Musk SpaceX tears down the hyperloop prototype and constructs a parking lot.

 When he got the news in 2016 that his business had been selected to help with an ambitious technology project, he was thrilled. The initiative was supposed to be a test run for a futuristic transportation system in which levitating Pods hurtling through tubes at speeds of hundreds of miles per hour. Wright got a text earlier this year that the tunnel was going to be torn down. There was a mile-long white cylinder running along Jack Northrop Avenue near the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The Hawthorne office is symbolic of a larger retreat.

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The project has been put on hold because Musk still wants to build a Hyperloop. Musk founded a company called Boring Co. It is not as fast as levitation and jet-like speeds. At its transit system in Las Vegas,Teslas drive conference-goers through dedicated subterranean roads at a ho-hum pace. The representatives of Boring Company did not respond to requests for comment. The short-lived test project is still a highlight of Wright's career. When his company, San Luis Obispo, California-based Precision Construction Services took the work, it was a small firm with a few accomplishments. Building a 3D printing lab for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is one of the high profile jobs it has landed since then. 

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Wright said that the Hyperloop is a badge of honor. The company was able to land several non-transportation contracts, such as an 8,000 square foot climbing gym. He said customers told him, "If you built the Hyperloop, you can definitely build my project." The Hawthorne Hyperloop test tunnel was a proving ground before it was torn down. It hosted student competition for running high speed Hyperloop Pods. Aecom designed and built the tunnel's foundation and steel tube. The concrete subtrack, concrete joints, aluminum track, and interior lighting were all taken care of by Precision. It's hard to meet the forty-thousandths-of-an-inch measuring requirements because each component expands and contracts at different rates.

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 Wright got on a video call with other contractors who worked on the project after he learned of the tunnel's fate via group text. The call was a remembrance. He said they had a sentimental moment when they knew this would be taken down. Like a memorial service. The Boring Co is today. There are plans for a transportation network in Las Vegas. Despite the occasional tease from Musk, there hasn't been a return to the ambitious dream of superfast Pods. Wright credits the Boring Co for giving up on a future Hyperloop system. Taking things in the right direction. There was no trace of the tube last week. A group of workers are wearing hard hats. The spot where the tunnel once ran will soon be lined with parking spots for workers from the company. 

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