NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — If you’ve seen traffic going from Rutherford County to Nashville, you know it can be bumper to bumper, sometimes taking hours to get to your destination.

But one lawmaker has come up with a unique solution. Tennessee State Rep. Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) personally wrote a letter to Elon Musk, asking him to expand the currently underway Music City Loop to Murfreesboro.

Work has already started on the underground tunnel system, meant to cut down on traffic between the Nashville International Airport and downtown Nashville.

“Whether [Musk] could do a tunnel to Murfreesboro and Smyrna and La Vergne to Nashville, I think it'd be a viable option, and there's not a better man that's innovative than Elon Musk,” Sparks said.

Not everyone has been quite as welcoming to the current tunnel system underway. Some Democratic leaders felt it was an unwelcome surprise and that there wasn't enough community involvement.

But many Republicans have embraced the new privately funded infrastructure and have also hinted at hopes for expansion.

“The vision for the future is this could go all the way up to Clarksville, Murfreesboro, to Franklin, Brentwood, so there is an opportunity for this to benefit Tennesseans as well as people visiting our city," Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton said.

Sparks believes these tunnels could help save time and also improve safety. He said roughly 180,000 people now commute on Interstate 24 between Murfreesboro and Nashville daily. That same stretch of roadway has seen more than 5,000 crashes since 2021, according to numbers from the Tennessee Department of Highway Safety. Sparks also mentioned cases of road rage.

“I've already been hit twice, so it's going to start happening to other people,” Sparks said. “It's frustrating for commuters over there. We've had two murders over there just this year. I see people driving reckless.”

As Sparks’ letter makes its way to Musk, he hopes an expansion to Murfreesboro is something he'll seriously consider.

“I thought, why don't we just reach out to Elon and say, hey, he's a smart guy, he's done great things, and I think Elon can help move Tennessee in the right direction. I think it's happening right now,” Sparks said.

News 2 reached out to The Boring Company for comment but has not heard back as of publication.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/tennessee-lawmaker-sends-letter-to-elon-musk-asking-for-music-city-loop-expansion/