KIRO reports, “The financial hit to taxpayers for delays to the State Route 99 tunnel [due to tunneling machine Bertha’s former problems] might not be as high as the state warned last summer. On Thursday [December 15], the Washington State Department of Transportation revised the cost overrun estimate downward by a third, to $149 million from $223 million. The revision comes after nearly a year of successful tunneling and a new, detailed financial analysis. The state says the estimate could drop more after mining is done next year and risks drop.”
