Elon Musk’s ambitious side project – creating a tunnel network beneath Los Angeles to curb traffic – appears to be going well. Over the weekend he tweeted he’s had promising conversations with mayor Eric Garcetti about tunnels beneath the city notorious for its congestion. The mayor even briefly mentioned Musk in a recent interview.
The Boring Company has only been around for about six months, but Musk is never one to sit idle. Apparently he’s been chatting with Garcetti, and tweeted the conclusion that it won’t be the technology that will be the new company’s biggest hurdle, but the permits involved.
Related: Elon Musk reveals boring tunnels are for the Hyperloop
Promising conversations with @MayorOfLA regarding tunnel network that would carry cars, bikes & pedestrians. Permits harder than technology. https://t.co/0dxrXBOOWy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 18, 2017
The tunnels may not just be for cars, as some people might have supposed with the company’s first video of cars rocketing beneath the city as if they were in a slot car race. Hyperloop pods also might shoot through an underground tunnel network, and in Musk’s recent tweet on the project he also said pedestrians and bikes might travel through the tunnels.
And Garcetti certainly seems intrigued by the project. In an interview with local channel ABC7, he said he’d be interested in tunneling technology “that people like Elon Musk [are] looking at” for a quick, direct route from Los Angeles International Airport to Los Angeles Union Station.
There could be an #express train @unionstationla to @flyLAXairport–Here's @MayorOfLA @ericgarcetti on #Newsmakers. #WATCH 11AM Sun @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/zJAFTge2VO
— Adrienne Alpert (@abc7adrienne) June 17, 2017
Since Los Angeles is known more for traffic than for convenient public transportation, Musk may have started his company at just the perfect time – as local government officials also hope to tackle the infamous gridlock. The Boring Company aims to fix the issue of “soul-destroying traffic” with their large tunnel network, and are working to lower the cost of rapidly digging the tunnels.
And in case you’re wondering about earthquakes – definitely a consideration for California – The Boring Company claims when tunnels are designed properly, they’re “known to be one of the safest places to be during an earthquake.”
Via Engadget
Images via Wikimedia Commons and The Boring Company
