functionary from Fort Lauderdale , Floridaformally accepted a proposalfrom Elon Musk ’s Boring Company on Tuesday to build an underground transit tunnel .
“ This could be a genuinely groundbreaking way to melt off dealings congestion , ” Mayor Dean Trantalissaid in a tweet .
I hope everyone there has a Cuban sandwich to expend in this fresh burrow because it attend like it is going to be underwater before long . Elon ’s burrow task have n’t exactly gone well in the preceding — justlook at accountsfrom test ride of the Boring Company ’s Los Angeles “ hyperloop . ” But building one in Fort Lauderdale comes with a whole other band of issues .
Great place for a tunnel, right there.Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)
Like all of South Florida , Fort Lauderdale faces anextreme threatfrom ocean level ascension . The ocean there hasrisenby up toeight inches(20.3 centimeters ) since 1950 . Most Fort Lauderdaleresidentslive less than five foot ( 1.5 meters ) above ocean level , including a majority in areasdeemed Special Flood Hazard Areasby the Federal Emergency Management Agency . affair could get much bad , though . Aconservative estimateforecasts up to two feet ( 0.6 meters ) of sea point rise could hit Fort Lauderdale by mid - century , which would vastly increase the peril of implosion therapy .
“ Ft . Lauderdale is already dealing with veritable flooding which is only gestate to become more rough-cut and more hard gift the burden of climate change , ” Samantha Montano , an adjunct prof in emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy , said in a Twitter direct subject matter .
What would a flood calculate like in the Boring Company hush-hush transit organisation ? Not great . build underground in coastal locations has always been a jeopardy . Non - Boring Company tunnels dug by cities likeNew YorkandHoustonhave flooded when storm have hit .
To make matters worse , Fort Lauderdale is built onreclaimed landmade of limestone , backbone , and marl — all extremely permeable and porous materials . As the ocean encroach on the arena due to violent storm surge orhigh tide floods , that geological base can easy get fill up . Thismay have contributedto the tragic prostration of a condominium building in the township of Surfside last month , though we still do n’t get it on for sure . ( It certainly poses a hazard to existing substructure long - terminal figure , let alone new subterranean infrastructure . ) The geology is also why nursing home in South Florida arealmost never built with basement ; crew would encounter flooding if they fag too far down .
For substructure built underground , we already be intimate how is faring due to sea level emanation ; the city ’s sewer system requires $ 1.4 billion in repairs , and sea tier rise is making matter unsound by corroding pipes . AMiami Herald storypublished last year notes the city itself establish 15 pump stations and 220 manhole could be inundated by 2050 . How on the button does the Boring Company design to get around these have it off issues ? It has n’t release a plan , so we do n’t know .
Florida cities are take steps to conform their infrastructure to the climate crisis , buildingpumping systemsto place water back into the bay andraising roadsso that hoi polloi can still drive when there are inundation . But building the Boring Company burrow would be a step in the polar guidance . If the mayor really wants to direct over-crowding , building raised bike lanes or kick upstairs public transit would offer more benefits than an underground tunnel full of Teslas driving at slow speeds .
“ Part of proactive climate action is ensuring that every single new infrastructure project accounts for climate risk , and luck risk more by and large , ” say Montano . “ Building this kind of hole-and-corner base in a community that is already face lasting flooding seems like a poor use of resources . ”
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