So it'll be real tough to call the winner of the office pool on "what's blocking Bertha" ? Way to ruin the most fun the public has had speculating on a WSDOT project in decades.

The simple narrative is they hit a pipe, it damaged the machine, they checked out front for any other obstructions, replaced all the damaged bits, and are going again. It just took a hell of a long time to do all that.

I imagine they also had someone combing over a mountain of documents to find out whether any other obstructions were unaccounted for. Perhaps they were waiting for that work to complete.

Perhaps they also took advantage of the stoppage to do a complete top to bottom inspection of the machine before the warranty ran out.

Or, perhaps an interpreter who speaks Clamasaurus had to be flown in from the Lost World.

Who made Bertha, Hitachi wasn't it? I find it inconceivable that a custom-built piece of gear like that wouldn't have a couple of engineers either assigned to it or following its workings with great interest.

Find a Japanese-speaker versed in Google-foo and engineer-speak, and try to find and interview the engineers back in Japan. World's largest tunneling machine? I'm sure this was reported in one or another technical newsletter. I note that long distance rates to Japan are 3-cents/minute via Google Voice.

Wouldn't there be non-disclosure provisions in the contract between STP and Hitachi Zosen, so there's no premature disclosure of information that might hurt HZ's future business? And if so, wouldn't WSDOT as a third party be extremely limited in what they could either learn or make public themselves?

Maybe the contractor STP need to provide the explanaiton, since they are the ones operating the machine, and not WSDOT bureaucrats.

Oh, that's right. They aren't talking to the press. But the Stranger uncritically gives them a free pass. Even the Times isn't doing that.

WSDOT's public information black-out curtain around this project is indeed troubling.

Why would they say a lot publicly if they have reason to believe that the delay might result in litigation and public statements could hurt the state's position in court? Not disclosing a lot of information to the public very well might be in the public's best interest if it results in financial compensation from some third party. Or we could just say screw all that, I've got an office pool to win :D

What's the worst possible explanation? It was blocked by an ancient alien spaceship and...I dunno, it was dug up and sent to the Pentagon? I don't get what all the hoopla is about. (I don't live in Seattle).

There is no way they can finish this without a massive Seattle property tax

Please tell me you guys have already filed public records requests.

@10, Where did you think the Port of Seattle's $300 million "contribution" was going to come from ? Charging customers more or using the existing taxing authority ?
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2013/08/06_…

Goldy wins.

I thought I heard on NPR this morning (it was early I was tired...) that they are only going 2 additional feet to complete this section.

am I mistaken?

Timmy, you say Seattle Times reporter Mike Lindblom "needs to grow some" So if true, that speaks volumes about the Seattle Times attitude in putting a rookie on THIS reporting job!! Does that say Times is being " in bed/cahoots" with the STP and the WSDOT?? So Seatle Times doesn't put their VERY BEST reportingon THE biggest THE most expensive, project in Seattle history?? ALSO you notice Governor Inslee!! was making "a LOT of Bertha noise when it was about the Longshoreman vs Bertha issue -- but all this long EIGHT weeks stoppage and Inslee is mute!! IS strangely -- SILENT! NOT a word from him or the new mayor for hat matter