10/1/25 Music City Loop Blog Post

TBC is committed to transparency as Music City Loop is built, and in that spirit, TBC is excited to share the inaugural bimonthly blog post! As mentioned in the FAQ, these updates will highlight milestones and discuss challenges throughout the project. Most importantly, TBC wants these posts to engage the community and generate thoughtful feedback from the people of Nashville to make Music City Loop as useful as possible.

What Has Happened Since the July 28 Announcement?

Construction: TBC commenced construction on the initial Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) launch site, located at Lot 16, near the State Capitol. This site will support two TBMs. Notable work to date includes:

  1. Exploratory Pit: Construction of an exploratory pit to better understand site geology, which will inform TBM launch operations.

  2. Power: In coordination with NES (they are awesome!), Lot 16 now has sufficient onsite electrical capacity to power 2 TBMs plus support equipment.  This is critical, as the standard alternative to grid power is diesel generators, which are noisy, inefficient, and less reliable. All associated infrastructure upgrades and costs have been fully funded by TBC.

  3. Lot 16 Site Set Up: The launch site is now fully equipped with office trailers, a Safety Center, an Operations Control Center (OCC), power (as mentioned above), chilled water, compressed air system, network, cameras, and other tunneling-critical components.

  4. Launch Pit Expansion: Installed shoring (soldier piles) and lagging to shore launch pit excavation, and expanded the Exploratory Pit to its final footprint.

  5. Boring Machine: While the TBM is not yet onsite (will be the last item to arrive before tunneling begins), the team has set up “Vertical Cassette 4” (VC4), the key component for the belt conveyor system used to remove spoils during mining.  With proper installation and multiple “belt boosters,” VC4 can support 10+ miles of tunnel.

Design/Permitting: At this stage, advancing design and permitting go hand in hand as TBC is developing engineered plans that are being reviewed by the relevant government agencies. For reference, TBC will need 45 separate permits/approvals in order to construct the tunnels on this project (stations not included!). Key design and permit updates include:

  1. Exploring Expansion Opportunities: Initial evaluations are underway to identify ways to enhance the usefulness of Music City Loop, including conversations focused on Broadway and nearby areas. This work includes engagement with local business owners and community members, as well as exploratory geotechnical borings along potential routes.

  2. Geotechnical and Utility Investigation: Initiated subsurface investigations along the proposed alignment, including geotechnical borings, review of historical geotechnical data, and coordination with all local utilities. This effort will continue to expand as design progresses.

  3. Structural Calculations and Drawings: Prepared TN engineer-stamped structural drawings and calculations for the tunnel, informed by our preliminary geotechnical investigation and analysis.

  4. TDOT Tunnel Permit & Lease Agreement: Coordinated closely with TDOT to progress permit terms & conditions, along with the technical review of our engineered permit package for tunnel construction and operations.

  5. City of Nashville: TBC continues coordination with the City of Nashville, which includes responding to the Mayor’s Office questions and discussions with the Nashville Fire Department.

  6. Environmental Impact Assessment: An environmental impact assessment is currently underway, led by a top local environmental consultant.  Once complete, the analysis will be posted for the general public on our website.

Community Engagement: Music City Loop is about more than infrastructure, it’s about becoming a part of the incredible Nashville community. Our interactions with Nashvillians have given us the chance to share how the system will operate, highlight the benefits it can bring to the city, and hear sincere interest and ideas about where it would be most useful. A few specifics on community engagement so far:

  1. Meetings with Community Leaders: Met directly with dozens of local leaders and elected officials to answer questions, address concerns, and learn how Music City Loop can best serve Nashville.

  2. Hiring and Workforce Development: Conducted a hiring event to continue building the Nashville team- opportunities are open for full-time employees and several interns! Coordination is also underway with universities, including Vanderbilt, Trevecca Nazarene, Tennessee State, Belmont, Middle Tennessee State, the University of Tennessee, and Lipscomb, to provide learning and job opportunities to students and graduates.

  3. Community Organizations and Volunteering: Engaged with more than 70 local community organizations and participated in over 30 in-person volunteer events, including serving food to veterans, organizing donations, supporting jazz events, blood drives, fundraisers, and career fairs.

  4. Public Inquiries: Responded to more than 50 inquiries submitted to nashville@boringcompany.com - keep the messages coming!

Where TBC is Focusing

Building subsurface transportation systems is not easy, and there will be many challenges/learnings in executing Music City Loop. A key reason Nashville was selected is that the state and local partners made it clear that they would be committed to taking on the inevitable challenges head-on - to date, this group has certainly delivered!

For full transparency, a few key items are being tracked closely in order to avoid potential project delays:

  1. Tunnel Permit Approvals: The proposed project crosses beneath critical TDOT and CSX infrastructure, TBC is working closely with these groups on the relevant approvals to unlock tunneling.

  2. Airport Agreement: In order to tunnel on Airport property, TBC must finalize station/tunnel alignment details and agreement terms; there has been good progress on each (very appreciative of the Airport’s quick responses), with additional work to be done to get approval.

  3. Tunnel Lease Agreement: For operating Music City Loop beneath TN right-of-way, a lease agreement with TDOT that requires federal approval is required; this agreement is in progress with TDOT.

  4. Station Agreements: The more, the better! Engagement with the local community is ongoing, and interest in key destinations has been overwhelmingly positive.  More than 20 stations are in various stages of design. Each station is planned in detail with the property owner, with a focus on safety, ridership, vehicle flow, and pedestrian wayfinding.

Thank You, Nashville

The more the team learns about Nashville and gets to know state and local partners, the more exciting Music City Loop becomes. If there is anything that could be done better, please let us know through nashville@boringcompany.com!