Elon Musk’s Boring Company Names South Dallas Project Winner

Elon Musk’s Boring Company is selecting a South Dallas site to assess the feasibility of a mile-long underground tunnel connecting a major mixed-use project with local transit infrastructure.

The proposed tunnel would link the $1 billion, 270-acre University Hills development, currently under construction, with the University of North Texas at Dallas. The Texas Tribune reported that the project was one of three winners selected from nearly 500 submissions in a nationwide company contest, and allows the tunneling firm to begin preliminary assessments and engage with local entities regarding initial boring operations.

Dallas-based Hoque Global, the developer behind the University Hills mixed-use site, is overseeing the massive project. While a spokesperson for the group did not immediately comment on the win, the integration of private infrastructure could significantly impact the development’s long-term accessibility, according to the publication. The developer broke ground last May on University Hills, which sits near I-20 and Lancaster Road and has already begun transforming from wooded land into an active construction site.

Projects in Baltimore and New Orleans also won consideration should they be deemed “feasible” by the firm, and a San Antonio tunnel project is also being studied, according to the announcement.

The Boring Company’s initiative involves building the winning submissions at the company’s own expense, provided they are deemed feasible. The tunnel proposal is specifically designed to connect with a Dallas Area Rapid Transit station near the University of North Texas at Dallas campus, according to the proposal.

The news comes as DART faces potential financial challenges, as municipalities including Farmers Branch, Irving, Highland Park and Plano are scheduled to vote this May on whether to withdraw from the transit agency. The votes are driven by concerns over low ridership and high funding costs, according to the publication, creating a potential vacuum that private transit solutions may fill.

The Boring Company has already established a presence in Texas with operations in Austin and Bastrop, part of billionaire Elon Musk’s continued investment in the state. Most of the company’s existing public transportation infrastructure is currently concentrated in Las Vegas, where it operates over five miles of tunnels.

In Las Vegas, the city approved a total of about 68 miles of tunnels to transport passengers in Tesla vehicles across multiple stations. The South Dallas project attempts to instead implement small distance, inter-city transportation solutions within a high-growth corridor.

Other large-scale transportation alternatives in Texas have recently struggled to gain momentum, according to the outlet. Among them, the long-proposed high-speed rail plans between Dallas and Houston recently faced setbacks after the loss of a $63.9 million federal planning grant.

— Eric Weilbacher