Dig it, San Antonio — tunnel is the solution

The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority is Bexar County’s transportation and infrastructure expert. Its mandate is developing transportation infrastructure to accommodate the growth of the region. Over the next 25 years, our region faces congestion issues that, without a plan and immediate action, will continue to worsen.

Our regional traffic-to-capacity maps — think of these as what roads were designed to accommodate versus actual traffic — project widespread gridlock and significantly longer commute times by 2050. And not just from San Antonio International Airport to downtown or along San Pedro Avenue, a major north-south surface street. And this projection assumes we complete all regionally identified road projects, even though we have state/local funding for only half.

Our metropolitan statistical area is one of the fastest growing in the United States. Inaction means our roads will become more congested, our quality of life will deteriorate and a lack of mobility will lead to deterioration of affordable housing.

Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, or RMA, revenue streams come primarily from annual vehicle registration fees. The RMA sold bonds against these, approximately $13 million to $16 million of annual revenue, and has used those funds on 13 roadway improvement projects, totaling about $200 million. Those funds fall well short of the billions required to pay for identified but unfunded roads. This problem is not unique in Texas. Most cities are dependent on Texas Department of Transportation resources for infrastructure, and competition for these funds is fierce.

Absent any new capital from the state, county and city, higher local taxes or creativity from the RMA, our region will face worsening traffic with no new RMA revenue to solve our problems.

To be proactive, the RMA issued a request for information in 2019 seeking transportation projects that generate income, which could then be used to finance road infrastructure. Initial responses to this request were not feasible until the Boring Co. responded with its idea for a loop system between the airport and downtown. Responsibly, the RMA subsequently issued a request for pre-qualification to ensure there were no better solutions.

The Boring Co.’s proposal was the only one that did not require a revenue guarantee or substantial investment from county taxpayers. Its proposal required no new taxes or any tax support. Its proposal comes with a fixed price contract. There is no financial risk to taxpayers.

Funding for the project would come from revenue bonds, which investors would purchase, not the county. The revenue produced from riders will pay for the bonds.

The system would incorporate two tunnels running north and south, and likely have stations at obvious destinations, such as the Pearl and San Antonio Zoo. At the stations, electric Teslas, which the Boring Co. would operate, could exit the tunnels and drop riders at their final destinations, solving the last-mile issue that riders of light rail and buses face. The cost is estimated at $25 million per mile, a bargain compared with light rail. Austin’s two new light rail lines are estimated at $10.3 billion.

The system can be expanded across the region for increased mobility and eventually connect

Austin and San Antonio. This is not an underground toll road. Toll roads are located on the surface and consume valuable real estate that could otherwise be developed into public lanes.

The project is far from done. The first step to determine feasibility is a traffic and revenue study that will verify the project’s revenue potential. From there, additional diligence will be conducted.

If completed, the self-funded and green system will remove cars from roadways, save valuable surface real estate, require no new money in taxes or guarantees from the county or city, and produce revenue for the RMA that can finance unfunded road infrastructure projects to relieve congestion.

Time to decide if we want to come together as a community to innovate to solve our problems or rely on hope.