Elon Musk close to drilling under Pico and Sepulveda

LA Observed photo. More on Instagram.

City Hall — through the department of Building and Safety and Councilman Paul Koretz — is pushing to let Elon Musk soon bore a 2.7-mile tunnel beneath Sepulveda Boulevard on the Westside to test the concept for his proposed network of traffic-bearing tunnels under Los Angeles. The first tunnel would begin on land that Musk's Boring Company owns on Sepulveda just north of Pico, the website Urbanize LA reports.

That happens to be the property where Whitt's Wood Yard operated for decades until moving its firewood stacks in recent weeks to a new lot on Olympic Boulevard by the 405 freeway.

Urbanize LA says that Musk's "proof of concept" tunnel would start there under Sepulveda and extend south under the street for 2.7 miles to the Culver City intersection with Washington Boulevard. The tunnel would not surface, so it's unknown how much disruption there would be along the route or at either end.

Last month the Los Angeles Board of Building and Safety Commissioners signed off on a proof of concept tunnel for The Boring Company, a venture which Musk founded in 2016. Though the company hopes to eventually operate a sprawling system which connects to Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Downtown Los Angeles, Inglewood, Long Beach, and the Beach Cities, the proposed initial segment will run just 2.7 miles down Sepulveda Boulevard....

City Councilmember Paul Koretz has introduced a motion which calls for the full Council to determine that the proof of concept tunnel is exempt from CEQA, and instructs the Bureau of Engineering to work towards issuing permits for the project.

Construction of the proof of concept tunnel is expected to take nine months, although a timeline has not been published.

OK, cue Felix Figueroa. Dr. Demento, are you listening?

Whitt's vacated the spot.