Elon Musk founded The Boring Company "to solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic." He envisions a network of tunnels where Autonomous Electric Vehicles (AEV) can transport passengers at high speeds through an underground transportation system called "Loop". The Boring Company's AEVs are made up of modified Tesla Model 3 and Model X. These zero-emission vehicles will shuttle passengers through the tunnels at approximately 150-miles per hour. The first set of underground roads are under construction at Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). The tunneling project is almost finished. According to city officials it will be operational by January 2021. The Boring Company plans to expand the LVCC Loop transportation system to other parts in Las Vegas. The Boring Company submitted a proposal this year to the Las Vegas City Planning Commission to expand the tunnel to the downtown area.
On Tuesday, the Las Vegas City Planning Commission held a meeting in which the company received approval to connect the LVCC center set of tunnels to a future tunneling system that will lead downtown. The Commission gave the green light during a meeting, video below. The city council plans to review the proposal to cast a final vote in December. The downtown tunnel will begin at the LVCC, run through Las Vegas Boulevard, connect to Ogden, and lead back into Main Street. The City of Las Vegas shared via Twitter the map of where the tunnel will be built, pictured below.
The @boringcompany has submitted an application for the possible expansion of their underground Tesla shuttle system into downtown Las Vegas.
— City of Las Vegas (@CityOfLasVegas) November 11, 2020
It is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission tonight at 6 p.m. and we will carry it live here. pic.twitter.com/qfRopCz7v0
The underground roads would feature several stops along the Circa Resort & Casino. "We’re very excited this is finally coming to fruition and we’re fully in support of being part of this and having the loop come right to our front door," said Greg Stevens, Circa Resort & Casino, "We’re going to be happy to put in one of the first stations right in our garage Mahal to hopefully get people directly from the Strip, or from the airport, or the game, directly to downtown Las Vegas. So, I think it’s a great thing for downtown," he told reporters.
In the future, The Boring Company plans to submit a proposal for a tunnel expansion that connects to the Airport and Allegiant Stadium. The tunneling project will be the first one used in the real world.
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
