Musk's Boring Co. Drops Westside L.A. Tunnel Plans

A lawsuit by a pair of Westside L.A. neighborhood groups has killed the Boring Company's plans to drill a tunnel below Sepulveda Boulevard.

1 minute read

November 28, 2018, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


The Boring Company

Steve Jurveston / Flickr

"Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s tunneling company has dropped its plans to dig beneath Sepulveda Boulevard on the Westside, months after a lawsuit alleged that the city of Los Angeles violated state law when it sought to exempt the tunnel from environmental review," reports Laura Nelson.

According to Nelson, the Brentwood Residents Coalition and the Sunset Coalition settled its lawsuit with the Boring Co. amicably. Still, "[t]he lawsuit and the settlement agreement mark the first major setback for Musk’s ambitious goals for tunneling in California."

As recently as April, the idea was cruising through the city of Los Angeles in a fashion that would have made many developers, and a few branches of government, jealous. Reality finally caught up with the project.

Whether reality will catch up with Musk's other big tunneling idea in Los Angeles—a tunnel to Dodger Stadium from the Metro Red Line—or the idea to build a tunnel connecting to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018 in Los Angeles Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 28, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Woman and man in orange safety vests and hard hats doing surveying work at road construction site.

DOJ Seeks to End USDOT Affirmative Action Program

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program encouraged contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation sector, where these groups are vastly underrepresented.

45 minutes ago - The Washington Post

Aerial view of Missouri state capitol in Springfield, MO at golden hour.

A Missouri Tenant Union’s Fight Against Millennia Housing

In Springfield, Missouri, senior and disabled tenants at one Millennia affordable housing building say they’ve gone about a year without a working elevator, but their organizing has gotten the city to threaten receivership if it's not fixed soon.

1 hour ago - Shelterforce Magazine

Chicago Transit

Time Running Out for Illinois Transit Bill

Chicago-area transit agencies face a daunting budget gap if lawmakers fail to agree on a funding bill by the end of the current legislative session.

2 hours ago - Streetsblog Chicago