Springdale Northern Bypass (Highway 412)

Springdale Northern Bypass (Highway 412)

This website provides information to the public concerning environmental studies on the Springdale Northern Bypass.  Please click on the links below to go straight to the information you wish to review.

Project Overview provides the basic background of the proposed project.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), has conducted a comprehensive environmental study and prepared the necessary environmental documentation for the proposed Highway 412 bypass in Benton and Washington Counties, Arkansas.  The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers Little Rock District were cooperating agencies in the preparation of the environmental documentation.

This bypass is proposed to be a four-lane, divided, fully controlled access (Interstate type) facility constructed on new alignment with interchanges at selected locations. It would include two 12-foot travel lanes in each direction separated by a variable width median. 

The project is known as the Springdale Northern Bypass.  The Selected Alignment Alternative begins at an interchange with existing Highway 412 west of Tontitown where the highway presently changes from four to five lanes and will end with an interchange on existing Highway 412 just west of Beaver Lake.  Communities in and around the study area include Springdale, Tontitown, Elm Springs, Bethel Heights, Lowell, Sonora, Rogers, Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Cave Springs.

Highway 412 is part of a Congressionally designated High Priority Corridor (HPC) running east and west across northern Arkansas. 

Project History presents a short summary of the EIS work completed on the project.

A Major Investment Study (MIS) was initiated in 1996 within the urbanized area of northwest Arkansas to evaluate the various concepts available to alleviate existing traffic congestions on Highway 412.  A working group was developed to consider several construction and non-construction strategies to implement an improved transportation system.  This group ultimately concluded that a new location alignment north of Springdale best met the overall project purpose and need as developed by the working group, as well as numerous local objectives.  This conclusion was adopted by the local Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee.

An Environmental Impact Study (EIS) to determine the location of the proposed bypass began in 1998 with a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).  This DEIS studied four new location alignments along with the No-Action Alternative and improvements along the existing highway corridor.  The ARDOT and the FHWA completed the DEIS in January 2002.

DEIS Location Public Hearings were held in April 2002 to display DEIS study information and maps of the alignments, and to receive comments on the DEIS.  Comments received at the public hearing suggested two additional alignments for consideration that were not documented in the DEIS.  These additions were a “split interchange” alignment that uses an existing segment of I-540 as a part of the proposed bypass, and a “northern” alignment. 

The split interchange concept was not considered feasible by FHWA. However, a decision was made to prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) to evaluate the “northern” alignment. Four alignments were studied and compared within the center portion of the proposed project.  The SDEIS was finalized in May of 2004 and SDEIS Location Public Hearings were held in June 2004.

ARDOT and FHWA evaluated the alignments in the SDEIS for social, economic and environmental impacts, traffic analysis, and conceptual design. This information was used in the decision making process along with the comments received from resource agencies, public officials, and the public for the identification of Line 5 as the Preferred Line through Segment B-E. The Preferred Segments previously established and shown at the SDEIS Location Public Hearings within Segments A-B and E-F were also confirmed to carry forward into the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

Revisions to Preferred Segment A-B were made in the western interchange with existing Highway 412 as a result of comments made at the DEIS Location Public Hearings, and to the alignment south of Brush Creek Road because of electrical transmission lines. Comments received at a public meeting held in September 2004 indicated that most residents were in favor of these proposed revisions, which were then adopted and analyzed in the FEIS as a part of the Preferred Line.

An in-depth analysis of the Preferred Line was conducted by ARDOT in cooperation with the FHWA and the results of this analysis are also documented in the FEIS issued October 6, 2005.

After a review of the FEIS and the comments received, the FHWA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on February 15, 2006 that approved a Selected Alignment Alternative for the proposed bypass. Based on environmental studies, agency coordination, the public input process, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Preferred Line was identified as the Selected Alignment Alternative. Click here to see a map of the Selected Alignment Alternative.

Based upon consideration of all the social, economic, and environmental evaluations contained in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), and FEIS, FHWA has determined the Selected Alternative (i.e., Alignment 5 Non-toll Funding Alternative) is the environmentally preferred alternative. This alignment provides the best transportation solution that minimizes harm to the environment to the maximum extent practicable while also sufficiently addressing the Purpose and Need for the action. While some of the other alternatives evaluated, such as travel demand management and transit alternatives, may have lesser impacts on certain environmental resources, those alternatives do not provide a sufficient solution to the region’s long-term transportation needs, and their selection would not be reasonable or prudent. The Selected Alignment Alternative also incorporates extensive measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate potential harm to the region’s natural and human environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has given a Lack of Objection rating to the proposed project as described in the SDEIS. The study for the proposed project evaluated impacts for Toll and Non-toll Funding Alternatives. Each alignment analyzed represented two funding alternatives with identical location, corresponding to a Toll and Non-toll (free) Funding Alternative. The Selected Alignment Alternative is the Non-toll Funding Alternative. In the future, if a decision is made that a toll facility is needed, environmental documentation will be prepared to address those additional impacts that could result from the construction and operation of a toll facility.

Preliminary design was prepared for the entire length of the Selected Alternative and Design Public Hearings were held in June 2008.  The Design Public Hearings and comment period provided the public an opportunity to view the preliminary design and provide input to the Department.

Project Updates provides a summary of latest information.

August 2023

NEPA re-evaluations were approved by FHWA in May 2023 for the Springdale Northern Bypass section between Interstate 49 and Highway 265 and in August 2023 for the section between Highway 412 and Highway 112.  Both projects are currently in the right of way acquisition phase and scheduled to go to construction within the next two years.

May 2022

A Design Reassessment was approved by FHWA in June 2014 to address design changes as well as changes in the project area that had occurred since the Design Public Hearings in 2008. The 2014 reassessment focused on the 4.5-mile long segment of the Springdale Northern Bypass between Highway 112 and Interstate 49, which was programmed for construction as job CA0907 as part of the first Connecting Arkansas Program, the statewide half cent sales tax passed by voters in 2012 to fund highway and infrastructure projects.

This segment of the Springdale Northern Bypass, between Highway 112 and Interstate 49, went out for construction bids in December 2014, had a groundbreaking in April 2015, and saw construction completed with all lanes opened to traffic in April 2018.

A Re-evaluation for Right of Way Acquisition was approved by FHWA in August 2019 for the 6.2-mile long segment of the Springdale Northern Bypass between Highway 412 and Highway 112, job 012326. An additional re-evaluation will be completed on this section before construction begins.

A re-evaluation is currently underway for the 3.3-mile long segment of the Springdale Northern Bypass between Interstate 49 and Highway 265, programmed as job 090621. It is anticipated that this re-evaluation will be sent to FHWA for review by summer 2022.

May 2008

After a review of the FEIS and the comments received, the FHWA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on February 15, 2006 that approved a Selected Alignment Alternative for the proposed bypass. Based on environmental studies, agency coordination, the public input process, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Preferred Line was identified as the Selected Alignment Alternative. Click here to see a map of the Selected Alignment Alternative.

Based upon consideration of all the social, economic, and environmental evaluations contained in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), and FEIS, FHWA has determined the Selected Alternative (i.e., Alignment 5 Non-toll Funding Alternative) is the environmentally preferred alternative. This alignment provides the best transportation solution that minimizes harm to the environment to the maximum extent practicable while also sufficiently addressing the Purpose and Need for the action. While some of the other alternatives evaluated, such as travel demand management and transit alternatives, may have lesser impacts on certain environmental resources, those alternatives do not provide a sufficient solution to the region’s long-term transportation needs, and their selection would not be reasonable or prudent. The Selected Alignment Alternative also incorporates extensive measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate potential harm to the region’s natural and human environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has given a Lack of Objection rating to the proposed project as described in the SDEIS. The study for the proposed project evaluated impacts for Toll and Non-toll Funding Alternatives. Each alignment analyzed represented two funding alternatives with identical location, corresponding to a Toll and Non-toll (free) Funding Alternative. The Selected Alignment Alternative is the Non-toll Funding Alternative. In the future, if a decision is made that a toll facility is needed, environmental documentation will be prepared to address those additional impacts that could result from the construction and operation of a toll facility.

Preliminary design has been prepared for the entire length of the Selected Alternative and the Design Public Hearings were held in June 2008.  The Design Public Hearings and comment period provides the public an opportunity to view the preliminary design and provide input to the Department.  These comments will be reviewed and addressed in this project’s Design Reassessment.  A Design Reassessment is prepared when minor revisions are developed between the proposed project and impacts as described in the FEIS and the proposed project developed during preliminary design.

Meetings Scheduled will take you to information about the next meetings planned. 

Meetings for the public to review and comment on the proposed project design were held June 3 and 4, 2008.  These meetings were held to solicit comments on the design of the proposed Selected Alignment Alternative. 

No further meetings are anticipated for this project. However, any future meetings will be announced through the local news media, mail-outs of the project newsletter, and on this website.

Document Availability is a link to copies of documents containing information on the studies performed on the project.  You can also find information on how and where to obtain the latest studies.

August 15, 2023 – Re-evaluation for Construction
(Job 012326, Highway 412 – Highway 112)

This NEPA re-evaluation examined impacts related to right of way acquisition and construction of the Springdale Northern Bypass from Interstate 49 to Highway 265. The primary impacts identified were right of way acquisition, relocations, stream impacts, and the conversion of Important Farmland. No additional significant impacts were identified and the Record of Decision remains valid. The re-evaluation for job 090621 is available in Adobe Acrobat format by clicking here.

May 23, 2023 – Re-evaluation
(Job 090621, Interstate 49 – Highway 265)

This NEPA re-evaluation considered impacts related to construction of the Springdale Northern Bypass from Highway 412 to Highway 112.  The primary impacts identified were stream impacts, impacts to a cultural resources site, and the conversion of Important Farmland.  No additional significant impacts were identified and the Record of Decision remains valid.  The re‑evaluation for job 090621 is available in Adobe Acrobat format by clicking here.

August 6, 2019 – Re-evaluation for Right of Way Acquisition
(Job 012326, Highway 412 – Highway 112)

This re-evaluation only examined impacts related to right of way acquisition, primarily the conversion of land to transportation right of way, residential and business relocation, and impacts to cultural resources sites.  No impacts were identified that affected the decisions in the 2006 ROD.  An additional re-evaluation will be completed on this section before construction begins. The re-evaluation for Job 012326 is available in Adobe Acrobat form by clicking here (1 Mb).

July 3, 2014 – Design Reassessment
(Job CA0907 – Highway 112 – Interstate 49)

This design reassessment considered the comments received during the 2008 public comment period and Design Public Hearing, as well as changes in the project area, and did not identify any additional significant environmental impacts.  A summary of the impacts associated with the overall Selected Alignment corridor in the 2006 ROD and in the 2014 reassessment can be found on page 13 of this document. The design reassessment document for Job CA0907 is available in Adobe Acrobat form by clicking here (2 Mb).

February 15, 2006 – Record of Decision (ROD) 

The ROD is a very brief summary of the information used during the evaluation and the decision-making process for the environmental analysis on this proposed project. It includes information to address the comments received on the Final Environmental Impact Statement, and is the final decision-making document in the environmental process. The ROD is available in Adobe Acrobat form by clicking here (2.2 Mb).

October 6, 2005 – Final Environmental Impact Statement 

These sections of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Executive Summary with links below were derived from the FEIS approved October 6, 2005.  The FEIS contains an in-depth analysis of the Preferred Line (Line 5), as conducted by the ARDOT in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration.  The various sections of the FEIS are available in Adobe Acrobat form by clicking the links below.

Opening Section1.8 MB
Executive Summary1.9 MB
Section 1-Purpose & Need4.4 MB
Section 2-Alternatives12.1 MB
Section 3-Affected Environment23.4 MB
Section 4-Environmental Consequences8.5 MB
Section 5-Commitments0.6 MB
Section 6-Coordination & Public Involvement0.6 MB
Section 7-Comments & Response20.1 MB
Section 8-List of Preparers0.7 MB
Section 9-Distribution List of FEIS0.3 MB
Section 10-References0.3 MB
Appendix A-Coordination & Public Involvement8.7 MB
Appendix B-Cultural Resources Coordination5.6 MB
Appendix C-Purpose & Need2.2 MB
Appendix D-Level of Service Discussion1.8 MB
Appendix E-Pollution Prevention1.9 MB
Appendix F-Historic Properties in the Project Area4.6 MB
Appendix G-Farmland Coordination4.5 MB
Appendix H-Noise1.9 MB
Appendix I-Terrestrial & Aquatic Fauna2.2 MB
Appendix J-Conceptual Stage Relocation Statement & Inventory Record4.1 MB
Appendix K-I-540 Interchanges & Associated Modifications2.1 MB
Appendix L-Surface Water Quality Impacts2.2 MB
Appendix M-Environmental Justice2.1 MB
Appendix N-Cultural Resources Reading List2.1 MB
Appendix O-Cooperating Agency Coordination5.4 MB

June 7, 2004 – Executive Summary of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement

This Executive Summary was derived from information in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) approved May 7, 2004.  The SDEIS is a compilation of extensive scientific and engineering information required for compliance with federal and state rules and regulations.  Four alignments within the center portion of the proposed project were studied and compared in the SDEIS.  The SDEIS Executive Summary is available in Adobe Acrobat form by clicking here (2.3 Mb).


January 31, 2002 – Executive Summary of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

This Executive Summary was derived from information in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) approved January 31, 2002. The DEIS is a compilation of extensive scientific and engineering information required for compliance with federal and state rules and regulations.  The DEIS Executive Summary is available in Adobe Acrobat form by clicking here (2.4 Mb).

Record of Decision – 2/15/2006
The Final Environmental Impact Statement – 10/6/2005
Summary of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement – 5/7/2004
Summary of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement – 1/31/2002

Where You Can Find the FEIS

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) can be found at ARDOT offices near the project area.  Specific locations are listed below. 

ARDOT Resident Engineer’s Office
3526 N Highway 112
Fayetteville, AR 72704 
ARDOT Resident Engineer’s Office
3700 Highway 112
Bentonville, AR 72712

Copies of these documents or a summary may be obtained by contacting the ARDOT at: ARDOT Environmental Division
P. O. Box 2261
Little Rock, AR  72203
(501) 569-2281

springdalenorthernbypass@arkansashighways.com

The Maps has links to maps of the Selected Alignment Alternative, and tells where the most recent maps are available for viewing locally. 

Design Public Hearing Displays for the Selected Alignment Alternative-June 2008

The following maps were shown at the Design Public Hearing meetings held June 3 and 4, 2008.  These maps display the design proposed at that time.  You may view the maps by clicking below on the individual map that you wish to view.  Please note the file size of the display you wish to see, and be aware that if you don’t have a high-speed internet connection, you may not be able to download the larger exhibits.

The project area is shown on aerial photography that is overlain by the proposed design, and is divided into nine overlapping areas, or exhibits.  The Exhibit Locator Map should be used to determine which of the exhibits contains the area you wish to examine.  Two of the exhibits, 1A and 4A, illustrate interchange areas in greater detail. 

City/County Street Map of entire project area (1,400 KB)

Exhibit Locator Map (1,600 KB)

Exhibit 1-(9,800 KB)

Exhibit 2-(10,400 KB)

Exhibit 3-(9,500 KB)

Exhibit 4-(11,200 KB)

Exhibit 5-(10,300 KB)

Exhibit 6-(10,400 KB)

Exhibit 7-(10,600 KB)

Exhibit 1A-Western Hwy 412 Interchange Layout (9,300 KB)

Exhibit 4A-I-540 Interchange Layout (11,600 KB)

The Selected Alignment Alternative map and preliminary design are available for viewing at the local ARDOT Resident Engineers’ offices listed below.

ARDOT Resident Engineer’s Office
3526 North Highway 112 
Fayetteville, AR  

ARDOT Resident Engineer’s Office
3700 Highway 112
Bentonville, AR

What’s Next presents an overview of future actions.

Job 012326, Highway 412 to Highway 112, and Job 090621, Interstate 49 to Highway 265, are currently in the right of way acquisition and utility relocation phases. Both jobs are scheduled to go to construction before or in 2025. The final section of the Springdale Northern Bypass, Highway 265 to Highway 412, is programmed for funding in 2025, but design work and the NEPA re-evaluation are ongoing and no letting date has been scheduled.

For more information tells how to contact us with questions or comments and how to get registered on the project mailing list.

For More Information Concerning This Project 

Displays showing the Selected Alignment Alternative are available for viewing at two ARDOT offices near the project area. The Washington County Resident Engineer’s office is located at 3526 North Highway 112 near Fayetteville (479) 251-9266.  The Benton County Resident Engineer’s office is located on Highway 112, three miles north of Cave Springs [telephone number (479) 273-7634. 

If you would like to send us a comment or have your name added to the project mailing list, click here, or contact the Environmental Division, Arkansas Department of Transportation, P. O. Box 2261, Little Rock, AR  72203, call (501) 569-2281, or by e-mail

If your name is on the mailing list, you will be sent copies of future newsletters and notification of upcoming public meetings.  Newsletters and meeting notifications are available by e-mail.  If you prefer to receive e-mail rather than regular postal service, please let us know.