03/16/2022
⓵ TUNNEL FROM OUR FUTURE?
With more than 11 million residents expected to call Dallas-Fort Worth home by 2045, the North Central Texas Council of Governments is looking for creative solutions for how they’ll move around.
The regional planning organization has held initial conversations with Elon Musk’s The Boring Company, a tunnel-building technology firm, according to the Dallas Business Journal. (The company’s R&D tunnel in Hawthorne, California, is seen above.) The concept proposal, which has already been rolled out in Las Vegas, will likely go to the NCTCOG’s Regional Transportation Council as a draft over the summer.
While that project may or may not come to fruition, the Regional Transportation Council is planning to spend $30 million on automated vehicle projects across parts of the region in the coming year. Project types include automated buses and shuttles, parking systems, and delivery services, according to Community Impact.
“Technology has an important role to play in the development of the Dallas-Fort Worth transportation system, and our region continues to attract leaders in the field of transportation innovation,” Brian Wilson, NCTCOG spokesperson, told the DBJ.
An image of The Boring Company’s R&D tunnel in Hawthorne, California, from the company’s website. [Image: The Boring Company]
