Elkhart County 4-H Fair traffic won't be a problem with southern gate

GOSHEN, Ind. -- Families across Michiana are getting ready for the Elkhart County 4-H Fair.  And, of course,with all of the excitement, comes all of the crowds.

Last year, ABC57 News reported that fair officials worked to relieve traffic congestion by opening up a new road off of County Road 36.

Fair officials say, it truly helped with the traffic backups.

"It was a great success. We had our car counters on this road and we were able to count the entrance and exit traffic," says Fair General Manager, Bryan Blair.  "Roughly about 50% of our exit traffic came out of this road. 

It may be just a dirt road, but it's an important one.

A road that is pivotal to help get people in and out of the fair faster and easier. 

"We have four parking lots and the two southern-most parking lots all come out of this road. The northern most parking lots all come out to County Road 34. So getting out is especially easy," adds Blair. 

The road helped last year's fair an even bigger success.

But this year, fair officials are especially grateful to have this eighth entrance available.

"With all of the road improvement projects going on around Goshen, this is going to alleviate a lot of our traffic concerns, as far as people getting in and out of the fair grounds," explains Blair. 

He says it will also alleviate a lot of the traffic congestion in and around Goshen, which would have probably been made worse with the combination of fair and construction traffic. 

Fair officials are recommending visitors to stay away from the north and west sides of the city.  They advise to come to the fair from the south and the east.