(The Center Square) – Opponents of a proposed underground transportation tunnel said Thursday they don’t want the project and said state officials did not give them a chance to speak out against it before it was announced.
The Boring Company, founded by Elon Musk, announced a 10-mile underground tunnel that would link the Nashville airport to downtown. The tunnel does not use any taxpayer funds, Gov. Bill Lee and other officials said Monday.
The State Building Commission Executive Commission fielded questions and comments before agreeing to allow the company to use 0.8 acres of a state parking lot for a staging area rent-free during a called meeting on Thursday morning.
“It is shameful and it is disrespectful that you all have made this decision without us,” said Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville. “Anything about us, without us is not for us. And Nashville is not for sale, especially for billionaires who want to buy and exploit our community.”
Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, said officials made the deal behind closed doors.
“When in Tennessee’s history has a project of this magnitude, one that could fundamentally alter our cities infrastructure, one that literally, quite literally, undermines the foundation of our city, been rushed through with zero consideration for the public with zero transparency?” Campbell said. “We have seen on public engagement, we’ve seen no disclosure of terms, no competitive procurement. I implore you to reject the waiver of advertisement and require a full public process transparency, public hearings, competitive solicitation, that is how this process is supposed to work and anything less undermines public trust and is a betrayal of our duty to the people of Tennessee.”
Boring will begin construction on the project dubbed the “Music City Loop,” as soon as approvals are received, the company said Monday. It could be completed as soon as the fall of 2026, according to information from Lee. The company operates a similar project in Las Vegas. However, projects in other cities, including Chicago and Washington, D.C., did not come to fruition, according to a report from Axios.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joined Lee at a news conference on Monday.
“By leveraging the innovation of private sector companies like The Boring Company, we’re exploring possibilities we couldn’t achieve on our own as a state,” Lee said. “This partnership represents the kind of forward-thinking, fiscally responsible approach that will define the future of transportation in Tennessee.”
Nashville Mayor O’Connell was not at the press conference and has said very little publicly about the project.
“We are aware of the state’s conversations with the Boring Company, and we have a number of operational questions to understand the potential impacts on Metro and Nashvillians,” he said in a statement posted on WKRN.
Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston said the politics should be removed from the project. She supports the project, she said.
“Mayor O’Connell has known about this project for over a year but has chosen to sit on the sidelines,” Johnston said. “Despite all his talk about transportation and his ‘Choose How You Move’ plan, it seems the mayor only supports options that come with a tax hike.”
Nashville voters approved a half-cent sales tax hike last November. The $3.1 billion project dubbed “Choose How You Move” includes sidewalks, improved transit services and new technology.
