Photo courtesy of The Boring Company
The Boring Company is continuing its development and has proposed the construction of a new underground transportation system in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A new transit loop will connect downtown and the beach to solve the traffic problem.
The Boring Company has submitted a proposal for the construction of tunnels in Florida, as announced by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean J. Trantalis. The new transit loop, called “The Las Olas Loop,” is an innovative approach to solving the problem of traffic congestion and transit needs. The tunnel will connect downtown and the beach of Fort Lauderdale and will be able to provide fast movement on this route.
Fort Lauderdale has received a proposal from Elon Musk's The Boring Co. to build an underground transit loop between downtown and the beach. Called “The Las Olas Loop,” this represents an innovative and unprecedented approach to addressing traffic congestion and transit needs.
— Mayor Dean J. Trantalis (@DeanTrantalis) June 30, 2021
The Boring Company has already built two successful LVCC loops, an R&D tunnel and a Hyperloop test track in California. The LVCC Loop system—a three-station transportation system consisting of 1.7 miles of tunnel—was built in approximately one year (using the now-legacy Godot Tunnel Boring Machine). The LVCC Loop connects the LVCC New Exhibit Hall with the existing campus (North / Central / South Halls), and reduces a 45 minute cross-campus walk time to approximately two minutes.
The Vegas Loop will include the LVCC Loop and any future service extensions including resorts along the Strip, McCarran International Airport, Allegiant Stadium, and downtown Las Vegas. The Vegas Loop will be designed with similar compatible construction infrastructure and will provide an express connection between any two stations using Tesla vehicles.
The 1.14-mile R&D Tunnel, located in Hawthorne, CA, is used for testing The Boring Company's public transportation systems, Loop and Hyperloop. The 0.8-mile Hyperloop Test Track, or Hypertube, was constructed in 2016 and has been the site of four student competitions, where student-built Pods reached speeds of up to 288 mph.
The biggest and most obvious advantage of building tunnels over all existing solutions today is their cost. “The Las Olas Loop" construction costs are expected to be between $30 million and $60 million. This cost compares to a $445 million project proposed by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to build a 55-foot bridge in Florida. The difference in price is staggering.
In addition to cost, the tunnel system is very productive, and if the speed of movement and the number of passengers in one vehicle are increased, this could completely solve the problem of traffic congestion. Currently, Tesla Model 3 vehicles are used to transport people. In order to increase the loop's efficiency, it is planned to use 16-seater cars.
© 2021, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
_____________________________
We appreciate your readership! Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
