Students: Name that tunnel boring machine!

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has decided their SR 99 tunnel boring machine needs a name, and they’re asking students in grades K-12 for help.  The winner will have their selected name painted on the machine.

The machine is the largest-diameter boring machine built to date. In mid-2013, WSDOT says it will start tunneling beneath downtown Seattle. “This is a great opportunity for Washington state students to learn more about this massive infrastructure project and the advances in tunneling technology that make it possible,” WSDOT writes.

Entries are due by 5 p.m. on Nov. 13 and will be judged by a panel including Gov. Chris Gregoire and Washington Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. To enter, contestants must choose a name and write a 200-word-or-less description of why they chose the name. A classroom may submit a name collectively. If the winning name is submitted by more than one contestant, they’ll judge based on the essay. The winner will be announced in December when project officials go to Japan to take ownership of the machine.

There are three ways to enter the contest: online at www.alaskanwayviaduct.org; in person at Milepost 31, 211 First Ave. S, Seattle, WA, 98104; or by mail – Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program, Attn: Natalie Graves, 999 Third Ave., Suite 2424, Seattle, WA 98104.

Visit WSDOT’s website to learn more about the project’s history and how a tunnel boring machine works.