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Fairgrounds redesign moves forward

2 min read
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A trolley line, passenger boarding platform and bridge have been, for more than 100 years, part of a unique mix at the northern entrance of the Washington County Fairgrounds in Chartiers Township. Reworking those elements will be the task of A&A Consultants Inc. of Pittsburgh, with whom the county commissioners expect to enter into a $258,220 agreement Thursday morning.

Don’t look for any changes at the entrance during the annual fair this August.

Lisa Cessna, executive director of the Washington County Planning Commission, which oversees the fairgrounds, said Wednesday she expects the cost of design and engineering work to be paid from fairgrounds oil and gas lease proceeds. That part of the project should take at least a year.

A&A Consultants also will be responsible for obtaining permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection for moving earth around the area, which includes wetlands and a stream.

There was some discussion last year of applying for a state grant to pay for part of the project, but Cessna said that won’t be the case.

Trolleys based at the nearby Pennsylvania Trolley Museum carry 7,000 people to and from fair parking, and it also operates 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.

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