Elon Musk Scraps Plan To Build Tunnel Under 405 Freeway In West LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Elon Musk's Boring Company has canceled plans to build a tunnel under the 405 Freeway on the Los Angeles Westside, but will push forward with his other tunneling projects.
The decision was part of a settlement with two community groups who sued the Boring Company and the city of L.A., alleging that the city had exempted the project from proper environmental reviews.
"The parties (The Boring Company, Brentwood Residents Coalition, Sunset Coalition, and Wendy-Sue Rosen) have amicably settled the matter of Brentwood Residents Coalition et al. v. City of Los Angeles," a statement released by the Boring Company to NBC News. "The Boring Company is no longer seeking the development of the Sepulveda test tunnel and instead seeks to construct an operational tunnel at Dodger Stadium."
The 2.7-mile tunnel was to run parallel to Sepulveda Boulevard, from Pico Boulevard in West Los Angeles south to Washington Boulevard in Culver City.
Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, launched The Boring Company in December 2016 to focus on alleviating Los Angeles' traffic issues by using underground tunnels.
Under Musk's plan, platforms would carry pods or cars down to an underground series of passages. The platforms would act as electric sleds, transporting cars or pods across the city at speeds of more than 120 miles an hour.
In August 2017, the Hawthorne City Council gave The Boring Company approval to construct a test tunnel for electric cars underneath the city, extending from SpaceX headquarters.
Earlier this month, Musk posted a time-lapse video of himself walking the length of two-mile Hawthorne tunnel, which he said is on track for an opening day party on Dec. 10.
If the Hawthorne tunnel is successful, Musk is hoping to follow it up with a bigger tunnel system that would run as far south as Long Beach, as far north as Sherman Oaks, east to Dodger Stadium and west to Santa Monica.
Musk has proposed constructing a tunnel which would run from Dodger Stadium to Hollywood. Billed as the "Dugout Loop," the 3.6 mile all-electric underground tunnel would run from Dodger Stadium to property owned by the Boring Company near the Vermont/Sunset, Vermont/Santa Monica or Vermont/Beverly Metro Red Line stations.
The Dugout Loop would consist of "autonomous electric skates" propelled by multiple electric motors carrying eight to 16 people. The skates will travel at 125 to 150 miles per hour for a trip that will take less than four minutes and cost around $1, according to the company. It would be able to transport an estimated 1,400 people in total per event.
Musk has reiterated that the tunnels will be entirely privately financed and not require any tax money.