Manasi VarmaElon Musk has some good news in store for him in the state of Florida, but there’s a catch too. The Boring Company might soon get approval for building a passenger tunnel in Fort Lauderdale, as officials at the City Commission are all set to cast a vote on the proposal this Tuesday.
Image Credits: Getty Images
The project, titled the “Las Olas Loop”, if successful, will become the second in list of the major constructions by The Boring Company. The proposal was filed last Wednesday.
Bidding Competition on the Cards
If accepted, the proposal will effectively make Fort Lauderdale into the first city on the Eastern Coast of the United States, as well as the second in the world, to have “benefited” from the Company’s efforts.
However, there might still be competition awaiting the firm, as the Commission plans to open the gates to a full-fledged bidding process, should the proposal be accepted. This would mean that other tunneling companies will also get the chance to compete for getting the contract to construct the tunnel, and will be allowed to propose their models and ideals. The best model will eventually be given the go-ahead for the project. As such, till the bidding process is wrapped up, the plan put forward by The Boring Company will not become open to the public.
Mayor Dean J. Trantalis took to Twitter on Wednesday to shed some light on the proposal, saying that the Las Olas Loop is an “innovative and unprecedented approach to addressing traffic congestion”.
Officials had reportedly initially reached out to the Company, seeking proposals about alternatives to the construction of a high-rise commuter rail.
Major Gains in Vegas, Is Miami Next?
This project follows the Elon Musk-ed firm’s underground transport system from back in June at Las Vegas, where a 1.7 mile loop has been set up under the Las Vegas Convention Centre, with three stops in total. The design took some $47 billion to be turned into a reality.
Additionally, Las Vegas might soon see an extension of the tunnel, as Ciry Councilors approved the construction of the tunnel into the city’s downtown, back in December itself. The idea is to connect to the McCarran International Airport, which will probably take under 7 minutes if an underground system is put in place.
Musk has also been in talks with Francis Suarez, the Mayor of Miami, over the construction of a $30 million underground passage. Suarez has expressed excitement over the prospect, and says that a signature project “not just for Miami, but for the world” might be created.
Source: Business Insider