A BR reader has posed the question, “Why isn’t Buffalo looking at Elon Musk’s tunnel construction services company, The Boring Company?”
This reader points to The Skyway, the 190 along the Niagara River, restoring Humboldt Parkway, extending the MetroRail, and reconnecting other parts of the city divided by highways and roadways, as “plenty of reasons to reach out to the company, to see if there are possible cost-saving and time-saving solutions that could be examined and considered.”
To solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic, roads must go 3D, which means either flying cars or tunnels are needed. Unlike flying cars, tunnels are weatherproof, out of sight, and won’t fall on your head. A large network of tunnels many levels deep would help alleviate congestion in any city. No matter how large a city grows, more levels can always be added.
– The Boring Company
“Elon Musk has proposed a solution to build a tunnel connecting Downtown Miami and Brickell (one of Miami’s biggest traffic gridlocks) for THREE percent of the 2017 Study projected,” noted the reader. “Instead of $1.5-1.7 billion, Musk says the cost will be more like $30 million. The Boring Company is also currently digging a project in Las Vegas – one of the first of its kind in the US. Los Angeles has a lot proposed several underground tunnel efforts to help reduce the commute across town.”
The Boring Company has a lot to offer, as seen in this FAQ page. From repurposing excavated dirt into bricks and pavers for housing projects and embankment beautification, to using custom-made, all-electric tunneling equipment, not to mention reducing (and cost cutting) the tunnel diameter, tunneling is not what it used to be, thanks to Musk’s revolutionary thinking.
It would be pertinent for NY State and the City of Buffalo to consider all available and viable options, especially ones that are no longer considered so futuristic as to be impractical. If there are solutions out there that are within reach, as other cities are discovering, regional planners should be doing their own research to determine the feasibility of tunneling.
Click here to see an overview of The Boring Company projects.
Lead image: A tunnel in Hawthorne, created by The Boring Company | Photo by Jurvetson (flickr)
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