Travel 700 mph through the Rocky Mountains? It’s now a possibility with Hyperloop One
Colorado named one of 10 finalists for the Hyperloop One competition; Team Rocky Mountain will work with Los Angeles firm on feasibility
What seems like a far-out, sci-fi mode of transportation hit home Thursday as Colorado was named one of the 10 finalists for the Hyperloop One competition to build a vacuum-sealed tunnel that will shoot pods between Cheyenne, Denver and Pueblo at up to 700 miles per hour.
But don’t get too hyped about the trip just yet. The Los Angeles firm Hyperloop One, which sponsored the competition, now moves to the next phase where it will invest its own time and resources to narrow down the candidates. Colorado, however, may have the advantage. The company liked Colorado’s proposal so much, it announced that it is partnering with the state’s Department of Transportation to work on a feasibility study to build the futuristic transportation system anyway.
“Now that we’ve been named a winner and I’ll put air quotes around that, we’re setting up the model for a public-private partnership,” Shailen Bhatt, CDOT’s executive director. “There’s a chance that this doesn’t come to fruition. But I’m sure there were a lot of people who told the Wright brothers they would never fly. Or transcontinental railroads wouldn’t work. We have significant challenges in both public safety, freight and congestion issues and if there’s technology out there that can help us solve it, it’s our (duty) to explore it.”
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.
Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.
If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.