Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 98F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds light and variable.

The custom-built micro tunneling machine that will bore through Blakely Mountain will arrive in Hot Springs at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Michels Corporation and the City of Hot Springs will present the machine to the public in front of City Hall at 122 Convention Boulevard. The machine will tunnel through Blakely Mountain as part of the city’s $106 million Lake Ouachita Water Supply Project.

The project – the largest tunneling job of its type to date in North America – will cut a 60-inch diameter hole for 2,600 feet from the intake site through the mountain, to an intake screen in Lake Ouachita.

Up to 23 million gallons of water a day will be gravity fed 17 miles to a new water treatment plant, the site of which is also under construction.

The water project is the largest infrastructure investment in the history of Hot Springs.

The micro tunneling machine was custom built in Germany with tooling based on the rock it will go through in Blakely Mountain. It was shipped to Michels’ Wisconsin headquarters, then to a tooling shop in Canada before making the journey to Hot Springs.

Representatives from the City of Hot Springs and Michels Corporation will be on hand to answer questions and provide additional details.

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