Originally published on December 12, 2013 <br /><br />The world's largest tunnel boring machine bumped into a mystery object under downtown Seattle last Friday, bringing the construction of Highway 99 tunnel to a standstill for almost a week. <br /><br />Nicknamed 'Bertha', the machine was shut down after it ran into an unknown object last Friday. "We don't know what it is," a spokeswoman of the Washington State Department of Transportation told the Seattle Times. "We don't know whether it is man-made or natural."<br /><br />The stoppage has given rise to all sorts of speculation — ranging from trash abandoned in a landfill to a buried rail car — but one leading theory is that the machine had hit a boulder and the soil around it is too soft to hold it firmly.<br /><br />The tunnel boring machine was brought in from Japan to dig a four-lane tunnel to replace the now-defunct Alaskan Way Viaduct. The five-storey-high machine was placed about 60 feet below ground, and has already dug 1,000 feet of tunnel since July. <br /><br />Two cranes were set up at the spot, ready to tackle the object from above ground. It will take about two weeks for identify the object and formulate a strategy to remove it. <br /><br />The delay will raise the construction cost of the tunnel, but it is not known how much it would cost. <br /><br />The US$4 billion project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015. <br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.<br /><br />For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:<br />https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS
