Hyperloop firm partners with CO to create high-speed tube system in Denver

Dive Brief:

Hyperloop tech company Arrivo announced it has joined with Colorado transportation officials and the E-470 Public Highway Authority to develop a tube system within Denver that would transport commuters and their cars up to 200 mph, according to USA Today.
The plan would see a network of tubes built to ferry commuters to popular destinations along existing highways, even allowing a number of tractor-trailers to bypass the city.
The project is expected to see a $10 million to $15 million test track break ground near E-470 in 2018. The project, however, must still secure the necessary financing, regulatory approvals and public buy-in before moving forward.

Dive Insight:

Arrivo founder Brogan BamBrogan might be beating his previous employer, Hyperloop One to the punch. In September, recently rebranded Virgin Hyperloop One named a segment between Cheyenne, WY, Denver and Pueblo, CO, as one of its 10 preferred hyperloop routes. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to begin construction on a hyperloop route in 2019. Though officials did not provide details of its chosen location, the route connecting Pueblo, CO, to Cheyenne, WY, is likely a strong contender.

It looks like Elon Musk himself may have gone from hyperloop inspirer to hyperloop participant. Musk, the originator of the hyperloop moniker and concept, has previously announced his own tests on technology similar to Arrivo's at his SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. One of his newest ventures, The Boring Company, received permission from the Los Angeles suburb to dig a nearly 2-mile-long tunnel up to 44 feet below street level so that Musk could test a series of electric sleds that could move vehicles as fast as 125 mph.

In July, Musk announced that The Boring Company got a "verbal" OK from the federal government to build a hyperloop system from New York City to Washington, DC. That approval, might not have been an official OK, Recode reported, though one of President Donald Trump's top tech advisers has confirmed that officials are in discussions about the project.

In late October, Maryland's transportation department gave Musk conditional approval to dig a hyperloop tunnel from Baltimore to Washington, DC. However, DC officials have said they have only had some conversations about the project.