Secretary of State John Thurston's office has installed two metal gates inside the tunnel below the steps on the east side of the state Capitol.
The metal gates were installed Monday night and "are designed for additional security," said Kevin Niehaus, a spokesman for the Republican secretary of state's office.
Asked if the gates will be used to close off the entrances to the tunnel at night or on a permanent basis, he said, "The gates will be utilized as needed for the security of the Capitol."
The office purchased the metal gates through Bray Sheet Metal and spent $32,728.62 on their design, fabrication and installation, Niehaus said.
"This is not a part of a larger plan to close entrances to the state Capitol," he said in a written statement. "This is a stand alone security measure."
Asked in May 2019 whether he was thinking about closing off the tunnel, Thurston told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "Not at this time."
He also said he is considering "not completely" closing the tunnel.
"In the past security analyses or studies that have been done on this building, the tunnel was something that was brought up in every security survey, analysis, so the tunnel is in conversation," he said at that point.