Elon Musk's Boring Company will build a 34-mile tunnel network underneath Las Vegas
The company receives approval to expand its tunnels underneath the city.
Mariella Moon, Engadget
June 16th, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 09: A Tesla car drives through a tunnel in the Central Station during a media preview of the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop on April 9, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop is an underground transportation system that is the first commercial project by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company. The USD 52.5 million loop, which includes two one-way vehicle tunnels 40 feet beneath the ground and three passenger stations, will take convention attendees across the 200-acre convention campus for free in all-electric Tesla vehicles in under two minutes. To walk that distance can take upward of 25 minutes. The system is designed to carry 4,400 people per hour using a fleet of 62 vehicles at maximum capacity. It is scheduled to be fully operational in June when the facility plans to host its first large-scale convention since the COVID-19 shutdown. There are plans to expand the system throughout the resort corridor in the future.
The Boring Company's underground transportation system will be more expansive than what it originally planned. The Elon Musk-founded company has just received approval from the city to bring its underground transportation system called the Vegas Loop to city limits. When Clark County Commissioners first approved the Vegas Loop, it was supposed to be a 29-mile tunnel network connecting 51 stations. Now, the network will span 34 miles and have a total of 55 stations, including ones that will serve the Harry Reid International Airport and the Allegiant Stadium.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Boring Co. President Steve Davis said tunneling in downtown Las Vegas could begin in 2023: "This is step two and there are eight steps for us to be opening. There's a long way to go and a lot of work to do. But if I were to guess on the spot I would guess we'd have machines in (the ground) next calendar year." According to the publication, the downtown stations include the Strat, Fremont Street Experience, the Slotzilla attraction, the Garage Mahal at the Circa Resort and the Plaza Hotel. Boring could add other stations in the future, as well, with each one costing anything in between $1.5 to $20 million to build.
Davis also said a ride from Fremont Street Experience downtown to Reid International would cost about $12 and take around eight or nine minutes. Before Boring's monorail system could shuttle people to and from downtown Las Vegas, though, it has to secure a bunch of permits and design approvals first. As The Verge notes, only 1.7 miles of the Vegas Loop are operational at the moment underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). That said, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill said he expects more portions serving parts of the Resort Corridor to be operational sometime in 2023.
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