Hollywood vs. Reality: Did LA Really Blast Subway Tunnels Under Wilshire?

[00:00:00] Welcome back to the STM Daily News podcast. It's time for a Hollywood moment where we rewind the tape and examine movie details that seem believable on screen but fall apart when you check the facts. In the 1997 movie Volcano, lava erupts through Wilshire Boulevard as characters reference blasting during subway construction. It's thrilling, but it's not how Los Angeles actually built its subway. Beneath Wilshire and the Miracle Mile lies a complex mix of soil fault lines and methane gas from historic oil fields. [00:00:38] After a deadly methane explosion in the 1980s, blasting became the last thing engineers wanted underground. Instead, LA Metro relied on tunnel boring machines, massive, pressurized tools that grind slowly through earth while installing sealed concrete tunnel walls as they these machines reduce vibration, limit ground movement and help prevent gas infiltration. [00:01:04] The real story beneath Wilshire isn't cinematic chaos. [00:01:08] It's decades of careful planning and modern engineering that quietly reshaped Los Angeles below one of its busiest streets. [00:01:17] Sometimes the truth is less explosive, but far more impressive. [00:01:21] To explore more stories where pop culture meets reality, visit stmdailynews.com entertainment and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for the latest STM Daily News stories delivered directly to your inbox. Thanks for listening.