Elon Musk’s latest endeavor is raising eyebrows. The billionaire’s latest project is to fix traffic. His solution? Underground roads.
Musk is not the first to propose a solution to traffic, or even build an underground road. Countries across the world have experimenting and pursuing similar projects. The U.S has already seen Boston’s Big Dig, a 15 year-long project that constructed an underground highway and two new bridges stretching over the Charles River. Amsterdam has begun an initiative to remove 11,200 parking spots by 2025 according to Fleet Europe.
Musk’s own project has already opened 1.7 miles of underground road under Las Vegas. With plans to construct the Las Vegas Loop and expand to other states, it appears that his project may be the start of a country-wide conversion to underground roads.
However, the viral video of a traffic jam in the tunnel raised an important question, will underground roads actually fix traffic?
According to experts, underground roads will not solve the ageless dilemma. Whether roads are built underground or not, drivers will use them and inevitably cause traffic.
Tom Ireland, projects director of tunneling at engineering company Aurecon says, “I don’t really see that congestion is going to improve. It must be a different paradigm.”
Automated and shared cars in underground tunnels have the potential to improve congestion. However, companies are still years away from safely developing technology that has the capability of following through with this vision.
Even though underground roads may not necessarily solve the traffic problem, it still introduces a wide range of benefits. In rural areas, relocating roads underground will not only open up more room for farming, but also get rid of barriers that previously separated species and wildlife. A reduction in pollution will pull carbon from the air, which in turn benefits the wildlife.
In cities, space previously occupied by roads can be pedestrianized and renovated into public amenities. Pollution levels will fall, and newly planted trees will improve air quality.
Underground roads may not solve traffic, but they will still solve countless other problems that currently plague nations. In fact, it may only be a matter of time before transportation moves completely underground.
Sources:
– https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220621-what-if-roads-went-underground
– https://www.deseret.com/2022/6/20/23173023/elon-musk-las-vegas-loop-underground-tesla-tunnel
– https://thehill.com/changing-america/resilience/smart-cities/3526289-elon-musks-boring-company-to-expand-underground-tunnels-in-las-vegas/
– https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/elon-musk-boring-company-tunnel-traffic-jam-las-vegas-558798.html
– https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/last-mile/netherlands/news/amsterdam-removing-almost-12000-parking-spots?curl=1#:~:text=Cycling%20city%20Amsterdam%20will%20start,inner%20city%20of%20parking%20spaces.
Musk is not the first to propose a solution to traffic, or even build an underground road. Countries across the world have experimenting and pursuing similar projects. The U.S has already seen Boston’s Big Dig, a 15 year-long project that constructed an underground highway and two new bridges stretching over the Charles River. Amsterdam has begun an initiative to remove 11,200 parking spots by 2025 according to Fleet Europe.
Musk’s own project has already opened 1.7 miles of underground road under Las Vegas. With plans to construct the Las Vegas Loop and expand to other states, it appears that his project may be the start of a country-wide conversion to underground roads.
However, the viral video of a traffic jam in the tunnel raised an important question, will underground roads actually fix traffic?
According to experts, underground roads will not solve the ageless dilemma. Whether roads are built underground or not, drivers will use them and inevitably cause traffic.
Tom Ireland, projects director of tunneling at engineering company Aurecon says, “I don’t really see that congestion is going to improve. It must be a different paradigm.”
Automated and shared cars in underground tunnels have the potential to improve congestion. However, companies are still years away from safely developing technology that has the capability of following through with this vision.
Even though underground roads may not necessarily solve the traffic problem, it still introduces a wide range of benefits. In rural areas, relocating roads underground will not only open up more room for farming, but also get rid of barriers that previously separated species and wildlife. A reduction in pollution will pull carbon from the air, which in turn benefits the wildlife.
In cities, space previously occupied by roads can be pedestrianized and renovated into public amenities. Pollution levels will fall, and newly planted trees will improve air quality.
Underground roads may not solve traffic, but they will still solve countless other problems that currently plague nations. In fact, it may only be a matter of time before transportation moves completely underground.
Sources:
– https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220621-what-if-roads-went-underground
– https://www.deseret.com/2022/6/20/23173023/elon-musk-las-vegas-loop-underground-tesla-tunnel
– https://thehill.com/changing-america/resilience/smart-cities/3526289-elon-musks-boring-company-to-expand-underground-tunnels-in-las-vegas/
– https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/elon-musk-boring-company-tunnel-traffic-jam-las-vegas-558798.html
– https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/last-mile/netherlands/news/amsterdam-removing-almost-12000-parking-spots?curl=1#:~:text=Cycling%20city%20Amsterdam%20will%20start,inner%20city%20of%20parking%20spaces.
