A Republican state senator says his initial concerns about Elon Musk’s proposed airport tunnel system in Nashville have been resolved, to the point he already wants to expand the proposed route.
Sen. Mark Pody, a Lebanon Republican whose district takes in eastern Davidson County and Nashville International Airport, said he met with state agencies and Musk’s Boring Co., which satisfied all of his questions as it prepares to dig a tunnel from downtown Nashville, just off Rosa Parks Boulevard near the Capitol, to the airport under Murfreesboro Road for a private transport operation.
“I’m fully on board with it, and I feel very comfortable with it, and think this is going to be a good thing for Tennessee,” Pody said.
Vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Pody said he wants to make sure the proposed tunnel doesn’t cause environmental or utility problems, but he’s also interested in Boring directing it to the Hermitage/Donelson area where parking is available for the Music City Star, a train that runs into downtown Nashville. He would like to see it extend, as well, to the East Bank, where the state is involved with the Metro Nashville government in a massive development of the Titans stadium, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Oracle headquarters and housing.
Besides responding to Pody, the Boring Co. answered some 70 questions by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office, saying it would obtain Metro and state permits for the underground project and use backup emergency services measures for safety.