Boring Company digging error caused a monorail shutdown in 2023
Errors during digging operations by The Boring Company last year exposed the foundations of two Las Vegas Monorail columns, leading to the temporary shutdown of the transportation system.
The first error occurred on June 15, when crews digging to fix a broken irrigation line accidentally exposed the base monorail column near the Westgate, leading to a 24-hour closure of the monorail, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
“The Monorail structural engineer provided a recommended remedy of concrete fill at the base of the column and TBC completed the work and the system reopened at 3 p.m. on June 16,” LVCVA spokeswoman Molly Castano said in a statement provided to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The remedy consisted of concrete fill and compaction.”
In October, The Boring Company got a notice of violation related to crews carrying out grading operations near the Westgate’s porte cochere on a demolition permit, county records show. The violation noted that a different monorail column was exposed during that incident.
The county said that grading work was not included under the scope of a demolition permit and that a separate grading permit would be required for the Boring crews to continue the project.
At the time of the two incidents, the Boring Company was carrying out work associated with digging a tunnel linking the Westgate to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The LVCVA has yet to announce an opening date for that connection. Once open, it will mark the second offshoot from the Convention Center Loop, after a Resorts World link went online in 2022.
The Convention Center Loop has been in operation since 2021, moving conventiongoers to and from three expo halls across its campus.
Boring operations are underway for the next station, to be located on Paradise Road near UNLV.
The tunnel that will connect to the convention center also will feature a stop at Virgin Hotels. The Paradise station will mark the farthest station outside the convention center campus. At full buildout, the Boring Company plans to complete 93 stations across the Strip and into downtown and 68 miles of total tunnels.
Additional issues
The Review-Journal previously reported the Boring Company faced over $100,000 in fines tied to workplace incidents while crews were digging tunnels to expand the system.
A June 15 inspection by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the same day the monorail column was exposed, led to eight citations tied to workplace safety violations.
The inspection report noted some workers were burned by accelerants that were in the concrete mix being used during tunneling operations for a planned Encore station.
Up to 20 workers were said to have been injured during the Encore tunneling, documents revealed.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.