Feasibility study of a hyperloop system between Madison, WI and Milwaukee, WI By: Brook Boughton
Hyperloop is a concept first created in 2013 by Elon Musk. He later announced a design competition open to university students. A group of students from UW-Madison created a team and started their own student organization, Badgerloop. They were given third place in a competition of 170+ teams, allowing them to proceed in designing and building their prototype of a hyperloop pod. They will test said pod in January 2017 at SpaceX’s headquarters in California. I joined the Badgerloop team in the fall of 2016 as a feasibility and media team member. I would like to thank Badgerloop for allowing me to take part in this exciting development of a new form of transportation. I would also like to thank my Professor Robert Schneider for keeping me on track throughout the semester. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for all their support throughout the semester.
The following are my research findings from my urban planning independent research, the Badgerloop transportation feasibility study. It will include reasoning behind choosing Madison and Milwaukee as hyperloop connected cities, the financial and political costs of developing a hyperloop system, station placements, route alignment, tube structure, passenger efficiency, and energy efficiency compared to other transportation systems. I will refer to the hyperloop connection between Madison and Milwaukee as Badgerloop.
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Hyperloop
Hyperloop is a conceptual transportation system, not meant to replace trains or planes, but to assist in the increasing need to move people and freight in this hyper-connected world. Currently, the Hyperloop is estimated to travel up to 800 miles per hour, 250 mph faster than a commercial airplane. It travels in depressurized tubes, allowing for low air friction with the pod, letting the pod speed down its rail with magnetic levitation. It can connect cities that are 90 miles apart, or 1.5 hours apart, into 15 minute hyperloop rides, and with greater efficiency of loading and unloading passengers and cargo than the over encumbered airline industry. The first hyperloop system that has been announced is the projected 2020 hyperloop line between Dubai and Abu Dhabi with Hyperloop One and BIG architecture. Unlike the deserts of Saudi Arabia, Badgerloop will face many hurdles when it comes to planning, construction, and maintenance of a hyperloop line between Madison and Milwaukee. Milwaukee and Madison citizens have advocated for a high-speed passenger rail link, and the State of Wisconsin secured $810 million from a federal stimulus program for a high-speed rail in 2009. This project would have made Wisconsin the only place outside of the Northeast corridor to have a high speed rail at the time. However, that line was canceled soon afterward when Governor Walker cited maintenance and operations costs of $7 million per year. I’m hoping to bring back the idea of high speed travel between Madison and Milwaukee with the Badgerloop.
Cost Analysis
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The most expensive part of a hyperloop system will be the miles of steel tubes, the tube structures, and the technology that makes the hyperloop a possibility. The Hyperloop system is expected to cost 20-30 million per linear mile. The line between Madison is 75 miles, making the cost of the system between 1.5 billion to 2.25 billion. On top of the infrastructure costs, is acquiring the right of way. When in Madison and its neighborhoods the average price per acre is about $200,000 per acre. When traveling over farmland the average cost per acre is $3,000. When traveling over Waukesha county the average cost is $40,000. When in Milwaukee the average is $175,000 per acre. The large costs of Milwaukee and Waukesha counties can be avoided by using the existing right of way of I-94, a highly traveled highway between Madison and Milwaukee. Constructing above, below, or parallel to existing bike paths like the Hank Aaron Trail in Milwaukee, which costs about $2,500 per acre, is another method. Using these existing right of ways allows for less disruption when it comes construction and helps avoid neighborhoods.
Existing right of ways Interstate 94 Bike Trails
Price Per Acre
$0 - $5,000 $5,000 - $25,000 $25,000 - $50,000 $50,000 - $75,000 $75,00 - $100,000 $100,000 - $250,000 $250,000 - $500,000 $500,000 - $1,000,000
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Cost Analysis
There is another option for less disruption, which is deep boring tunnels in the dense areas of Milwaukee, which cost about $100,000,000 per mile or $19,000 per foot under good conditions. A tunnel can be clear of dense, commercial areas of Milwaukee in about 1 mile, when heading towards Madison. The tube can then climb to above ground allowing for quicker and cheaper construction. It can go back under when heading into Madison if needed. When constructing the tunnels, as long as proper construction and planning methods are used, construction will not affect the streets and buildings above. This type of tunneling has been made affordable, efficient, and safe in the past few years with new deep boring machines being deployed in cities across the world. Complications do arise that might hamper speed and costs, such as the water table height.
Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin Handbook - 1805.1
Cost Analysis
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To prevent backlash from farmers, purchasing 175’ wide right of way through their farms will prevent shadows from hampering crop growth. Using this width, hyperloop companies or government agencies would need to purchase 21 acres per linear mile, which would cost approximately $63,000 per linear mile over farmland. The width would also change depending on the height of the tube structure. Such a wide right of way would not be necessary in other geographic areas.
14’
60’
11 AM
1 PM
3 PM 175’
5 PM
40’ Typical section along farm land Shadow analysis
8 The Madison site, located just outside the Capitol Corridor Gateway Plan, which is a commitment made by the city of Madison to develop the busiest corridor coming from the east of Madison. The plan has been in place since 2008, but wasn’t until 2014 when real progress was made on the lots of East Washington st. Since then two 250 suite apartment buildings, along with a festival foods, and offices like Google have opened. Projects like a performance venue, an office ecosystem for startups, and commercial buildings are planned and being developed. Madison is expected to grow by 30% from 2009 to 2030, the second fastest growing city in the Great Lakes mega-region. Madison population is also very young, with 25% being in the age group of 2029, the fourth highest in the nation. That age demographic is known for its reliance on public transportation and trains, compared to other age groups, making Madison the perfect city for Badgerloop.
Site Development
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East Erie
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9 The Milwaukee site is located across the street from the Marcus Amphitheater and the Summerfest Grounds. It is located just south of the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Northwestern Mutual building, the Couture, and the Milwaukee Lake Front Gateway, and can easily link up with the streetcar of downtown Milwaukee, bus rapid transit systems, and bike paths. The Harbor district will be experiencing rapid development in the next few decades as programs such as Harbor District Initiative take hold. The Harbor District Initiative brings together local, state, and federal government efforts, private sector interests, and community enthusiasm to achieve a world-class revitalization of Milwaukee’s harbor. Badgerloop could play a vital role in the redevelopment of the harbor and serve as a transportation hub for decades to come.
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Route Alignment
When creating a route for any transportation many factors must be considered. Due to the speed of the hyperloop there are some extra limitations that must be considered. To make a 90 degree turn for example, you must have a radius of 7 miles, so the smaller the turn radius the better. Any sort of turn in the system will also force the pod to slow down. So the most efficient route possible for a hyperloop system is a perfectly straight line from station to station, this allows it to reach and maintain its maximum speed of 800 mph. There are also different levels of disruption that the construction, maintenance, and presence of a hyperloop system would create. In the following pages, I’ve classified high disruption as high density urban areas where buildings exist and might require shutdown of roads. I’ve determined medium disruption as disruption that you would expect from adding a new lane in a highway. This kind of disruption would occur at low density residential areas and along the I-94 interstate. I’ve determined low disruption as disruption that would impact few people. This disruption would occur over farmland. The cost of creating a new route will also be an important factor, especially when it comes to getting approval from both the government and tax payers. Using existing right of ways will help lower this cost. Interstate 94 is one of the right a ways that could help Badgerloop become a possibility. The structure could either run in the median of the highway or parallel to. It could also run beneath the highway, but that would largely increase costs. This same idea could be used for existing bike trails as well.
Route Alignment
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Route 1: Speed Preference
Distance: 74.4 miles Total Time: 7 minutes
Speed Disruption High Medium Low
Development Potential
Cost
Madison WI Site: Capitol Corridor Note: Hyperloop is most efficient in a straight line, this route utilizes that idea. This route would go through mostly privately owned land, although would be the best route for profit in the long run.
700 mph
1.6%
41.6% 55%
Medium
1.5b - 2.25b
Milwaukee WI Site: Historic Third Ward
Route Alignment
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Route 2: Ease of Land Acquisition Preference Distance: 76.8 miles Total Time: 9 minutes
Speed Disruption High Medium Low
Development Potential
Cost
Madison WI Site: Capitol Corridor
Note: This route primarely uses land already owned by the State of Wisconsin. The Hank Aaron Trail is used for 6.3 miles. The route then follows I-94 highway to Madison. Uses this route avoids clashing with the existing high density of infastructure just outside of Milwaukee.
400-600 mph
1.6%
87.4% 11%
Medium
1.5b - 2.25b
Milwaukee WI Site: Historic Third Ward
Route Alignment
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Route 3: Low Disruption Preference
Distance: 75 miles Total Time: 9 minutes
Speed Disruption High Medium Low
400-600 mph
1.6%
38.4% 60%
Development Potential
Cost
Madison WI Site: Capitol Corridor
Note: This route attempts the least amount of disruption. It does this by going over 41 miles of farmland. Before the route hits the suburbs of Milwaukee it then follows I-94 and the Hank Aaron Trail to the station.
High
1.5b - 2.25b
Milwaukee WI Site: Historic Third Ward
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Passenger Efficiency
Below is the number of round trips a single plane, train, and hyperloop pod can make in a day, based on a 90 mile trip. The number of vehicles in each system varies. Planes are limited by the size of airports and number of dedicated routes, trains are limited by number of rails, hyperloop is only limited by length of tube. A hyperloop, with perfect efficiency, could send a pod out every 2 minutes. This means up to 7 pods could be traveling in a 90 mile tube at once. This allows for more personalized departure times for busy schedules.
Passenger Efficiency = 10 passengers
Per trip
Vehicle
Per day
Airbus 320
Hiawatha
Low end estimate pod
High end estimate pod
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Regional Network
Once hyperloop proves to be successful, cities will want to create new connections with their neighboring cities. Connecting cities within their mega-regions will help speed up economic development for the region. A mega-region is a large network of metropolitan regions that share several or all of the following: environmental systems and topography, infrastructure systems, and economic linkages. Madison and Milwaukee are located in the Great Lakes Megaregion. Connecting the network proposed links Madison to Pittsburgh, a 9 1/2 hour car ride, in under two hours. Linking cities that were previously so far apart, will have huge benefits to the tourism of cities connected in a Hyperloop network. Hyperloop won’t only transport people across the Midwest, but massive amounts of freight as well. The Great Lakes Mega-region’s $4.5-trillion gross regional product will grow exponentially with the introduction of high speed freight.
Regional Network
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Energy Efficiency
As of 2015, 28% of the total energy used in the United States is spent on transportation. As our population grows so will the need to transport, further increasing energy expenditure for a daily necessity. Most transportation systems are starting to transition to electric vehicles, but for the most part cars, trains, boats, and planes are ran on some sort of non-renewable fuel. Hyperloop can help solve that energy crisis. Hyperloop is 100% electric. Each pod will run on internal batteries to help propel it along it’s tube. Not only is the system free of fossil fuels, but most proposals for hyperloop systems call for solar panels to be installed on the top of the tube. This produces more energy than the system needs, and puts it back into the grid. This would be the first transportation system to actually go the opposite direction in energy consumption, making it a logical choice in future transportation.
500 450 400 350 300
Passenger Miles per Gallon 250
∞
200 150 100 50
Automobile
Airbus 320
Passenger Trains
Tube Structure
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The tube structure has largely been ignored when it has come to current hyperloop proposals. Most have been large and unnattractive. When designing Badgerloop’s tube structure I considered material costs and ecological factors. Modular design in combination with honecomb structures allows for a cheap, extremely strong, and quick to build structure. When creating these structurues using precast prestressed concrete, a construction method that combines precast and prestrssed contrete technologies, is the most appropriate for this structure. Precast concrete ensures perfect quality and high durability. Using precast concrete also allows for reusable steel form work, allowing quick creation of the tube structures. The openings in these structures allows for the structure to become an enviroment for plants and animals. Instead of disrupting wildlife, this structure lets it in, lowering the enviromental impact of the system.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, a hyperloop system between Madison and Milwaukee is feasible. When using proper route alignment and existing right of ways, Badgerloop can be an extremely efficient transportation system. Badgerloop would link two cities, whose current interstate connection moves up to 118,000 vehicles per day and is expected to grow to 160,000 by 2030. Another transportation system will have to be introduced to keep up with traffic demands, or economic growth will suffer. Introducing such a expedite system such as hyperloop will not only solve this problem, but create an economic boom for both cities, as citizens, tourists, and freight will be able to move back and forth faster than ever before. Wisconsinites will also be able to breath cleaner air, as hyperloop would displace tonnes of carbon dioxide through the removal of cars on the road. The extra solar energy produce by the system will also the lower Wisconsin’s dependence on fossil fuels. Finally, if Madison and Milwaukee were to become some of the first cities in the world to have a hyperloop system, it would solidify Wisconsin as a transportation and technological hub of the Midwest.
Forward
Recommendations • Start state funded research and assist teams such as Badgerloop in developing hyperloop technologies • Add Badgerloop to the Wisconsin Connections 2030 Long-Range Multi-modal Transportation Plan • Conduct a public opinion survey on a hyperloop connection between Madison and Milwaukee • Investigate tunneling in Milwaukee and Madison, with special attention paid to the water table near the proposed Milwaukee Site • Investigate the best option for the Badgerloop to interact with Interstate 97 • Investigate the economic benefits of high speed connections • Investigate Hyperloop freight lines • Conduct feasibility studies for Madison to Minneapolis and Milwaukee to Chicago hyperloop lines • Government agencies should look into quick and efficient parcel buying techniques, also looking into potential trouble parcels • Cities of Milwaukee and Madison should conduct studies on how existing transportation systems should connect to hyperloop stations • Consult world class architects, or me, on designing a hyperloop station • Prepare a budget in the Department of Transportation for Badgerloop • Seek Federal funding • Build the Badgerloop
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References
http://www.airbus.com/ https://www.amtrak.com/ https://badgerloop.com/ https://www.big.dk/ http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/ https://www.cityofmadison.com/planning http://city.milwaukee.gov/Planning http://cta.ornl.gov/data/ http://www.eia.gov/ http://harbordistrict.org/ The High-Tech, Low-Cost World of Tunnel Building. (2016, April 24). The Wall Street Journal, New York City, NY Kamo, T. (2007). Honeycomb tube architecture. Japan: Shinkenchiku-Sha. https://hyperloop-one.com/ http://www.metrostudy.com/ http://www.networkrail.co.uk/ http://www.sco.wisc.edu/ http://www.spacex.com/ http://www.susdesign.com/sunangle/ Meyer, M. D., & Miller, E. J. (1984). Urban transportation planning: a decision-oriented approach. New York: McGraw-Hill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Megalopolis http://wisconsindot.gov/ https://yougov.co.uk/
Badgerloop Competition Pod
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