On Wednesday, Clark County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve plans for The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop system. With the decision, the Elon Musk venture moves one step closer to the day when it can start digging the 29 miles of tunnel that will make up the project. Once complete, the 51-station network will connect various hotels and other destinations between Allegiant Stadium and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The company now needs to obtain the necessary permits before it can start excavating.
Boring President Steve Davis Told the Las Vegas Review the company will build the system in phases. Once it completes work on an individual station, it will open immediately. Boring hopes to build five to 10 stations within the first six months of the project, and then between 15 and 20 every year thereafter. The goal is to finish construction within three years.
The Boring Company is making some ambitious claims about how efficient the Vegas Loop will be once it’s complete. Davis said the network will move approximately 57,000 riders per hour. He also said it will be a point-to-point system, meaning passengers won’t have to stop at every station on the way to their destination. The LVCC, the company’s first loop, has thus far not lived up to claims made by Elon Musk. When it was first pitched, the system was supposed to move up to 4,400 passengers every hour. But as of earlier this year, it was only capable of moving about 576 passengers per hour.