Boring Highs and Lows
The Boring Company’s Loop projects are receiving equal measures of success and disappointment this week, as Resort World representatives teased details about the Vegas Loop expansion; while San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg stalls negotiations for a potential Loop project in his city.
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-1 driller broke out at Resorts World in February this year, in what was the beginning stages of connecting the company’s properties to the Vegas Loop system.
The tunnel, which is planned to eventually have 51 stops throughout Las Vegas, is expected to transport approximately 2000 people an hour from Resorts World to the Las Vegas Convention Center once the Resorts World station opens.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) CEO and President Steve Hill noted that the project is being built in phases that will be tied together.
Originally, the station was supposed to open by April 20th, but there were some design constraints that forced a delay.
“It’s probably the most difficult tunnel the Boring Company will ever have to produce, [...] It turned exceptionally tightly, so it really tested the limit of the boring machine itself and the ability to remove the material from the tunnel. While it was turning tightly it (the boring machine) had to dive, almost like tunnelling in a corkscrew.”
There has been no word on when the Resort World Station will be open, but we are told to expect an announcement in the coming weeks.
Things seem different in San Antonio, however, as various groups - including city mayor Ron Nirenberg - oppose the construction of a Loop.
The project, which proposes to have two tunnels run from the San Antonio International Airport and the downtown area, was negotiated by the Alamo RMA, and presented to the town. The project would cost an estimated $250 million.
But almost immediately, two nonprofits that protect local cave formations and the species that live there opposed. They say there are major concerns about the damage the proposed route would case to local springs and endangered species.
“Out of the million and one places to build a tunnel, they had to pick the worst, [...] There’s a whole bunch of places you could put a tunnel around San Antonio without going through this specific area. There’s all kinds of Red flags.”
Mayor Nirenberg also has issues with the plan, stemming from a difference in focus. Nirenberg has been attempting to secure funding from Washington D.C. for his ConnectSA initiative, which is planning on expanding the cities Advanced Rapid Transit system with a new route to the airport run by electric buses, and is reportedly close to getting the funding it needs - about $158 million.
With that funding, and a plan already in place that doesn’t cut through some sensitive ecology, it’s really not a surprise that Mayor Nirenberg doesn’t see a need for an expensive Loop project in his city. Time will tell, but San Antonio may just be a bust for The Boring Company.