LVCVA Board Approves Boring Company Proposal for Las Vegas Convention Center

A conceptual design of a people mover system at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The final configuration will be determined by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Board of Directors March 12 approved a recommendation to select Elon Musk’s The Boring Company (TBC) to design, construct and operate a people mover for the Las Vegas Convention Center via a loop of underground express-route tunnels that could carry passengers in autonomous electric vehicles at high speeds. The project has the potential to connect Downtown, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Las Vegas Boulevard Resort Corridor, McCarran International Airport and beyond.

Currently in the midst of an expansion, the Las Vegas Convention Center will span 200 acres when complete in time for CES in 2021. Conventioneers walking the facility from end to end would log approximately 2 miles, creating the need for an on-property guest transportation solution. In 2018, Las Vegas had more than 42 million visitors. The Las Vegas Convention Center hosts more than 1 million convention attendees annually. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada carries approximately 12 million passengers per year within the Las Vegas Boulevard Resort Corridor.

“Las Vegas is a high-energy, high-technology destination equipped to welcome the world, and we are excited to deliver a system that will help visitors efficiently navigate the city’s many offerings,” said Steve Davis, president, The Boring Company.

Founded by Musk, The Boring Company has built a Research and Development (R&D) Test Tunnel in Hawthorne, California. The R&D Test Tunnel represents an operational 1.14-mile Loop system that cost less than $10 million per mile including internal tunnel infrastructure, according to The Boring Company.

The LVCVA’s TBC recommendation is a result of a multi-step process that started in 2018 with a request for information to gauge interest. A request for proposal was then issued. Interviews with the selected finalists were conducted by an evaluation team who determined the recommended company. The evaluation team was comprised of representatives from the LVCVA, private organizations including a Las Vegas resort property, and consultants in transportation systems, and automated people-mover construction and operations industries.

Following the decision of the 14-member board, The Boring Company and the LVCVA will determine specific design, construction and operational plans and negotiate a contract for final approval by the LVCVA Board in a subsequent meeting anticipated by June 2019.

The estimated system cost is between $35 million and $55 million depending on route, number of stations and size of stations, according to LVCVA.

RELATED: February 2019 Tunnel Project Update

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