It’s that time of year again when thousands of visitors — from farmers and ranchers to agribusiness owners to FFA members — walk the busy streets of Husker Harvest Days. This year, for the first time, in addition to many infrastructure upgrades, those streets will be paved.
The upgrades, part of a $7.5 million investment by Farm Progress, Hall County, the City of Grand Island and private partners, include about 6 miles of paved streets, updated plumbing and draining, and a new electrical system, which had not been upgraded since the site was constructed over 40 years ago.
When people think Husker Harvest Days, one of the first things they remember from their experience over the years (along with seeing bigger and more advanced equipment) is the years it rained and the years it didn’t.
While we can’t change the weather, we can be better prepared for it. No more will visitors have to slog through canals of water and mud puddles to get to exhibitor lots. These new paved streets are built with an inverted crown, with grates at the center to drain the water. This drainage system is designed to handle 4 inches of rain if it all fell on the ground at the same time. Instead of 8 inches of grade change from the west to east end of the show site, there will now be 16 feet of grade change.