As the world focused its attention on the transition of command in Washington this week, the tycoon Elon Musk and the mayor of Miami, Francis Suárez, they exchanged tweets about a system of tunnels that the founder of SpaceX offered to build in the city.
Other mayors joined in the excitement, but the prospect causes expectation in many of Miami’s many citizens, though some distrust it because of the swampy geology of the place.
The exchange of tweets began Monday, when Musk wrote, “Cars and trucks stuck in traffic generate megatons of toxic gases, but @ boringcompany’s underground tunnels in Miami would solve traffic and be an example to the world.”
With that message, Musk responded to a Twitter invitation from the mayor of Miami, who offered to visit the city to discuss “potential solutions for the benefit of our future.”
Cars and trucks trapped in traffic generate megatons of toxic gases and particles, but @empresaalboring road tunnels under Miami would solve traffic and be an example to the world.
He talked to @RonDeSantisFL over tunnels last week. If the governor and the mayor want this to be done, we will do it.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 18, 2021
Musk, who has just been listed as the richest person in the world, added that he had spoken last week about the tunnels of The Boring Company, One of his initiatives, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“If the governor and the mayor want this to be done, we will,” promised the leader of SpaceX and Tesla.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava responded “let’s talk” and Fort Lauderdale County Dean Trantalis said her city wanted to “be part of the discussion.”
Let’s talk
– Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella) January 18, 2021
The exchange takes place in the context of the efforts of Suarez, the mayor of Miami, to attract Silicon Valley investors and techies to the “magic city.”
But many showed their skepticism at the difficulties of building a tunnel to a swampy geology and prone to flooding due to rising sea levels.
“He doesn’t look very smart and he will certainly be expensive,” Kurtis Gurley, a professor of structural engineering at the University of Florida, told CBS Miami.
“This is probably the most important and innovative living human being, but someone has to explain the geology of Florida to him before a [porquería] incredibly stupid, “tweeted Michael Grunwald, a Florida journalist for Politico magazine.
Michelle Grand, a 24-year civil engineering student at Florida State University, told AFP that while it is interesting to “explore ways to improve the public transportation system,” it should be investigated whether the project “can be implemented without cause great impact on the environment “.
Florida is a porous plateau of limestone, with abundant open or underground channels, prone to flooding and the appearance of landslides, cavities that appear suddenly due to erosion caused by groundwater and can swallow up to a house.