Fairgoers prepare for another busy weekend near the NC State fairgrounds, Lenovo Center

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Trinity Road in West Raleigh Thursday looked more like I-40 during rush hour. It wasn't the only street clogged for another night of the North Carolina State Fair.

"It was a total mess over here," said Murphy Moss of Raleigh.

He was at the fair last Saturday when the traffic combined with the Sabrina Carpenter show made for a mess in and around the area.

"I was walking and Ubering everywhere but we got stopped way down the road," Moss said. "Once we got stopped, we got out and walked the rest of the way."

We saw the mess too. It took us 45 minutes to get anywhere near the fairgrounds from Downtown Raleigh. On Thursday, it was much improved but there was no concert.

"All the entities are going to have to pull together for all of us to be successful," said Steve Troxler, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture. "After this fair is over, we will sit down, hammer out those agreements and hopefully we don't have any major things happen during the fair."

Troxler said they have an agreement with NC State to not play football during the week of the fair.

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"The Hurricanes aren't playing hockey games so we have one more partner," he said.

The other part are the concerts--two more of which are happening this weekend.

"Each year we work to find the right balance managing congestion while also allowing people in our community to enjoy the events they love at both the Lenovo Center and the fairgrounds," said Mike Sundheim, vice president of communications for the Carolina Hurricanes.

He noted that they are always looking for ways to improve traffic during the fair.

The NCDOT said construction wasn't an issue in 2024--it just gets busy when you have all of the events going on.

ABC11 reached out to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for comment to see if they're handling traffic differently over the weekend.