Friday, April 27, 2012

Tunnleing in Seattle

I received an email from the Washinton Department of Transportation regarding a talk on Seattle tunnels. The State is starting a big dig in Seattle to put a portion of Highway 99 below ground. This project will be a big change to the landscape of Seattle. It will not be the first big dig in Seattle.

There is of course the two tunnels that carry traffic on Interstate 90 through one of Seattle's drumlin hills. And all those north bound trains near Safeco Field, including coal trains pass though the heart of the city via tunnels. And then there are miles of less glamorous tunnels for water, sewage and other utilities. My underground work has been limited to a few ventures into exploration tunnels associated with ore mines.

Anyway what follows is WDOT anouncement:  
  

Milepost31 spring speaker series – Tunneling in Seattle

The WashingtonState Department of Transportation is hosting a monthly speaker series at Milepost31 in Pioneer Square to give visitorsmore insight into the massive SR99 Tunnel Project.

Please joinus May 3 for our next installment – Tunneling in Seattle. Take a virtualtour exploring tunnels built during the past century and learn how tunnelingtechnology has advanced.

6to 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 3
211 First Ave. S., Seattle
Admissionis free.

After thetalk, be sure to leave yourself enough time to explore the rest of the FirstThursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square. Milepost 31 is open until 8 p.m. on FirstThursdays.

Save the date for our next speaker series event on June 7, when we’ll show you howWSDOT’s custom-designed boring machine will build the SR 99 tunnelbeneath downtown.

2 comments:

  1. If you haven't had a chance to visit Milepost 31, you definitely should. Lots of great exhibitry on Seattle's geologic and cultural history that has shaped the landscape. And, there is even real dirt on display!

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  2. The Robbins Company (TRC) proposed a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) but the work was given to Hitachi who've supplied the light rail TBM's. 50 years in Seattle didn't give TRC a break. Seattle sits on top of highly watered (7bar) muck and the project is extremely difficult.

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