The Boring Company Conducts Tests Near Vanderbilt

Fully underway with its Music City Loop tunnel to connect downtown Nashville to the Nashville International Airport, The Boring Company is now undertaking geological tests near the Vanderbilt University campus.

According to a recent social media post by the company, The Boring Company has drilled geotechnical exploratory borings near the intersection of West End and 24th avenues. The social media post includes an image of a drill and the Vanderbilt’s campus in the background.

In addition, The Boring Company is drilling downtown at First Avenue and Broadway and at Fourth Avenue and Broadway, according to a separate social media post.

The Vanderbilt drilling location is not part of The Boring Company’s nine-mile loop, for which state approval was granted and equipment is stored in a State of Tennessee surface parking lot at 637 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. near Capitol Hill.

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Recently, The Boring Company released additional details, including permit processes, an ongoing environmental study and other discussions with state and local leaders. The Music City Loop is expected to carry a cost of $200 million to $300 million, which the company will cover.

According to an Oct. 1 social media post from the Elon Musk-owned company, work has begun at the tunnel’s launch site, the aforementioned state-owned parking lot.

The site has secured grid power through Nashville Electric Service and will support two tunnel boring machines, the company says. So far, an exploratory pit has been constructed to “better understand site geology.” The post notes that all initial costs have been funded by The Boring Company. Subsurface investigations and geotechnical borings have also begun along the proposed route. The company also says 45 permits and approvals are needed to construct the roughly 19 miles of tunnels, not including OKs needed for 20-plus potential stations, some of which could be positioned along Broadway.

The company says a lease agreement and permit terms are being coordinated with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and will require federal approval. Conversations with Metro Nashville, the mayor’s office, the Nashville Fire Department and the Metro Nashville Airport Authority are continuing, as well as with CSX Corp., which operates rail lines that the tunnel would run beneath.

The Boring Company has also met with Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center officials about a possible route connecting that facility to the tunnel network.

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.