Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis Calls Visit Out West To Explore Boring Company’s Tunnel Projects ‘A Very Productive Trip’

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Fort Lauderdale’s mayor is calling his trip out west to explore the Boring Company’s tunnel projects a productive one.

Mayor Dean Trantalis posted a few photos to Twitter Sunday morning of his visit.

The mayor and his team visited both Las Vegas and Los Angeles, where they investigated tunneling technology to bring a commuter rail service to the city.

It was a very productive trip. We are coming home with a lot of ideas about the commuter rail project + other ways that tunneling could be put to use in resolving our traffic congestion. We invited @ElonMusk's team to come to #FortLauderdale soon to continue our conversation. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/1n5Z8HAF82

— Mayor Dean J. Trantalis (@DeanTrantalis) February 21, 2021

The Vegas project, called the Vegas Loop mega tunnel, is a two-tunnel 1-mile loop which connects the Convention Center with the Las Vegas Strip, at a cost of $52 million.

The LA project is a four-mile tunnel to connect a rail station with Ontario International Airport.

Civil engineers say it’s tough to build tunnels in South Florida, which is largely on a foundation of limestone, which is sponge-like, allowing water to move through it easily. However, large diameter tunnels are possible in South Florida if proper planning and precautionary measures are taken, said Conrad Felice, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Florida.

Felice noted that engineers earlier this decade completed the 4,200-foot Port Miami Tunnel, which had a price tag of $668.5 million and took over five years to complete.  That tunnel runs 120 feet below the surface.

The mayor said the team has a lot of ideas for that project as well as others. He also said he invited Elon Musk’s team from the Boring Company to Fort Lauderdale to continue the conversation.