WASHINGTON — Seattle Tunnel Partners has received conditional permission to resume tunneling operations on the SR 99 Tunnel Project. STP resumed mining today after WSDOT conditionally lifted the “suspension for cause” that halted mining and barging-related activities last month following two safety incidents.
‘Bertha’ is the massive machine boring the new route.
As part of the conditions for lifting the suspension for cause, STP will be permitted to tunnel forward and install approximately 25 concrete tunnel rings. During this time, they must demonstrate that they have implemented a number of changes to ensure they can safely continue mining.
WSDOT made the decision to conditionally lift the suspension for cause after its team of tunneling experts evaluated documentation submitted by STP over the past several weeks. While mining can resume, barging activities are still restricted pending submittal of additional documentation. STP will remove excavated soil by truck as they continue addressing the barging issue. Repairs to the pier that was damaged during the Jan. 12 barging incident were completed earlier this month.
Work was suspended for cause on Jan. 14 per section 14.2 of the contract, which says the state can suspend work without liability to WSDOT under a number of conditions, including the contractor’s failure to “correct conditions unsafe for the project personnel or general public.”
The suspension for cause only addressed tunneling operations involving the tunneling machine and the loading of barges at the site. It did not apply to the other ongoing work under the design-build contract with STP or any other contracts being managed by the viaduct program.
