Seattle’s Alaskan Way tunnel on track

Plans are on track for construction work on Seattle’s Alaskan Way tunnel to commence in mid-2013. The massive TBM that will drive the tunnel has been tested in Japan by its manufacturer Hitachi and is now being shipped to the US. The TBM has a 17.5m diameter cutting head, making it the largest machine ever constructed. This is bigger even than the Herrenknecht machine with its 15.62m diameter cutting head built for the Bologna-Florence highway tunnel project in Italy. The new Hitachi TBM has been disassembl
March 8, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Plans are on track for construction work on Seattle’s Alaskan Way tunnel to commence in mid-2013. The massive TBM that will drive the tunnel has been tested in Japan by its manufacturer 233 Hitachi and is now being shipped to the US. The TBM has a 17.5m diameter cutting head, making it the largest machine ever constructed. This is bigger even than the 2592 Herrenknecht machine with its 15.62m diameter cutting head built for the Bologna-Florence highway tunnel project in Italy.

The new Hitachi TBM has been disassembled into different sections for transportation to the US and is expected to arrive at the end of March 2013. The launch area for the TBM is being prepared at present and the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Tunnel is scheduled to open in late 2015. When complete the 3.2km tunnel will carry State Route 99 under Downtown Seattle from the SoDo neighborhood to South Lake Union in the north. 914 Washington State Department of Transportation’s US$1.35 billion project will replace the existing 1950s vintage viaduct, which was damaged in an earthquake in 2001. The tunnel will run at a depth of up to 61m beneath the city and will carry 110,000 vehicles/day while its construction also frees up the waterfront area for redevelopment.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Sandvik’s Turkish delight at groundbreaking tunnel vision
    May 20, 2014
    Turkey’s longest, and what will be the world’s fourth longest, highway tunnel is being built under Mount Ovit in the northeast of the country. Sandvik Construction is playing a vital role in the construction of the giant new structure, which will enable all-year-round access to what is a relatively remote and often snow-blocked part of Anatolia Having had their freedom of movement blighted for many years by wintertime snow blocking the D925 highway, along with narrower roads and passes, at Mount Ovit, resi
    Read More
  • Italy's new southern highway route
    May 13, 2021
    An important new highway route is currently under construction in South Italy
    Read More
  • Tunnelling challenge on German project
    June 13, 2012
    A massive construction project has been underway deep in the heart of the Schnecktal valley area in Germany. From the surface, though, you would never be able to tell. The majority of the work is underground, as a joint-venture team led by German contractor Wayss and Freytag Ingenieurbau builds the nearly 7km long Finne Tunnel. After a few years of tunnel boring operations, the contractor is at work finishing the interior of the tunnel, slipforming first the tunnel’s floor and then a walkway with its GOMACO
    Read More
  • New underground road project proposed for Brisbane
    August 19, 2022
    A new underground road project is being proposed for Brisbane.
    Read More

Highlighted Content