from regulators.”

Boring Company persists in advancing its vision, unfazed by the gathered challenges. Despite controversies and fines, it continues to push forward while minimizing governmental review processes.

Critical inquiries remain unresolved regarding the maintenance and function of this fresh transportation model. The county, no longer holding authority through the expired special permit, asserts that it retains the right to inspect and audit as necessary. Nonetheless, Boring’s unfettered ability to expand without the exhaustive scrutiny applied to public transit projects highlights a significant oversight shortfall.

The private venture’s trajectory, marked by regulatory circumventions and legal disputes, nevertheless manages to proceed in reshaping urban transport in Las Vegas. This raises pivotal questions about regulatory frameworks when private enterprises undertake roles traditionally filled by public projects. Balancing innovation with public safety and transparency remains a crucial concern for stakeholders and the public alike.

and upkeep,” particularly due to the organization’s construction and worker citations.

Ex-Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who finished her third and last term in December, expressed concern about security and accessibility for users with disabilities. She questioned whether the tunnel project was the ideal transportation solution for the city. “I have been completely against it from the start and remain so,” she declared.

Other elected and appointed officials have shown nearly unanimous endorsement.

Musk, having invested more than $250 million to aid in Trump’s election, is now spearheading the president-elect’s Department of Government Efficiency task force, proposing reductions to the federal bureaucracy and its regulatory capability. Additionally, Boring Company CEO Steve Davis is assisting in recruiting personnel for the project.

Given Musk’s advisory role to Trump on trimming regulations and governmental oversight, Boring and the Vegas Loop might signal what could unfold for the nation.

“A Real Doer State”

In 2014, Musk stood alongside Steve Hill, who was leading the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, on the Nevada Capitol’s steps. They were commemorating an agreement to construct a Tesla Gigafactory outside of Reno.

Hill, acting as the state’s negotiator, labored intensively on the arrangement, which awarded $1.25 billion in tax incentives to Tesla. Musk later acclaimed Nevada as “a real doer state.”

Soon after the battery factory commenced operations in 2016, Musk’s Boring Company was scouting for a location to pilot a project testing its remedy to urban congestion, motivated by Musk’s irritation with LA traffic. The leadership at the city of Los Angeles showed interest. However, a regional transportation authority, Metro, holds sway over public transit in the city, and California law mandates an environmental assessment. Boring and the city attempted to bypass state regulations, asserting a building exemption in urban zones.

Local residents, though, weren’t as enthusiastic about unleashing Boring. When neighborhood associations in West LA filed suit against the city due to the absence of an environmental assessment, Boring reached a settlement and sought alternative locations to build.

Musk often criticizes governmental examination of his other enterprises, Tesla and SpaceX, alleging that excessive governmental supervision has rendered large projects nearly impossible to establish in certain parts of the country.

“Environmental regulations, in my opinion, are largely dreadful,” he stated at an event with the libertarian Cato Institute in June. “You need to secure permission beforehand, instead of facing penalties for wrongdoing, which I find much more effective. To say, ‘We plan to execute this project; should anything go awry, we will incur a penalty.’ Yet we don’t require a three- or four-year environmental approval process.”

Every location Boring attempted encountered difficulties in commencing excavation. In Chicago, then-Mayor Rahm Emmanuel was supportive, but local leaders questioned whether Boring could build an airport loop without public funds. In Maryland, Boring and federal entities finalized a draft environmental assessment in 2019 for a high-speed connection between Baltimore and Washington, but the company never began tunneling.

That was, until reaching Las Vegas.

In 2018, an executive who had met Hill during the Tesla Gigafactory arrangements contacted him to discuss the potential for bringing Boring to Las Vegas, according to Hill. (Hill mentioned that Musk himself had previously pitched Hill on a Boring Company initiative in Northern Nevada.) Now a leader at the convention authority in Las Vegas, Hill was strategically positioned to offer assistance. Funded by approximately $460 million in annual earnings from hotel room taxes and conventions, the authority wields influence in local politics, channeling the gaming and tourism industry’s power.

The authority was coincidentally looking to create a people-mover to connect exhibit halls at the 4.6 million-square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center. Hill indicated he already believed the Boring Company’s proposal “would function quite well here.” Nine firms presented proposals, and two emerged as finalists. Boring’s proposal came in at about a third of the cost of the other credible submissions, according to Hill. A week before the board was due to select the winner, Hill called a news conference to announce the Boring partnership. He highlighted a map of a tunnel system extending far beyond the convention center, reaching the airport and heading toward Los Angeles.

The authority proudly noted that the partnership with Boring received coverage from 1,200 news outlets, offering Las Vegas $1.3 million in free publicity.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada acts as the planning agency for the Las Vegas metropolitan zone, managed by locally-elected officials. However, because Boring’s project was initially small and didn’t rely on federal funding, the commission had no jurisdiction. The convention authority’s governing board, more focused on bolstering tourism than local resident transportation, took charge. Nearly half of the authority’s 14-member board consists of private interests, notably from the gaming sector. Goodman and two others opposed the partnership.

To finance the convention center loop, the authority approved $52.5 million in bonds, to be reimbursed by the agency. Since its opening in April 2021, Hill stated that the authority has disbursed about $4.5 million annually to Boring to operate the convention center loop, which offers free rides to convention-goers. Additionally, the authority spent $24.5 million acquiring the Las Vegas Monorail out of bankruptcy, granting Boring the privilege to tunnel within the monorail’s noncompete area territory.

Hill has persistently insisted, to elected officials, local environmentalists, and in discussions with ProPublica and City Cast Las Vegas, that the loop remains the sole practical solution for Las Vegas to manage its traffic issues. “It’s not really up for debate. There’s no need to pursue other alternatives,” he assured Sierra Club members during a meeting on public transit, according to Vinny Spotleson, volunteer chair of the environmental group’s regional chapter.

Nevertheless, Hill admitted to ProPublica and City Cast, “that’s a prediction. It’s not a command. I don’t have the authority to make that decision. I think people occasionally heed what I say.”

When Hill conveyed to the Clark County Commission, which manages the Las Vegas Strip and neighboring localities, only a few months after the inauguration of the convention center loop, that Boring’s achievements had already demonstrated the system’s excellence and instilled community confidence to advance, the commission was all ears.

Spurred by Hill, casino tycoons, and union leaders, the County Commission consented to a 50-year pact granting Boring the privilege to function a “monorail” both above and beneath the county terrain. The decision in 2021 was made without dissent.

Boring managed to accomplish in Las Vegas what it couldn’t in places like Maryland, Chicago, or Los Angeles.

According to Spotleson, who first crossed paths with firm representatives in 2019 when he served as district director for U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, the enterprise was heavily reliant on the Vegas venture. Spotleson stated, “We were their pilot project, aiming to showcase to Chicago, Boston, and global metros the success story of Vegas. We can replicate this here.”

An Ever-Growing Framework

The Boring Company has achieved over 5 miles of the intended 68-mile grid. Despite the sheer magnitude of the scheme, it has earned approval with minimal public discourse.

During the County Commission’s contemplation of the expansion initiatives, they found themselves enlisted in agendas under enigmatic aliases of limited-liability entities, complicating efforts for anyone beyond the company and its advocates to follow. For instance, in a 2023 zoning meeting, the county sanctioned a near 25-mile extension and 18 additional stations through a notice lacking reference to the Vegas Loop: UC-23-0126-HCI-CERBERUS 160 EAST FLAMINGO HOTEL OWNER L P, ET AL. In 2021, the commission endorsed an expansion for Caesars Entertainment hotels under the alias UC-20-0547-CLAUDINE PROPCO, LLC, ET AL, and about 29 miles of tunnel dubbed UC-20-0547-CIRCUS CIRCUS LV, LLC, ET AL.

Prufrock, a machine employed by Boring, drills its 12-foot-in-diameter tunnels, using chemical accelerants in the construction phase. For every foot it digs, roughly 6 cubic yards of earth and any water it faces are removed, as per a document the company shared with state environmental officials. Permits are crucial to assure that waste doesn’t contaminate surroundings or regional aqua sources.

Public findings — inclusive of emails, notices, photographs, videos, and further documentation — obtained from bodies such as Clark County, the Clark County Water Reclamation District, and Nevada Division of Environmental Protection through inquiries into public records, illustrate the company’s less-than-scrupulous approach in managing waste.

As evidenced by the records, in June, a Boring Company vehicle emitting mud tracks onto urban roads was trailed by a county road division worker. Dean Mosher, assistant director for roads, penned that such trucks “were unmarked and lacked license plates.” The stated route by the company to the county “had been utterly fabricated,” Mosher deduced.

Subsequently, a vehicle ferrying project debris spoiled gravel, stone, and sand on Interstate 15, impeding traffic for more than 4 hours during peak commutes. The driver faced a $75 penalty for an insecure or perilous load, as registered in court documents.

The preceding year, via actions unbeknownst to the county, a Boring contractor utilized a permit possessed by another county contractor to stockpile muck near residential complexes and the Commercial Center shopping hub, along a bustling central Vegas avenue, alleged a county representative. Consequently, the county levied a $1,549 fine on the contractor. That spokesperson opted not to reveal other areas housing the company’s debris, directing “operational questions” back to the company.

Boring’s excavation works necessitate groundwater removal — including in locales where the aquifer carries tetrachlorethylene, a hazardous dry cleaning solvent. The company is mandated to purify water before storm drain discharge, eventually flowing toward Lake Mead. However, records show instances where Boring undertook actions sans permits or ignored water treatment protocols.

In 2019, unauthorized groundwater releases into storm drains forced a $90,000 penalty and state settlement. In 2021, Nevada’s governing authorities dispatched a stop-work mandate to deter Boring from engaging in unpermitted groundwater releases, which reportedly incited Davis, Boring’s CEO, to voice complaints concerning the state’s severity and consequential strain on the company, noted an email the agency chief relayed internally.

The subsequent year, records demonstrate, local authorities reprimanded Boring for unauthorized sewer connections. By 2023, state environmental inspectors revealed untreated groundwater disposal into sewers, with an official remarking Boring’s crew displayed “uncertainty regarding the duration of treatment bypass.” Despite investigations by local agents, they couldn’t substantiate grounds for further measures.

During the same year, a Boring employee noted unauthorized public roadwork without requisite permits, leading the Public Works chief, Cederburg, to declare the situation a breach of the franchise arrangement, per records. A Boring official replied that following notification by the county, the company promptly sought the two necessary permits. They were retrospectively approved, incurring an additional $900 cost per permit.

Untried, Unresearched, Private

On a Friday underway at a Vegas Loop station situated at Resorts World hotel, directions from an attendant guided passengers to Teslas stationed in anticipation. An unlimited day pass ferrying between the Las Vegas Strip hotel and a MagicCon gathering at the convention center priced at $5. (Convention center trips are costless.)

Navigating narrow and luminously colored tunnels tinged in green, magenta, and orange, the driver managed roadways absent of shoulders at a speed of 35 mph, which felt swift. Upon reaching the initial convention center juncture, the driver paused, accommodating three more passengers into the compact five-seater sedan before resuming.

Boring predicts its scheme will transport 90,000 participants hourly, surpassing the typical daily traffic witnessed by New York’s third-busiest subway stop in 2023, 34th Street-Herald Square Station (72,890). It far exceeds Las Vegas’ monorail capacity (3,400 per hour) and the regional bus transit (7,500 per hour), according to Hill’s estimations.

Spotleson recounted a June tour of the Vegas Loop with roughly a dozen Sierra Club affiliates who left impressed: no carbon pollution; neon parcels everywhere; “It’s utterly Vegas.” Nevertheless, while quicker than foot travel, he articulated, “it doesn’t represent the actual mass transport remedy” required for vital spots, such as the airport.

The dearth of other options has rendered Boring a straightforward proposition for politicians to adopt, asserted Spotleson. “They grasp our transit necessity. It’s a no-cost, carbon-neutral choice presented to them. It simply doesn’t get easier.”

Hill admitted skepticism toward the company’s proclamation that the Loop would accommodate up to 90,000 individuals hourly. “Skeptics abound,” he disclosed, confident the company will be vindicated. “I am fully preparedto take that bet. Let’s simply wait and observe.”

M.J. Maynard, who heads the Regional Transportation Commission, mentioned that since the Vegas Loop is private, her bureau did not possess data to assess Boring’s passenger claims. “Being a public body, we must be very open and accountable with the [passenger] figures that we release,” she expressed. “I am unable to comment on the figures that Steve Hill or his group have posted or discussed.”

Marilyn Kirkpatrick, the sole county commissioner to oppose Boring’s 2023 enlargement, stated she was against granting the firm authorization to construct beneath public roads for miles when it had accomplished only a minor segment of the network. “Why would we offer something if we weren’t certain it was going to be successful?” she questioned.

The public might realize even less about whether it’s effective, owing to the elimination in May of the “amusement and transportation system” permit, a classification also applied to enclosed systems like the airport tram and the Strip’s High Roller Ferris wheel.

Over the previous three years, county evaluations of Boring’s operations under the permit recognized numerous issues, including speeding drivers and an unauthorized SUV entering one of the above-ground stations. Since 2022, there have been a minimum of 67 events in which the tunnel system was violated, including by external vehicles, a skateboarder, and a curious pedestrian, Fortune reported in October.

Yet the company persuaded Clark County to abolish that level of oversight by arguing the system “did not perfectly align with the requirements” of the rule, which “immensely complicated” matters for Boring and the county.

The firm delineated a different oversight strategy in a letter obtained by ProPublica and City Cast Las Vegas. The firm will continue to present structural, civil, fire, electrical, and plumbing evaluations, along with emergency strategies and other planning documents, according to the letter. But Boring’s letter did not discuss what would substitute ordinances that mandated multiple layers of examination and the prompt reporting of injuries and fatalities.

A Clark County spokesperson did not respond to inquiries about possible gaps in responsibility formed by the removal of the permit. In a declaration, the county stated “safety is the paramount priority for all county departments and agencies” as they evaluate projects.

Kirkpatrick stated she endeavored to incorporate extra fire-safety and security steps in a 2021 franchise agreement, which she endorsed. Nonetheless, she remains apprehensive about Boring’s operations, including the potential for pricing manipulation if it becomes the “sole provider in town.”

In a conversation with ProPublica and City Cast Las Vegas, a Nevada transportation sector expert who has carefully monitored the system’s development expressed concerns that Boring’s plans, including fundamental transportation safety protocols, haven’t been scrutinized like a public project.

“What will the traffic management system be like within those tunnels? How will they ensure that none of those vehicles collide when they’re moving at 35 mph from one tunnel into a juncture with another tunnel?” the expert, who requested anonymity due to worries about professional consequences, questioned. “All their responses are entirely vague. Hence, there are substantial operational concerns.”

En Route to the Airport

Soon after the Boring Company arrived in Las Vegas, Hill approached airport executives about linking the Vegas Loop to the airport. The rationale is evident. Over 50 million individuals arrived at Harry Reid International Airport in 2023. During busy weekends, congestion at the airport can detain casino patrons for nearly an hour as they await rides.

However, tunneling there necessitates adherence to Federal Aviation Administration regulations and federal environmental assessments. For the time being, Boring intends to halt its tunnels near the airport and utilize surface roads to transport passengers the final mile to the terminals, explained Rosemary Vassiliadis, Clark County’s aviation director. An airport spokesperson later clarified that no plans have been finalized.

Exploiting surface streets for its airport connection — at least initially — won’t ease congestion like mass transit could. Vassiliadis conceded it won’t “provide us any [traffic] alleviation. It’s merely substituting how people arrive here” by car, but mentioned she supports initiatives to construct a more direct tunnel line to the airport.

With backing from the casino and tourism sectors — and their assistance funding the project — politicians, including its most vocal detractors, like Goodman, have discovered little reason to dispute Boring’s intentions. For some, the airport influenced the choice.

When a major expansion into the city of Las Vegas was presented before the City Council in 2023, Goodman criticized the project as unsafe, inaccessible, and ineffective, but stated she would still vote in favor of it “owing to the appeal of the hotels and the private sector to facilitate the transportation of more and more individuals conveniently throughout our Southern Nevada community.”

She mentioned she had inquired if the casinos and hotels wished to connect to the Vegas Loop. “Each one of them replied, ‘We’re apprehensive not to, because if it succeeds and reaches the airport, we intend to integrate,’” Goodman shared with ProPublica and City Cast Las Vegas.

With Goodman’s vote, the council approved the extension unanimously.