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From: "Alaskan Way Viaduct" <wsdot@service.govdelivery.com>
Sent: June 18, 2014 6:55 PM
To: guyperea@live.com
Subject: Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program

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This program is led by the Washington State Department of Transportation in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, King County, City of Seattle and the Port of Seattle.

Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program News

June 18, 2014

In this issue:

Contractor announces details of repair work plan for the SR 99 tunneling machine
Much of SR 99 closed through downtown Seattle this weekend

Contractor announces details of repair work plan for the SR 99 tunneling machine
Bertha has always been big. The focus now is on rebuilding Bertha and making her better, according to a new repair work plan unveiled Monday, June 16, by Seattle Tunnel Partners, our design-build contractor for the SR 99 Tunnel Project.

STP's work plan (pdf 4.8 Mb), which is illustrated in a new animation (view on YouTube or download WMV file), contains four major repair and enhancement elements:

Replacing the damaged seal system with a more robust system
Replacing the main bearing
Installing enhanced monitoring systems
Adding steel to strengthen the machine and accommodate the new seal system

Other major enhancements of the work plan include:

Widening the openings at the center of the cutterhead
Improving the soil conditioning injection system
Installing bit- and wear-resistant steel on the cutterhead
Extending the length of the agitator arms in the mixing chamber

STP will provide WSDOT with additional supporting information about rebuilding the machine in the coming months, in accordance with the design-build contract, to demonstrate how the repairs will meet the contract's performance and technical requirements, including:

An analysis demonstrating that the machine's structure can withstand all loads from the surrounding ground and its own operation
Seal design details and background calculations
Design of revised conditioner injection systems and cutterhead openings
Updated operations plan including enhanced instrumentation and monitoring for key machine components
Complete testing program for all modified machine components prior to restart of mining

Bertha is currently stopped approximately 60 feet underground between South Jackson and South Main streets. As owner of the machine, STP is responsible for ensuring it functions properly at all times. STP is currently building the underground walls of a circular pit (pdf 2.5 Mb) crews will use to access and repair the machine.

Much of SR 99 closed through downtown Seattle this weekend
Construction at the future north and south portals of the State Route 99 tunnel will close much of SR 99 through downtown Seattle this weekend.

All lanes of northbound SR 99 will be closed through downtown Seattle from 10 p.m. Friday, June 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 23. Additionally, one southbound lane of SR 99 will be closed north of the Battery Street Tunnel from 4 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday.

Closure details

At 10 p.m. Friday, crews working for Seattle Tunnel Partners will close all lanes of northbound SR 99 between South Spokane Street and the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel. During the closure crews will complete work to shift northbound SR 99 traffic onto new lanes through the tunnel construction site near the stadiums.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, crews working for Atkinson Construction will close all lanes of SR 99 between the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel and Valley Street in South Lake Union, and the left lane of southbound SR 99 between Republican and Thomas streets just north of the Battery Street Tunnel.
All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

There's a lot happening on the roads around Seattle this weekend, and we could use your help to keep traffic moving. Before heading out, drivers should plan their trip by using WSDOT's traffic tools.