News & Politics
Seattle's multi-billion dollar Viaduct replacement tunnel is in trouble. The shaky waterfront Viaduct has settled into the loose soil. Buildings and streets above the new tunnel have sunk and cracks have appeared in some streets and foundations. Bertha, the tunneling machine, is stuck. Digging the deep pit in order to get access to the damaged drill head may be making things worse. How close is this project to getting tagged as a boondoggle.Crosscut writers Matt Fikse-Verkerk and Knute Berger join Steve Scher at Zeitgeist Coffee, just blocks from the troubled project, to ask, Is Bertha Toast?