On Friday night, Boring Company CEO Elon Musk tweeted images of his tunnel-boring machine appearing to emerge from the dirt into a cavernous hole, with bystanders at the hole's edge watching the spinning boring head.
Congratulations @BoringCompany on completing the LA/Hawthorne tunnel! Cutting edge technology! pic.twitter.com/80WbSQekCQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2018
The tunnel began in January 2017 in the parking lot of SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Musk's goal has been to improve the speed and cost of tunnel boring, not only to alleviate surface-street traffic by lowering cars onto electric skates and then speeding them through a so-called "loop" system, but also to potentially dig sewer, water, and electrical tunnels for cities in a more cost-effective manner.
In late October, Musk tweeted that the more-than-two-mile-long Hawthorne tunnel would be completed by December 10, and The Boring Company would celebrate by giving rides to the public.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2018
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.
OLeary Station taking shape pic.twitter.com/O25AhFBnxA
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) October 19, 2018
"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.
The Boring Company has had broad support from LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to complete its tunneling project, although some have charged that the city's leadership allowed the Hawthorne project to move forward faster than it would have in a more affluent neighborhood.
Correction: This story was updated to reflect that the tunnel's end is not located at the residential property where The Boring Company plans to test a garage-based tunnel entrance.
Listing image by @elonmusk
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Ars Technica
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