America's secret machine! They drill the mountain in one day!

[Music] after retiring Bera the world's largest tunnel Boring Machine the United States secretly began developing an even larger TBM to create a revolutionary Transportation structure hidden from International media the project proceeded underground citizens only saw clouds of dust and heard loud noises after extensive investigation the identity of America's Mysterious Giant TBM has been red just how massive is this machine join us in this special episode as we unveil the American secret capable of drilling through a mountain in a day taking on a mega project to speed up their National advancement in construction and structural development the United States facilitated a 57. 5 ft diameter boring machine built specifically for the Washington State Department of transportation's Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel project in Seattle Washington United States the machine was assembled in Osaka Japan it was launched on July 2013 a perfect time to show the world the United States Transportation advancements and fight the potential of an earthquake at the time of manufacturing the $80 million machine was the world's largest Earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine with some sophistication Bertha had a special pre programmed Melody that played for workers inside the machine and those monitoring the tunnel borer but bera's Journey did not start in 2013 like the world assumed it was a vision coined as far back as 2001 in February 12 years before the launch of Bera the rural community of Nali Washington was the epicenter of a magnitude 6. 8 earthquake now known as The Ash Wednesday earthquake that rocked the region in the city of Seattle about 400 people were injured in the quake and one person died of a heart attack but the area's infrastructure was affected the most further inspections of the region showed that most of the infrastructure would not take another Tremor the city quickly organized a program to restructure the public infrastructure and they did all except one the Alaskan Way Viaduct while the viaduct was dangerous to repair the engineers knew that it would not take another earthquake so they had to replace it after years of deliberations they decided that the viaduct would be demolished and the North and South stretches of State Route 99 would be reconnected by a $3.

1 billion tunnel that would run away from the Waterfront the line of the viaduct and the Battery Street tunnel that linked the viaduct and the North End of the roadway in Seattle the tunnel would run under the city center at 200 ft to avoid a forest of pilings cables and pipes from some 160 buildings above it was a big project and the engineer needed one Major Tool Bera the world's biggest tunnel Boring Machine after manufacturing Bera in Japan it was disassembled for easy movement and shipped to Seattle before being put back together it was too big to cross the sea the gigantic machine consisted of a 2,000 ton cutter head a slurry pipe a shield a control room and the trailing gear on July 30 2013 the assigned Engineers got to work with Bera under the eyes and cameras of the international media the tunnel Boring Machine started digging into a cement plug with a view of coming out on the other side of the city center in 14 months while it looked like a normal digging process from the outside Bertha had some dangerous things coming that were not rocks and Clay the fall of Bera although the entire route for The megga Tunnel construction was studied and many test samples were drilled the detailed geology of the construction area was uncertain the soil in the marked area was complex and had been chunked up with different compositions so the drilling was monitored closely since Bera was also oneof a kind navigating it was also uncertain however the operating engineers were determined to figure out and learn whatever they did not know on the job in December 5 months after the machine's launch into the Earth Bertha encountered a catastrophic failure that almost ended the whole tunnel program the gigantic tunnel Boring Machine hit a steel pipe and shut itself down after digging 1,083 ft through the ground an inspection engineer had allegedly left the steel pipe by mistake while measuring the groundwater 3 days after the incident things went from bad to worse the rubber seals around the main bearing failed and grit got into the workings damaging important parts of the machine which began to overheat all efforts by those on site to try to get it to work again failed and 2 months later Bertha was still trapped 120 ft underground with no way out when nothing could be done by the field Engineers Hitachi the manufacturer concluded that the only way to repair Bera was to dig it out and partly dismantle it after months of messy legal proceedings over the financing of the repair project arguments and Sample inspections the repair was finally completed in December of 2015 just a few days before Christmas Bertha started digging forward again the engineers heaved a sigh of relief but the worst was yet to come a year after another round of digging Bertha dug through a layer of stiff clay mixed with sand and gravel at about 120 to 150 ft under the viaduct causing a sinkhole to open 30 m behind the tunnel Boring Machine Bertha was shut down again for 6 weeks while the engineers filled the sinkhole when it got back up 3 months later Bera was ready to roll 200 ft deep the boring machine dug through the city for 11 months without any negative issues then after a final 6-in course correction in March of 2017 Bera was ready to fulfill its purpose on the 4th of April the gigantic tunnel Boring Machine punched through the concrete plug at the reception pit built for it sending clouds of dust as the media watched while Bertha made history it met a tragic end after the job the engineers began dismantling each part of the giant tunnel boring machine into smaller pieces weighing about 20 tons so they could be taken away by Road and restructured to build other infrastructure while Bera was historic for the United States and the world it was not the only giant tunnel Boring Machine manufactured the United States had another gigantic secret they tried to keep from the world the mysterious tunnel border that found artifacts after Bera the United States was determined to do something better regarding Tunnel construction so they quickly funded another project however this time was secretive the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel project started in 2017 in Virginia just after the end of Bera however it faced a lot of obstacles the project was poised for a 5-year timeline which means it was projected to finish in 2022 still several delays added another 5 years to its completion far from what anyone could have imagined after several delays from toll Revenue the United States introduced a giant tunnel boring machine called chesse which began mining the tunnel on February 2023 chesse had only mined about 750 ft when workers spotted large pieces of Steel on a conveyor belt that carries muck from the tunnel to the Bay's surface upon further investigation the engineers discovered that these pieces of Steel were artifacts possibly from a ship more than 50 years ago one piece was engraved by WL buyers and Co a compan based in Sunderland England that produced anchors from the 1860s to about the 1950s nobody knows how the anchor got buried or to which ship it belonged the British anchor was very common weighing about 3. 5 to 5 tons but the Chessie ground it while tunneling the engineers shut Chessie down to investigate the delay in their work after investigation they excavated and replaced the damaged parts of chesse caused by the anchor the grinding caused a lot of damage to chess's Cutter head 389 of the 442 tools such as discs and scrapers on the cutter head had to be replaced for more than 6 months the site Engineers worked on repairing the damaged part and Excavating the tunnel for an additional 3 months after replacement the construction crew worked on getting chess's cutter head back to working condition the the head was about 300 ft long although the anchor obstruction added 241 days to the project chesse returned to work tunneling about 50 ft a day and having boarded about 1,600 ft total up to 25% of the planned 6,400 ft the giant tunnel boring machine is expected to finish the job in late 2027 chesse and Bertha are great but not the only tunnel boring machines digging the Earth there are types of tunnel boring machines even with more sophistication however to understand each type you must understand how they generally operate how tunnel boring Works tunnel boring is a mechanical drilling operation poised to dig full underground tunnels as simple as it sounds tunnel boring is more complex than an individual would assume a tunnel Boring Machine usually weighs over 6,000 tons and is about 150 M long since a tunnel borer cannot make a sharp turn because of its size it performs the excavation process with its rotating head also known as a cutter head which makes a hole in the ground by using a motor with a hydraulic or Electric System depending on the tunnel characteristics the cutter head can be made of various materials the machine creates a pushing force that ensures the rotating head continues drilling behind the tunnel boring machine is a platform on called lagging equipment or buckup where other pieces of work equipment like the Transformers and fans are located it also creates a smooth means of excavation after the excavation the tunnel boring machine stops and the Rings are installed in the tunnel structure to keep it steady as the machine moves tbms are not the only Mega construction machines available they are just a fraction of the largest construction machines ever produced baz 75710 the world's most enormous dump truck baz 75710 is worth $7 million this dump truck comes in different sizes with one weighing 90 tons and another weighing 13 tons it can carry 450 tons and handle up to 500 tons with an overload which earned it a Guinness World Record it also holds a second Guinness World Record for being the largest car by cubic Capac capacity 645 Cub M its length is 20 M its width is 10 m and its height is over 8 m when overloaded its total weight is 850 tons equal to two giant passenger planes the Airbus A380 when this dump truck needs to be transported to a job site it's too big to be carried by road instead it's taken apart and transported on 20 Railway platforms which means it takes up an entire train this truck has two 16 cylinder engines each producing 2,300 horsepower for a total of 4,600 horsepower each engine has about 76 L making the total capacity over2 L 100 times larger than a mid-range car engine the engine has a torque of nearly 10,000 nanom for comparison a Hilux has around 500 nanom about 20 times more enabling it to drive two generators those generators produce 35,000 KW of electricity this vehicle could power 1,000 Apartments if a small apartment needs about 3. 5 KW the beas 75710 has four wheels each powered by its own electric motor with each motor having a power output of 1,600 horsepower so the beas is an electric vehicle because because four electric motors drive it the generators provide electricity to all two axles driving all eight wheels each of the eight tires weighs almost 6 tons and one tire costs between $50,000 and $90,000 this cost is equivalent to two to four economy class cars each tire has a 4 M diameter and is inflated to seven atmospheres if such a tire exploded it would create a pit like three grenades had gone off the fuel tank holds 2,800 L 55 times more than a Hilux the huge Bella's truck drives about 100,000 km a year and can be used for 10 to 12 years over its lifetime it covered more than a million kilom it has eight air filters that need frequent changing because the truck operates in Dusty quaries the baz was first introduced to the world in 2012 five manufacturers including baz make this type of large machine the truck's top speed is 64 kmph its small cabin features two seats an automatic transmission two brake pedals one accelerator pedal and a cooling system while operating one of its engines runs at 800 revolutions per minute leau l2350 the next colossal machine is the largest front-end loader in the world the leau L2 350 made in Long viw Texas by the lerno company this enormous loader moves minerals like gold coal copper ore and other materials into bigger trucks it weighs more than a Boeing 737 is about 2 stories tall and can lift the weight of 40 cars above its head the loader has a 50 cubic yard Rock bucket that can lift 80 tons to be more practical 53 cubic yards is about the same as five regular dump trucks you see on the road front-end loaders are relatively new compared to other excavators although the lerno company has a long history of making loaders the l2350 is their first model off the assembly line nearby they have a test site where they put the machine through various tests the laturno l2350 was designed because more giant trucks need bigger loaders as dump trucks grew Engineers worked for 2 years to build a Lo that could lift 50% more than the previous model they even teamed up with Firestone to create the world's largest tires these tires are 13 ft tall over 5 ft wide and are the biggest rubber pieces seen LNO makes many parts for the l2350 at their Long View plant and they even run a steel mill there the l2350 Z's frame includes a radiator with a 150 galon coolant capacity it has a mass massive 16 cylinder diesel engine turbocharged and after cooled producing about 2,300 horsepower when operating it burns about 50 gallons of fuel per hour the diesel engine Powers a generator which supplies electricity to four electric motors that move the loader huge 16-in hydraulic cylinders lift the big bucket which can scoop up enough material to fill an olympic sized swimming pool in just a few Scoops caterpillar 60 9 FS the caterpillar 6090 is one of the most remarkable machines on Earth weighing an astonishing 1,100 tons equivalent to stacking over 1,000 midsized cars its immense size and weight highlight the exceptional engineering and design involved powered by a robust 793 horsepower engine the caterpillar 609 can dig up to 122 ft deep and move up to 99,00 CB yard of material daily equivalent to Excavating a football field over 100 ft deep in just one day this incredible capacity is ideal for large-scale projects like Bridge construction high-rise buildings and Mining equipped with advanced technology such as GPS 3D modeling and automated controls the 6090 can dig with precision and efficienc efficiency speeding up work and reducing fuel consumption and costs sensors and cameras give the operator a comprehensive view of the digging process allowing for real-time adjustments these high-tech features make the 6090 invaluable for any construction or mining job the machine also boasts a userfriendly control system ensuring ease of operation the operator's cab is designed for optimal visibility and comfort minimizing fatigue and enhancing handling maintenance is straightforward with a central lubrication system for easy greasing of moving parts and numerous access points for quick servicing Beyond digging The Versatile caterpillar 6090 is suitable for mining construction and demolition tasks its massive size and power make it perfect for large scale projects and it's equipped with various safety features including emergency sh C off switches fire suppression systems and a rollover protective structure the advanced technology of the 6090 ensures precise and efficient digging reducing fuel consumption and overall costs over time it can save companies significant money designed with environmental considerations the machine includes emission reduction technology to minimize its environmental impact the centralized lubrication system reduces oil leaks and Spills contributing to its eco-friendliness the caterpillar 6090 size power and advanced technology enable it to perform tasks impossible for smaller machines all while maintaining precision and efficiency leair lr1 3000 the lr1 3000 crawler crane boasts a 3,000 ton lifting capacity and has successfully lifted a 3,300 70 ton test weight at its ahan Factory in Germany claiming the title of the world's strongest conventional crawler crane designed to lift its maximum load to a 12 M radius the 13000 is ideal for applications such as power stations particularly nuclear plants with large preassembled modules and Refinery vessels where columns can weigh up to 1,500 tons and reach 100 m in height each crawler stands over 3.

5 M tall and weighs over 200 tons the hook block alone weighs tons the Crane's maximum system length is 246 M achieved with a 20 M main boom and a 26 M luffing jib four boom configurations can be combined light medium heavy heavy and super heavy according to the manufacturer the lr1130 is unique for operating without Derek ballast thanks to its in-house produced slooh ring when used with a Derek it features an adjustable suspended ballast system similar to the LR 1350 which can be guided from a 20 to 30 m ballast radius a ballast trailer system is also available combining the standard suspended ballast setup with a heavy lift modular trailer for transport the maximum component weight is 70 tons fully equipped with 400 tons of superstructure ballast and 1,500 tons of Derek ballast the LR 3000 weighs 3,500 tons most components are under 3. 6 M tall and 4 M wide the crawler frames measuring over 3. 5 M tall 20 M long and weighing around 210 tons are transported after the 82 ton tracks are removed and dismantled the 128 ton frame is split in half and moved by a low loader the 4.

5 M diameter sing ring is transported diagonally to stay within a 4 M width to facilitate transport the concrete ballast blocks are designed to match the dimensions of 20ft containers big musky this is the largest and most impressive walking drag line ever created known as Big musky it stands almost as tall as 22 stories and weighs a massive 10,000 tons the central Ohio Coal Company had a new project in the works their mine covered more than 110,000 Acres of hilly terrain and they needed a large machine to excavate the ground and extract coal the busiris Eerie company's factories were tasked with designing and constructing the components for big musky an incredibly massive machine in 1969 this colossal machine was ready for operation after 3 years of work it took 340 rail cars and 260 trucks to transport each component to the minine site and it required 200,000 manh hours for assembly it was constructed in around 2 years with a remarkable Workforce it cost $25 million in 1969 equivalent to about $17 million today the bucket of big musky had a capacity of 220 cubic yards or 170 cubic M enough to hold two full-sized Greyhound buses side by side in 1976 it was reported that this enormous machine removed 8,000 yards of overburden per operating hour for the coal company over its service life it moved twice the amount of Earth excavated during the original construction of the Panama Canal due to its immense size this Behemoth required substant itial power to operate equivalent to that needed for an entire town 13,800 volts were supplyed to the drag line through a trailing cable that powered 18 1,000 horsepower and 10 625 horsepower DC Electric Motors this was comparable to the electricity usage of about 27,000 homes making it extremely expensive to operate costing tens of thousands of dollars per hour in electricity alone as a result the mining company had to make special arrangements with local Ohio power companies to handle the extra power load they had to operate around the clock with nighttime being the most cost effective due to the lower kilowatt hour rate than during the day notably big musky could move on its own using its massive hydraulic Walker feet traveling at a speed of about 0. 1 mph usually covering less than a mile between digging positions the machine served for 22 years removing over 600 million cubic yards or 460 million cubic meters of overburden and uncovering over 20 million tons of coal however due to increasing electricity costs and opposition to strip mining operations in Ohio the massive machine was retired in 1991 after lying dormant for 8 years the state of Ohio began enforcing the surface mining control roll and Reclamation Act in 1999 requiring all equipment to be removed from former strip mines for environmental remediation the machine was eventually taken apart on site and sold for scrap with the scrap metal fetching $700,000 only the massive bucket survived and is now displayed at miners Memorial Park in Bristol Ohio the site where big musky once operated was partially transformed into a Wildlife Park named The Wilds which opened in 1994 and is home to various species of African Asian and North American wildlife kamatsu d575 A3 superdozer let's talk about the kamatsu d575 A3 superdozer the world's largest most productive Dozer by a factor of nearly two the kamatsu integrated design offers industry-leading productivity reliability and additional Advanced standard features hydraulics powertrains frames and all other major components are engineered and manufactured by kamasu its engine is worth 858 KW 1,150 hulet Packard turbocharged the aftercooled engine provides plenty of power the large blade capacity is 90 cubic M the d575 A3 superdozer reduces operating costs to dollars per ton through high dosing product AC ity the large superdozer Blade with low dosing resistance and an automatic lockup torque converter saves Fuel and increases speed in power transmission efficiency on Long pushes katu's new ergonomically designed control system pccs creates an operating environment with complete operator control the travel control joystick is ergonomically designed to give the operator a relaxed posture and superb fine control without operator fatigue transmission gear shifting is simply carried out with the thumb fully adjustable suspension seat and travel control console for improved rear visibility during The Return part of the cycle the operator can adjust the seat 15° to the right the transmission and steering controls move with the seat for the best operator Comfort the travel control console also has adjustments for aft and height with an independently adjustable armrest each d575 A3 operator can adjust control positions to his individual preference the engine Revolution is controlled by an electric signal providing ease of operation and reducing problems caused by linkage joint seizures the blade control joystick uses proportional pressure control a PPC valve and a palm command joystick similar to the travel control joystick combined with the highly reliable kamasu hydraulic system PPC control enables superb fine control the d575 A3 superdozer uses a newly designed powertrain electronic control system the controller registers the number of operator control movements of the lever the operation of switches and machine condition signals from each sensor it calculates to accurately control the torque converter transmission steering clutches and brakes for optimized machine op operation the controller automatically adjusts each clutch engagement depending on travel conditions such as gear speed Revolution and shifting pattern this provides no shock smooth clutch engagement improved component reliability expansion of component life and operator riding Comfort the large tinted glass windows provide a panoramic view of the work area an air filter and higher internal pressure prevent dust from entering the cab the constant machine condition check helps prevent severe problems and lets the operator concentrate on the controls when an error occurs during operation the user code and service meter are displayed alternately when a high importance user code is displayed a caution lamp lights up and a warning buzzer sounds to prevent the development of serious problems the fuele efficient kamatsu engine and the heavy machine weight make the d57 53 super Dozer a superior Crawler Dozer in dosing production the engine is designed to surpass the Environmental Protection Agency and California air resources board regulations and features direct fuel injection a Turbocharger and an after cooler to maximize fuel efficiency the engine is mounted to the main frame with rubber cushions to minimize noise and vibration for greater efficiency during long pushes the lockup mode allows the system to engage the torque converter lockup clutch automatically locking up the torque converter transmits all the engine power directly to the transmission increasing ground speed and thus achieving efficiencies equal to a direct drive the system provides powerful traction component durability and operator Comfort outstanding traction can be achieved because the shoes follow the ground's Contour the x-shaped bogey structure a resilient equalized under Carriage performs independent seesaw movements rubber shock absorbers are mounted on the x-shaped bogeys to decrease vibration and shock the bogeys and rubber cushions provide different absorption characteristics depending on the ground surface the remote electric unit is a conventional rigid undercarriage when the machine travels flat ground the reu maximizes the suspension effect when the machine travels on uneven ground the standard equipment includes a function for selecting travel speed presets allowing the operator to choose from three preset patterns for 4 and half travel speeds F1 R2 F2 and manual shift if the F1 R2 or F2 R2 preset pattern is selected and the travel control joystick is moved forward or rearward the machine will automatically travel at the F1 R2 or F2 R2 speed this feature reduces operating hours and the time the operator shifts gears during repeated roundtrip operations the auto shift down function controller monitors engine speed travel gear and travel speed when a load is applied and the machine's travel speed is reduced the controller automatically shifts to the optimal gear speed to ensure High fuel efficiency this function allows for comfortable operation without manual downshifting ultimately increasing productivity bagger 2 288 Bagger 288 is a bucket wheel excavator or mobile strip mining equipment manufactured by kup in Germany for the Rin Brown energy and Mining Corporation for $100 million Bagger 288 was the world's biggest land vehicle when it finished in 1978 surpassing NASA's crawler transporter which carried the space shuttle and the Apollo Saturn 5 launch vehicle it is 45,000 tons heavy with a height of 95 M 311 ft and a length of 25. 5 M and 75 ft the machine took 10 years to develop build and assemble this German mining equipment is one of the world's biggest land Vehicles standing taller than the Statue of Liberty and weighing more than the Eiffel Tower a bucket wheel excavator like this one is used to cut out an entire town in the open pit mines of the western world these diggers are employed the Bagger 288 excavator can move 8.

5 million cubic feet of soil each day with its Spinning Wheel of buckets the Bagger 288 was designed to remove overburden from the tagab hambach coal mine in Germany before mining could begin it can excavate the equivalent of a soccer field to a depth of 30 m and 98 ft or 265,000 tons of brown coal often known as lignite in a single day with its structure four conveyor belts will collect overburdened soil and rock or lignite from buckets and transport the material at over 11 mph the belts are each 10. 5t wide making it easy to transport a smart car the 13,000 ton bagger moves at a slow speed of 0.