Park for free, arrive by bus to avoid State Fair traffic hassles

Fair visitors can park for free at Carter-Finley Stadium or PNC Arena, or they can skip the hassle and ride the bus right to Gate 1.

Posted 3:59 p.m. Oct 14, 2016 — Updated 4:51 p.m. Oct 16, 2016

RALEIGH, N.C. — The opening Friday of the North Carolina State Fair means the annual expected heavy traffic for residents of west Raleigh and those who commute near the State Fairgrounds.

Drivers not headed to the fair are asked to avoid Wade Avenue and Edwards Mill Road through Oct. 23.

Fair visitors can park for free at Carter-Finley Stadium or PNC Arena. Both North Carolina State University and the Carolina Hurricanes are on the road through the run of the fair, so there is no conflict with gameday traffic.

Other lots around the fairgrounds, including on private property, vary in price.

Fairgoers can skip the hassle and ride the bus right to Gate 1. Go Raleigh is offering service to the fairgrounds from Cary Towne Center and Triangle Town Center daily between 8:30 a.m. and midnight and along Raleigh's Hillsborough Street daily from 8 a.m. to midnight. There is free parking in downtown Raleigh in the state government lots bounded by Edenton, Wilmington, Jones and Blount streets.

Buses from Durham run from Durham Heritage Square Shopping Center, at 401 E. Lakewood Ave., and from the downtown Durham bus station.