Did they ever get the tunnel boring machine unstuck? It was disabled 1000 feet in the dig site for years, if memory serves.
Work was halted on December 6, 2013 after the machine overheated and shut down [70] approximately 1,083 feet (330 m) into the planned 9,270-foot-long (2,830 m) route. Investigations later revealed the seal system that protects the machine’s main bearing had been damaged. Three days prior to stopping, the machine mined through an 8-inch-steel well-casing used to help measure groundwater in 2002 around Alaskan Way, drilled as part of the planning phases of the project.[71] Whether this pipe had anything to do with the machine’s failure is at the center of legal dispute between WSDOT and the contractor, Seattle Tunnel Partners.[72] This delay lasted for more than two years as the workers had to dig a 120-foot (37 m) vertical shaft down to Bertha’s cutting head to repair it. Settling was discovered in Pioneer Square that may be related to this additional excavation.[73]
Tunnel boring had resumed on December 22, 2015.[74][75] The tunnel boring was halted 23 days later on January 14, 2016, after a 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) sinkhole developed on the ground in front of the machine, causing Governor Jay Inslee to halt drilling until the contractors can perform a root cause analysis to show that the machine can be run safely.[76] Even though contractors filled the hole with 250 cubic yards (190 m3) of material, the ground above the tunnel-boring machine continued to sink, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. The tunneling restriction was lifted on February 23, 2016, and tunneling resumed that day.[77] Bertha passed under the Alaskan Way Viaduct in early May, closing the roadway for 11 days as the machine had 15 feet (4.6 m) of vertical clearance under the structure’s pilings.[78] On April 4, 2017, the tunnel boring machine broke through to the recovery pit on the north end of the tunnel, completing the excavation process.[79] The boring machine was dismantled and removed from the site over the next four months.[80]
Back of tunnel boring machine and partially completed tunnel with concrete walls in place in 2017
Dirt produced by tunnel construction was sent to fill a CalPortland quarry in nearby Port Ludlow.[81]
Yes, it took awhile, but they did get the union coffers back-filled with money and 'viola', it got unstuck.
They dug a pit, ran the boring machine into it and lifted it for repairs. It’s been open for about three weeks.