Dive Brief:
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A superior court judge in Thurston County has ruled that Seattle Tunnel Partners is not entitled to recoup $480 million from the state for expenses it incurred when a tunnel boring machine — dubbed Bertha — broke down during December 2013 operations on the $3.1 billion Alaskan Way Viaduct, according to KIRO 7.
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STP claimed that the Washington State Department of Transportation did not disclose the presence of an 8-inch steel pipe along Bertha's underground route, resulting in damage to the TBM that took approximately two years to repair. The WSDOT has disputed that claim.
- The judge said the design-build contract STP signed with WSDOT prevents reimbursement for damages to equipment. STP argued that the $80 million Bertha was not included in contractual waivers as were other, more common pieces of equipment.
Dive Insight:
STP has indicated that it is not done accounting for all of its Bertha-related costs, so it's possible that STP could present additional amounts for reimbursement, according to KIRO 7.
Bertha resumed tunneling operations in December 2015, but a month later, WSDOT and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee halted the work after a sinkhole opened up over Bertha. Around that same time, a barge transporting excavated soil from the construction site rolled and dumped debris into the water next to where Bertha was tunneling.
STP filled the sinkhole with concrete but reported that it was the result of "a pre-existing void, a ground loss in the face of the (tunnel-boring machine), or a combination of both." WSDOT and the governor "conditionally lifted" the stop-work order in February. STP provided the state with a soil monitoring and removal plan and mandated that all future soil removal operations be carried out by truck rather than by barge.
In July, WSDOT notified state lawmakers that delays and overruns on the project could be up to $223 million. In October, officials announced that the $2.1 billion tunnel boring operation was 50% complete. According to The Seattle Times, Bertha has traveled 4,662 feet of its 9,270-foot route.