FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A possible solution to South Florida’s traffic problems is losing momentum.
City Commissioners in Fort Lauderdale may not be moving forward with plans to build Tesla tunnels, which are courtesy of Elon Musk's Boring Company.
The idea came about roughly two years ago after a series of tweets between Musk and Miami’s Mayor, Francis Suarez.
Fort Lauderdale’s Mayor Dean Trantalis also hopped in, saying, “We have #tunnelvision in the #magicregion!”
However, in the time since those tweets, there’s been both controversies and complications that this project has brought on. Yet there still may be a glimmer of hope moving forward.
“Fort Lauderdale really needs to start looking outside the box as far as mobility issues,” Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steven Glassman said.
He’s been a proponent from the start.
The District Two representative said the Boring Company reached out to the city with the idea to build a twin tunnel system that would be built under Las Olas Boulevard.
The idea is that it would take passengers from downtown to the beach, and vice versa, with the use of self-operated electric cars.
“We are very built out, let’s put it that way. We don’t have the land to expand roadways,” Glassman said. “Our city is growing rapidly, population is significantly higher every year and the biggest complaint we get is traffic.”
So far, the city commission has invested 50,000 dollars into what would be a 375,000 dollar study to determine if the project is even feasible.
The Boring Company currently has one success story.
In Las Vegas, the 1.6-mile loop experience that goes under the Las Vegas Convention Center has Tesla cars that are driven by hired drivers.
But Elon Musk’s venture also has many failures.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Maryland, Chicago, Ontario and Los Angeles are among the cities that have pulled out of planned tunnel projects with the company.
For Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Warren Sturman, it’s telling.
“Hesitant doesn’t even begin to explain how I feel about it. The project, in my opinion, seems to be ridiculous," he said.
Sturman added that many of his constituents feel the same way and believe this will only create more of a headache.
“We call it more like an A-ticket ride from Disney. It’s more of an amusement ride than solving a transportation issue,” he said. “People must park their car downtown, then they get out and wait in line to catch a ride on a Boring Tunnel car that takes them to the beach. Once they are at the beach, they are dropped off at the same one point and must take a third mode of transportation going north and south to their final destination.”
While there are criticisms, the project isn’t dead in the water yet.
The Boring Company’s latest proposal is if the city decides to continue with the study and pay the remaining balance, the company will bear the costs of the whole project, which is an estimated 100 million dollars.
Commissioner Glassman said he has reached out to the company personally to see if they will also waive the city’s remaining balance of 325,000 dollars. He is hoping that might get more council members on board.
“If I can spend 50 thousand dollars and get 100 million dollars in return, I’ll do that every day,” Glassman said.
However, some say the money is not the concern.
“I think that it’s time to cut our losses and just move on,” Sturman said.
While Fort Lauderdale waits to hear back on just how much the company is willing to pay, the City Manager has been tasked with reaching out to all of the cities that pulled out of their tunnel projects and reporting back to the board on their findings.
