Jumbo Delivers Bertha, the World’s Largest Tunnel Boring Machine [IMAGES]

Jumbo Shipping’s Fairpartner called on Seattle, Washington recently to deliver a rather unique, and awesome piece of equipment…

Nicknamed “Bertha” and at a price tag of $80 million, it is the world’s largest diameter tunnel boring machine.  Bertha’s 57-foot diameter cutting surface will dig a 1.7 mile tunnel underneath the city of Seattle at a rate of 3 inches per minute over the next few years.  Click HERE for a diagram showing the route of the tunnel.

Built in Osaka by Japanese firm Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Bertha was taken apart into 41 separate pieces, the largest weighing about 900 tons, before being loaded on the Fairpartner roughly two weeks ago.

Bertha, in all her glory…

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