Elon Musk's Boring Company Shares Map of Proposed L.A. Tunnel Network
Phase 1 is a 6.5-mile proof-of-concept tunnel that will eventually be opened to the public if regulators agree.
By Matthew Humphries •
This story originally appeared on PCMag
Elon Musk has a plan to take traffic off the congested highways of Los Angeles and instead transport vehicles at 125 mph using an underground network of tunnels and sleds. It sounds crazy, but this is Elon Musk we are talking about and his tunnel company just posted a map of the proposed L.A. tunnel network.
There are two phases to The Boring Network's tunnel plans. Phase 1 (red section on the map) will see a 6.5-mile proof-of-concept tunnel built from West LA through Culver City and ending just before reaching Inglewood. This first tunnel would be used for "construction logistics verification, system testing, safety testing, operating procedure verification, and line-switching demonstrations" and is awaiting the approval of an excavation permit.
If (and it's a big if) the permit is approved, the tunnel is built, and all the testing proves successful, The Boring Company would then seek agreement from the county government and city government to open it to the public. That would mean vehicles using an elevator to descend into the tunnel and those without cars using a shuttle bus.
Phase II is a huge expansion of the tunnel system and is simply a concept right now with no "finalized alignment." As you can see from the image, it would cover a huge area of Los Angeles and requires a lot of expensive excavation that would probably take many years to complete. On the bright side, that would mean lots of new jobs and a brand new travel network being available at the end.
Based on the red section of tunnel being roughly 6.5-miles long, you can work out the distance covered from end-to-end by the tunnel, taking you from Sherman Oaks to Long Beach Airport in just under 40 miles. Traveling at 125mph without a stop, it means the journey would take roughly 20 minutes.
