Bertha Emerges In Seattle: Watch Closeup Drone Video

SEATTLE, WA - Not since the demolition of the Kingdome has the Seattle area been so enthralled by a bunch of crumbling concrete.

Around noon Tuesday, Bertha, the giant tunnel boring machine, emerged from underneath Seattle, completing a nearly two-mile tunneling journey. Bertha's last task was to chew through a concrete retaining wall.

The moment Bertha broke through that wall was streamed live as it happened, but the Washington State Department of Transportation released a unique angle late Tuesday: a closeup of Bertha emerging filmed from a drone hovering just a few feet away.

It'll still be a few more weeks before the entire tunneling machine emerges from underground. In Bertha's wake, construction crews are building a four-lane highway that, when it opens in 2019, will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct through downtown Seattle.

It took Bertha several hours to actually get through the concrete retaining wall. WSDOT began streaming the event live around 8 a.m. as Bertha moved gingerly toward the exit. If you want to relive the entire four-plus hour event, you can rewatch the livestream on WSDOT's SR 99 webpage.

Image via Washington State Department of Transportation