‘They are committed to doing this right’: LVCVA CEO backs Boring Company efforts
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is satisfied that the Boring Company, which is set to expand an underground transportation system in the Resort Corridor, is committed to worker safety after it was cited last year for violations by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration, CEO Steve Hill said Tuesday.
The Boring Company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, received eight citations from the state OSHA for hazards in its Vegas Loop tunnels last June, according to a report from OSHA. The violations carried a $112,000 fine against the company.
According to the OSHA report, 15 to 20 workers were injured, including being exposed to a harmful chemical mixture that soaked through their clothes, resulting in “skin irritation, skin rashes, and skin chemical burns.”
There were no showers and little protective equipment available for workers in the tunnels that were being bored beneath the ground, according to the report.
“They are committed to doing this right,” Hill said at a meeting of the LVCVA board Tuesday. “We’re going to stay involved to make sure that that’s the case. This project is exceptionally important to Las Vegas. It is the realistic opportunity to make a real dent in congestion in this city to make the visitor experience significantly better because this project exists.”
A $52.5 million tunnel system with three passenger stations at the Las Vegas Convention Center opened in 2021 and takes conventiongoers through the tunnels — each runs for just under one mile — in electric Tesla vehicles, with speeds reaching up to 40 mph.
The all-electric, zero-emissions system is designed to transport up to 4,400 people per hour in more than 60 cars under the 200-acre convention center campus. It also has a station that runs to the nearby Resorts World.
While the Las Vegas City Council has approved the Boring Company’s plans for more than 68 miles of additional tunnels in the city, the Convention Center Vegas Loop is its only active operation.
During the board meeting, board members approved easements, or right-of-way agreements, to allow the Boring Company to drill additional lines to expand the loop. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was the only member to oppose the agenda item.
The new lines would travel down Paradise Road, potentially as far south as UNLV’S Thomas & Mack Center, officials said during the meeting.
“We made it really clear to the Boring Company that it is important that this project be done correctly,” Hill said. “We have, since then, offered our help.”