A 68-mile tunnel network will be dug under Las Vegas by The Boring Company
Las Vegas has permitted Elon Musk’s tunneling company to increase its operations under the city significantly. The Boring Company’s proposal to excavate more tunnels beneath the city was unanimously approved by the Las Vegas City Council last month, following Clark County’s similar decision in May. The plan entails constructing 68 miles of tunnels and 81 stations, which a fleet of Tesla electric vehicles will access. Each vehicle can transport up to three passengers at a time.
Although the proposal was unanimously approved, Mayor Carolyn Goldman expressed several concerns regarding safety, low passenger throughput, and limited accessibility. Despite this, she acknowledged that hotels needed transportation options.
Musk’s ideas are often characterized by their fanciful and outlandish nature. Initially, his tunnel plan involved high-speed magnetically levitating trains traveling in near-vacuum, which he referred to as the Hyperloop. In 2017, Musk even claimed government approval to construct a tunnel from Washington, DC, to New York City that would take only 29 minutes to travel.
In the following year, Ars had the opportunity to witness a Boring Company tunnel first-hand during a visit to a 1.1-mile test tunnel in Los Angeles. At that point, any plans for maglev or mass transit had been abandoned. Instead of transporting numerous passengers at high speeds, a Tesla Model X was utilized, navigating the uneven roadway at a speed of 45 mph.
In 2018, Elon Musk successfully persuaded the city of Chicago to construct a tunnel that would connect its downtown to O’Hare International Airport. The proposed system would use electric pods to transport up to 16 passengers at speeds of up to 125 mph every 30 seconds. It was a clever idea that generated much buzz and drew attention to Musk’s tunneling projects. With this development, travel to and from the airport would be more efficient, and traffic congestion would be reduced. The project promises to be a game-changer for urban transportation.
The Boring Company initially proposed using maglev trains and vacuum tubes for transportation. Still, their plans were eventually scaled back to high-speed electric pods and, eventually, just regular Teslas with human drivers. As a result, public interest in the project dwindled.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved a $48.6 million project to construct a 2.2-mile loop beneath the convention center. The LVCC Loop was launched in 2021 and includes a network of three stations that cover 1.7 miles. According to the Boring Company, the system has already transported 1.15 million passengers, and it can carry up to 4,500 passengers per hour at peak capacity. To put this in perspective, a subway system typically transports 600 and 1,000 passengers per train.
Completing this project by the Boring Company would result in 60 stations located in Clark County, with the majority of them situated along the Strip and in the major casinos. The remaining 21 stations would be in the city of Las Vegas.
Reference – ArsTechnica