Gigantic device , known as Bertha , began working in December 2013 after digging just 1,000 ft of a highway tunnel . Workmen used a huge red crane to pull the front end of the broken - down tunnel in painstaking operation . Crane was lifted to ground level at a rate of four inches a minute and using 120 tons of cable . Breakdown has meant the $ 80 million project to replace the tunnel Way has been delayed by two years .
Gigantic device , known as Bertha , stopped working in December 2013 after digging just 1,000ft of a highway tunnel . Workmen used a huge red crane to pull the front end of the broken-down tunnel in painstaking operation . Crane was lifted to ground level at a rate of four inches a minute and using seven miles of cable . Breakdown has meant the $ 80 million project to replace the Alaska Way has been delayed by two years .