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Lawmaker: State will lease underground property for tunnel • Tennessee Lookout [1]

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Date: 2025-07-30

The state of Tennessee will lease underground property to Elon Musk’s Boring Company over roughly 50 years for construction of a 10-mile tunnel to transport riders from downtown Nashville to the airport, according to a state lawmaker.

“It would be more like the choice lanes where it will be always under state ownership, but it would be leased to them,” state Sen. Becky Massey, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Tuesday. “The lease would be in lieu of us having to pay for it.”

The project is to tunnel under existing state highways and would use Tennessee’s right of way under the ground, according to Massey.

Gov. Bill Lee said Monday the project will be privately funded and that no tax breaks would be given to the Boring Company. He also said environmental permitting will be done at the state’s normal pace.

Boring Company President Steve Davis projected the project could take two years. Yet the Governor’s Office said in a Monday statement the tunnel could be operational as soon as fall of 2026.

In light of that, the state is expediting the project.

The State Building Commission is set to approve a no-cost lease Thursday to Boring Company for a state-owned parking lot on Rosa Parks Boulevard near the State Capitol to launch the tunnel boring machine and stage construction.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, a Democrat, didn’t attend Monday’s announcement, but Lee downplayed the absence, saying the mayor supports it.

O’Connell released a statement Tuesday saying, “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.”

Massey, a Knoxville Republican, said the Boring lease for the Vegas Loop where it constructed a 2.2-mile tunnel as part of a bigger project is for 50 years, a standard length for those types of agreements.

Tennessee also is preparing to take bids for a “choice lane” road project from Nashville to Murfreesboro that motorists would pay to use. The contractor would lease the property and highway from the state under a 50-year agreement, Massey said.

“The model’s there. The only difference is it’s underground instead of above ground,” Massey said of the Boring project.

Massey and House Speaker Cameron Sexton attended a Monday announcement for the tunnel plan at Nashville International Airport. No Democrats from the Davidson County legislative delegation were invited.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation declined to confirm a lease agreement, referring questions to the Governor’s Office. A spokesperson for the governor did not respond Tuesday to questions.

Transportation Department spokesperson Beth Emmons said the Boring Company announced its plan to file a permit application for the Music City Loop, and once that is done and review processes start, the department could release more details.

Neither Boring nor Lee announced the cost of the project Monday. Yet Republican lawmakers are excited about the prospects, saying it could cut traffic congestion as Nashville grows.

Leery Democrats are raising questions about the potential impact on the environment and Nashville’s aging stormwater and wastewater systems, as well as property along the route. They also criticized the governor and Department of Transportation for not taking bids.

Massey, though, described the contractor as a “unique” company and pointed out the state isn’t hearing interest from other private firms looking to build a tunnel under the city.

“When somebody says we’re willing to pay for all of it if we can go under your roads, to me that’s pretty enticing, because … we’ve got to be creative,” she said.

Massey added that contractors aren’t offering to build light rail across the city, either, and taxpayers don’t want to fund such a system.

Light rail was part of a 2018 transportation plan by former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry that failed in a public referendum.

This isn’t public transportation – it’s a privatized vanity tunnel for Elon Musk, a man with a long trail of broken promises. – Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville

State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, criticized the tunnel project Monday, saying the Lee administration granted the Boring Company “exclusive access rights” beneath Nashville and a “monopoly to profit in perpetuity.” Clemmons, of Nashville, said the project could cost state taxpayers a “significant amount of money” at some point and endanger the economy because of threats to stormwater and wastewater systems by unregulated underground boring.

Democratic Sen. Heidi Campbell of Nashville accused Republican leaders of “prioritizing sweetheart deals for out-of-state billionaires” instead of investing in roads and transit that benefit all Tennesseans.

“This isn’t public transportation – it’s a privatized vanity tunnel for Elon Musk, a man with a long trail of broken promises,” Campbell said.

Davidson County lawmakers are planning to send a formal letter to Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter requesting transparency on any state incentives or subsidies for the proposed tunnel.







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[1] Url: https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/07/30/lawmaker-state-will-lease-underground-property-for-tunnel/

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