A privately developed tunnel project could soon connect travelers from downtown Nashville to Nashville International Airport.

Tennessee leaders announced Monday afternoon that Elon Musk’s Boring Company has plans for an underground passageway — the “Music City Loop” — to bypass typical traffic congestion. The tunnel would trace a similar path as Murfreesboro Pike, a state road, for 8 miles, creating a one-way trip that takes less than 10 minutes.

“They could have taken their next underground anywhere but they saw something unique about Tennessee. And we are grateful,” said Gov. Bill Lee.

The governor highlighted what he says will be a transformative travel experience — and one that is “100% privately funded.”

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy touted the strong draw of Nashville and Tennessee, which have been growing quickly, and said the project also represents a goal of the Trump administration to “do a better job on the deliverables” for infrastructure projects.

Boring Company President Steve Davis said Tennessee emerged as an obvious choice for the project. However, he said the tunnel will be a more difficult undertaking because of the state’s soil.

“Tough place to tunnel,” Davis said. “If we were optimizing for easiest places to tunnel, it would not be here. You have extremely hard rock, like, way harder than it should be … But it’s an engineering problem that’s fairly straightforward to solve.”

The Boring Company has an operating underground loop in Las Vegas. It is not quite public transportation or a private car, as a fleet of Teslas complete the fixed circuit for a price that is generally more than public transportation, but less than a rideshare. During the tunnel’s construction, OSHA fined the company more than $112,000 after workers complained of flooding in the tunnel and chemical burns. Boring has contested the violations.

Similar proposals pitched in California and Illinois died after elected officials called for environmental reviews of the project.

George Walker IV AP Photo

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference announcing The Boring Company’s intent to build the Music City Loop, a private transportation tunnel that will connect the airport to downtown.

Transformative ambitions

State and national officials said the project aims to ease congestion in the city. Last year, Nashville had another record-breaking year for tourism. The airport sees about 70,000 travelers per day, and handles more than 30,000 vehicles.

But transportation options have remained slim in the busy corridor.

In 2018, voters rejected a massive transit plan that outlined a light rail line to connect the airport with downtown. That failed proposal also included a separate 1.8-mile tunnel beneath downtown that sought to move mass transit off the city core’s crowded streets.

Last year’s successful referendum was not as ambitious in that corridor. It targets Murfreesboro Pike for bus-only lanes, and suggests it would take several years for them to be established.

“It’s about reimagining how people move throughout Middle Tennessee,” said Stephanie Coleman, president & CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

She calls it a “yes-and” moment that builds on other local projects and the strong desire to improve mobility.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, meanwhile, did not attend the announcement.

“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.

A job fair for the Nashville project is scheduled for this Wednesday, with project leaders promising to create many jobs for the work. Officials said the tunnel will be completed in two years, although similar projects have experienced construction delays.

Davis, the company president, said future expansions to the system are also possible, and that community feedback will be sought to determine where to make additional connections.