There’s a running joke at Dan Wagner’s house
about the DIY welding and construction shop
he set up in his backyard. At random moments
throughout the day, his roommates yell out “eee-
yerrrr,” mimicking the high-pitched grinding
noise that’s become a soundtrack to their lives
this summer.
“They’re going to miss me when I’m gone,” Wagner
said, laughing.
That sound is a byproduct of the project Wagner
and a team of University of Colorado Boulder
students have spent thousands of hours working
on this year: designing and building a tunnel
boring machine.