What kind of vibrations would people in my building feel from the tunnel boring machine?
Vibrations caused by the TBM are expected to be very slight and virtually undetectable at the ground surface. If perceptible, this slight amount of vibration would last less than one week as the TBM passes beneath a building, as described above. We have been collecting baseline vibration information in the Pioneer Square area and intend to conduct studies of active tunnels, such as the BNSF railroad tunnel, to determine existing vibration levels. Before tunnel boring begins, vibration monitoring devices would be installed throughout the downtown core, particularly for vibration-sensitive structures. Would I have to retrofit my building before construction? With only a couple of exceptions, building retrofits would not be required prior to tunneling. In these isolated cases, WSDOT would be responsible for performing the building retrofit and would work closely with the property owners in coordinating this work before tunneling begins. Would my building be damaged by the tunnel boring ma
