Dive Brief:

• The first steps toward expanding The Boring Co. underground tunnel system throughout Las Vegas may be underway, as the Elon Musk-owned company has submitted special use permit and land use applications, according to an announcement from the Las Vegas Convention Visitors Authority.
• The Vegas Loop project envisions underground tunnels stretching the length of the Strip and as far south as the newly finished Allegiant Stadium — pending approval from the Stadium Authority. The tunnels will use electric Tesla “sleds” to transport passengers.
• Discussions of a tunnel under the Strip began during the firm’s work at the Las Vegas Convention Center expansion, which began last year. It finished the first tunnel in February and the second tunnel in May for an underground people mover there.

Dive Insight: 

LVCVA CEO Steve Hill shared the news of the Vegas Loop applications during an authority board meeting Oct. 13. The special use permit application is pending approval from the city of Las Vegas, and the land use application awaits approval from Clark County. Both are the first steps in construction of the system across the city, Hill said.  

The convention center likely served as a test for the effectiveness of Boring’s machines, which tunnel faster and more efficiently than traditional boring machines, the company claims. 

The first commercial underground venture for the company cost $52 million as a part of the convention center’ $980 million West Hall expansion. When finished and opened in January 2021, LVCVA says the Tesla vehicles will transport convention goers across the 200-acre campus in less than two minutes.

The Vegas Loop project is also closer to Musk’s original goal of solving traffic gridlock in cities across the world. The Boring Co. claims building underground is advantageous because tunnels are structurally sound, weatherproof and can easily expand to add multiple levels