Highway 99 tunnel machine: WSDOT’s contractor starts ‘reconnecting’ its biggest pieces

(Late-afternoon screengrab from WSDOT webcam)

Five months after parts of the Highway 99 tunnel machine were lifted out of its “access pit” along the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the state says its contractor reports they’re getting close to putting the repaired parts back in. From WSDOT’s update today:

Seattle Tunnel Partners has begun reconnecting the two largest pieces of the SR 99 tunneling machine’s front end. On Saturday, Aug. 15, crane crews from Mammoet lifted the machine’s bearing block into place atop the cutterhead and drive unit. The newly reconnected front end of the machine will remain at the surface while Hitachi Zosen installs its motors. When installation of the motors is complete, Mammoet will lower the 2,000-ton piece back into the pit. … STP’s most recent schedule indicated the lowering of pieces would begin in early August, but some parts had to be remanufactured due to tight tolerances – measured in millimeters – that need to be met as the machine is reassembled. Those new parts have since arrived and been successfully installed. … Once the machine is in the pit, crews will begin the lengthy task of reconnecting wires, hoses and other parts to the portion of the machine that remains in the ground. A series of tests will follow to ensure the machine is ready to resume mining.

So far, WSDOT says, its contractor still “has a plan in place to resume tunneling in late November as scheduled,” but it notes that it “cannot verify the contractor’s schedule.”

2 Replies to "Highway 99 tunnel machine: WSDOT's contractor starts 'reconnecting' its biggest pieces"

  • lookingforlogic August 18, 2015 (11:30 am)

    There hasn’t been any statements about budget and time delays. Have all of the entities have agreed to push forward and absorb costs or does this result in change orders and a cost increase. Did this create winners and losers, winners and winners, everybody loses? Hard to have confidence in the system, when voter majority didn’t want a tunnel.

  • Panda August 18, 2015 (1:07 pm)

    I love how no matter how late the project is, they always find a way to say “as scheduled” or “ahead of schedule” when speaking about milestones. SPIN ZONE!

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