Musk finishes digging Las Vegas ‘loop’ train

Bloomberg

Not all of Elon Musk’s projects have been thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic. While the billionaire clashed this week with local officials over restarting production at a Tesla Inc. factory in California, his tunnel-drilling company hit a new milestone in Nevada.
A giant drill called Godot Plus broke through a wall near the spot where it will connect to the Las Vegas Convention Center. The event marked the final phase of excavation for the project’s two main transportation tunnels and will allow Musk’s Boring Co. to collect its next portion of a total $48.7 million in payment from Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
“From a construction standpoint, we’re comfortably in the schedule,” said Steve Hill, the authority’s chief executive officer. In fact, he said Boring Co. is “somewhat ahead,” making him confident that the company’s planned transportation network will be open to the public on time, by January. The milestone comes just one year after LVCVA approved project, and completion of both tunnels signals speedy progress for major infrastructure construction.
When it’s completed, the tunnels will serve as the core of a transit system connecting the eastern edge of the convention complex’s South Hall to the western edge of a new building—a route of just short of a mile. An intermediate stop will serve the central and north exhibit halls. Boring Co. has also been tapped to build a pedestrian tunnel between the South Hall and a nearby parking lot where it will locate a station.
To move passengers around, Boring Co. will use the basic framework of Tesla Model 3 and Model X vehicles, modified to hold up to 16 passengers.
Although construction progressed quickly, Hill said Boring Co. workers took precautions to prevent Covid-19 infection. Those included mandatory checks of workers’ temperatures, mask wearing and social distancing for both Boring Co. and convention center workers, who are currently building out an expansion of the complex, Hill said.