The heavy machinery came to life this week, setting in motion a subterranean construction effort that will ultimately link the globally celebrated inclusive theme park with the nearby Morgan’s Hotel. Once operational, the underground route will transport visitors between the two destinations via self-driving electric shuttles, according to Gordon Hartman, the visionary founder of Morgan’s Wonderland and the broader nonprofit inclusive venue dedicated to serving individuals with disabilities.
The groundbreaking event brought together civic leaders, corporate executives, and members of the local community to witness the dawn of what advocates are calling a revolutionary step forward in accessibility engineering.
"Most tunnels, almost all tunnels, have never been ultra-accessible in their design," Hartman told the gathering crowd during the ceremony. "However, Morgan’s Inclusion Tunnel will ensure that all abilities can get from one side to the other of Morgan’s Inclusion Campus—that’s what this is about."
The undertaking traces its origins back to March, when The Boring Co. launched a competitive contest inviting entries from across the country. Out of nearly 500 proposals submitted, the company selected the Morgan’s Wonderland tunnel project alongside a handful of others. This initiative officially establishes The Boring Co.’s very first construction footprint in the San Antonio area.
Following the selection, Hartman and his team embarked on an intensive coordination phase, working closely with an array of local and regional entities. Securing the necessary permits and approvals required navigating municipal and county offices, CPS Energy, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Northeast Independent School District, and numerous private landowners. Remarkably, the entire collaborative permitting process was completed in less than six months—a testament to the shared enthusiasm for the project’s social impact.
Steve Davis, president of The Boring Co., admitted that he initially harbored doubts about whether physical construction could realistically commence within the calendar year. However, he noted that local stakeholders proved him wrong through exceptional dedication and operational speed.
"The projects that come to fruition are the ones that are the most inspiring, the most useful, and led by people who are true leaders and can move fast," Davis said, adding that the decision to greenlight the Morgan’s Wonderland initiative was an easy choice for the company. "It is so obvious and apparent how wonderful this project is; how many people will be helped by this project—it is a universal net positive, and we’re ecstatic to do it."
The heavy lifting is being handled by Prufrock-5, a giant cylindrical boring machine designed to carve through subterranean earth while simultaneously installing structural lining. The excavation phase officially began on Tuesday and is projected to last approximately 16 weeks, with the completed tunnel system scheduled to open its doors to the public late next year.
Despite the advanced engineering capabilities of the equipment, operators anticipate unique challenges stemming from the local terrain. Davis candidly described the San Antonio-area soil and rock composition as "a little annoying," explaining that the local geology presents a tricky combination of competing obstacles.
"It’s the worst of soft soil with the worst of rock combined into one geology," Davis remarked. "So, I will predict that we will struggle for the first week to have high advance rates, but then we’ll get the hang of it and be OK."
During his remarks, Davis also touched upon broader regional transit visions, referencing the ambitious hyperloop tunnel concept previously pitched by Elon Musk to connect San Antonio and Austin. While acknowledging the scale of those long-term aspirations, Davis emphasized the immediate value of the current local undertaking.
"I really hope we are able to build that," Davis said regarding the Austin connection. "There’s a million things we would like to build in Texas, but this I would say is the first real useful and inspiring Texas project, and we’re ecstatic that it’s in San Antonio."
San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh praised the extraordinary pace of the bureaucratic approval process, pointing out that it demonstrated the municipality’s capacity to act decisively when faced with transformative opportunities. He emphasized that the completed project will hold a unique distinction on the global stage regarding specialized accessibility standards.
"It’s going to be new, and it’ll set a standard for not only the Boring Company, but for the world," Walsh said, highlighting the unprecedented nature of an ultra-accessible subterranean transit link. He also expressed gratitude to the municipal inspectors who traveled to The Boring Co.’s testing and development facilities in Bastrop to familiarize themselves with tunneling technology during the permitting review.
"This is going to be a learning experience, and who knows, maybe it’s not the last time we end up permitting a tunnel here in San Antonio," Walsh added.
The ceremonial launch of the tunneling machine combined high-tech innovation with a deeply personal touch. After a collective countdown, Morgan Hartman—Gordon Hartman’s daughter, whose life experiences and needs served as the foundational inspiration for the entire campus—pushed a button to symbolically activate the massive drill.
While the crowd watched the proceedings unfold via a live video stream projected inside a white tent erected adjacent to the construction site, the physical operation of Prufrock-5 is actually managed remotely from a specialized control center located in Bastrop, showcasing the blend of local community engagement and advanced corporate technology driving the project forward.
