Boring Company starts tunnelling in Las Vegas

Elon Musk’s The Boring Company (TBC) has the contract, awarded in May, to create transport for convention attendees throughout the 200-acre campus. This is the first commercial endeavor for TBC.

“This is truly a significant occasion for Las Vegas,” said Steve Hill, LVCVA CEO. “Our collaboration with The Boring Company continues to elevate the innovative experiences we offer our visitors and will ensure that our expanded convention facilities are among the most tech-forward in the world. We took the concept of utilizing the underground people mover from an idea on paper to tunneling in less than a year, demonstrating our board’s willingness to embrace bold, new ideas with the potential to change the face of transportation in Southern Nevada and beyond.”

The TBM is currently 40ft (12m) below ground and the engines were turned on for the first time this afternoon, according to LVCVA who said it can mine 100ft per day. "With planned upgrades, TBC hopes to increase that pace during the LVCC underground people mover’s development," it said.

“Less than one year ago, this project was just an idea on paper; today, we're ready to begin tunneling,” said The Boring Company president, Steve Davis. “Thanks to our partners at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for the opportunity to build our first commercial project here. We are excited about the future of Loop transportation in Las Vegas.”

The USD 52.5m underground people mover will include three passenger stations connecting the existing 3.2 million square-feet of convention space with the LVCC’s new 1.4 million square-foot West Hall currently under construction, part of a USD 1.52bn expansion and renovation. The innovative transportation system will allow convention attendees to be travel across the LVCC’s 200-acre campus in just over one minute – free of charge – in all-electric Tesla vehicles capable of holding between three and 16 people. The system will be designed for ridership of at least 4,400 passengers per hour and is scalable depending on convention attendance.

When completed in January 2021, the underground people mover will be comprised of two vehicular tunnels with an expected total length of approximately one mile each. The system will have the potential in the future to expand and link key visitor attractions throughout Las Vegas, such as Downtown Las Vegas, Las Vegas Strip, McCarran International Airport and beyond.