LAS VEGAS — Beneath the Strip, Tesla vehicles carry passengers through tunnels promoted as an escape from gridlocked streets. The Vegas Loop is expanding beyond the convention center toward resorts, stadiums, downtown, UNLV and Harry Reid International Airport. Its reach carries a public price that deserves attention.
At least $82.1 million in tourism-generated public money has been committed to building, operating and maintaining the original system. Workplace injuries, environmental violations and construction mistakes have complicated its promise. Las Vegas is confronting a major infrastructure project whose cost, safety record and public value remain unsettled.
How the Vegas Loop Began
The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop opened to convention traffic in 2021. The first resort connection, linking the convention center with Resorts World, followed in July 2022. Passengers ride in human-driven Tesla vehicles through tunnels rather than on trains with fixed schedules.
The convention-center system includes South, Central Underground, Central Plaza, West and Riviera stations. Operating resort destinations include Resorts World, Westgate, Encore, Fontainebleau and SAHARA. Fontainebleau service opened in February 2026, followed by SAHARA in August.
Airport rides reveal an important limitation. Vehicles serving Terminals 1 and 3 still use streets because a dedicated airport tunnel remains unfinished. The service therefore combines tunnels with ordinary traffic.
Every Operating and Planned Destination
Clark County approved 19 more stations in August 2026, bringing the entitled network to 123 stations across 68 miles. Completion has no firm deadline, and approval does not mean every station is funded or under construction.
Plans identify a dedicated airport connection, Allegiant Stadium, the Athletics ballpark site, the Brightline West rail terminal, UNLV, Thomas & Mack Center and Virgin Hotels. Other proposed stops include the Sphere, Hughes Center, Harmon Square, Town Square, Chinatown and AREA15.
The map reaches Palace Station, the Medical District, University Medical Center and downtown north of the STRAT, alongside more resort properties. The Boring Company projects 90,000 passengers per hour after completion, although the system has not demonstrated that capacity at scale.
What Is Las Vegas Paying?
The clearest documented public commitment totals at least $82.1 million. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved $52.5 million to build the original convention-center loop, reported $4.6 million in operating expenses for fiscal years 2023 and 2024, and approved a five-year operations and maintenance agreement worth up to $25 million in June 2026.
That money comes from a publicly governed authority funded through visitor-paid hotel room taxes. It is public tourism revenue, though not residents’ property taxes or the city’s general fund.
The Boring Company says it finances the tunnel expansion, while participating property owners generally pay for their stations. Riders also pay fares on trips outside the convention-center campus. Yet no authoritative figure shows what the completed 68-mile, 123-station system will cost, who will absorb overruns or whether additional operating support will be requested.
Construction Problems Reach the Headlines
Nevada OSHA proposed more than $112,000 in penalties after a 2023 investigation identified eight alleged workplace violations. Workers reported chemical burns and skin irritation, and the company contested the findings. In December 2024, two Clark County firefighters suffered chemical burns during a tunnel rescue response. Regulators later proposed approximately $425,000 in penalties, then withdrew them after legal and procedural problems, prompting questions from lawmakers.
The company also received a nearly $500,000 wastewater penalty in 2025 after drilling fluids and mud entered the sewer system. Authorities said crews initially failed to stop the discharge, although corrective measures followed.
Other problems included untreated water reaching streets, unpermitted grading and drilling close to a Las Vegas Monorail support column. Service stopped temporarily for an inspection. Boring Company President Steve Davis has defended passenger operations as safe, but construction safety requires separate scrutiny.
The Price of Moving Forward
The Vegas Loop may become a valuable transportation network, but ambition does not cancel the public’s right to answers. Before officials approve another public dollar or celebrate another station, they should publish complete costs, enforce safety rules and require independent audits. A tunnel beneath Las Vegas must withstand more than desert soil; it must withstand public scrutiny.
If the system cannot prove where the money goes, protect the people building it and deliver its promised capacity, expansion should stop. Innovation earns public trust through evidence, not spectacle. Las Vegas should demand both before the project advances.
The Boring Company Information
The Boring Company develops underground transportation, utility and freight tunnels. The company maintains headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Bastrop, Texas. Its Vegas Loop is operational while additional tunnels and stations remain under construction.
Official website: The Boring Company
Vegas Loop project information: Vegas Loop
Tickets and passenger information: Vegas Loop Transportation
About the Author
Discover more from NEWSNOW®
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
