LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Las Vegas Loop project took a giant step forward on Friday when the Boring Company brought its tunnel system under the Strip to Resorts World.

The Las Vegas Loop is expected to connect resorts up and down the Strip, extending to downtown, the Orleans, UNLV and — someday — the airport.

  • The head of a digging machine pokes out of the dirt parallel to the Las Vegas Strip in front of Resorts World. The tunnel is part of the Boring Company’s project to build the Las Vegas Loop. (Greg Haas / 8NewsNow)
  • A ramp extends from Resorts World to the Las Vegas Strip, where a digging machine poked through on a tunnel project. (Greg Haas / 8NewsNow)
  • Work proceeds with a crane in place just west of the intersection of the Las Vegas Strip and Convention Center Drive, where a digging machine poked through on a tunnel project. (Greg Haas / 8NewsNow)

But that first step beyond the Las Vegas Convention Center, where the system is already functioning, is an important development in the project’s progress. The tunnel systems use electric Tesla vehicles.

A sign inside Resorts World directs visitors to a future station for the Las Loop project. (Greg Haas / 8NewsNow)

The head of the digging machine poked out through the dirt on Friday, facing south along a path just west of the Strip running in front of a likely location for a station that Resorts World already had posted on signs inside the resort.

The Las Vegas Loop’s first steps will be to connect to Resorts World and Wynn Las Vegas, which both have agreements in place. After that, it’s unclear which direction the construction will go.

The project has the go-ahead with Clark County through a franchise agreement. The cost is expected to be somewhere between bus fare and a typical charge through Uber or Lyft.

The company’s plan is to expand the loop to 29 miles. It would have 51 stops along the Las Vegas Strip corridor, including downtown and Allegiant stadium.

The company says visitors and locals will be able to use the system. No tax dollars will be used. The agreement is that the Boring Company will fund the tunnels and hotels will pay for the construction of their own stations.