San Bernardino County moving ahead with tunnel project, with or without Elon Musk technology
The project is based on technology and a proposal Musk and his engineering firm first brought to the county in 2019.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- The Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink Station is moving full steam ahead into the future with plans for a route that would take travelers to the Ontario Airport in under 10 minutes.
"What we want to do is build off the vast Metrolink system and connect to the airport so people aren't stuck in congestion," said Carrie Schindler, the deputy executive director of the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.
The transportation agency is overseeing the project that would take riders underground and into a 4-mile tunnel to the terminals.
The tunnel would be built under Milliken Avenue, the 10 Freeway and Airport Drive to the airport.
It's based on technology and a proposal Tesla founder Elon Musk and his engineering firm, the Boring Co., first brought to the county in 2019.
"We really want to be the first strong projects in the state of California using public transportation, the underground tunnel technology, as well as autonomous vehicle technology," said San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman.
Hagman sits on the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority board and said instead of having Musk's company do the entire project, the county decided to break it into three phases with another company more familiar with the state's bureaucracy to do the Environmental Impact Report.
The second and third phase is where the county hopes to work with Musk again.
"Hopefully, we'll still have that opportunity to work with them, said Hagman. "It would be one of the first projects in California with their technology as they submit, but as time goes on, there's other players in the market as well."
The transportation agency is also taking an aggressive approach with the hope to have the project up and running in time for the 2028 Olympics.
"We would like to be able to offer this service when all those people come to the vast region," said Schindler. "It is aggressive and we are hoping to deliver or go into pre-revenue service by mid-2027."
For Metrolink riders like Denise Campa and Matthew Santa Maria, the multi-million-dollar project would help them avoid the grinding traffic on the freeway.
It would also give Los Angeles County residents access to another international airport.
"It would be more convenient get a lot less traffic right here right now," said Santa Maria.
With or without Musk and his firm along for the ride, San Bernardino County is moving forward.
