Once Around the Web: Past and Future Construction

Ah, remember when Bertha was working? Those were good times. But tunneling is hard work and sometimes things go wrong. Currently the plan is to have Bertha back on the dig by March 2015 and until then you can follow along via Twitter. They share some pretty cool pictures of the repair progress. Take for example, this one from about a week ago:

This sinister-looking piece of equipment is apparently part of Seattle Tunnel Partners’ plan to access and repair me. pic.twitter.com/0ImWUiijZx

— Bertha (@BerthaDigsSR99) June 4, 2014

If looking through Bertha’s archives doesn’t satisfy your need for cool photos of tunneling machines, you should check out this article over at Gizmodo!

24 Tunneling Machines That Created a World Beneath Our Feet

Two TBMs responsible for drilling Sound Transit Link Light Rail make an appearance as does Bertha. And you don’t want to miss the older machines like this one from 1908:

1908. Machine used in Gary, West Virginia digs the coal and loads it onto the car. With it, three men could do the work of 50 in the old way. Photo: Lewis Wickes Hine

So cool right? Looks like a steampunk dinosaur! Speaking of cool, you’ve seen this video about solar roadways right?

The internet is a buzz with the idea of solar roadways – they pay for themselves, they create jobs, they melt snow, they cut greenhouse gas emissions, they can display dynamic messaging and road striping, and they can do the cha cha! Ok, not that last one but thanks to a federal grant from the FHA, a working prototype exists and it’s blowing a lot of minds. So much so, that their indiegogo campaign has already raised more than 2 million dollars!

Read more about it at:

We Could Build a Solar-Powered Roadway. But Will We?

Solar roads are more practical than they sound

How Crowdfunding May Help Build Solar Roadways

Solar-powered roads: Coming to a highway near you?

Are solar panel road surfaces the path to the future?

Solar Roadways: Turning Pavement into Power

Of course, not everyone is on board, and the naysayers do raise some compelling points: