Las Vegas selects Musk's Boring Co. for underground people mover

UPDATE: May 24, 2019: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority voted Wednesday to give Elon Musk's The Boring Co. the $48.7 million contract for design and construction of a people mover system at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The contract's scope of work includes:

Three underground passenger stations with elevator/escalator access.
A pedestrian tunnel.
Two vehicular tunnels.
An equipped control room.
Cellphone, WiFi, intercom/PA, remote data and ventilation and life safety systems.

The tunnels will be approximately 1 mile long, extending the length of the newly renovated convention center.

The only board member to vote against the deal with The Boring Co., according to the Las Vegas Sun, was Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who had urged the other members to consider giving the contract to Austrian firm Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, a runner-up in the Request for Proposal process.

The people mover is scheduled for completion in time for the revamped convention center's first big show in January 2021.

Dive Brief:

On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) board is scheduled to vote on whether to approve a negotiated $48.7 million design-build contract with The Boring Co. to build a dual-tunnel people mover system at the Las Vegas Convention Center campus, but two board members, according to the Las Vegas Sun, are advocating for a different approach proposed by another bidder.
The Boring Co. beat out Austrian company Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group in the Request for Proposals process, but board members Michele Fiore and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman are encouraging other members to take a second look at Doppelmayr's bid, which would see the construction of a more traditional, above-ground system. Doppelmayr's original proposal was $215 million, but Goodman told the board that the company could perform the work for $85 million.
Goodman maintains that using the proven, 125-year-old Doppelmayr is a better bet than giving The Boring Co., which is three years old, a chance at its first significant project. Goodman has invited Doppelmayr to make a presentation at the May 22 meeting.

Dive Insight:

Steven Hill, board CEO and president, told the Sun that The Boring Co. won the project because of its low cost, the fact that it can be built while the $1.4 billion convention center renovation progresses above ground and that it can be expanded underground to other areas of the city in the future. In addition, as a condition of The Boring Co.'s contract, the company has agreed to reimburse the LVCVA in full via a payment recovery bond if the project does not receive a certificate of occupancy.

Back in June 2018, The Boring Co. also won the contract to build an express twin-tunnel transit system from downtown Chicago to O’Hare International Airport, promising a 12-minute trip courtesy of electric vehicles that would travel at speeds of at least 100 miles per hour.

But the city and The Boring Co. still haven't reached an agreement on the costs of the project nor on a schedule. In addition, while former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was a big supporter of the project, new Mayor Lori Lightfoot reportedly has been hesitant to endorse the new express system and has remarked that she doubts that the project could be 100% privately funded as promised.

In March, Musk made an informal announcement on his Twitter account that The Boring Co. was getting ready to unveil a new boring machine dubbed the Line-Storm. Followers of Musk's business ventures have been waiting since 2017 for the Line-Storm's official unveiling, but so far, it remains a mystery.