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LVCVA updates working group on Vegas Loop expansion, Boring Company permits and monorail ownership
Summary
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority described Loop operations, permitting progress for off-site Boring Company tunnels, and the acquisition and ongoing operation of the Las Vegas Monorail; LVCVA emphasized safety permitting, right-of-way constraints, and the monorail purchase removed a non-compete that blocked private tunnel investment.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) briefed the AB256 Regional Rail Working Group on the status of the Vegas Loop, permitting for Boring Company tunneling, and the LVCVA's ownership of the Las Vegas Monorail.
"The loop on the Convention Center Campus was paid for by the Convention Center. It is not fare generating," Ed Finger, LVCVA chief strategy officer, said. He described a split between the on-campus Loop (owned by the convention center and operating without fares) and the off-site tunnels built and operated by the Boring Company. Finger said 3.5 miles of the system are operational on the campus and "11 miles built" overall in connected segments.
Finger said the convention center contract was structured so payment was dependent on successful construction and operational validation. To test capacity, the LVCVA hired an independent third party to count passengers and validate station and control-center operations. Regarding safety and permitting, he said recent revisions to county fire-and-building standards and a newly issued operating permit have advanced the ability to expand off-campus tunneling.
The LVCVA also discussed the monorail: it purchased the Las Vegas Monorail in December 2020 for $24 million after the prior private operator entered bankruptcy. Finger said the acquisition allowed the LVCVA to eliminate a non-compete clause that prevented other systems from operating along the Strip resort corridor until 2107, thereby enabling private investment in the Boring Company's broader tunnel ambitions.
Members asked operational questions about directionality and vehicle capacity. Finger said single-direction tunnels are the design intent, though some segments have been operated bidirectionally with safety gates; he said current operational vehicles are Tesla models but that larger-capacity vehicles could be appropriate if tunnels extended to airports or terminals.
The LVCVA presentation noted that the Loop and monorail are parts of a broader destination mobility strategy and that alternate uses of monorail right-of-way would require approvals from Strip property owners.
What happens next: LVCVA said it expects to see code updates memorializing revised construction standards and will continue permitting activities; no board action was taken by the AB256 working group.
