2nd tunnel complete for Las Vegas convention center people mover

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2019, file photo, a tunnel boring machine sits at the bottom of a construction site during a media tour at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas.  Workers have completed the second of two underground tunnels for a people mover connecting exhibit halls at the expanded Las Vegas Convention Center. A spokeswoman says a drilling machine reached the end of the nearly 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) tunnel a little before 1 a.m. Thursday, May 14, 2020.

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2019, file photo, a tunnel boring machine sits at the bottom of a construction site during a media tour at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. Workers have completed the second of two underground tunnels for a people mover connecting exhibit halls at the expanded Las Vegas Convention Center. A spokeswoman says a drilling machine reached the end of the nearly 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) tunnel a little before 1 a.m. Thursday, May 14, 2020.

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LAS VEGAS — Workers completed the second of two underground tunnels early Thursday for a people mover connecting exhibit halls at an expanded Las Vegas Convention Center, a project spokeswoman said.

Convention and Visitors Authority official Erica Johnson said a drilling machine reached the end of the nearly 1-mile tunnel a little before 1 a.m.

The $52.5 million people-mover is being built by billionaire Elon Musk's company, called The Boring Co. It is due to open in time for the CES trade show in January 2021. Organizers say the annual gadget show drew more than 175,000 attendees this year.

The underground transit system will move conventioneers in self-driving Tesla electric vehicles using parallel tunnels between three exhibit hall and parking stations. Trips will take less than two minutes.

The system is key to an ongoing $980 million convention center expansion that includes adding a three-story, 1.4 million square-foot building across the street from existing exhibit halls.

Johnson said a planned renovation of the current single-story convention campus has been put on hold amid budget concerns prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

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LAS VEGAS — Workers completed the second of two underground tunnels early Thursday for a people mover connecting exhibit halls at an expanded Las Vegas Convention Center, a project spokeswoman said.

Convention and Visitors Authority official Erica Johnson said a drilling machine reached the end of the nearly 1-mile tunnel a little before 1 a.m.

The $52.5 million people-mover is being built by billionaire Elon Musk's company, called The Boring Co. It is due to open in time for the CES trade show in January 2021. Organizers say the annual gadget show drew more than 175,000 attendees this year.

The underground transit system will move conventioneers in self-driving Tesla electric vehicles using parallel tunnels between three exhibit hall and parking stations. Trips will take less than two minutes.

The system is key to an ongoing $980 million convention center expansion that includes adding a three-story, 1.4 million square-foot building across the street from existing exhibit halls.

Johnson said a planned renovation of the current single-story convention campus has been put on hold amid budget concerns prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.