Tennessee approves lease and permit for Music City Loop tunnel linking downtown Nashville and BNA airport

State action clears early construction steps for underground tunnel proposal

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has approved a lease application and an enhanced grading permit tied to the Music City Loop, an underground transportation project proposed by The Boring Company to connect downtown Nashville and Nashville International Airport (BNA). The approvals cover use of state-owned property along the state highway system and are intended to allow initial site work to proceed.

The Music City Loop has been presented as a privately financed tunnel system designed to move passengers in Tesla vehicles through underground tubes. Plans described publicly also include a corridor connecting the downtown area with Lower Broadway and extending toward West End, with tunneling proposed beneath roadways controlled by the state rather than the city.

How the project is structured and what is being approved

The lease and grading permit represent targeted authorizations for work connected to state-controlled land. A separate, long-term operating arrangement has also moved forward at the airport level: the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority voted unanimously on Feb. 18, 2026, to finalize a license agreement with The Boring Company for use of airport property tied to the project’s airport connection.

Under that airport agreement, the company is set to pay licensing fees over the term of the deal, and the airport is projected to receive additional revenue through per-trip pickup and drop-off fees once service begins. Airport leadership has described the arrangement as requiring no upfront capital investment from the airport for construction.

• Project concept: Tesla vehicles carrying passengers through underground tunnels.
• Key public actions to date: state lease and grading permit approval; airport authority license agreement approval.
• Funding claim: the project has been described publicly as privately funded.

Timeline claims and performance targets

Project representatives have said the approvals bring the plan to a “shovel-ready” stage and that construction can begin immediately. Public statements around the project have also included a target travel time of roughly eight minutes between downtown and BNA. Separate public briefings have suggested an opening window as early as 2027 for initial operations, though no public construction schedule with detailed milestones has been adopted by Metro Council.

The state approvals address access to state-owned property and grading activity, but do not by themselves resolve every construction, safety, and operational requirement that could apply across the full route.

Governance and local oversight questions remain active

The project continues to raise broader questions about oversight, including how safety and emergency-response standards will be handled and what approvals may be needed where any portion of tunneling intersects city-owned right-of-way. At the state Capitol, legislation has been introduced to create a new state-level authority focused on subterranean transportation infrastructure, a step that would reshape how future tunnel projects are coordinated and reviewed in Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Metro Council members have filed a symbolic resolution expressing opposition to the project, citing concerns including transparency and engagement. While nonbinding, the measure reflects ongoing debate over the project’s impacts and governance as state and airport approvals advance.