Even after the handoff, a strong warranty remains in place. "The guarantees and warranties extend well beyond the forecasted completion date," Dixon says. "Hitachi Zosen is responsible for repairing or replacing anything that goes wrong with the tunnel-boring machine. They are with us all the way through."

Trepanier says the state isn't at financial risk due to the potential delay. "Design-build was a specific tool picked on this project to protect the taxpayers," he says. "Bertha is totally the responsibility of the contractor."

Bertha started tunneling in July 2013.The 14-month timetable had the TBM's work wrapping up this fall. If traffic isn't moving through the tunnel in December 2015, STP faces financial penalties. Can the schedule still be met? "If everything went hunky-dory, yeah," Dixon says.