Elon Musk’s tunneling and infrastructure company, The Boring Company (TBC), is in talks with the City of Austin about building several tunnels, but plans have been held up by a lengthy bureaucratic process.
TBC aims to build tunnels to improve the speed of transportation and fix the traffic problem that many cities are facing, according to Investopedia.
The goal is to avoid traffic by taking traffic underground, CNET reported.
In the past, TBC has proposed building tunnels in and around Austin, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The most recent talks between the company and Austin called for a tunnel between downtown Austin and Tesla’s headquarters, Giga Texas.
The company moved its headquarters to Pflugerville in December 2020. Tesla is building a warehouse, manufacturing facility, and test site in Bastrop County, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
TBC representative Brian Gettinger communicated with Austin’s Development Services and Transportation departments from August 2021 to March 2022 in emails obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.
The emails obtained by the outlet detail some of TBC’s proposed plans in Central Texas and highlight potential hurdles TBC could face on the ambitious project.
When Gettinger asked about creating a structure for TBC to build within the city, several employees came back with a complicated process requiring several permits and City Council approval, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Regarding a proposal to use the Terrazas Branch Library as a construction site, city officials reportedly told him it would require coordination with multiple departments and consideration would have to be given to the Interstate 35 expansion project.
“We are pushing forward on identifying the initially most useful tunnel we can build in Austin, and a tunnel along Cesar Chavez is one of the options,” Gettinger said, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Ryan Mooney, a division manager in Austin’s Transportation Department, said that a tunnel would need an encroachment agreement; a general permit or site plan; building, electrical, and mechanical permits for both tunnels and stations; and an excavation permit for construction.
Austin’s assistant director of land development review, Jennifer Verhulst, told the Austin American-Statesman that the company “has asked me for guidance with permitting, but I explained that guidance may vary based on the scope/location of the project.
“To date, that continues to change. I advised them to determine how to acquire land rights prior to submitting … for permits,” she said.
TBC still appears to be committed to some construction in Central Texas, proposing a tunnel connecting Austin and San Antonio. So far, no concrete plans have been realized.
The company has had more luck in Las Vegas, with one operational tunnel in the city that can transport 4,400 passengers per hour using Tesla vehicles between three stations at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Austin American-Statesman noted.
This project is just one component of a larger 29-mile tunnel project that Las Vegas has green-lighted called “Vegas Loop,” which will have 51 stations under the city. The Vegas Loop project will transport 57,000 passengers an hour, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
