Digging has not yet begun on the Boring Company’s planned Vegas Loop transit system, but the company, owned by Elon Musk, recently announced the 29-mile tunnel network will have 69 stations, not 51 as originally approved by the Clark County Commission in 2021.
The newly added locations still must be approved by the city of Las Vegas and Clark County.
Steve Hill, president and chief executive officer at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that “Boring officials see the opportunity and I think they see the need. It provides better access and access to different places. Folks reached out to them and said they wanted to be included in that as well. So, where that makes sense, the Boring Company is willing to make that happen.”
No timeline has been set to start construction on the Vegas Loop, Hill said.
Recently added stops in the downtown area include the Arts District; Medical District, where the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Medicine is located; the World Market Center; Symphony Park at the Smith Center; and the Las Vegas Premium Outlet Mall.
Beyond downtown, new stops include Palace Station, Area 15, Chinatown, Town Square shopping mall and off Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road, site of the planned $3 billion Oak View Group arena-hotel project. The system also will take in some neighboring streets just outside of the Resort Corridor and downtown areas.
Hill said the Vegas Loop would be a point-to-point system and would transport passengers via various Tesla model vehicles, like the Convention Center Loop at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which already is in operation.
Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft said the more stations that are added to the project, the better it will become.
He told the Review-Journal, “As far as Boring goes, like any transportation amenity, the more connectivity the better. In particular, as we see more major high-end projects come to the south end of the Strip, my district, I think it’s really important for them to be part of the network. It brings it closer to the people who actually live in the community and make it more of a viable transportation option for them.”
The most recent Boring transportation project in Las Vegas is the Westgate offshoot from the Convention Center Loop, which takes passengers to three exhibit halls at the convention center. Resorts World’s tunnel to the convention center opened last summer. Digging has begun on the second resort to link to the convention center system. And a third Convention Center Loop will link the Encore into the system.
