Street construction near state fair park continues. The question is, could it cause problems for visitors to this years Nebraska State Fair?

With opening day of the fair just four weeks away, construction crews are rushing to get roadways and entrances ready for fair-goers.

For the past several years, State Fair Park has seen numerous improvement projects throughout the off-season of the fair.

This year is no different, but it's much busier than years past.

That is because the third leg of the Antelope Valley Overpass Project is underway, along with the creation of new entrances. That makes State Fair Park much more accessible for visitors.

For nearly a year, visitors to State Fair Park have been greeted by the sounds of construction crews. Those sounds are progress under construction, as the Antelope Valley Project rolls on, improving the area around State Fair Park.

"The project going on this year is what we call the east leg project. It's the remaining leg of the overpass. Three legs were built a couple years ago. This one will go from the existing overpass from the Devaney Center, eastward to almost 27th street," said Wayne Teten, Antelope Valley project manager.

The east leg project is expected to be complete by 2010, with construction continuing throughout the fair.

"The contractor will be setting girders over the railroad track during the time the state fair is going on," Teten said.

The completion of the last leg of the overpass will keep people away from having to wait on trains, traveling down the tracks.

Pedestrians and motorists, who once entered State Fair Park from the 17th and Holdrege Street entrance, are now greeted by road closed signs because the entrance is no longer in operation. Wayne Teten said, "Don't worry, there are still three entrances."

"There will be two entrances coming from 27th Street. There will be one near where the original gate was, and then there will be one further west, which will be just east of the Industrial Arts Building at Parker Avenue. Then, of course, we also have the entrance off of 14th street that was opened last year," Teten said.

Those options give fair-goers several new lanes to quickly travel in and out.

Teten said the completion of the construction will not only be an improvement for the Nebraska State Fair, but the future of the site as well.

"The east leg that we're building here, is expected to have about 40,000 vehicles a day, so you can't have a lot of driveways in and out and so on. I think the main entrances will remain as is, and I think we'll be ready for Innovation Park when it comes," said Teten.

Teten says the main areas left under construction, are the entrances off of 27th Street, which will accommodate up to five lanes and give cars the ability to pull off of 27th Street for tickets.

Some of the grounds will also need work before the fair kicks-off next month, but Teten says he is confident everything will be done in time.