Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) joint approval of Elon Musk’s The Boring Company’s lease application and grading permit has been approved.
The approval means the Music City Loop project, the high-speed transportation system connecting downtown Nashville to Nashville International Airport and lower Broadway to West End using underground tunnels, can move forward. The Music City Loop is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country, and is predicted to make “a bold step forward” in advancing mobility, economic growth, and transportation modernization.
“Tennessee continues to lead the nation in finding innovative solutions to accommodate growth, and in partnership with The Boring Company, we are exploring possibilities we couldn’t achieve on our own,” Lee said. “I’m grateful for TDOT’s commitment to a forward-thinking, fiscally responsible approach to infrastructure modernization that will define the future of transportation in our state and beyond.”
The Music City Loop is 100 percent privately funded and is expected to reduce transit time from downtown to the airport in approximately eight minutes. The system is an all-electric, zero-emissions, high-speed underground transportation system owned and operated by The Boring Company in which passengers are transported directly to their destination. The system will meet or exceed the stringent National Fire Protection Association (NFPA-130) fire and life standard. The project has broad support from state, city and industry leaders, officials said, due to its ability to modernize the downtown travel experience and accommodate growth.
“The Boring Company is grateful for the leadership and hard work of federal, state, and local agencies in bringing this project to a shovel-ready point,” Steve Davis, president of The Boring Company, said. “Music City Loop will be a safe, fast, and fun public transportation system, and we are excited to build it in Nashville.”
The approvals means The Boring Company will move forward immediately. The first segment of the Loop system is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.