Grant County planning to move Airway Drive

MOSES LAKE — Grant County is working on a plan to move Airway Drive.

The change would loop the road around the Grant County Fairgrounds parking lot, fairgrounds Manager Bill West said. The existing section of the road will be removed and replaced with more parking spaces.

Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter said the change in the roadway would increase the convenience and safety for people coming to the fairgrounds.  She said people who have big events often have to use the tunnel to enter the fairgrounds.

“If they parked on the grass, there’s a possibility of them backing into a building,” she said.

The county also received $55,000 in federal stimulus money to build a sidewalk along the west side of the road once it’s finished, Carter said.

The county is using money remaining from the original $12 million plan for fairground upgrades to pay for the project, she said. There is roughly $1 million remaining in the fund.

“The bids have come in lower than we expected,” she said. “So we have extra money left over, so we thought this would be a good thing to do.”

West said the county, the fair board and the fair facilities committee all wanted to move the road to the other side of the parking lot.

Grant County Public Works Director Derek Pohle said he plans to start accepting bids in June and construction will start after the fair. He estimates the project will cost between $800,000 to $1 million. 

Workers are also close to finishing four new bathrooms at the Grant County Fairgrounds. West said all of the bathrooms should be done by the end of this month.

“(The upgrades are) going outstanding,” he said.