Las Vegas convention authority wants The Boring Company to build 2-mile loop

  News
image_pdfimage_print
  • Artist conception of high-occupancy autonomous electric vehicle (AEV) running between exhibit halls.
    The Boring Company
  • Potential Las Vegas Convention Center Loop Station Locations — Final configuration to be determined by the LVCVA Board.
    The Boring Company
  • Artist conception of entrance to Las Vegas Convention Center Loop outside new convention hall.
    The Boring Company
  • Map of potential future expansion.
    The Boring Company

On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) announced that it would recommend The Boring Company to build a two-mile loop under the city’s massive, expanding convention center.

The LVCVA’s recommendation must be approved by the authority’s board on March 12 to move forward.

The Boring Company is Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s third company, started with the intention to make large-scale tunneling projects cheaper and easier to complete. Musk offered tours of a rough initial tunnel in December 2018 in Hawthorne, California, under the SpaceX Headquarters.

The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) is currently expanding, and LVCVA says that “Conventioneers walking the facility will log approximately two miles from end-to-end, hence the need for an on-property guest transportation solution.” The authority says that the convention center expansions will be complete by early 2021.

The Boring Company’s president, Steve Davis, said in a statement that the Convention Center Loop could be in operation within a year upon approval of the company’s plans.

According to LVCVA, companies were asked to reply to a request for proposals in 2018. The Boring Company stood out for its short timeline and low cost, with an expected total cost of $35 million to $55 million to bring the short loop to fruition.

In a press release published today, the LVCVA said that The Boring Company had also submitted a map of potential stops on an expanded loop that would extend from the convention center down The Strip and to other locations in Las Vegas. Currently, an above-ground monorail transports visitors from downtown to the convention center. The monorail is owned and operated by Las Vegas Monorail, a private company. Ars has contacted Las Vegas Monorail for comment, and we’ll update this post if we receive a response.

Currently, The Boring Company has several potential projects on tap, but progress has been slow. Last year, the company promised a single-track tunnel from an LA Metro station to Dodgers Stadium, called The Dugout Loop. Additionally, a high-speed tunnel between O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and the city’s downtown area has also been promised, but The Boring Company has recently faced criticism from skeptical politicians and city residents.

Listing image by The Boring Company

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1469343