Meet Big Bertha, Seattle’s ginormous tunnel boring machine
Meet Big Bertha, Seattle’s ginormous tunnel boring machine
The world’s largest tunnel boring machine is about to get to work in Seattle. Big Bertha, named for former city mayor Bertha Knight Landes, looks kind of like a giant, blue-tipped mechanical cigarette. It was built with the help of countries like Spain and Japan and is manned by a crew of 30 to 40 engineers. Big Bertha will dig up to 100 feet a day and build a massive tunnel under the city for a new freeway.
Greg Hauser, deputy project manager for contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners which is putting Big Bertha into action, joins Marketplace Tech host Ben Johnson to discuss.
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