The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) initiated a high-level tunnel feasibility study for the proposed East-West arterial highway under Hot Springs National Park as part of its due-diligence comparison of an open-cut versus a tunnel option to create a bypass to lessen traffic impacts on historic Hot Springs. The new tunnel on the proposed East-West bypass highway would be situated approximately 2 km (1.25 miles) north of a planned intersection with Highway 70,
