Infrastructure
$400M Tunnel Project Faces Scrutiny From Nashville Leaders
Officials raise transparency concerns and warn of public safety risks
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Excavation is underway for the $400 million Music City Loop, a tunnel project linking Nashville International Airport to downtown.
As state and local officials in Tennessee raise concerns over limited transparency surrounding the proposed $400-million Music City Loop—a transit tunnel in Nashville intended to connect downtown with the city’s international airport—lead developer The Boring Co. has quietly begun excavation near the Tennessee State Capitol.
This activity comes despite the company’s statement to ENR that tunneling has not yet started and final permit approvals remain pending, prompting renewed scrutiny over oversight and public engagement.
“Right now, there’s a big hole in the ground—so I know something is happening,” said Nashville Council Member At-Large Delishia Porterfield. “Something has started. Are they testing the soil? We just don’t know. We don’t have any information.”
Founded by Elon Musk, The Boring Co. is lead developer of the underground tunnel network. Despite the project’s scale and potential impact on public infrastructure, Porterfield said the council’s concerns center on lack of accountability.
She said that large-scale tunneling projects typically require permitting, geotechnical assessments, utility coordination, and—most critically—engagement with local officials. Bypassing Nashville’s standard review channels could lead to cost overruns and compromise safety oversight if the project proceeds without input from local lawmakers, Porterfield said.
“There’s a lot of questions surrounding this project.” she said. “From environmental impact to what if there’s a fire or someone gets stuck in the tunnel; is there a protocol? These are questions usually answered before approval."
According to Porterfield, “This will impact our local first responders – those are tax payer dollars that will have to be utilized.”
While city officials have voiced frustration over being left out of early discussions, the project has been championed by state leadership. In a July announcement, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) called Music City Loop “a bold step forward in advancing mobility, economic growth and infrastructure modernization across the region,” adding that it would come at “zero cost to taxpayers.”
But some state lawmakers remain unconvinced. State Sen. Charlene Oliver, who represents District 19—where the tunnel is slated to run—said she has not been contacted by the developer at all.
“They’re hiding behind press releases and blog posts,” Oliver said. “They won’t reply to my emails or my text messages. It’s a failure in leadership because they don’t have a good product to sell us.”
Oliver said the lack of direct communication from The Boring Co. has left her and other lawmakers scrambling for answers, particularly as excavation proceeds in her district. She described efforts to engage with the company as frustrating and one-sided, adding that scheduled meetings were canceled and messages went unanswered. In her view, the company is avoiding dialogue with representatives of Nashville’s most diverse communities—those most likely to be affected by the project.
“They’ve already started digging, and yet those of us who represent the communities directly affected haven’t been consulted,” Oliver said. “It feels like we’re being sent on a wild goose chase when all they have to do is be honest and transparent.”
The Tennessee State Building Commission executive committee approved the lease agreement in July granting the developer access to a state-owned parking lot in downtown Nashville. The site is expected to serve as the launch point for the Music City Loop.
In the statement to ENR, The Boring Co. said it is working closely with state and regional partners and has held “more than 100 individual meetings with local elected and business leadership, including Council members and city staff.”
That claim, however, has been met with skepticism.
“I have no clue who they’ve met. If they’ve met with [Council] members, I don’t know who that would be,” Porterfield said. “We’re being kept in the dark about everything.”
WKRN in Nashville reported that it contacted all 40 council members; only six members confirmed meeting with the company, 25 said they had not and nine did not respond.
Oliver also expressed skepticism about The Boring Co.'s claim and said lawmakers representing impacted areas had not been engaged.
“If they are truly transparent, I would very much call on [the company] to release the list of people that they've met with because those of us representing the communities directly affected have been completely left out,” she said.
The company did not respond to questions about which permits are still outstanding or which elected officials it has met with.
According to the company’s blog, the first segment of the project is to be operational by early 2027. The Loop is planned to run approximately 30 ft below ground. Each of the twin one-way tunnels will have a 12-ft internal diameter, with more than 20 stations currently in the design phase. Full tunneling is expected to begin in Q4, pending permit approvals and completion of final design work.
