Building underground roads to save city space

One small step for chemistry — one giant leap for American tunnel construction

The Seattle’s project to replace the aging infrastructure—a major North/South connection through its downtown area—has been a work in progress for nine years. The 60-year-old structure has been suffering from decades of wear and tear, along with the effects of population growth and congestion. As a solution to alleviate some of the traffic, the city decided to replace the viaduct with a double-deck highway tunnel along Seattle’s waterfront. BASF with the Master Builders Solutions product technologies partnering with the Colorado School of Mines has been part of this world’s largest diameter tunnel project and contributed to effectively meet the challenges of this landmark project.