The Boring Company (TBC), an Elon Musk company that promises to dig tunnels faster and cheaper, started tunneling for its first paying customer: the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
The project, once complete, will allow convention attendees to be shuttled throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center’s 200-acre campus via an underground people mover. But this people mover will connect attendees using autonomous vehicles that move at up to 155 miles per hour. TBC says the typical walk time between the convention center’s New Exhibit Hall to the existing North/Central Hall can take up to 15 minutes. The same trip on LVCC Loop will take approximately 1 minute.
“This is truly a significant occasion for Las Vegas,” said LVCVA CEO Steve Hill. “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 boring machine is currently 40 feet below ground and the engines were turned on for the first time on Nov. 15. The boring machine can carve out 100 feet per day and with planned upgrades, TBC hopes to increase that pace during the LVCC underground people mover’s development.
“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 LVCVA Board of Directors approved the contract on May 22, 2019. The $52.5 million underground people mover will include three passenger stations connecting the existing 3.2-million square-feet of convention space with the Las Vegas Convention Center’s (LVCC) new 1.4-million-square-foot West Hall currently under construction, part of a $1.52 billion expansion and renovation.
The project is set to be completed in January 2021 and is comprised of two vehicular tunnels of one mile each. Convention attendees will be transported in all-electric Tesla vehicles capable of holding between 3 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. The system will also have the potential to be expanded to link other Las Vegas attractions.
Other essential system components include:
- An elevator/escalator system for passenger access to each station
- Pedestrian entrances, exits, coverings from the elements and landscaping
- Tunnel lighting, power and video surveillance systems
- A fully equipped control room
- Cell phone, WiFi, intercom/PA, remote data and ventilation/life safety systems
The LVCC hosts more than 1.3 million attendees annually.
