Miami, Fort Lauderdale ... and North Miami Beach? Another city looks to woo Elon Musk

A North Miami Beach official is trying to capitalize on the Elon Musk-backed Boring Company’s newfound interest in South Florida by throwing his city’s name into the mix for one of its futuristic transit systems.

In a series of documents obtained by the Miami Herald through an information request, Vice Mayor Michael Joseph and his staff lay out a plan for bringing a tunnel transit route underneath State Road 826 between the Golden Glades exchange and the city of Sunny Isles Beach, with a proposed additional leg north and south along Biscayne Boulevard.

Joseph said he spoke with Boring Co. officials on multiple occasions this month and has a follow-up call slated for early April. Joseph tweeted about the idea on Feb. 13, tagging Musk and the Boring Company.

A Boring Co. representative did not respond to a request for comment.

“They presented a range of options given our situation of what they say they can do,” Joseph said. “And I have a responsibility — if I can make it happen, I have to listen.” He said cost and funding sources had yet to be discussed in earnest because it was too early in the process.

A working paper dated March 17, 2021, states that while the area is already serviced by bus and trolley options, “...the potential inclusion of a new mode of transit via the Boring Company’s underground rail along the NE 163rd Street corridor would provide an effective east/west transit option where none was thought possible before.”

South Florida officials representing Miami-Dade, Broward, Miami and Fort Lauderdale governments have now all exchanged proposals with the Boring Company about augmenting local transit systems. Boring has also played host to two different South Florida delegations in Las Vegas to see the tunnel it has built underneath that city’s convention center. Last week, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez discussed a broad vision for a Boring-built mass-transit system that would convey passengers in SUVs for a distance of as much as eight miles underneath the city. And Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis is now exploring a similar system to convey beachgoers underneath Las Olas Boulevard from the city’s Brightline station to the Las Olas Oceanside Park.

Joseph says there is no reason why a city like North Miami Beach shouldn’t also be considered for a Boring Company project. At a city commission meeting last Wednesday, Joseph told his colleagues that he, the city manager and the city attorney were on a recent call with Boring Company representatives, and that it “went very well.” Joseph said he hoped to host company executives in the city sometime in April to scout potential sites for the project.

“As you all know, North Dade has few reliable transit options for predominantly Black and Brown, working class communities, leaving them helpless every day through hours of traffic delays,” Joseph said. “I believe this would be a great solution, in addition to the measures we are currently taking.”

Jean Monestime, a Miami-Dade County Commissioner whose district includes North Miami Beach, told the Miami Herald he believes the idea is worth considering.

“As a region, we must explore all transit and mobility ideas,” he said in a text message. “Commissioner Michael Joseph’s [idea] is another good one our regional transportation thought leaders may want to look into.”

Talks are still in the very early stages. George “Bud” Scholl, the mayor of Sunny Isles Beach, said he was unaware of Joseph’s idea until he spoke with a Herald reporter Monday. But he said he was intrigued.

“I am all for anything that will mitigate traffic,” Scholl said.

Scholl said he has read a lot about Musk’s tunnels and believes the economics are enticing. But from an engineering perspective, he said, he has questions about how to pull it off.

For one: How do you get across the Intracoastal Waterway? Scholl also pointed to the region’s high water table, a potential logistical challenge cited by some experts in response to Miami’s tunnel proposal.

“I just don’t know what’s theory and what’s actually been put into practice,” Scholl said. But, he added, “if there was a great creative solution that we could participate in, I would certainly look at it.”

This story was originally published March 29, 2021 at 4:52 PM.