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Elon Musk's Boring Co. Wins Chicago Airport High-Speed Train Bid
Elon Musk's Boring Co. is the winner in a bid to build a multibillion-dollar high-speed express train to O'Hare International Airport, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The result gives the young company a big boost in legitimacy as it tries to get transportation projects underway in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The company beat out a consortium that included Mott MacDonald, the civil engineering firm that designed a terminal at London's Heathrow Airport, and JLC Infrastructure, an infrastructure fund backed by former basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson, said the people, who declined to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. The city is expected to announce the news as soon as Thursday, one person said.
It's a sizeable victory for a company that was launched just 18 months ago, is working with unproven futuristic ideas, and—aside from a test tunnel it is digging in the Los Angeles suburb Hawthorne, California—lacks construction experience.
Also at Chicago Tribune, CNBC, and The Verge.
Previously: Elon Musk to Compete for High-Speed Rail Loop in Chicago
Related: Elon Musk Claims to Have "Verbal Approval" to Build New York to Washington, D.C. Hyperloop
Washington, D.C. Granted Elon Musk's Boring Company an Excavation Permit for Possible Hyperloop
Elon Musk pitches $1, 150 MPH "Loop" Rides under Los Angeles
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday June 15 2018, @11:34AM
Apart from the tolls, there may be other ways to profit from this on the side:
1 - Once the tunnel is complete, there's nothing to stop you putting fibreoptics or maybe other types of pipe through there too. Might be a little money to be made selling / renting access to utilities companies.
2 - Dig a short branch tunnel off the main one. At the end of the branch, excavate a big cavern. Add lighting, ventilation and lifts to the surface and hey presto, you have a car park. Airport parking can be very lucrative.
3 - Make a deal with the local government: Once the underground road is complete, you don't need the old overground one (or maybe just a single-lane service road). Therefore you can give me the land that the old road was built on for sale/ development.