NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Boring Company's newest project is moving at the pace its founder has always promised. Within hours of receiving final state approval on February 25, 2026, the company's Prufrock tunnel boring machine was already in the ground beneath Nashville, beginning work on what will become the Music City Loop — a 13-mile zero-emission underground transit network connecting the heart of the city to Nashville International Airport.
The project represents the most ambitious expansion of The Boring Company's loop system outside of Las Vegas, and its progress through the spring has been rapid enough that construction milestones are arriving ahead of original schedule projections.
What the Music City Loop Will Be
When complete, the Music City Loop will carry passengers in dedicated Tesla vehicles through a network of tunnels linking downtown Nashville, the Music City Center convention complex, and Lower Broadway to BNA — Nashville International Airport. The planned travel time from downtown to the airport is approximately eight minutes, compared to the 30 to 45 minutes the same trip can take by car during peak hours.
The full 13-mile route is targeted for completion by 2029, with the first operational phase expected to open to the public before the end of 2026. That initial segment will cover the highest-demand portion of the corridor, giving Nashvillians and visitors their first experience of high-speed underground transit.
Private Access Comes First
The Boring Company announced in early May 2026 that downtown Nashville residents will receive private priority access to the Loop system as the first phase opens. The program mirrors elements of how the Las Vegas Loop was introduced, giving nearby residents a first-mover advantage before broader public access expands.
The Nashville Airport Authority also finalized a deal with The Boring Company earlier this year, clearing the last regulatory hurdle and setting the stage for seamless airport connectivity. The BNA agreement ensures that arriving and departing travelers will be able to use the Loop as a dedicated transit option between the terminal and the city center.
Prufrock and the Speed of Modern Tunneling
Central to the project's momentum is Prufrock, The Boring Company's latest-generation tunneling machine, which the company claims can bore through soil at speeds approaching one mile per week under optimal conditions. Traditional tunnel boring projects measure progress in months per mile. Prufrock's throughput, combined with the relatively soft geology beneath Nashville, has allowed the team to move from approval to active tunneling in a single day.
This pace is what makes The Boring Company's economic model viable. By dramatically compressing tunneling timelines, the company can keep project costs low enough to make underground transit practical in mid-sized American cities — not just major metropolitan areas with multi-decade, multi-billion-dollar subway budgets.
Nashville's Growing Transit Ambitions
Nashville has long struggled with some of the worst traffic congestion per capita in the United States. Multiple previous transit proposals — including a 2018 light rail referendum that voters rejected — failed to advance. The Music City Loop offers a different value proposition: faster, cheaper to build, and capable of phased delivery rather than requiring full-system completion before any service begins.
With tunneling underway and a first-phase opening targeted for later this year, Nashville is on track to become the second American city after Las Vegas with a fully operational Boring Company Loop. If the project delivers on its timeline, it will be the strongest proof yet that The Boring Company's approach to urban transit can scale.
