On Tuesday, Elon Musk hosted a public demonstration of his "Loop" in Hawthorne, California per Curbed Chicago. This is the subterranean transportation system that will form the backbone of his company's proposed high-speed link to O'Hare International Airport. Several Chicago officials were on hand and were actually able to take a ride and experience the system first hand.
The Chicago delegation consisted of Alderman Gilbert Villegas, Matt O'Sea and Carrie Austin. Also on hand were groups of journalists, investors and celebrities. The elected officials zipped right through the Boring Company's 1.14 Mile long demonstration tunnel which is located 40 feet below the surface.
"It looks ok but there has to be a lot more questions answered before we can begin a type of project like that."
Chicago Alderman | Gilbert Villegas
Missing from the event were the automated electric passenger "skates" featured in earlier drawings and videos. Instead they used a modified X road car fitted with horizontal guide wheels following a fixed track.
Musk referred to the car on the track as a "rail-guided train." Curbed's Alissa Walker compared the project's latest car-based solution to "an underground highway for Teslas."
Even though the passenger car lacked the key hardware promised for Chicago's 150 mph O'Hare Loop, the West Coast test did demonstrate the Boring Company's tunneling technology.
Constructed for only $10 million, the Hawthorne Loop is just 14 feet wide which is a major reduction from the 28 foot diameter of standard single-lane tunnels. By making it so narrow, Musk can increase drilling speeds while dramatically cutting costs.
The 18 mile long O'Hare express which is also dubbed the "X Line" or "the X" will cost $1 billion to build. Mayor Rahm Emanuel assured nervous Chicago taxpayers back in June at a press conference that the construction and operation will be paid for entirely by the Boring Company. Many are still skeptical regarding this project, its technology and claimed price tag.
The Boring Company's O'Hare Loop is now only halfway through its environmental review. As soon as this is complete, it will go before the Chicago City Council for consideration. Mayor Emanuel will push hard to get the ambitious transportation system approved before he leaves office in May.
Musk's other plans call for a "Dugout Loop" to LA's Dodger Stadium as well as a tunnel connecting Baltimore and Washington DC. A proposed tunnel meant to shadow LA's Sepulveda Boulevard was recently abandoned after facing a lawsuit from local community groups.
According to The LA Times, the Boring Company is working on a steel elevator shaft inside the garage of a shabby house near the Hawthorne Municipal Airport that would connect with the test tunnel 40 feet below.
The structure will serve as a covert place for engineers to practice raising and lowering vehicles into the test tunnel.
Musk envisions a transportation network where commuters in cars, on foot or on bicycles can board platforms the size of parking spaces, dotted all over the city. The platforms, called "skates" would sink through elevator shafts, merge seamlessly into the tunnel network and whisk riders to their destinations at speeds of up to 130 mph.
See DataBid Blog titled: Elon Musk's Boring Co. selected for O'Hare Express System Project.