Elon Musk founded The Boring Company in 2016. Its mission is to create a complex network of tunnels that can relieve traffic congestion and improve transportation efficiency. The company has tunnel construction down to an art, and they are able to do it quickly and at a lower cost than older methods.
One time Elon Musk had an emergency and the traffic was huge. They did not come out of the traffic. Elon Musk is a clever person; they think about how to overcome this problem. His inspiration came from his frustration with the heavy traffic in LA, where he lives.
The name of the company is a play on words. It’s called “Boring” because the idea of tunneling is dull, but their goal is to make it exciting and revolutionize both transportation above and below ground.
The Hyperloop is the long-term goal of The Boring Company. It will be a high-speed system like no other that can transport passengers and cargo at near-supersonic speeds.
The Boring Company technology:
The construction process is not one that you’d think to be innovative, but The Boring Company has done just that. They’ve developed a tunneling technology that streamlines the entire process. One of their key improvements is through the use of tunnel boring machines (TBM). These machines are smaller, lighter and more efficient than traditional ones.
These TMB’s are designed to excavate tunnels while simultaneously installing support. Some examples of the support they install can be things like concrete walls or precast segments.
Another concept they introduced was “Loop”. It’s basically constructing underground tunnels for electric vehicles (EVs) to travel on at high speeds using electric skates. With these skates, individual cars or passenger pods can get transported autonomously. This greatly reduces traffic congestion on the surface.
Current Projects:
Multiple projects from The Boring Company are in progress right now, all in different locations. One notable one is the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop. The goal of this project is to transport visitors between exhibition halls with autonomous EVs. It consists of two tunnels that are both about a mile long.
This system is expected to be operational by 2021
An ongoing project is the Chicago Express Loop. It hopes to connect downtown Chicago with O’Hare International Airport. Traveling at speeds of up to 150 mph, passengers will get to their destination in a short 12 minutes.
Challenges and Criticisms:
The Boring Company has faced criticisms and challenges from critics since it started. Some believe that the company should invest its focus into public transportation systems such as buses and trains instead of tunneling technology.
With tunnel construction comes environmental impact and disruption caused during the process of it being built. This includes hurdles with following regulations and legal complexities tied with building tunnels under current infrastructure.
Future Outlook:
Even with these challenges The Boring Company continues to expand its operations. Elon Musk’s vision for a large underground network is still ambitious. On top of that, they want to find ways to make tunneling costs less and faster.
The Boring Company is an innovative infrastructure company founded by Elon Musk with the goal of revolutionizing transportation through underground tunnels. By developing advanced tunneling technology and proposing high-speed transportation systems like the Hyperloop, the company aims to address traffic congestion and improve transportation efficiency in urban areas.
