Welcome Back, Brenda: Gigantic Drill Expected to Emerge from the Earth Today
Five months ago, Brenda embarked on a perilous underground journey from Cal Anderson Park downhill to the Paramount Theater. The purpose? To build the tunnel that will one day house the Capitol Hill light rail line. Now, that journey is almost over; Brenda the Huge Drill (a.k.a., Boring Machine, in more ways than one) is expected to emerge victorious next to the Paramount today, marking one leg of light rail tunnel off the checklist.
This is how Brenda, who is made by Hitatchi, works:
She looks a little like a bigger, sharper version of a more famous Hitatchi product that is not boring OR used for tunnel-boring.
Watch for her triumphant resurfacing! If she sees her shadow, we'll have six more years of light rail construction.
Next stop in the Capitol Hill-UW-Downtown drilling process, which is estimated to last about 18 months total, is the University District. Brenda, however, will get a break, and Togo and Balto will take over. Yes, named after the sled dogs, who had this movie made about them:
Perhaps one is part wolf. Regardless, they weigh almost twice as much as Brenda, and are made by Herrenknecht. Read more about the TBMs in this handy .pdf!
