Elon Musk has revealed the first tunnel completed as part of an underground transit venture launched in 2016, according to Reuters.
Presenting the new tunnel in a live webcast, Musk has described the 1.83 kilometre segment as a breakthrough for the fast-digging technology developed by his tunnelling business ‘The Boring Company’.
The entrepreneur has plans of creating a high-speed subterranean network, below America’s second-largest city, for vehicles and pedestrians.
Mark Sisson, Senior Port Planner and Analyst, AECOM, has discussed Musk in his Port Technology Q&A
The new tunnel was built beneath the adjacent municipality of Hawthorne, where Musk’s Boring Company and SpaceX venture are based.
Musk has estimated the total cost of the tunnel to be around $10 million, including the expenses of excavation, internal infrastructure, lighting, ventilation, safety systems, communications and a track.
Elon Musk dreams of one day opening a high-speed tunnel system under L.A. to ease congestion. Here's a look at his company's first test tunnel. https://t.co/jbHdOnAifY pic.twitter.com/CkOyt0bf91
— CNBC (@CNBC) December 20, 2018
Comparing his process to digging a mile of tunnel by “traditional” engineering methods, Musk argued that the latter costs up to $1 billion and takes three to six months to complete.
The billionaire did not disclose how long his new tunnel took to complete, but remarked that snails move 14 times faster than the speed of a typical tunnelling machine.
Next step for @BoringCompany Loop is demonstrating high throughput at high speed. Target is 4000 vehicles/hour at 155mph (250km/h).
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2018
The Boring Company is now moving ahead with a proposed tunnel to link Dodger Stadium, home of Los Angeles’ Major League Baseball team, to an existing subway line.
In June 2018, Boring was also selected by Chicago to build a 17-mile underground transit system linking the city’s downtown area to its main airport.
Read the original article by Reuters
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