Vegas may hold answers about Elon Musk tunnel under the New River
FORT LAUDERDALE — A trip to Vegas could be in Mayor Dean Trantalis’ future as he chases after a grand plan: getting tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Boring Co. to build a tunnel under the New River.
Trantalis, who met with Boring Co. executives for the second time this week on Wednesday, says he plans to visit Las Vegas to get a better look at the people-mover tunnel the company built there.
Likewise, the Boring Co. team will come here to get a handle on possible challenges they’d face building a 3-mile tunnel under the New River. Trantalis shared the news outside City Hall on Wednesday after wrapping up a conference call with Broward Vice Mayor Michael Udine and the Boring Co.
In Musk’s world, tunnels are the answer to what he calls “soul-destroying” traffic. Musk founded the Boring Co. four years ago, citing his growing frustration with the traffic L.A. is known for.
Trantalis is also a believer, saying a tunnel would pave the way for less gridlock here in South Florida.
State transportation officials say a tunnel under the New River would cost more than $3 billion. Instead they have proposed a 55-foot high-bridge that would cost an estimated $445 million.
But Musk’s team estimates it will cost anywhere $30 million to $60 million to build a 3-mile tunnel that would extend from NE
13 Street to south of Davie Boulevard.
Even if it costs $90 million a mile, that’s still a fraction of the state’s estimate of $1 billion a mile, Trantalis said.
“This is really a game changer,” Trantalis said.
The company has a track record building tunnels, he noted.
“We won’t be the first and we won’t be the last,” Trantalis said.
In addition to the Las Vegas Loop, Musk’s company is involved in several other tunnel projects, all listed on the company website.
The company’s initial test tunnel in Hawthorne, California, is being used for the research and development of the company’s public transportation systems, Loop and Hyperloop.
The Boring Co. is proposing a project in Los Angeles that would transport baseball fans and concertgoers directly to Dodger Stadium.
The company also has proposed a tunnel project from downtown Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, beneath New York Avenue and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
Boring Co. executives seem just as excited about building what could be a showpiece tunnel in South Florida, Udine said.
Added Trantalis: “They want to come tomorrow.”
Trantalis said details on how much a tunnel would cost, who would foot the bill and how long it would take to build will come later — likely much later.
“We’re not there yet,” he said.