At 57.5 ft diameter, the sheer size and weight of the tunnel boring machine was too great to salvage from the exit shaft. Over the next four months, crews worked alternating shifts 24/7 to methodically dismantle Bertha piece by piece. This work involved slicing the outer shell and other components with an oxyacetylene torch, a highly skilled operation, and lifting each piece up and out with heavy cranes.
SR99 tunnel exit site following the completion of TBM dismantle process, view to south.