HAWTHORNE, CA - Elon Musk's The Boring Company is attempting to solve the problem of "soul-destroying" traffic in cities with the use of tunnels.
According to the company's website, the tunnels will alleviate traffic congestion in any city, no matter the size. "The key to making this work is increasing tunneling speed and dropping costs by a factor of 10 or more – this is the goal of The Boring Company."
The Hawthorne Test Tunnel, which was announced back in 2016, is now completed and a video highlighting the finished product was posted on Twitter Wednesday.
The Boring Company Loop system pic.twitter.com/xVpDHzZKXB
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) December 19, 2018
The Boring Company hopes the tunneling system will one day enable travel from new York to Washingon D.C. in less than 30 minutes.
Tesla in @boringcompany tunnel with retractable wheel gear that turns a car into a rail-guided train & back again pic.twitter.com/3a6i0NoSmi
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2018
Why tunnels instead of flying cars? The Boring Company has a few reasons:
- There is no practical limit to how many layers of tunnels can be built, so any level of traffic can be addressed.
- Tunnels are weatherproof.
- Tunnel construction and operation are silent and invisible to anyone on the surface.
- Tunnels don’t divide communities with lanes and barriers.
In addition to the tunnel in Hawthorne, CA, projects are in the works in Los Angeles, Chicago and another on the east coast.
