The Boring Company has the approvals it needed to begin digging beneath Nashville, but the public record is less clear about the permits still needed for additional tunnel launch sites.

In its June 1 Music City Loop update, the company said the project required 45 separate permits and approvals for tunnel construction. It said all 37 needed before tunneling had been obtained and that the remaining eight related to "additional launch sites required to complete the Broadway and Airport alignments."

That was the company's last public update reviewed by LOOP Nashville that assigned a specific number to the remaining launch-site approvals.

By August, The Boring Company was using broader language. Its Aug. 14 project FAQ says tunneling is underway and the team continues to advance "planning and permitting for additional launch sites and stations." It does not say whether all eight remain outstanding, whether some have been secured, or which agencies control each approval.

Forty-five approvals, but not all for the same phase

The permit count can be confusing because the company's 45-item figure covers different stages of construction.

In February, before tunneling began, The Boring Company said 37 approvals were required to start mining from its Lot 16 construction site near the State Capitol. At that point, 32 had been secured and five were under review.

The other eight, the company said, related to additional launch sites needed later to complete the Airport and Broadway-West End alignments.

By April, after tunneling had started, the company said all 37 of the initial approvals were complete. It repeated the same eight-launch-site figure in June.

That means the phrase "all permits have been obtained" needs context. The company has obtained the approvals it says were necessary for the tunneling now underway from Lot 16. That does not necessarily mean every permit or property approval required to build every future segment and station has been completed.

The current FAQ makes that distinction by acknowledging continuing permitting work for additional launch sites and stations.

The key state approval arrived Feb. 25

One of the most consequential early approvals came from the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

On Feb. 25, Gov. Bill Lee's office announced joint approval of The Boring Company's lease application and enhanced grading permit for use of state right-of-way. State officials said the approval allowed construction to move forward immediately.

The Boring Company says the fully executed TDOT tunnel permit and lease followed more than seven months of technical review and authorized 25 miles of tunnel within TDOT right-of-way.

Tunneling began that day, according to the company's later updates.

Other institutional approvals have advanced separately. The Metro Nashville Airport Authority approved terms for a BNA connection and station in February. The Convention Center Authority approved a Music City Center tunnel easement in March.

Those actions do not eliminate the need for future site-specific construction, station, egress or property approvals.

Why additional launch sites matter

A tunnel boring machine cannot simply appear underground at any point along the route.

Launch and retrieval locations require property rights, site preparation and regulatory review. Depending on the site, construction can involve shafts, portals, support equipment, power, spoil-removal systems and connections to the tunnel alignment.

The Boring Company's current FAQ says it is working with property owners and regulators on additional launch sites. It also says tunneling under private property requires a written easement from the property owner, and emergency egress shafts on private property likewise require written permission.

The company has not publicly identified all future launch-site locations.

That makes the eight approvals described earlier in the year more than an administrative detail. They are tied to the physical locations from which future portions of the system can be built.

What the public still does not know

The company has not published an itemized list of the eight launch-site approvals identified in its February, April and June updates.

Public materials reviewed by LOOP Nashville do not identify each approving agency, application number, property, filing date or current status.

The Aug. 1 construction update says all permits and approvals required "ahead of tunneling" have been obtained, while the Aug. 14 FAQ says additional launch-site permitting is still advancing. Those statements can be reconciled if the first refers to tunneling already underway and the second refers to later phases, but the company does not provide a current numerical status.

For that reason, it would be premature to report that exactly eight approvals remain outstanding today.

The most accurate current description is that eight additional launch-site approvals were still identified as remaining in the June update, and The Boring Company's August materials confirm that additional launch-site permitting continues without giving a new count.

The next bimonthly project update should provide an opportunity to clarify whether that eight-item list has changed and where the next launch locations will be.

SOURCES