LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Ten employees with the City of Austin's Development Services Department (DSD) flew to Las Vegas earlier this week to meet with representatives from The Boring Company, the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and their Clark County, Nevada, development counterparts.
The purpose, according to a spokesperson for the DSD, was to "understand best practices for permitting subgrade [underground] mobility infrastructure."
DSD representatives also discussed the challenges faced by their Nevada counterparts with underground transportation tunnel projects. According to The Boring Company's website, Las Vegas has three tunnel projects with only one of them at the LVCC already complete.
The projects in Las Vegas are similar to project types proposed in Austin, such as the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport expansion and development program, the DSD spokesperson said. To be more specific, expansion plans at the Austin airport call for an underground tunnel to connect the Barbara Jordan Terminal to a new concourse.
A new concourse at Austin's airport is still at least five years away, according to an update provided to the Austin Airport Advisory Commission earlier this week.
Management staff in charge of permitting such systems in Austin had the chance to see The Boring Company's construction site and visit with permitting officials in Nevada.
While a project has not been submitted for review, DSD staff have reportedly met with The Boring Company to discuss City regulations.
The Boring Company, owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is essentially a tunnel construction business that "creates safe, fast-to-dig, and low-cost transportation, utility, and freight tunnels," according to the company's website. Its mission is to "solve traffic, enable rapid point-to-point transportation and transform cities."
In Las Vegas, the tunneling occurred during large conventions and had zero road closures and zero attendee disturbances, according to The Boring Company's website.
Neighboring San Antonio transportation officials recently agreed to negotiate a project plan with Musk's company to connect the city's downtown area with the airport. While details on the project in the Alamo City remain up in the air, leaders are exploring the possibility.
Besides the projects in Las Vegas, The Boring Company has a test tunnel in Hawthorne, California.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: