SEAN BOSTON
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Kansas State Fair begins next week and general manager Bryan Schulz continues to outline some of the precautionary safety measures the fair will use this year.
"This year we're also placing vehicle mitigation systems at gates 1 and 3," Kansas State Fair general manager Bryan Schulz said. "We're working with a company called 'Meridan' and they're bringing in these systems. There's two I think they're like one-ton concrete blocks, two on each side, and then they have an arm that comes down."
Schulz says these mitigation systems have the capability of stopping a high-speed vehicle if it were coming towards the fairground gates.
"So if that car is coming up Poplar about 60-80 miles an hour, we should be able to stop that vehicle within 15 feet," Schulz said. "It will engulf it and it will basically take underneath the engine and shut it down."
Schulz gave an explanation of how the systems will work if it were needed.
"We have got one on the west side of Gate 1 and one on the east side," Schulz said. "They will close down, they will lock, they have chains down to the bottom. The whole thing has spikes so that when they get hit they'll go up and will start digging into the asphalt and it will stop it."
Schulz says the Kansas State Fair has been working with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure every fairgoer is safe and enjoys their time in Hutchinson.
"Again, no intel, but it's all about safety," Schulz said. "We have so many people buzzing up and down this road here that we want to make sure everyone is safe."
There will also be other concrete barriers placed around the outside of the grounds.
"We're also putting some concrete barriers out in front of the Gate 1 ticket booth," Schulz said. "We're all trying to be as safety conscious as possible."
The Kansas State Fair is Sept. 6-15 in Hutchinson. For more information on the fair, click here.