Doug Kremlin, president and CEO of Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announce a plan for Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build an underground tunnel from the airport to Downtown Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Tennessee leaders joined an Elon Musk company’s officials Monday in announcing plans to bore an underground tunnel dubbed the “Music City Loop” from downtown Nashville to burgeoning Nashville International Airport.
Musk’s Boring Company initially would dig a 10-mile tunnel from the Music City Center to the airport on the city’s southeast side using land beneath state-owned roads. All-electric vehicles, possibly Musk’s Teslas, would be used to carry riders on an eight-minute transit.
In a press conference at the airport Hilton, Gov. Bill Lee said the estimated two-year project would be privately funded and not require any public money or tax breaks. A press release from the Governor’s Office said the company plans to start construction as soon as the approval process is complete and the first part of the loop could be operating by fall 2026, though the governor said environmental permits would not be expedited.
Lee declined to give an estimated cost for the tunnel but said it “will transform the way people travel from the airport” to downtown Nashville.
Officials predicted the loop will remove thousands of vehicles from Nashville roads, though neither state officials nor Boring Company President Steve Davis gave many details about ride estimates or costs.
Davis admitted digging a tunnel through Middle Tennessee’s limestone will be difficult but said the company makes safety a priority. Customers should be able to walk out of the airport and be less than 100 feet from the tunnel to downtown Nashville, he said.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the underground tunnel “innovation at its finest.” (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Davis credited Nashville with being “so welcoming and kind” for the project’s quick takeoff and said the tunnel could branch out across Middle Tennessee with numerous stations eventually.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attended Monday’s announcement, calling the project “innovation at its finest.” He said the project will have federal support.
It also has the backing of the Tennessee and Metro Nashville Chambers of Commerce, the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, which is tied up in a lawsuit with state over board appointments, and the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell did not attend Monday’s press conference. But Lee said the mayor is supporting the project.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in a video address to the event’s audience said Boring Company received a 99.57% safety and security rating from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration for its work on the Vegas Loop.
Nashville’s Democratic legislative delegation wasn’t invited to Monday’s press conference, and Rep. John Ray Clemmons criticized the proposal afterward, saying Musk found an “easy target in starry-eyed Bill Lee.”
“No responsible executive would give away unrestricted and unlimited underground property rights to an unhinged billionaire, who (President) Donald Trump doesn’t even trust anymore, and grant him and his company exclusive access rights beneath our city and a monopoly to profit in perpetuity,” Clemmons said in a statement.
Clemmons said problems have arisen from the Las Vegas project because of a lack of oversight and regulations, and he questioned potential consequences of the Nashville project’s environmental impact as well as threats posed by boring on the city’s aged stormwater and “fragile” wastewater system.
The plan marks the second project Musk is undertaking in Tennessee’s two biggest cities. An artificial intelligence facility under way in Memphis is drawing opposition from Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson, who says it will create more pollution that the city’s residents will be forced to breathe.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn expressed support for the project via video. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
The Boring Company is in the midst of building the Vegas Loop, a 2.2-mile tunnel that uses Tesla vehicles to carry riders. Initially, it was to have 29 miles of underground tunnels connecting 51 stations around central Las Vegas but fell under criticism for focusing on tourism spots instead of helping workers commute from home to work, according to reports. The project involves the use of Tesla vehicles to transport riders.
A similar tunnel proposal was made in 2018 as part of former Mayor Megan Barry’s $5.4 billion plan to improve transportation. That idea, which was to be funded by a sales tax increase, failed by a 64-36 margin in a local referendum after Barry resigned amid scandal. The plan included 24 miles of light rail and 25 miles of bus rapid transit.
Nashville Mayor O’Connell is pushing a new transportation plan, expected to cost $3.1 billion over 15 years, that would focus on increased bus routes, transit centers, park and ride facilities and new sidewalks and bike routes.
Monday’s proposal displays a shift in attitude for airport officials who recently responded to WSMV questions by saying, “Since late 2024, there have been numerous rumored and/or hypothetical discussions regarding connecting Nashville International Airport to downtown via tunnel, just like the theoretical discussions regarding the possibility of colonizing Mars in the future.”
At Monday’s event, Metro Nashville Airport President and CEO Doug Kreulen said, “this potential initiative is an important step toward easing roadway congestion and enhancing access to the airport.
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