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> But there's no engineering reason why a hole in the ground can't happen. Depending on the specific location, there may very well be. Underground tunnels are
by ShannonAlther 9y ago
> But there's no engineering reason why a hole in the ground can't happen.
Depending on the specific location, there may very well be. Underground tunnels are vulnerable to earthquake-inflicted damage, for instance, and you would want to avoid repair as much as possible.
Similarly, there may be environmental or conservatory reasons not to build tunnels, or reasons related to cost, or obstacles not yet encountered (that last one is less likely though).
- cbisnett 9y agoThis is Elon's response to a Twitter users similar comment about earthquakes. I don't know enough about physics to say if he's just throwing things out there or if he already did some research. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/824300186834898945 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/824300186834898945
- ShannonAlther 9y agoMmm, so I spoke too soon on that front. In my defense, I've said this a lot to people who are advocates of Hyperloop construction (vacuum tubes are far too easily ruptured to be used in conjunction with transportation), but Musk is correct. Are subways targets for terrorism the same way that airports are?
- djsumdog 9y agoJust look at the Big Dig. One small mistake (using the wrong glue or fasteners) can put the safety of the entire safety into question.
- badosu 9y agoYes, see Pinheiros subway station accident as a good example: http://oglobo.globo.com/fotos/2007/07/11/11_MHG_sp_metro4.jpg http://oglobo.globo.com/fotos/2007/07/11/11_MHG_sp_metro4.jp... https://www.ita-aites.org/fr/news/download/383_4725e686e12d3ed234dc49d0d8a5a696 https://www.ita-aites.org/fr/news/download/383_4725e686e12d3...
- pnathan 9y agobroadly, a generic hole is doable, it's been done many places. just like software is doable. :) sometimes you can't do it. but generally... you can. :)
- bb88 9y agoBut those exist for above ground systems too, right? Earthquakes damage roads, bridges. Road and rail impact the environment as well.
- roywiggins 9y agoThe Seattle viaduct is a good example of transportation infrastructure that is very vulnerable to quakes. They're replacing it with a tunnel, so I assume they have worked out how much damage an earthquake will do. At least the tunnel can't fall on anyone, unlike the viaduct which would pancake and render the waterfront inaccessible.