NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It could one day become one of the biggest infrastructure projects to hit Nashville, but critics question if it will have anything to do with the city itself.
The Boring Company's Music City Loop project has transformed from a green fence to a massive construction site, marking significant progress since July.
Usually, when recapping one of the year’s top stories, the focus is on how we got here and what we expect in the future. In the case of the Boring Company, what they’ve shown us in the last week alone is that we’re far from usual.
Last month’s online-only panel discussion was about as close as many got to any sort of Q & A with company executives who praised themselves for their transparency.
The Boring Company said the project is 100% privately funded, with no direct cost to Tennessee taxpayers for construction or operation. They plan to rely on private investments and future rider fares to recoup costs.
Boring Company President Steve Davis said they've met with state commissioners, at least 10 Metro Nashville agencies, and about 23 out of 40 Metro Council members.
"It's actually the most public engagement we've ever done," Davis said.
"They declined that meeting. They said they did not have any business before the Metro Council. That they were working with the state and that while they were committed to transparency and community engagement, they would not meet with us," Porterfield said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates tried multiple times over months to request an interview with the Boring Company and has not heard back.
Porterfield filed a resolution opposing the tunnel, citing a lack of transparency, inadequate community engagement, and troubling labor and safety practices. The vote was delayed until January, but protesters outside the meeting made clear their frustrations over Nashville's limited input before the state approved the project.
"I'm looking at a back-room deal that our state did with the company without engaging the people or the local government," Porterfield said.
Approving the resolution wouldn't stop the tunnel from being built, but it makes clear that the city is taking a stand against something that could forever change Nashville.
"It's very frustrating. Government does not move that fast, so for this to move so quickly without real community engagement, without having questions answered, without engaging with our local government," Porterfield said.
The Boring Company's history shows plans have changed drastically from Chicago to Los Angeles, Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale. What remained constant with those cities is that they had the final say before digging happened and plans were ultimately scrapped.
Juan Matute is Deputy Director of Transportation Studies at UCLA where he saw neighbors sue to keep a similar tunnel out of Los Angeles.
"There seems to be this idea that this is going to solve some transportation problem and there's a fixation of trying to demonstrate that they're right," Matute said.
Matute said he's convinced this project has nothing to do with Nashville and everything to do with proving they can build a tunnel on state property, while keeping the city from getting in the way.
"Of course, we won't know it's too extreme until something happens," Matute said.
"We wouldn't go into a city and fight to build something that's so expensive, labor-intensive, and just an incredibly difficult project," Davis said.
One day after a recent panel discussion, the Nashville Banner published a story about crews walking off the job, saying they've complained about safety at the site and not being paid what they were owed.
The Boring Company responded in a blog post disputing any safety concerns, saying there have been "zero safety incidents, zero injuries, and zero issues so far."
"We've certainly seen some of the articles that have been written, but what I'll say is that in my personal experience and the personal experience of our stakeholders engagement team, it has been universally positive," Davis said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates uncovered only a handful of permits approved from one agency, but even before securing all their permits, there's already talk of expansion.
Some may argue it’s business as usual, but we at least know one thing, it’s been anything but boring.
