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The Boring Company's First Tunnel Is All Dug Up (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the progress-made dept.

Elon Musk has tweeted images of his tunnel-boring machine with the caption "Congratulations @BoringCompany on completing the LA/Hawthorne tunnel! Cutting edge technology!" The update comes a couple weeks after Musk showed off the Boring Company's LA tunnel and said it was "on track" for an opening party on December 10th. Ars Technica reports: The tunnel appears to end at what The Boring Company calls "O'Leary Station," which is located on a piece of commercial property that The Boring Company purchased in Hawthorne. This location is close to, but not the same as, the location for which The Boring Company recently received approval to build a tunnel entrance within a residential garage. "O'Leary Station" references a SpaceX/Boring Company employee who recently passed away. The Hawthorne tunnel is just a test tunnel for The Boring Company, which also plans to complete a second, 3.6-mile, one-way tunnel from Los Angeles Metro to Dodger Stadium. Eventually, the company wants to dig a tunnel in Chicago between O'Hare International Airport and the city's downtown.

3 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. Not sure what is new here. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's a standard TBM. Making a tunnel. Cool, yes, but what's the advancement here? Is is any faster or cheaper than existing tunnel-making machines? Can it make smaller tunnels, which could be quite valuable in urban areas? Why all the excitement?

    1. Re: Not sure what is new here. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You have to start with existing equipment before you find out what's wrong with it. Isn't that how it usually works?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Not sure what is new here. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We'll see. SpaceX is certainly delivering on their technological promises, and they have the serious contracts to prove it. If nothing else, Musk is able to hire people who can make stuff work. I just think we should save some of the hype until he actually shows they can do something new and better, even if it's only a contract for someone relatively mundane, like construction of a fairly contentional tunnel but at lower cost than is currently achievable.