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Fort Lauderdale accepts proposal for Boring Company beach tunnel

The city of Fort Lauderdale has accepted a proposal by Elon Musk's The Boring Company that would construct a tunnel to shuttle travelers between its downtown and beach areas in Teslas. File Photo by Elon Musk/The Boring Company/UPI
1 of 2 | The city of Fort Lauderdale has accepted a proposal by Elon Musk's The Boring Company that would construct a tunnel to shuttle travelers between its downtown and beach areas in Teslas. File Photo by Elon Musk/The Boring Company/UPI | License Photo

July 7 (UPI) -- The city of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. accepted a bid from Elon Musk's The Boring Company to build a tunnel between its downtown and beach areas.

The Boring Company proposed a plan to construct a pair of 3-mile tunnels that will transport travelers in Teslas for $5-$8, stating it could be completed for about $10 million to $12 million per mille -- a total of $60 million to $72 million.

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Following a vote late Tuesday to accept the bid other companies will have 45 days to submit competing offers.

"It must be something the community feels it needs and we can afford," said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. "And it needs to help solve some of our acute traffic problems. We'll see where this goes."

The project would be known as "The Las Olas Loop" referencing a local road connected to the beach and government officials have suggested it could alleviate parking issues for beachgoers.

Drivers would be able to park their vehicles at the downtown Brightline train station and ride in a Tesla to the beach through the tunnel.

"This is the type of big, bold idea that we should be exploring," Brightline representative Ben Porritt told CNN. "Good transportation is ultimately about the functionality of a city."

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Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Robert McKinzie cast the only vote against the tunnel but did not say why he opposed the project during the meeting.

Transportation planners, however, have criticized the Boring Company's model, saying that using cars as a mode of public transit represents an inefficient use of a tunnel, which could instead carry more passengers with a train or bus.

Concerns have also been raised regarding the difficulty in digging tunnels in the state due to the limestone resting above the bedrock.

Trantalis has previously said the city and the Boring Company are working together to study the local geology to determine the best path to take to the beach, noting South Florida has two existing tunnels including one in Fort Lauderdale and another in Miami.

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