Fort Lauderdale accepts bid from Elon Musk’s firm to build a tunnel to the beach

Fort Lauderdale commissioners on Tuesday accepted a bid from Elon Musk’s firm to build a tunnel between the city’s downtown area and the beach.

Mayor Dean Trantalis (D) announced in a tweet that the city formally accepted a proposal from The Boring Company to build an “underground transit system between downtown and the beach.”

Other firms will now have 45 days to submit competing proposals, the mayor noted.

“This could be a truly innovative way to reduce traffic congestion,” he wrote.

Fort Lauderdale formally accepted tonight a proposal from @elonmusk‘s @boringcompany to build an underground transit system between downtown and the beach. Other firms have 45 days to submit competing proposals. This could be a truly innovative way to reduce traffic congestion. pic.twitter.com/R7Bh2NPVnl

— Mayor Dean J. Trantalis (@DeanTrantalis) July 7, 2021

Trantalis, in a separate tweet, said a tunnel connecting downtown to the beach, which would be called “The Las Olas Loop,” is an “innovative and unprecedented approach to addressing traffic congestion and transit needs in 21st Century America.”

This represents an innovative approach to addressing traffic congestion and transit needs in 21st century America. Boring Co. is off to a successful start in Vegas with its system there and could help us overcome the frequent traffic on the main routes to the beach. /end pic.twitter.com/lNFwoYcQbA

— Mayor Dean J. Trantalis (@DeanTrantalis) July 6, 2021

He noted, however, that the enterprise still has additional “milestones” to meet before it is ready to begin, according to The Sun Sentinel.

“It must be something the community feels it needs and we can afford,” Trantalis said, according to the Sun Sentinel. “And it needs to help solve some of our acute traffic problems. We’ll see where this goes.”

Officials at The Boring Company told the city that they can complete the project for about $10 million to $12 million per mile, which would total between $60 million and $72 million, the Sun Sentinel reported.

The city, however, is not permitted to release details regarding the proposal until the end of the bidding process, which is set to close in 45 days, the newspaper noted.

The acceptance of The Boring Company’s bid comes after the firm’s first operational tunnel opened in Las Vegas last month, according to ABC News.

The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop connects the new exhibit hall of the convention center and the existing campus with almost 1.7 miles of tunnel and three stations, ABC News reported.

That project cost about $47 million and was built over the course of one year, according to the network. The firm said it decreased the 45-minute cross-campus walk time to about a two-minute ride.