Digging Tunnels to the Future
HMSA students at the Boring Company. Photo by Lilian Haney
The Boring Company sounds boring right? Actually it’s quite the opposite. Elon Musk’s recent project, the Boring Company, is dedicated to decreasing traffic by building tunnels for cars. There are various reasons why tunnels will reduce the amount of traffic. According to the Boring Company, when asked why they decided to create tunnels they stated, “There is no practical limit to how many layers of tunnels can be built, so any level of traffic can be addressed. Tunnels are weatherproof.” A futuristic city like freeway could be built underground, having different directions. Having the tunnels underground, decreases accidents caused by weather.
Last summer, a few HMSA students were given the opportunity to learn more about the changes happening in Los Angeles. On August 16, 2017, Mr. Flint and Ms. Enger took a group of HMSA students to the Boring Company’s latest location where they were tunneling. There, students met staff and received more insight on how they are tunneling. The students learned about the purpose of the Boring Company and the positive outcome they hope to achieve.
Students on the trip went to the location where they were digging the tunnel and were able to see what the Boring Company was actually doing. Students spoke to representatives of the company to learn more about what is occurring. Senior Omer B. was one of the students that took the opportunity to learn more about Elon Musk’s Boring Company. When asked what was the most exciting part of the trip he stated, “The most exciting part of the trip was seeing the tunnel entrance and hearing their explanation of how it would work.” Omer continued, “It was a great opportunity to visit the Boring Company and see their project.” Omer enjoyed the field trip, learning about the new changes occurring in Los Angeles and how dedicated the staff members were to the cause.
Elon Musk hopes to reduce the amount of traffic in Los Angeles by having underground freeways and tunnels. Tunnels are very expensive to make, according to The Boring Company it costs “$1 billion per mile.” This is very costly but, Elon Musk is finding new ways to reduce that cost as much as possible. Since California has been overdue for an earthquake, many people are concerned about them and there effect on the tunnels. However, the Boring Company proved with previous earthquakes that tunnels have not been affected at all by them. Although there are many bumps in the road of this project such as expenses, risks, and environmental concerns, Elon Musk is dedicated to continue with the project.
