The state of Maryland has agreed to grant Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and The Boring Company, permission to begin digging tunnels for his proposed "hyperloop" transit system, The Baltimore Sun reports.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan made the announcement on his Facebook page Thursday, sharing a picture of him with members of his administration and the Boring Company.
The Boring Co. uses newly developed tunneling machines that it claims greatly reduces the amount of time needed to drill through soft soils. Hogan administration officials said that the transit system will be treated as a utility, and therefore will be allowed to tunnel beneath public roads.
"This thing is real. It's exciting to see," Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn said, according to the Sun. "The word 'transformational' may be overused, but this is a technology that leapfrogs any technology that is out there today. And it's going to be here."
"We have all sorts of utilities beneath our roadways," Rahn said. "In essence, this didn't need anything more than a utility permit."
He said the Boring Co. will begin with two tunnels connecting Baltimore and the capital, each 35 miles long.
A spokesperson for the governor, Doug Mayer, added that the "vast majority" of the hyperloop will be built below existing highways in the state.
"It will be done in an environmentally sound and safe fashion, as are all state highway administration projects in Maryland," he added.
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