It had to be seen to be appreciated fully. A massive 17.48m diameter rotating cutterhead attached to a shield of extraordinary dimension and linked to a training backup of equipment and services ranged over the equivalent of a building of five stories high. The EPBM built by Hitachi Zosen for Seattle Tunnel Partners is the largest ever TBM built and will build the largest ever TBM bored tunnel as the central part of the WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) project to replace the elevated Alaskan Way viaduct across the waterfront of Seattle. The TBM was named, inaugurated, tested, handed over and accepted at an official ceremony at the Hitachi works in Sakai, Japan that was attended by representatives of all involved in this record breaking project.