Elon Musk's ambitious plans for a tunnel network underneath Los Angeles were hit with what some would view as a major blow. The Boring Company has decided to cancel part of the proposed network that would see a tunnel travel underneath the 405 Freeway and Sepulveda Boulevard.
As NBC News reports, the tunnel would have traveled underneath the 405 Freeway and along the Westside, but a lawsuit triggered by the Brentwood Residents Coalition, Sunset Coalition, and Wendy-Sue Rosen stopped it from happening. The community groups sued the City of Los Angeles demanding an environmental review of the work. The Boring Company decided it didn't want to wait for a "sluggish environmental review process" so changed its plans and settled with the groups.
A map posted by Elon Musk in December last year shows that the Westside section is only a small part of the network, but includes a direct link to LAX. It looks as though that link may now be dead in the water.
Going forward, the Boring Company is focusing on "an operational tunnel at Dodger Stadium." This part of the project consists of a three-mile tunnel section linking the subway lines of Vermont Avenue with the ballpark. Tesla Model X vehicles will be used to transport fans from the subway to the stadium while keeping the above ground transport networks free of extra traffic.
The so-called Dugout Loop High Speed Transportation Project has the backing of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. I'm sure any new legal action trying to force an environmental review of the Dugout Loop would meet with stiff opposition not only from the Mayor, but from fans who are looking forward to a better transport link to the stadium.