Elon Musk’s Boring Company has received an excavation permit to start digging tunnels in Washington D.C. for Musk’s much-ballyhooed Hyperloop. According to The Washington Post, the Boring Company’s permit will allow it to do preparatory and excavation work at a parking lot located at 53 New York Avenue NE, which is a stone’s throw away from the District’s booming NoMA neighborhood.

While the scope of the permit is unclear — the Post described it as an “early and vague permit” — it is believed that Musk’s tunnel-digging company will use it to begin preparatory work on a section of the Hyperloop tunnel that could one day, in theory, at least, become part of the massive transportation network Musk is planning for the Northeast corridor, stretching from New York to Washington D.C. and passing by Philadelphia and Baltimore in the process. A spokesman from the Boring Company confirmed those rumors, telling The Post that, if constructed, the site of the dig “could become a station” of the Hyperloop network.

The permit to dig in D.C. is the latest sign that Musk’s vision of building his transportation network is gaining a lot of momentum. Late last year, the Boring Company was reportedly in the process of digging a 12.4-mile tunnel in Maryland. State governor Larry Hogan even confirmed that the state was working with thee Boring Company for a “rapid electric transportation system between Baltimore and Washington D.C. It’s hardly a surprise that just as digging began in Maryland, Musk’s company received approval to do the same in the nation’s capital.

If there are still any doubts that Hyperloop isn’t a real thing, it’s hard to argue against the positive strides the concept has made since Musk presented the concept. Musk's company, The Boring Company, announced back in July that it had gained verbal approval to build the transportation network on the East Coast. There are still some roads that need to be plowed — or dug — but it seems that there’s growing momentum on Musk’s side about the possibility of seeing the network in this area of the U.S.

To be fair, there are still concerns about Hyperloop's feasibility — the Boring Company reportedly received mixed reactions to its Los Angeles tunnel plans last month — but it does look like the concept is making progress wherever everywhere it goes. One thing that’s clear is that what started as somewhat of a tongue-and-cheek suggestion from Musk has evolved into something that could potentially happen. As you know, state governments are born skeptical of projects like Hyperloop. The fact that some of them are coming around shows that Musk may have been on to something all along.

References

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