It has been a long time goal of Chicago City Hall and Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration to build a super express transit system between the downtown area of Chicago and O'Hare International Airport. Per Crain's Chicago Business, the project will consist of a closed loop pair of tunnels from Block 37 in the central loop to the airport that would take passengers to their flights in 12 minutes using pod like vehicles or electric skates and would depart as frequently as every 30 seconds. These autonomous vehicles would be able to carry up to 16 passengers and their luggage. The promised cost: fares of no more than half of what a taxi or ride-share costs today, that works out to less than $25. With Musk's company financing what insiders say will be the $500 million to $1 billion cost without any taxpayer subsidy. Elon Musk's Boring Company has been picked to build and operate this new system.
According to Deputy Mayor Robert Rivkin, "This will definitely help the city's economy and construction work could begin next year with actual service in operation around 2022". Boring Company has developed a faster drilling technology that allows it to create tunnels at least 90 per cent below the cost of conventional methods. This allows it to use one of the few available transit routes left in crowded big cities - the underground. Musk is also the founder of Space X and Tesla Motors and has been able to deliver on his ideas that would normally stymy others. These vehicles will be able to accelerate to over 100 miles per hour and slash the time on the 17 mile O'Hare run. Another big savings comes from the fact that these vehicles would be automated and thereby, reduce labor costs. This project still needs to clear a series of legal and environmental hurdles.
Musk conceded that much of the technology in his proposal is new, at least in scale and how it's combined with other technologies, but said he's often dealt with such challenges and indicated the electric pods, or “skates,” that would carry passengers would be built by his Tesla Motors with “the most advanced technology in the world.”
"Dallas and Atlanta and New York will look at this and be sorry they didn't have it." "It's going to give the city a huge competitive leg up."
Mayor Rahm Emanual
This is an amazing undertaking and Deputy Mayor Rivkin said the city hopes to minimize the land use issues by locating the two tunnels (one inbound and the other outbound), beneath the Kennedy Expressway or under streets that run diagonally through the Northwest Side, including Elston and Milwaukee Avenues. Also, with these 14 foot wide tunnels being dug, Boring has come up with an ingenious plan of taking the thirty-four miles of dirt and rock from these tunnels and making bricks from the material which could be used in low-income housing programs. How's that for ingenuity! Musk also says he's prepared to begin actual construction “in three to four months” after receiving final government approvals.
DataBid has been tracking this project since December of 2017. (Project ID 0047120117) - Chicago Infrastructure Trust O'Hare Express System Project - DBFOM and indicates it was awarded to The Boring Company on 6/13/2018.
Per Mashable, The Boring Company beat out a rival bid from joint venture called O'Hare Xpress LLC, made up of Meridiam, Antarctica Capital, Mott MacDonald, First Transit and JLC Infrastructure, a fund backed by basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
According to Inverse, Musk's system of eight to 16 seat pods are promised to depart every 30 seconds or so. Mayor Emanuel said in a statement to Inverse, "This transformative project will help Chicago write the next chapter in our legacy of innovation and invention". The projected route travels northwest from downtown along public way alignments, but the actual route will be finalized during contract negotiations, reads a statement for the city.