Science

The Boring Company Has Started Building Its Futuristic Garage Elevator

It could be the future of garages.

The Boring Company has commenced work on a garage that can lower cars directly into the ground and whisk them along tunnels using a skate. Photos published Wednesday show work is well underway for its ambitious project that could demonstrate the future of transportation.

The tunnel was revealed last month in a series of public documents. The project will form a test site, linking up to the two-mile-long tunnel that will extend from the SpaceX campus at Crenshaw Boulevard to the intersection with Hawthorne Boulevard. The firm owns a property in the area, where it will build its new garage, but the house itself will act as a regular residence. The project is a 975-square-foot garage measuring 26 feet by 37 feet and six inches, with an elevator that drops a car 40 feet below the surface to a tunnel through an opening measuring 20 feet by 10 feet.

See more: Elon Musk’s Boring Company Unveils Futuristic Car-Transporting Robot Garage

It’s the latest in a line of ambitious projects for the firm, started with the aim of reducing traffic on roads. The company has designed two styles of pod to run along the tunnels, one that can hold 16 passengers and another that can hold a car, with both moving at speeds of up to 150 mph. Published plans include a 3.6-mile tunnel serving the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and an airport connection for the city of Chicago.

The Boring Company is cautious to ensure its garage-based vision of the future doesn’t interfere with the area. It’s notified over 100 residents about the plans, it won’t host any promotions at the property, cars will only move in and out of the garage through the tunnel, and residents won’t be affected in terms of noise, vibration, smells, or other factors. Company representative Jane Labanowski told Teslarati that the tunnel represents “an important part of the longer-term vision the company is trying to build.”

With construction well underway, it may not be long before The Boring Company is able to demonstrate its vision of transporting cars that could help alleviate some of the traffic around the area.

Beyond the two skate configurations, The Boring Company is also eyeing up plans for a 700 mph hyperloop configuration.

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