County hopes to improve fair entrance
Washington County commissioners agreed to submit an $840,000 grant request to the state Department of Transportation for what it calls “multi-modal funding” to upgrade the trolley boarding platform and associated wiring at Washington County Fairgrounds.
The state’s Multimodal Transportation Fund provides grants to encourage economic development and ensure safe and reliable transportation.
Bridge replacement and improvements to the entranceway is the first phase of the project, and trolley-related improvements are the second phase.
The county’s matching funds for the project are estimated to be $360,000. That money will be provided from the proceeds of natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale layer beneath the fairgrounds.
The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, which is across North Main Street from the fairgrounds, will provide an in-kind match of wire, track and volunteers who will help with installation.
During the annual county fair, trolleys carry 7,000 people to and from fair parking, and they also operate during other events scheduled for the fairgrounds in Arden.
At the events’ closing times, pedestrian traffic tends to back up on the narrow bridge over a creek as people head for a hillside parking area bordering Hickory Ridge Road or gather on the trolley boarding platform. Relieving this congestion is part of the county’s master plan for making changes at the fairgrounds.