Party on, Bradford!

This summer’s and fall’s numerous festivals, swap meets and
shows will go on as normal – or as close to it – despite the
ongoing construction work on the U.S. Route 219 Bradford Bypass,
which snakes through the city and outlying townships.

“At this point, we haven’t made any changes to any of our days,”
Main Street Manager Diane DeWalt said Wednesday of the upcoming
Summerfest in July, which pairs itself with the Zippo/Case
International Swap Meet, slated for July 21-22. “Every year we have
to work around (construction), even local public works paving
projects.”

That feeling was echoed by officials from American Refining
Group and Zippo Manufacturing Co., who are organizing the
refinery’s 125th anniversary celebration Sept. 7-9 and the
Zippo/Case Swap Meet, respectively, along with those working on
Stinkfest and the Street Dreams Car Club shows.

When fully under way, the construction will cause extensive
detours, increased traffic on city and township streets and some
inconvenience for Tuna Valley businesses and residents.

The events – which are mainly held in the city, Bradford
Township and East Bradford – are held near normally busy streets,
including Main, East Main and Congress streets. Some of the detours
will direct traffic around the bypass project to those areas.

The work is being performed by Mascaro Construction Co. of
Pittsburgh under the umbrella of the Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation.

“I know there have been several meetings with PennDOT and they
have been working with city officials,” DeWalt said. “We’ll
continue to keep in touch with them. It seems like there is always
a lot of timing issues, but we have confidence in PennDOT and
believe they are going to try and move the traffic through as
painlessly as possible.”

DeWalt said if there are any changes due to the work, they will
be noted in any press releases that will be issued concerning
Summerfest.

“There is always a challenge whenever there is a change in the
traffic pattern,” DeWalt said, “but we definitely need the new
road.”

Pat Grandy, marketing communications manager for Zippo, said
“our plans are going on as normal, although it will definitely
impact the visitors.”

“There will be some slower moving.”

Grandy said the company will likely notify those coming to town
for the Swap Meet – which draws thousands of collectors for Zippo
lighters and W.R. Case & Sons Co. knives – about the
construction and traffic issues through an update on its Web site,
zippo-caseswapmeet.com.

“We’ll probably put a little notice on the Web so it’s not a big
surprise to people coming to town,” Grandy said.

Meanwhile, ARG President and Chief Operating Officer Harvey
Golubock said the company has no plans to change its event, which
will feature a swap meet, educational lectures and tours along with
a parade.

“I think there will be probably see some detours ongoing as we
have the event,” Golubock said. “We are really just trying to
digest what we learned the other day. Our people are meeting with
DOT and will be working with them on an almost daily basis to try
and alleviate the problems.”

On Monday, PennDOT revealed its plans for the bypass project,
with about 20 local officials from the three municipalities the
bypass crosses, police and fire departments, local PennDOT
officials and representatives from various businesses, including
ARG, attending a meeting to air concerns about it.

ARG’s principal concern centers around work on North Kendall
Avenue, which will take place in the second phase of the major
work. The refinery sits along the construction zone.

“We’ll probably have to hire some people to direct traffic from
time to time,” Golubock said. “During the swap meet itself, we plan
on having extra people for security. Our logistics committee is
working on that.”

Also taking place during both the Summerfest and ARG anniversary
celebration will be car shows put on by the Street Dreams Car
Club.

According to Gary Hoy, the club “isn’t looking for any great
problems” associated with the work.

“It might be a little inconvenient to get to Main Street,” Hoy
said. “When we have our big show (Autumn Daze) in September, there
will be close to 200 cars coming, many with people from out of the
area. That could be a little bit of a problem. I think people will
find their way here.”

Lastly, Stinkfest executive coordinator Kathy Colman said
organizers for that event also aren’t changing any scheduled
events, noting the group had a meeting Wednesday to discuss the
upcoming festival, slated for May 6 along East Main Street.