SJ Talking To Elon Musk Boring Co. About Airport-To-Transit Link

SAN JOSE, CA -- San Jose officials have been in talks with Elon Musk's Boring Company to create a connection between Mineta San Jose International Airport and the future Diridon Station transit hub.

Speaking to reporters before Tuesday's City Council meeting, Mayor Sam Liccardo said the plan is still in its initial stages, and the city is keeping its options open for partnerships with other companies.

"It's important that we not be constrained to future opportunities as we're building out Diridon Station, and that we keep open options for the next generation," he said, describing the station as one day being the busiest multi-modal hub in the western United States, servicing over 14
million people. "More than anything, we want to know what is viable."

San Jose airport has been the fastest-growing airport in the country for two years, according to the city, and the private-public partnership is an effort to address both transit and parking concerns downtown.

A potential high-speed transportation tunnel could, for example, move concert-goers from abundant parking at the airport to the SAP Center. This could replace expensive parking projects that could later become obsolete due to ridesharing systems, Liccardo said in a City Council memo.

The city has been speaking to the Boring Company for the last 18 months and said the partnership could result in dramatically lower costs, compared to a 2014 estimate of $800 million for a traditional rail expansion between BART and light rail.

Acknowledging Musk's track record, which includes allegations of worker safety violations, Liccardo said any partnership with the Boring Company would involve strict regulations for fair pay and be carried out in accordance with the city's values.

The relatively short 2-mile distance from the airport to Diridon could also be a model for transit in other parts of the city.

"If it works there, it gives us a sense of what might work elsewhere," Liccardo said.

This could include Hyperloop pods, which the company bills as transporting up to 16 people, or individual cars. Liccardo said it is far too early in the plan to know what sort of infrastructure the connector would involve.

He added that the project will not be completed during his time in office, and the city will work with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority if it decides to study the possibility.

--Bay City News/Image via Sue Wood, Patch