NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – New Orleans was named Tuesday (March 24) as one of three finalists for what is billed as a free one-mile tunnel loop project to improve city transit, courtesy of Elon Musk’s The Boring Company.
The company on Jan. 18 announced the “Tunnel Vision Challenge,” a contest inviting applicants to “pitch us your best 1-mile tunnel idea (Loop, freight, pedestrian, utility, etc.). We’ll pick a winner, and build it … for free!”
Submissions were due on Feb. 23, and could be made by “any entity type,” including governments, companies or even individuals. Projects were restricted to one mile in length and a 12-foot inner diameter.
On Tuesday, The Boring Company posted on X (also owned by Musk) that it’s “Thrilling Three” finalists are the NOLA Loop in New Orleans, the Ravens Loop in Baltimore, and the University Hills Loop in Dallas.
It is unclear whether New Orleans mayor Helena Moreno’s administration submitted the proposal picked as a finalist. A City Hall spokesperson did not answer that question directly, but sent a statement from Moreno speaking in vague terms about the project.
“There’s renewed excitement about New Orleans and we’re frequently hearing from investors locally and around the country. Any time major corporations or players are interested in New Orleans, it’s a positive,” Moreno said in the statement.
“We are in the early stages of exploring this project. Whether it is feasible or not, we’ve opened the door for conversations that could lead to opportunities, even if it’s not this one. This is further recognition that our work to improve our basic services, enhance local quality of life, and make New Orleans an easier place to do business is attracting opportunities and attention from around the globe. My focus is to think big, create jobs and invest in our future to move our city in a new direction.”
Among the unanswered questions are what purpose a tunnel loop would serve in New Orleans, and whether such a project is even feasible given the city’s mostly below-sea level elevation and deltaic soil.
The Boring Company said the next step for the three finalists would be for TBC and “project stakeholders” to “enter into a rigorous diligence process” which includes:
- Meetings with elected officials, regulators, community leaders and business leaders
- Geotechnical borings
- Utility and subsurface infra-investigation
“Once the diligence (100% funded by TBC) is complete, if all 3 projects are feasible, will fund/build all 3 – this would be awesome. If only 1 is feasible, will fund/build 1,” the post said.
The first Boring Company tunnel put to public use is in Nevada, used to allow drivers of Musk’s Tesla vehicles to move faster without general traffic near and beneath Las Vegas Boulevard. About four miles of completed tunnel is operational there.
Another tunneling project is underway in Nashville, where a project dubbed the “Music City Loop” is intended to reduce drive time between the city’s downtown and Nashville International Airport.
The Boring Company was founded by Musk in 2017 as a subsidiary of his SpaceX, then spun off as a separate corporation the next year, with the aim of improving urban transportation infrastructure.
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