Tech billionaire Elon Musk has responded to a New South Wales MP’s proposal for a tunnel through the Blue Mountains to alleviate congestion on Sydney roads, providing an unexpectedly low estimate.
Former Greens MP, Jeremy Buckingham, tweeted that Sydney’s roads are “choking with traffic” and asked Mr Musk how much it would cost to build a tunnel through the Blue Mountains in order “to open up the west of our State”.
The Tesla and SpaceX founder replied, estimating that it would cost approximately $15 million per km for a “two way high speed transit”, estimating a total cost of $750 million, plus an additional $50 million per station.
It is unclear whether the estimate was in Australian or US dollars.
This comes after Mr Musk encouraged his followers to join his “underground movement” – a reference to The Boring Company’s work on fast to dig, low cost tunnels in the US.
Mr Buckingham called Mr Musk’s estimate “a bargain” and promised to raise the hypothetical project with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, his colleagues and the New South Wales community.
He also provided an image of a potential route for the tunnel.
