NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Residents packed First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill Monday night for an emergency town hall focused on the Music City Loop, as the Boring Company began drilling on the project.
Councilmember at-Large Delishia Porterfield and State Senator Charlane Oliver organized the meeting following recent developments, including a $24 million contract with the Metro Nashville Airport Authority and the introduction of a bill to create a subterranean authority at the state house to regulate the project.
Oliver and Porterfield said they have concerns about the financial implications and environmental impact of the project, as well as what they characterized as a lack of transparency on the part of The Boring Company.
“To The Boring Company there’s still time, for you to get out of our city,” Senator Oliver said.
“When you leave local [officials] out of the conversation, we are the people closest to the people,” Councilmember Porterfield added.
In a Senate Commerce Committee meeting Thursday, the committee approved a board proposed by Senator Jack Johnson that will oversee subterranean infrastructure, including the Music City Loop.
“It’s my understanding that we could probably get this done without this, but this makes it a lot simpler and I think more effective,” Senator Johnson said.
The loop is now estimated to be completed by early 2027.
Attendees at the town hall raised questions about worker safety and the pace of the project.
“I don’t want to see one Nashvillian working on this project because I’m not convinced that they’ll be safe,” one resident said.
“How do we slow this thing down to where we can stop it?” another attendee said.
Local and state leaders said they hope Nashville will have a seat at the table as decisions are made about the underground infrastructure project.
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