A Southern Dallas development is in line to get a tunnel from Elon Musk: The University Hills Development, a billion-dollar housing project at the northwest corner of I-20 and Lancaster Road, has been awarded an innovative mile-long tunnel to be built by Musk’s The Boring Company, which will connect the development to a nearby DART station.

According to a release, University Hills was among 16 finalists out of a total of 487 submissions vying to get a tunnel in a contest that The Boring Company launched in January — soliciting proposals from individuals, companies, and governments that would demonstrate the potential for tunnels to solve problems.

Musk founded The Boring Company in 2016 as a subsidiary of SpaceX to improve tunnel boring speeds and reduce urban traffic. Now an independent entity, the company creates underground transportation tunnels with a goal of reducing traffic and enabling rapid point-to-point transportation.

University Hills was one of three finalists in the U.S., along with NOLA Loop in New Orleans, and Ravens Loop in Baltimore. Before any tunneling begins, there'll be a diligence process which includes meetings with elected officials, regulators, community leaders, and business leaders, plus experimental borings and an investigation into the impact on utility and subsurface infrastructure. Only then will it be determined whether the tunneling ensues.

University Hills is a 280-acre, $1 billion development in Southern Dallas by Hoque Global, which will include 580 homes with a town center at its core. If the project gets the go-ahead, that town center could now be connected by tunnel to the nearby DART Station at the University of North Texas Dallas.

Hoque Global founder and CEO Mike Hoque calls it "an honor to be recognized with the City of Dallas as the winning project for The Boring Company’s Tunnel Vision Challenge."

“University Hills is innovative in all of its features to bring connectivity and growth, and this recognition highlights the development’s landmark work for Dallas and Southern Dallas, and shows how emerging infrastructure solutions can strengthen access to transit, jobs, and opportunity for the surrounding community," Hoque says.

Dr. Warren von Eschenbach, the president of the University of North Texas at Dallas, says the project will strengthen connection with the community.

“UNT Dallas is pleased this innovative tunnel will increase access to and from our campus and the region,” Eschenbach says. “It symbolizes the continued growth of Southern Dallas through technology, collaboration and forward-thinking and will strengthen the community surrounding the University."

Groundbreaking and timing for the project to be announced, based on planning and permitting with The Boring Company and City of Dallas.