What kind of object did stopped the drilling

[diablo_04]

Bertha, which is digging the new Highway 99 tunnel, has been stopped since Friday, about 60-feet underground due to the unidentified obstruction. Bertha, which is digging the new Highway 99 tunnel, has been stopped since Friday, about 60-feet underground due to the unidentified obstruction. Bertha, which is digging the new Highway 99 tunnel, has been stopped since Friday, about 60-feet underground due to the unidentified obstruction.

http://youtu.be/pi8dk5SjPC4

[tinysbox13]

Interesting, thanks for posting!

[toast]

Bertha, which is digging the new Highway 99 tunnel, has been stopped since Friday, about 60-feet underground due to the unidentified obstruction. Bertha, which is digging the new Highway 99 tunnel, has been stopped since Friday, about 60-feet underground due to the unidentified obstruction. Bertha, which is digging the new Highway 99 tunnel, has been stopped since Friday, about 60-feet underground due to the unidentified obstruction.

:blink:

Edited December 12, 2013 by toast

[Rafterman]

Who knows. I'm betting it's probably something mundane and ordinary though. It's a pretty common occurrence for construction crews run into things underground that aren't supposed to be there or are supposed to be somewhere else. In a lot of cases, they're working with maps that could be 100+ years old.

[stereologist]

I would guess that it is something that would make the area above unstable such as a pile of boulders. There would be voids that could cause collapses. We'll find out shortly.

[Bavarian Raven]

What I heard on the news (so take it with a grain of salt lol) said the drill hit something to hard to penetrate o.O

[Emma_Acid]

It could be wartime bombs (depending on the country), concrete pours from previous construction works, sewerage tunnels, forgotten utilities routes, underground rivers, archaeological sites - the list is endless. One thing it almost certainly isn't is a "new age mystery".

Edited December 12, 2013 by Emma_Acid

[diablo_04]

The drilling has stopped because they failed to go true the object (the drills are made to go through a solid rock, so I can only imagine what is standing in their way ).

[psyche101]

Most Likely a really big rock.

SEATTLE -- Diagnosing what has blocked a boring machine working on a highway tunnel under downtown Seattle, and figuring out what to do, could take about two weeks, the project director for Seattle Tunnel Partners said Wednesday.

LINK

[Emma_Acid]

The drilling has stopped because they failed to go true the object (the drills are made to go through a solid rock, so I can only imagine what is standing in their way ).

There is not such thing as "solid rock" - or more accurately it can mean a huge amount of different things. Most likely the drill is designed to go through the types of rock they were expecting to encounter - and they hit a vein of much harder, more compact rock.

And as for not being able to imagine whats in their way, I've already given you a list.

This is one of the things that does do my head in a bit about these "new age mystery" posts - people present something they don't understand as a mystery, refuse to listen to any rational explanation, and will only perk up when someone mentions something like aliens.

[Frank Merton]

Oh they just need excuses for going overbudget and overtime.

[keninsc]

Actually, those giant boring machines are designed to go through specific types of rock. People think they're like a giant drill bit like the ones you buy at the hardware store and you can drill through very nearly anything with them. That's simply not the case with these monsters, if they are designed to bore through compacted clay then rock with stop them cold. If they are designed to go through limestone and they hit granite, yep, stopped cold again.

Bigger does not always mean better or all you have to do is simply crank it up and push harder on the drill. The good news is the cutter inserts can be changed out to something that will handle whatever is giving it trouble now. They have to figure out what they're up against.

[psyche101]

This is one of the things that does do my head in a bit about these "new age mystery" posts - people present something they don't understand as a mystery, refuse to listen to any rational explanation, and will only perk up when someone mentions something like aliens.

They will have an answer in two weeks, so that leaves little time for wild speculation

Best they get in while the going is good.

Edited December 17, 2013 by psyche101

[ian hacktorp]

The part of Seattle they are tunnelling through is artificially built up with some 40 feet of fill dirt that was washed down with high-powered hoses from surrounding hills over 100 years ago in a massive re-grade project. There is all kinds of man-made junk that is potentially in there.

I'm gonna speculate they've hit steel railroad rails running parallel to the tunnel which, if indeed the case, will be a major headache for the tunnel project.

[Xynoplas]

They will have an answer in two weeks, so that leaves little time for wild speculation

Best they get in while the going is good.

I'm not saying it's aliens, but...

[toast]

Bertha was stopped by the basement of Uluru, simply just that.

Edited December 17, 2013 by toast

[jesspy]

It was probably stopped by Justin Beibers ego. That thing is massive and gets in the way of everything.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

The machines are sitting around not doing anything?

*puts on sunglasses*

Well, they are BORING machines ....

YYYEEEAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

[Likely Guy]

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap...

I'm bored. About this time I'd hope that they'd tapped into some ancient earth bound dragon.

God I'm bored.

Tap, tap, tap.

[markprice]

According to NPR big boring Bertha probably just broke.

[PaulWalker]

It's the root of a colossal marijuana plant that's set to break through on January 1st!

[Mantis914]

Why don't they just back the machine up and rap a couple of times and say, "Yoo-Hoo!". If someone or something answers, that's when it's time to make a hasty retreat...

[zoser]

Why don't they just back the machine up and rap a couple of times and say, "Yoo-Hoo!". If someone or something answers, that's when it's time to make a hasty retreat...

Anyone remember the movie? (Just seeing if anyone knows)

Scared me to death when I was young.

Here's hoping!

[+OverSword]

It has to be a crashed ancient alien spaceship. And when we open it up it will reveal the answers to all of mankinds problems and we will live happily ever after in peace and harmony with our space brothers among the stars. (That was for Emma)

[Calibeliever]

Godzilla!