This story was originally published by the Nashville Banner. Sign up for their newsletter at nashvillebanner.com/newsletters.
Billionaire Elon Musk’s The Boring Co. has been making pitches at the state Capitol, City Hall and the Rotary Club as it begins preliminary work on a planned tunnel connecting the Nashville airport to downtown.
But despite the company’s claims that community engagement is a priority for the project, residents of one South Nashville neighborhood were taken aback when they learned that The Boring Co. had purchased property within a stone’s throw of their homes.
Three residents of Stardust Acres, a neighborhood nestled between Murfreesboro Pike and Briley Parkway, told the Nashville Banner they were not aware the company had purchased a church at the entrance to their neighborhood. All three live within a block of the church and are concerned about the potential impact of tunnel operations on their homes. (It’s unclear what The Boring Co.’s plans for the property are, though the Nashville Business Journal speculated it could be used as a launch and retrieval site for tunnel boring machines, as an emergency exit or as an entry/exit point for the tunnel network.)
“We don’t want no digging in our peaceful neighborhood,” said Rhonda Lyle, who lives four houses up from the church. “I don’t want the tunnel nowhere near us.”