Miami Mayor Francis Suarez Says Tunnel System Could Cost Commuters As Little As $5 To Get Across Town
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The answer to how feasible it would be to build tunnels in South Florida could come fairly soon.
Just days after Miami Mayor Francis Suarez's tour of the Las Vegas tunnel system created by Elon Musk's The Boring Company, the mayor said this may be the key to revolutionizing travel in South Florida.
The mayor believes similar tunnels could come to Miami sooner than later, and at a fraction of the cost.
"What we will be working on is something that could potentially connect Brickell to downtown to the Grand Central station to Miami World Center to the Omni area to Edgewater, potentially to Wynwood," Mayor Suarez said.
When asked about how he could bridge together Miami in a way that is cost-effective for commuters, Mayor Suarez said to get across town could cost as little as $5.
"It would be a consumer-model. So the customer would pay $5, $10," he said. "Again, Las Vegas is a 43-mile loop, so depending on the stop, $5 or $10 to get from one place to the others."
Meanwhile, the city of Fort Lauderdale is also exploring the idea of potentially adding a tunnel system for trains in hopes of alleviating some of its most congested areas.
While no clear timeline has been given, Mayor Suarez is urging city leaders to come together to discuss the logistics on how to break ground on the tunnel project.
"We need to start the process of having the conversation with our elected officials. We have to decide if we will procure it independently or as a piggy back. If it's a piggy back, it shortens the time tremendously, and could shorten procurement from three to six months to as little as a month of two months. They actually built it in a year the minute they got the permits," he said.