World's Largest Tunneling Machine, "Bertha" Starts Digging SR 99 In Seattle

Replies

• 

  Anil Jain

  Kaustubh Katdare

  She'll operate under the crew from Washington State Department Of Transportation, pushing forward slowly at about 6 ft per day. Once she's beneath downtown, it will increase the speed to about 35 ft per day.

  What can be the technical reason that it's starting from 6ft and will up to 35 ft.
  Is there any technical reason or its mere precaution as the machine being used for the first time.
  
  meanwhile, any clue what is the best it can do in a day?
  
  -CB
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  If I read correctly from their site, the slow start is for the machine to "train" and for engineers to check its performance. Once its all good, they will ramp up the speed.
  
  #-Link-Snipped-#
  
  

  Bertha
  
  Age: <1
  Height: 57.5 feet
  Weight: 7,000 tons
  Length: 326 feet
  Occupation: Tunneling specialist
  Likes: Dirt, small boulders, perfectly formed concrete rings
  Dislikes: Sunlight
  Role models: #-Link-Snipped-#, Marc Isambard Brunel, whoever invented the shovel
  Twitter:#-Link-Snipped-#

  😁
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  I think that's right. Since this machine is operating for the first time, they'll have to be very careful in the initial stages. If something goes wrong, it will go wrong on a massive scale.
  
  But 6ft/day or even 35ft/day is still way too slow IMHO. We need something like 1 km/day! FTW! CEans, let's make it happen one day 😁
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Kaustubh Katdare

  But 6ft/day or even 35ft/day is still way too slow IMHO. We need something like 1 km/day! FTW! CEans, let's make it happen one day 😁

  lots of TNT 😘
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  ash

  lots of TNT 😘

  Or all of us digging it like real men...☕
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Kaustubh Katdare

  Or all of us digging it like real men...☕

  Yes.. could work with 146k CEans.. 😁
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  ash

  Yes.. could work with 146k CEans.. 😁

  I'd be supervising all of ya 😎.
  
  PS: I think we're I am getting all spammy here.
• 

  Jeffrey Arulraj

  crazyboy

  What can be the technical reason that it's starting from 6ft and will up to 35 ft.
  Is there any technical reason or its mere precaution as the machine being used for the first time.
  
  meanwhile, any clue what is the best it can do in a day?
  
  -CB

  Well the upper layers are not hard rock in my opinion and the downtown area the stress on the lower soil levels are comparatively lesser than that in proper town
  
  So once downtown is reached it is let the engines blow in full glory
  
  PS: Is not 2 miles deep stand for rocky layer I am sure the challenge lies in diverse loading on the upper levels
• 

  zaveri

  ash

  If I read correctly from their site, the slow start is for the machine to "train" and for engineers to check its performance. Once its all good, they will ramp up the speed.
  
  #-Link-Snipped-#
  
  
  😁

  
  what is berths's nationality ? German ?