The Boring Co., the tunnel-digging firm founded by Elon Musk to ease urban traffic congestion, has set its sights on trying to relieve busy roadways in Dallas and New Orleans with free, mile‑long underground projects.
In New Orleans, the company said initial talks are focusing on a tunnel that could improve traffic near the convention center and business district. In Dallas, a city that already has a little-used, underground pedestrian tunnel system, the proposal that aims to clear traffic for a new project is prompting some early skepticism.
One reason is because University Hills, the $1 billion, 280-acre mixed-use development near the University of North Texas at Dallas, has yet to take shape. The Boring Co. tunnel is expected to connect University Hills with a DART light rail station, improving accessibility between South Dallas residents and employment centers to the north.
In vast North Texas, a single mile‑long tunnel is unlikely to meaningfully address transportation challenges facing the nation’s fourth‑largest metropolitan area, home to more than 8.4 million residents, real estate industry professionals said.
The region isn't the only difficult area: The Boring Co. has faced hurdles with tunnel projects in Dubai and Las Vegas, as well as pushback from residents over a proposed loop in Nashville, Tennessee.
With little to no population yet at University Hills, Mike Geisler, a managing partner at real estate services firm Venture Commercial Real Estate, told CoStar News it's unclear if The Boring Co. — or Hoque Global, the developer of University Hills — will realize the goal of relieving traffic congestion.
"It's early and it remains to be seen if this would be a benefit because [University Hills] has yet to be built," said Geisler, who is not involved in the project. "It may be an asset for companies in the future that could see it as an asset. I still think it's good for the region for the long run."
Pedestrian tunnels
Dallas has a complicated history with tunnels, with the pedestrian tunnel system connecting much of downtown Dallas — often called the Dallas Pedestrian Network, designed by urban planner Vincent Ponte to mimic Montreal's Underground City pedestrian tunnel network.
The underground Dallas system, built between the 1960s and 1980s, was meant to offer pedestrians a way to navigate downtown without the threat of being hit by a vehicle while offering protection from the sweltering Texas heat.
But those tunnels also created ghost town vibes, an environment that business advocacy group Downtown Dallas has been trying to shake off for more than a decade. Similar to the abandonment of pedestrian tunnels, DART officials in the 1990s canceled plans for at least one light rail station after neighborhood groups opposed it.
More recently, some North Texas cities, including Plano, Irving, Farmers Branch and Highland Park — have threatened to depart the DART network over service, safety and low ridership issues, according to media reports. This could upend the nation's longest light rail system, with 93 miles of rail spanning 65 stations and 13 cities.
And if that happens, digging a new underground tunnel would make less sense for the region.
Mike Kennedy, a principal in Avison Young's Dallas office, said a mile-long tunnel in the southern part of Dallas is likely to be similar to adding the equivalent of a mini train to Austin's Zilker Park that takes children on a ride through one of the city's most popular greenspaces: While entertaining, it doesn't help solve a bigger Dallas-Fort Worth regional transportation issue.
"This will be a lot of fun, but not likely to be a transportation solution in the region," Kennedy told CoStar News. "Tunnels are also very expensive and limited to where they begin and end."
He added that "I don't see this as something that is compatible with urban sensibilities or people's desires to connect to their built environment. I don't see this as being a driver."
The University Hills project, expected to bring hundreds of single-family homes and about 1,500 apartments, as well as 1.5 million square feet of commercial real estate, has been slow moving after it was unveiled in 2022, seeking city incentives. The multiphase project has about 580 homes in the construction pipeline set to begin move-ins next year, officials said.
That project provides motivation for a tunnel to ease transportation and potentially lure businesses to the area, said Susan Arledge, a senior managing director in Newmark's Dallas office. "The developer is looking to build an urban, walkable environment for thousands of people, which would be the driver for this tunnel. This is what companies care about when they are looking at where they will locate."
The Boring Co. and Mike Hoque, founder and CEO of Hoque Global, did not respond to emailed requests for comment from CoStar News. In a statement, Hoque said the tunnel will add to the growth and connectivity of University Hills.
The city of Dallas is working alongside The Boring Co. and the developer to help plan and permit the project. City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said, in a statement, the project "showcases how emerging technology can help improve connectivity while demonstrating Dallas' commitment to forward-thinking ideas."
Dallas was one of three winning cities selected from 487 submissions vying for a free mile-long tunnel with a 12-foot inner diameter. One of the winning cities, Baltimore, has been nixed after initial meetings on the proposed Ravens Loop failed to move forward.