The devastating flooding in Houston caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 killed dozens of people, inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, and left the community desperate for a solution.
Since then, local flood experts have extensively studied the possibility of a multibillion-dollar tunnel system across Harris County, where Houston is located. Studies have focused on the construction of pipelines, 30 to 40 feet in diameter, that could ferry massive amounts of water out to the Gulf in the event of a storm.
Now, after years of research and discussion, Elon Musk wants a piece of the project.
An investigation by The Texas Newsroom and the Houston Chronicle has found that the billionaire, in partnership with Houston-area Representative Wesley Hunt, has spent months aggressively pushing state and local officials to hire Musk’s Boring Company to build two narrower, 12-foot tunnels around one major watershed. That could be a potentially cheaper, but, at least one expert said, less effective solution to the region’s historic flood... Read more
