A North Miami Beach official told Insider the city is in early talks with Elon Musk's The Boring Company over a possible plan to build a tunnel underneath State Road 826.
Michael Joseph, vice mayor of North Miami Beach, said he has had several conversations with The Boring Company executives over the past month and recently submitted a working paper based on the discussions to the company for review.
The Boring Company did not confirm the discussions or respond to a request for comment from Insider, but Joseph said he has been eyeing the company's work since Fort Lauderdale and Miami announced they were in talks with the company earlier in the year.
"It seemed like an attractive option," Joseph told Insider. "When I saw [The] Boring [Company] was reaching out to the city of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, I thought 'Why not reach out as well?'"
On February 23, Joseph tweeted at Boring Company and its CEO Musk.
"Hey @elonmusk & @boringcompany beside MIA and FTL, consider a tunnel in @NorthMiamiBeach," Joseph tweeted. "Our city has the 163rd commercial corridor that runs from the I-95 interchange to the Beach. We have multiple possible sites for ingress and egress. DM me. Let's talk. #NowMuskBuild (NMB)."
—Michael Joseph, Esq. (@VoteMJoseph) February 23, 2021
Joseph told Insider he hopes to host representatives from The Boring Company in his city within the next month to investigate potential locations for the project.
North Miami Beach is still in the very early stages of considering an alternate underground mode of transportation, according to Joseph, and the tunnel could span one to two miles.
The city has not come up with a budget proposal, but he said North Miami Beach could use money from tolls or the project could easily be covered if President Joe Biden's $4 trillion infrastructure bill passes. The bill could cover anything from free community college to upgrades for local roads and bridges.
Ultimately, Joseph said his hope is that an underground tunnel could help ease traffic congestion in the city, particularly on State Road 826, which handles a lot of the city's tourist travel.
"It overburdens the road and people in the community. On the same road that locals are trying to get home, people are trying to get to the beach," Joseph told Insider. "We're open to this conversation [with The Boring Company] because we think it will add a lot of value to the community."
In February, Musk offered to build a tunnel in Miami for around $30 million. Several Florida officials have already visited The Boring Company's Las Vegas tunnels.
The previous month Musk tweeted about the project. "Cars & trucks stuck in traffic generate megatons of toxic gases & particulate, but @boringcompany road tunnels under Miami would solve traffic & be an example to the world," Musk said
The Boring Company has active construction projects and planned future projects across the country, including in Los Angeles and the Baltimore-Washington areas, though none are as close to completion as those in Las Vegas.
