Even though the state knew about the project for well over a year before it was announced, records show that Gov. Bill Lee’s office has done no community outreach, environmental or other impact studies to assess Elon Musk’s proposed Tesla tunnel through Nashville.
Late last month, Lee announced the Music City Loop, a proposed 10-mile tunnel that will connect Nashville’s airport to downtown. The same week, the State Building Commission leased a state-owned property to Musk’s The Boring Company for free for the project. Even before the lease, the state had allowed the company to use the property for staging and a hiring event.
The sudden and apparently predetermined approval of the project stirred community members, who questioned the safety of burrowing through Nashville’s limestone in its flood-prone climate, the community impact of the route and the overall lack of transparency surrounding the project…