Elon Musk Hopes To Dig Yet Another Tunnel For Frustrated Commuters Due To SpaceX
Image via The Boring Company
Boca Chica, Texas houses a SpaceX production facility, and it has been reported that there are frequent complaints from its residents there that the highway has seen increased congestion due to the company’s activity.
Whether it’s shipping rocket parts, closing off entirely for safety when launches occur, or any other spaceship-related intricacies, access through the area is often complex.
So Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, Tesla, and The Boring Company, is coming up with a way to integrate his companies’ offerings: more tunnels.
The plan, proposed by to Cameron County in Texas by representatives of The Boring Company, is to dig. The company is suggesting that it will build a new tunnel stretching from the south of South Padre Island all the way to the northern end of Boca Chica Beach.
It’s not planned that rocket shipments will be taking place underground, though. As reported by The Brownsville Herald, it’s being proposed that the tunnel would be used for public access to the portion of Boca Chica which sits north of State Highway 4. It’s also handy for staff who live on the island or the Laguna Madre area.
“From what we understand from SpaceX is there is a good portion of the beach that can remain open if there was access to it,” says Cameron County administrator, Pete Sepulveda Jr.
This would be accessible even if the road were to close, and even if a portion of the beach was also blocked off.
But it’s not as easy as just digging. A ship channel passes right through South Padre and Boca Chica. So, if the tunnel were to proceed, it would have to be built quite far down in order to avoid hitting it.
Sepulveda also clarifies that apart from the presentation made by the Boring Company, the plan hasn’t been further discussed. However, the county won’t be paying for it, he confirms, describing it as “prohibitive” for them.
But with SpaceX accelerating its activities onsite with the preparation of a Starship prototype, road closures and frustrated travelers may become quite common.
If not now, the county will still need to find some way to keep the beach and highway at least somewhat accessible in the future.
“I think we’re willing to work with SpaceX just to look at what options, solutions, are out there,” says Sepulveda.
[via Futurism, image via The Boring Company]
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