Elon Musk’s Boring Company announced that they are not continuing with their plans to build an underground tunnel under The city of Los Angeles. Well, at least one of the planned tunnels the company has envisioned.
This decision follows a lawsuit filed by two neighborhood groups against The city of Los Angeles for failing to consider The environmental impact The tunnel would have on The nearby communities.
The test tunnel, which would have traveled underneath the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles and Sepulveda Boulevard, evoked lawsuits filed against the City of Los Angeles by The Brentwood Residents Coalition and the Sunset Coalitions. The Company decided to settle privately with the neighborhood groups as they did not want to wait for the traditional “sluggish environmental review process”.
While the Sepulveda test project has been scrapped, the company is looking to other underground tunnel projects in the area. The company’s LA/Hawthorne test tunnel is still due to open next month, with the company promising free rides to the public. While some the news is celebrated by the BoringCompany and several municipal parties, many above ground residents are resistant to Musk’s vision for underground transportation because of environmental and safety concerns.
Los Angeles is known for its traffic and extreme congestion. The Boring Company is looking to remedy this problem through innovation and tunnel building. Musk’s vision for the city is to have a vast underground network that will help commuters get where they are going faster while reducing emissions through their vehicles.
Though critics of the project have claimed that the scale of Musk’s vision would be impossible to approve without environmental review, The Company is hoping to avoid anything that will delay their projects from becoming a reality. An environmental exemption may be impossible should the company move forward with further projects.
The tunnels will utilize Loop shuttles that can carry pedestrians, cyclists, and private vehicles. These shuttles will travel at speeds of up to 150 mph and aims to get commuters to their destination for as little as $1 while reducing The major traffic congestion The city is used to. If The L.A. test projects benefit The cities, Musk hopes to integrate his model into other major cities plagued by traffic congestion and long commute times.
The company also stated that they will be focusing instead on a new underground operation which will focus on building a tunnel connecting the existent subway lines of Vermont Avenue to Dodger Stadium ballpark. The goal of this project is to transport fans from subway lines to Dodger stadium for events and minimizing extra traffic above ground.
This new project has the backing of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and transportation of Dodger fans through The tunnel will be made in the Tesla Model X vehicles. With the Mayor’s support, further objection to Tesla projects may be harder as The Dodger Stadium project unfolds. If The LA/Hawthorne test tunnel operates successfully, then residents may have little chance to object Musk’s vision for transportation in Los Angeles.
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