ELON MUSK: DIG TUNNELS AS SOLUTION FOR MIAMI'S TRAFFIC JAMS

As a solution to Miami’s notoriously congested traffic, Tesla Inc. founder Elon Musk is proposing to dig tunnels with The Boring Company, one of his many business ventures. Experts say the idea would be costly and is fraught with engineering obstacles, but it’s not outright crazy.

Musk, who also founded SpaceX and Neuralink, tweeted that he spoke with Gov. Ron DeSantis about the idea earlier this month.

“If Governor & Mayor want this done, we will do it,” Musk tweeted. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, described the idea as a “no brainer” and replied, “we would love to be the prototype city.”

Miami-Dade Democratic Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Florida’s Republican chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, also expressed enthusiasm.

Critics wondered: How plausible is it to build large tunnels under a city that is only a few feet above sea level, especially with Miami widely regarded as one of the world’s most vulnerable cities to rising sea levels?

“It doesn’t seem very smart and it is certainly going to be expensive,” said Kurtis Gurley, a professor of structural engineering at the University of Florida.

Gurley said one challenge of the project would be keeping water out of the tunnels while shoring up its walls.

The subterranean construction also runs the risk of contaminating Florida’s aquiferm, Gurley said.