The Woodlands is one of 16 finalists for The Boring Company's Tunnel Vision Challenge, the Elon Musk-owned company announced in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on March 2.
The backstory
The Woodlands Township board of directors agreed in February to submit a proposal for the challenge, which would enable the construction of a mile-long tunnel in the Town Center area at no cost to the township, Community Impact previously reported.
The Boring Company’s request for proposals was for a project up to 1 mile in length with a 12-foot inner diameter anywhere "a tunnel would be useful," according to the company's website. The company will select a proposal and create the tunnel for free, according to the challenge. The company said in a post on X that 487 applications were received.
According to information from The Woodlands Township, the draft concept for a project called “The Current” would includes two parallel 12-foot diameter tunnels that could potentially transport passengers in electric vehicles beneath the Town Center corridor near The Waterway.
A fleet of Tesla vehicles operated by The Boring Company would provide transportation through the tunnels, according to information at the Feb. 19 meeting.
Township officials said the details of the project have not yet been established, as the proposal represents a very preliminary stage for a potential project. Township Chair Brad Bailey told Community Impact the decision to apply stemmed from a suggestion from township board Director Shelley Sekula-Gibbs when she became aware of the opportunity. He said the township was not approached by outside entities about the potential project in advance. He said the board is exploring the opportunity to make improvements at no cost to the township that could improve mobility in the Town Center area while preserving trees and moving surface traffic below grade.
A video of a similar tunnel in Las Vegas was posted on the township website.
What's next
A winner will be announced March 23, according to the company's website.
