Elon Musk’s tunneling company will begin assessing its ability to construct a mile-long underground tunnel in South Dallas after a proposed project in the area was one of three winners of a company contest on Tuesday.
The Boring Company has built a number of underground tunnels across the United States for public and industrial use, including in Austin and Bastrop. In January, the company announced an open call for new tunnel proposals up to a mile long, with the offer to build the winning submission at the company’s expense. A proposal to build a tunnel connecting the University of North Texas at Dallas with University Hills, a billion-dollar mixed-use development currently under construction, was one of three winners out of almost 500 submissions.
A spokesperson for Hoque Global, the group building the University Hills development, did not respond to an immediate request for comment about the proposal’s win.
A social media post from The Boring Company outlined next steps for the project, including communication with elected officials and initial boring. The Dallas project and the two other winners in New Orleans and Baltimore will only be built if they are found to be “feasible.” The post also said the company would try to help construct an additional tunnel project in San Antonio because it and a few other proposals were compelling. A project proposal out of Waco was also submitted but not mentioned by the company.
The Boring Company is one of several owned by billionaire Elon Musk, which have taken repeated interest in Texas as an area of operations and growth. Most of its tunnels open for public transportation use are located in Las Vegas, where the city has approved construction of roughly 68 miles of tunnels. Passengers are transported in Tesla cars through the tunnels, and the city currently has eight stations and more than 5 miles of tunnels built.
The prospect of a privately-funded transportation alternative in the region comes as North Texas’ largest public transportation agency, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, faces a potential exodus of support that may significantly affect its finances. Farmers Branch, Irving, Highland Park and Plano currently plan to vote in May whether to withdraw from the agency, citing low ridership and funding costs. The University Hills tunnel proposal would connect with a DART station by UNT Dallas, according to a City of Dallas press release.
Other proposed transportation projects providing alternatives to cars have also faced setbacks in Texas. Long-embattled plans for high speed rail connecting Dallas and Houston also faced another roadblock last April when the Trump Administration cut a $63.9 million planning grant for the project. Almost all of The Boring Company’s current projects, however, have been for small distance, inter-city transportation.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
