Compliments to Gizmag for covering this event and the detailed description is excellent.
This is a gigantic project by the sheer size of the TBM named Bertha.
This must be a challenging jobs for the engineers.
Wishing all the best

Awesome!

This gizmo has many additional and alternmative uses, not only in it's home area but in every other major city. It could be used as well, and should be, to construct multi-use ultility tunnels under existing rights-of-way conveying high-power overhead power lines, and combining the transport of other products and services,like high-capacity communications cables. water and gas pipes, underground commercial transport traffic lanes, even the industrial scale conveyor lines and pipelines of the near future. The 'recycled" space from overhead power lines could be used for walking trails and bike trails, parks and a multituse of private and public uses, keeping in mind that the primary reuse should be for public space, green spaces. See http://bizcovering.com/business/smart-electric-grid-and-alternative-power-need-each-other/

It's better than the largest boring tunnel.

In no way was that boring.... I want one.

Just amazing technology! Thanks.

What generates the electricity to power this massive tunneling boring machine?

Any reason given for Robins Company not getting the contract? --- "In 1952 TBM pioneer James S. Robbins was working in the mining industry when he came up with a plan to make excavations more efficient. That product, the modern TBM, revolutionized tunneling, and 60 years later The Robbins Company is still going strong."
http://www.tunneltalk.com/Accolades-Awards-Oct12-Robbins-celebrates-60-years-of-TBM-achievement.php They have a manufacturing facility 20 miles from the dig site, in Kent, WA. Why not them?

Quality problems with concrete liners blamed on sub contractors? Sounds a lot like the problems with subcontractors producing bolts for the San Francisco Bay Bridge......
http://www.tunneltalk.com/World-News-Briefs.php#
Concrete lining for Seattle mega project put on hold Jul 03, 2013The News Tribune Joint venture FPS EnCon has laid off most of its employees and halted production of a critical component needed for Seattle's S99 tunnel.
The JV told some 85 workers at their Frederickson concrete plant last Friday that it was issuing layoffs for an indefinite period and stopping production of the semi-circular concrete liners for the $3.14 billion project. Without it, the world’s largest TBM – scheduled to begin boring the 2-mile tunnel this month – can’t create and stabilize the nearly 60-foot-diameter tunnel.
Washington Department of Transportation spokeswoman KaDeena Yerkan said state officials weren’t yet fully aware of the situation at the Frederickson plant. FPS EnCon said they paused production work to allow them to restructure their deal and to allow subcontractors furnishing materials to catch up to the production schedule. They anticipate to return to a full production bt next week.
Meanwhile, the few remaining workers are concentrating on fixing flaws in the 1,000 or so liners the plant has already built. EnCon Chief Executive Officer Jim Sorensen said some of those panels lack needed documentation and others have small voids in the concrete that need to be filled.
A spokesman for FPS said all of the tunnel liners will be thoroughly inspected and will meet quality standards before being installed in the tunnel. The plant’s goal is to produce at least 60 ring segments a day. Ten of the segments lock together to create a complete ring. The plant has reached that rate several times in recent weeks, but not consistently.

There is a similar smaller machine about to bore two tunnels in Auckland, New Zealand, only 14m in diameter. http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/waterviewconnection/