The Midwest Hyperloop Study is Here: We Can Build it

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage our world, we must continue to plan for and build a post-pandemic future that can and must be healthier, cleaner, and more efficient than the past. One of the most underfunded and neglected yet critical parts of our economy is our infrastructure.

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ latest Infrastructure Report Card gave the US a D+ and sounded the alarm on a $2 trillion, 10-year infrastructure investment gap to simply restore aging existing roads, bridges, rails, ports, airports, and other critical infrastructure.

If we think big, however, we can start to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure in ways that improve our environment and revitalize parts of the country that have been left behind.

The newly-released feasibility study of the Midwest Corridor Hyperloop points the way toward the opportunity that lies ahead. As the study makes clear, the economic, quality of life and environmental benefits of the Midwest Connect hyperloop are hard to overstate.

A hyperloop connecting the Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh corridor — a corridor that today includes the second largest metro area in the country with no passenger rail service — would generate $300 billion in economic benefits across states and cities of the industrial Midwest. This is a compelling opportunity to invest in America’s Heartland and position an area that continues to rely on aging economic sectors to chart a path toward growth again.

In Columbus alone, the Hyperloop would save residents in the corridor 240 million hours of travel time and create vital connections with neighboring big cities.

It would also be greener and more environmentally friendly than other transportation options. According to the feasibility study, the hyperloop would save 2.4 million tons of CO2 emissions as 1.9 billion automobiles are taken off our roads and 450 million commercial truck vehicle hours are eliminated.

What excites me most about this study is that it reminds us that a technology that many assume America will never build is far closer than we might think. We can do this. We may all be feeling a bit helpless right now to imagine, much less control, our future, but let’s never forget that America has always been built by people who saw opportunity where others only saw doubt.

Follow me on Twitter @shevrin.