Elon Musk promised to drill a tunnel near Miami for $ 30 million instead of $ 1 billion
Mayor of Miami (USA) Francis Suarez announced a telephone conversation with Elon Musk on Friday. He promised that his company, The Boring Company, would drill a two-mile (3.2 km) tunnel under the city for $ 30 million. Given that local transport officials had previously estimated the cost of tunneling this tunnel at $ 1 billion, this proposal delighted the mayor.
Besides, Musk said The Boring Company could complete the work in six months, rather than four years, according to initial estimates. Suarez shared details of his “wonderful call” to Musk in a video posted on Twitter. “He is focused on trying to implement a project that will bring the maximum benefit to our residents for the least amount of money,” the mayor said, noting that the savings would be significant.
Tunneling under Miami will not be easy because it is built on spongy limestone that is not very durable. This obstacle is one of the reasons for the sky-high prices quoted by officials in 2018. And this led to the high cost of tunneling under the Port of Miami, which is less than a mile (1.6 km) in length, but cost the city treasury about $ 700 million.
On Friday, the Miami Herald reported that limestone rock and the impact of rising sea levels were among the mayor and Musk’s topics, although it is unclear how much attention was paid to them.
