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Elon Musk’s Boring Company wins approval to dig a two-mile test tunnel in California
The Verge ^ | Sean O'Kane

Posted on 03/07/2018 5:33:32 AM PST by BenLurkin

The City Council in Hawthorne, California voted four to one last night in favor of a plan from Elon Musk’s Boring Company to dig a two-mile-long underground test tunnel. The Boring Company, which operates from SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne outside Los Angeles, had until now only dug into and under its own private property. But the newly-approved extension will stretch beyond the company’s property line, with the tunnel running 44 feet below the public roads and utilities that surround SpaceX headquarters.

...

People who find themselves in the area won’t even notice that anything is happening, according to Brett Horton, the senior director of facilities and construction for SpaceX. He assured the Council and the members of the public that they won’t see, hear, or feel any of the digging. “They won’t even know we’re there,” he said, even though the giant boring machine will be right below the ground.

...

During the period of the meeting open for questions from the public, a citizen referenced the problems with collapsing soil that plagued the efforts to build a subway extension in North Hollywood in the 1990s. “What guarantees [do we have] that this doesn’t happen in Hawthorne?” he asked of the council, and of Horton.

Horton explained that the company thoroughly tests the soil and will provide the results to the city on a daily basis. If the ground moves so much as a half-inch in either direction, work will stop until a solution is found. Otherwise, if the public has any concerns, Horton said they can contact the city — or just come to SpaceX headquarters. “Our operations team is on site at the entrance shaft, so we’re easy to reach,” he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at theverge.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: tunnel
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To: Pollster1

Agreed. Best is simply minimum taxes + minimum spending.

Insofar as we’re not there and unlikely to get there any time soon, I’m inclined toward getting as many tax breaks for anyone we can.


21 posted on 03/07/2018 6:49:58 AM PST by ctdonath2 (The Red Queen wasn't kidding.)
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To: BenLurkin

I moved to So Calif in Feb 1964. I left So Calif in May of 1993. I lived thru the 1971quake. I rented my house for 2 more years, and it was in the 1994 quake. Luckily, minimal damage both times.

However, I can still vividly describe the 1971 quake hitting just as I was getting off the toilet, and getting ready to go to work. That house moved UP & DOWN-—Left & right—a good 2 + feet. It was daylight, and I certainly was wide awake. Friend’s house had every single dish thrown out of cupboards & the entire swimming pool emptied-—right thru his house, as both the back door & the front door were shaken open. He was trying to get his kids out of their bunk beds with water swirling around his legs. The VA hospital pancaked..and another hospital had one wing topple down, along with long term damage to the sewer systems in Sylmar.

I wouldn’t even ride in anything underground in So Cal. I seriously would tell Musk-—DO NOT DO THIS.


22 posted on 03/07/2018 6:51:36 AM PST by ridesthemiles
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To: Pollster1
Elon Musk’s companies are never boring. They make cool products. They suck up huge amounts of our tax dollars because corrupt politicians funnel our money to him. But they’re not dull.

Yeah, they take some tax dollars, but they are so much more efficient in the use of those tax dollars than present and past government handout recipients, like Boeing, ULA, etc.

23 posted on 03/07/2018 7:03:15 AM PST by rivercat
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To: rivercat
Yeah, they take some tax dollars, but they are so much more efficient in the use of those tax dollars than present and past government handout recipients, like Boeing, ULA, etc.

My interest is in the one peak-efficiency recipient of those dollars - the original owner who earned that money. That's what I like about President Trump's tax cut; I use the money I earned wisely because I had to work to generate that wealth. Leftists are proud to spend other people's money on any cause that redistributes wealth. Sometimes I feel like inefficiency is a feature and not a bug from their perspective. The less efficient, the better, because more money gets redistributed to their parasitic voters.

24 posted on 03/07/2018 7:25:36 AM PST by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: Pollster1

Surprised that the State of California hasn’t hired this company to build the tunnel under the proposed Trump Wall.


25 posted on 03/07/2018 7:27:39 AM PST by littleharbour ("You take on the intel. community they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you" C. Schumer)
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To: jmcenanly

“The Boring company, while faster than conventional equipment”

It’s hard to believe he has a revolutionary method of boring. My suspicion is that he’s boring smaller tunnels.

Am I (taxpayer) paying for his boring?


26 posted on 03/07/2018 7:48:04 AM PST by cymbeline
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To: cymbeline

This only works if the tunnel is straight down. Call it an oversized outhouse hole and fill accordingly.


27 posted on 03/07/2018 8:02:17 AM PST by oldasrocks (rump)
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To: BenLurkin

Reminds me of either it was HG Wells or Jules Vernes novels of a boring machine drilling to the Center of the Earth.

Or the one with Doug McClure, and they find and underground world of brain washing pteradactyls.


28 posted on 03/07/2018 8:15:39 AM PST by Daniel Ramsey (Thank YOU President Trump, finally we can do what America does best, to be the best)
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To: Rebelbase
"At last we’ll know who to blame when the graboids rampage."

Looks like it's time to take out the elephant gun.

29 posted on 03/07/2018 8:58:12 AM PST by who_would_fardels_bear
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To: Pollster1
In this case he's giving taxpayers a gift.

He's giving us the shaft.

30 posted on 03/07/2018 9:02:19 AM PST by CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC ("Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt" - Pr. Herbert Hoover)
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To: littleharbour

That’s funny.


31 posted on 03/07/2018 9:08:16 AM PST by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC

Musk must be a democrat.


32 posted on 03/07/2018 9:08:36 AM PST by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: ClearCase_guy
YAWN

I saw what you did there.

33 posted on 03/07/2018 9:11:20 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: Pollster1

I read that the commercial real estate surrounding the Gigafactory is already sold out. The local government is probably thrilled with their investment.


34 posted on 03/07/2018 9:15:35 AM PST by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: BenLurkin

44 foot below roads and utilities sounds like 50 deep to me. The test tunnel they just finished was “30 foot wide” which could mean if the tunnel was constant radius, it could have a cover depth of 20’ to 50’ since the article is so imprecise.

A cover depth of 50’ for a 30’ wide tunnel is very modest unless tunnel is lined and reinforced.

Nothing is said about structural and geotechnical engineering designs and opinions by licensed registered professional engineers.being submitted.


35 posted on 03/07/2018 9:20:42 AM PST by KC Burke (If all the world is a stage, I would like to request my lighting be adjusted.)
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To: jdsteel

Let us know if you ever come across some facts.


36 posted on 03/07/2018 9:22:23 AM PST by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: stars & stripes forever

Tunnels, when designed properly, are known to be one of the safest places to be during an earthquake. From a structural safety standpoint, the tunnel moves uniformly with the ground, in contrast to surface structures. Additionally, a large amount of earthquake damage is caused by falling debris, which does not apply inside tunnels. Some examples:

1994 Northridge Earthquake: no damage to LA Subway tunnels

1989 Loma Prieta (Northern California) Earthquake: no damage to tunnels, which were then used to transport rescue personnel

1985 Mexico City Earthquake: no damage to tunnels, which were then used to transport rescue personnel


37 posted on 03/07/2018 9:23:08 AM PST by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: Da Coyote

Tunnels, when designed properly, are known to be one of the safest places to be during an earthquake. From a structural safety standpoint, the tunnel moves uniformly with the ground, in contrast to surface structures. Additionally, a large amount of earthquake damage is caused by falling debris, which does not apply inside tunnels. Some examples:

1994 Northridge Earthquake: no damage to LA Subway tunnels

1989 Loma Prieta (Northern California) Earthquake: no damage to tunnels, which were then used to transport rescue personnel

1985 Mexico City Earthquake: no damage to tunnels, which were then used to transport rescue personnel


38 posted on 03/07/2018 9:23:33 AM PST by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: Dixie Yooper

Tunnels, when designed properly, are known to be one of the safest places to be during an earthquake. From a structural safety standpoint, the tunnel moves uniformly with the ground, in contrast to surface structures. Additionally, a large amount of earthquake damage is caused by falling debris, which does not apply inside tunnels. Some examples:

1994 Northridge Earthquake: no damage to LA Subway tunnels

1989 Loma Prieta (Northern California) Earthquake: no damage to tunnels, which were then used to transport rescue personnel

1985 Mexico City Earthquake: no damage to tunnels, which were then used to transport rescue personnel


39 posted on 03/07/2018 9:23:55 AM PST by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: jdsteel

From the company’s FAQ:

Currently, tunnels are really expensive to dig, with some projects costing as much as $1 billion per mile. In order to make a tunnel network feasible, tunneling costs must be reduced by a factor of more than 10.


40 posted on 03/07/2018 9:24:56 AM PST by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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