Elon Musk’s Underground Highway System
The synthesis of two integral modes of transport is truly the quintessence of mobility without limits. Imagine being able to drive your car onto a platform that lowers you underground and whisks you away at speeds over 100mph, moving past 5 o’clock traffic and actually allowing you to arrive quicker.
Elon Musk, the creator of SpaceX and Tesla, recently gave credence to a project he has been pursuing through the Boring Company, a group of interns and part-timers, to provide a new system of infrastructure that will essentially merge automobile and subway systems. The project, which has encountered a great deal of scrutiny and skepticism, would require both public and private contracting and might prove to be an undertaking that eclipses Eisenhower’s highway project.
“We have a pet snail named Gary, and Gary is capable of moving 14 times faster than a tunnel boring machine-so the ambition is to beat Gary.”
While his proposal has the propensity to deal a finishing blow to congestion, many find the project to be incredibly unrealistic. Requiring a system of tunnels nearly forty levels deep, the undertaking is absolutely immense and with current boring technology could take up to a century of constant construction. Despite the skepticism, many people are hesitant to bet against Musk, who has proven through his work with Tesla and SpaceX that not even the sky’s the limit.
Learn more about Elon Musk’s network of tunnels at Wired.
