end for repairs. The winning bid from STP called for the tunnel to be completed this month.

23 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Yawn.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Boring.

    1. Re:Yawn.... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Boring.

      You're just digging yourself into a a hole with those puns,

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  2. Behemoth boring machine... by Ecuador · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, I guess if it hasn't done anything since 2013 it is certainly a machine capable of boring even a behemoth!

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
    1. Re:Behemoth boring machine... by rmdingler · · Score: 2
      I, for one, am excited to see the event didn't stop them.

      Maybe the technology will eventually become useful: building underground cities when the ozone is gone, or even tunneling for off planet settlements.

      But shite, even if nothing much comes of it, it is still spending the money on science and technology in stead of war and repression.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:Behemoth boring machine... by sdinfoserv · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In a country who's infrastructure is crumbling; roads, bridges, fresh/waste water systems, electrical grid - failure to fix public works projects IS a threat to our security

    3. Re:Behemoth boring machine... by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      spending mountains of my money on worthless municipal make-work projects rather than defending our country

      Maybe we should be spending more on mental health.

    4. Re:Behemoth boring machine... by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 2

      >worthless municipal make-work projects

      If any city needed a tunnel, Seattle is it. It is far from worthless.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    5. Re:Behemoth boring machine... by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Uhh, you really think a bunch of guys with no machinery beyond picks and shovels could dig out 60' x 60' x 1.5' of solid rock, hardened earth, mud, and sand, all while laying behind them the steal support rings and wire mesh and concrete walls to support the tunnel, AND relocate all that dug up material away from the dig site?

      Please understand I'm not meaning to advocate for the "picks and shovels" side of the argument. But FYI - Seattle already has a 110-year-old train tunnel (the "Great Northern Tunnel"), dug with picks and shovels and dynamite, that runs through pretty much the exact same area and types of soils. This new tunnel is actually going to pass under the Great Northern tunnel!

      I find it funny because a lot of people who simply don't want to spend money are using the argument that the complex soils in the area make tunneling impractical. They obviously don't know about the existing tunnel either.

      In reality, the fundamental problem here is the people making decisions tried to save a little money by digging one giant pipe rather than going with the more typical two-bore twin tunnels. When you push boundaries there are always additional risks.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    6. Re:Behemoth boring machine... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In a country who's infrastructure is crumbling; roads, bridges, fresh/waste water systems, electrical grid - failure to fix public works projects IS a threat to our security

      The scaremongering about our "crumbling infrastructure" comes mostly from ASCE, construction companies, and politicians trying to get pork for their district. These are all special interest groups with their snout in the trough. There is little evidence that our infrastructure is actually getting worse. On a per capita basis, infrastructure failures such as bridge collapses, are less common than they were a generation ago.

    7. Re:Behemoth boring machine... by CaptQuark · · Score: 2

      Comparing the two tunnels is a bit unfair because the new construction is like digging 14 of the old tunnels.

      The new tunnel is circle 60' in diameter, compared to the 30' semicircular train tunnel (8 times bigger), and the new tunnel is 1.75 miles long compared to one mile(.75x8=+6). Plus, the floor of the old tunnel was flat and only required laying train tracks. The new tunnel is circular and will require a double roadway and utility spaces.

      If the new tunnel was dug with picks, shovels, and dynamite, it would take 14 times the 1.5 years of the old tunnel or 21 years total. Then start the construction of the interior infrastructure.

      No, this isn't a project that would be feasible with picks and shovels.

      --

  3. Another.... by saturndude · · Score: 3, Funny

    Another boring story on slashdot.

  4. How did it overheat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I understand that when it hit the metal casing, it overheated. Couple of questions I've got that after looking, didn't find the answer:

    I thought this was capable of boring through rock, how come it couldn't go through a metal pipe? Ok, it can't go through the pipe, how could this thing not have tons of sensors capable of detecting the overheating issue?

    1. Re:How did it overheat by dbIII · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Rock crumbles, is brittle, and has a low tensile strength even though the compressive strength is high. The sort of steel used for a pipe is none of those things.
      See also stuff designed for "soft rock" suddenly hitting Basalt.

    2. Re:How did it overheat by plover · · Score: 4, Informative

      Rock is more brittle than steel. Hit rock with a hard enough cutter blade, pushing with enough force, and you will chip away at it. Hit a malleable and tough steel pipe with the same cutter blade and the same amount of force, and the blade may dig in to the steel and get caught in it.

      The operator doesn't exactly have visibility into the obstruction, so when progress stops, he may not recognize what's going wrong. He can add more force in an attempt to break through. Add enough force and something will eventually give, but there's no guarantee if it will be the obstruction that gives way, or the engine, or the power train, or the frame of his machine.

      And what kinds of sensors do you think you can deploy on the face of a giant cutting disk that will survive the thousands of horsepower of force mashing it into the earth? (Trick question, the answer is none.) About all they can effectively monitor is from the back side of the cutting face. That means indirect measurements only, like the amount of power, rotational speed, rate of travel, temperature of the cutting face, sound of the cutting face, and the composition of the tailings. It's not exactly like looking out the windshield and seeing you're about to drive into a big steel pipe. The amount of power is regulated by the operator, but what are his options when it stops going forward? It's not like he can back up and turn left to go around it. He can pretty much decide "add power" or "stay stuck".

      --
      John
    3. Re:How did it overheat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      If anyone's in the area and wants to find out who did the work then I just might be able to get some sort of preview about real expectations (those expectations not given in the city council meetings or in press releases) and find out any scuttlebutt - though it might be a bit dated, I suspect the modeling company and/or traffic engineers have someone either on-call or on-site and they'll be capable of recommending, designing, and remodeling - or at least collecting the data and pushing it back to be done on big iron.

      http://www.tunneltalk.com/Alaskan-Way-May10-RFP-released.php

      With determination to maintain momentum, State officials met deadline this week and issued a request for proposals to build a bored tunnel replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle. Three international pre-qualified teams now have until October to return proposals ahead of a planned award of contract in January.TBM tunnelling of the 54ft (15-16m) diameter bore could start in 2013 towards a targeted official opening on December 31st, 2015.
        p1 Route of the double-deck highway viaduct that is to come down
      Released on Wednesday (May 26th), the documents describe the scope of the estimated $1 billion and $1.2 billion project and set technical requirements to be met by the design-build contractors. Much of the strategic and detailed design elements however are left open to the contractors. These include the design, type and manufacture of the TBM; the method and destination of muck disposal; design and manufacture of the segmental lining; and the sequencing of tunnel excavation with construction of the interior road decks. The base design documents prepared by the client's designer Parsons Brinckerhoff and its PMAC (Program Management and Advisory Consultant) Hatch Mott MacDonald includes a geotechnical baseline report (GBR) and specifies pressurised EPB or slurry TBM excavation to cope with ground water pressures up to 5 bar, and control surface settlement above the 9,100ft (2.7km) long large diameter drive some 60ft to 200ft (18-60m) benearth the streets of the city. The RFP also sets out requirements for the highway tunnel's ventilation, fire/life safety, and electrical systems, and construction of its portals.

      The three joint ventures prequalified to bid the contract are:
      Seattle Tunneling Group (STG) comprising S A Healy; FCC Construccion, SA of Spain;
      Parsons Transportation Group; and Halcrow
      AWV Joint Venture (KBB) of Kiewit Pacific; Bilfinger Berger of Germany; and AECOM
      Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) comprising Dragados-USA of Spanish parent company; HNTB Corporation

      Seattle Tunnel Partners is a joint venture of New York-based Dragados USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragados, S.A., the construction division of ACS Group of Spain; and Tutor Perini Corporation, based in Sylmar, Calif.

      They won the boring bid.

    4. Re:How did it overheat by KGIII · · Score: 2

      Thanks - that pointed me in the right direction. They did it, for the most part, in-house. A recently deceased Ralph Iboshi was brought on with the design team. He passed away back in 2012(ish), as I recall. He was with KPFF (they had at least one good employ - namely Mr. Iboshi) but KPFF's name is not on any of the documents that I'm finding. I'm only finding Mr. Iboshi's name.

      It took me a minute to make the connection but you can find him listed on page 24 in this PDF:
      http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projec...

      But, when I look here:
      http://www.scatnow.com/FEIS%20...

      I see him listed as still being with KPFF. It makes me wonder if he simply ended up staying on with the muni and left KPFF or what. Given the date of the RFP, 2006, I'm a little concerned that I know nothing of the project. (The companies that you listed are the guys that are doing the construction - there's surely someone, perhaps from KPFF, still on-site though they have an office in Tacoma as I recall.)

      At any rate, I noticed a fairly typical thing... Someone (probably Iboshi) came up with a bunch of great ideas and the State of Washington cut it down and they're implementing only five or six. (I'm willing to bet the additional costs would have been a percentage point or two.) This is why you can't have nice things. I've ranted about it on Slashdot before.

      I'll keep reading and looking up more information. I'm just getting back in a little while ago. I'll make a phone call tomorrow or later tonight and see what pops out. If I saw the project, I don't believe we put a bid in on it. I don't even recognize it which is, well, a bit odd given the time frame. I'll dig back through and see if they did a regional RFP only and/or only sought an in-state business. Sometime around that point (around the time of the quake) was when KPFF opened an office up in Washington. They're usually out of Oregon - I think... Yeah, Oregon, I'll Google if need be.

      At any rate, Iboshi's got some quality work out there. Years ago, he did some work on the PCH. One of the primary things that PCH tries to maintain is aesthetics (there's an interesting history going back through - the design work on the bridges is amazing) and there was a need to optimize throughput with growing traffic demands in the mid 1990s. I'd trust his work - but I'd keep in mind that they only acted on some of the proposals and it looks like quite a bit of work was done in-house.

      The price doesn't look too bad. I suspect the insurance company is going to be pissed with the delay but that's what insurance is for. If you live out that way, you should call it some part of it, just a small part, Iboshi Way. Unless it turns out to suck, in that case - I mention again that municipalities are horrific about only implementing a part of the proposed solution - often at trivial cost savings and will only lead to much more expensive expansions or alterations in the future.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  5. Re:Seattle taxpayers by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

    Seattle's taxpayers have to be the most stupid motherfuckers on Earth.

    Seattle consistently ranks in the top three US cities on a whole host of criteria, and has the second-highest percentage of the population with graduate degrees (after San Francisco), so probably not exactly the stupidest motherfuckers on Earth.

    Have you ever been to San Antonio, Orlando, Louisville or Tampa?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  6. Re:Didn't they hit a pipe specified in the contrac by PPH · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yes. But the path of the tunnel runs through what is essentially an old land fill. So the machine should have been designed to deal with old steam boilers, scrap iron, chunks of concrete/rebar, etc.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  7. Re:Yep by plover · · Score: 5, Funny

    Another boring story on slashdot.

    You know the drill..

    This does not augur well for the New Year.

    --
    John
  8. Re:Seattle taxpayers by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seattle's taxpayers have to be the most stupid motherfuckers on Earth.

    Seattle consistently ranks in the top three US cities on a whole host of criteria, and has the second-highest percentage of the population with graduate degrees (after San Francisco), so probably not exactly the stupidest motherfuckers on Earth.

    Have you ever been to San Antonio, Orlando, Louisville or Tampa?

    But the traffic sucks. They should build a tunnel or something.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  9. Re:Seattle taxpayers by mschuyler · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Seattle taxpayers are not paying for this project, except insofar as they are taxpayers to the State and the Feds, which are. "Local" funding is a small percentage of the $3 billion project. Further:

    1. I-5 is a parking lot. Traffic congestion in Seattle is 5th worse in the nation.
    2. The current Alaskan Way Viaduct is an ugly concrete behemoth.
    3. The current Alaskan Way Viaduct is going to fall down.
    4. The current Alaskan Way Viaduct carries 110,000 vehicles a day.
    5. We can all ride bicycles because the city has closed one entire lane of most downtown streets to accommodate it.

    --
    How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
  10. Re:Not again by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    And maybe, just maybe they'll come away with some lessons learned form this kabillion dollar, 0.5mph joyride.

    Maybe one of those lessons is "there are risks when you try to save money by pushing the boundaries with new, untested drilling technology".

    Meanwhile the tunnels Sound Transit has been recently digging in Seattle, following ho-hum old smaller bore twin-tunnel principles, are going well - they're under budget and ahead of schedule. I am really looking forward to taking light rail to UW in a month or two! No more sitting on a bus that's stuck in traffic gridlock...

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  11. Re: Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yea, when building the Panama canal they had an endless supply of expendable bodies. When worker safety is actually a thing, large projects actually require care and planning.