In January, Elon Musk’s The Boring Company made an offer that was far from boring: It’s giving away a free tunnel. To be clear, the tunnel doesn’t exist yet. The company will do the digging with its advanced tunnel boring machine, called Prufrock, which can install its own structural tunnel lining while it “porpoises” its way down into the earth and back up out the other end.
To win the free tunnel—up to 1 mile long and 12 feet in inner diameter—someone just had to enter “The Tunnel Vision Challenge.” Proposals had to highlight a project where a tunnel could solve real-world problems in innovative ways. It would need to get people from Point A to Point B, whether it be “a Loop tunnel, a freight tunnel, a pedestrian tunnel, a utility tunnel, a water tunnel, or any other use case where a tunnel would be useful.”
After reviewing 487 submissions, The Boring Company announced 16 finalists—and one of them is right here in North Texas.
Rendering of Hoque Global’s University Hills development near the UNT Dallas campus in Southern Dallas. [Image: Page]
Hoque Global’s $1 billion University Hills development—a 270-acre project near the UNT Dallas campus that could “rewrite perceptions” of Southern Dallas—is one of those 16 finalists. The walkable urban neighborhood broke ground last May and is slated to include a town center, 580 homes, around 1,500 apartments, 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, and 50-plus acres of open green space—all near the intersection of I-20 and Lancaster Road.
Its proposed tunnel would be located at the University Hills development and connect to the University of North Texas Dallas DART Station.
The winner of the free tunnel will be announced on March 23. Meanwhile, infrastructure work is underway at University Hills, with home construction scheduled to begin hammering away in early 2027.
Could a mile-long, totally free tunnel be the crown jewel of University Hills? Stay tuned: We’ll let you know in 11 days.
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