Inslee and his State Government is such a clown show!!!


Inslee suspends Bertha tunneling after sinkhole

KING 5 News, KING5.com 12:08 p.m. PST January 14, 2016

SEATTLE – Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday he has ordered a halt of tunneling for the new State Route 99 after a sinkhole formed behind the boring machine, Bertha.

“Seriously disappointed,” Inslee told reporters.

Inslee said he is ordering tunnel contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners to stop drilling until safety can be guaranteed.

WSDOT says STP is being informed the stop order is a “suspension for cause” in contractual terms.

“I share the Governor’s concern for public safety and we want to ensure that the contractor has the right protocols in place to proceed with their work safely,” said Washington Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson in a statement. “We are asking that the contractor complete root cause analysis and take the appropriate steps to ensure that incidents, such as the sinkhole near the repair pit, do not occur again. STP will not be allowed to resume tunneling until their analysis and work plans meet the satisfaction of our experts.”

The hole developed Tuesday around 9 p.m. where dirt was being excavated just north of the access pit where Bertha was repaired.

Seattle Tunnel Partners’ Chris Dixon said the sinkhole was 35 feet long, 20 feet wide and 15 feet deep. It has been filled with 250 cubic yards of concrete.

The cause of the sinkhole is still under investigation. STP said there is no indication that any other locations have experienced ground loss.

Dixon said that this section of the project, before the machine goes under the Alaskan Way Viaduct, has always been considered a testing phase.

But the sinkhole is the latest problem the project has faced. Bertha started moving again Dec. 23 after being idle for two years for repairs.

A barge used to haul dirt from the construction partially tipped Tuesday, forcing STP to stop digging. Then, the sinkhole happened.

The order by Inslee comes at a critical juncture for Bertha. It is scheduled to bore under the viaduct in March, forcing the elevated structure to be shut down to traffic for two weeks.

The tunnel was initially supposed to open to traffic late last year. It's now scheduled to open in April 2018

I fear that the Seattle tunnel may end up making Boston's Big Dig look small.

Those guys must be real morons, they should have a pretty good estimate of how many cubic yards of material should be produced for each foot of forward movement from Bertha, if the cubic footage is double what it should be that dirt is coming down from above.

A moron doesn't know what they are doing.

A criminal knows what they are doing and tried to get away with it.

This contractor knew exactly what they were doing, or in this case, suppose to have been doing when Bertha started up again.

Did you all see the reporter ask the contractor (at the site) as to why they didn't do all the needed recalibration stuff to Bertha when they started it up again? He just smiled and shrugged as he knew he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Freakin' Cork Soakin Bastages!

My Swedish friend has always bashed Wa politicians and especially Wa voters. He called (no longer with us ) Wa voters wantabe socialists.

His point was that in Sweden, being a lawyer, his tax rate was above 50%. But in Sweden they fully expect their politicians to deliver as promised. If any of them pulled the crap that continually happens in Wa over and over and over that not only would they never vote for that party again but those responsible would never be given another job in their lives, private or public. If not sent to jail. There is just no repercussions for their borderline criminal conduct or at least incompetent conduct. In Sweden he always felt he got an acceptable return on his 50% tax rate but if he lived in Wa he wouldn't want to give them a single dime!!!

But, of course, this is Wa were no matter how much money is wasted we just keep voting them in like the mindless monkeys we are!

I'd don't want to bring politics into it...but politics. Until we get real world operational business men and women into office that know a thing or two about P&L, nothing will change. Since that's not happening anytime soon, assume the position and spread your wallet open nice and wide.