Grand Prix traffic plan on track for August release; race infrastructure work to follow
Southern Nevada motorists should learn next month about the traffic plan for this year’s Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Race officials submitted the plan to Clark County on May 1, but with the document being “a couple thousand” pages long, the review process remains ongoing, Clark County spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper said.
The Clark County Department of Public Works indicated that the review should wrap up next month and that’s when it will be made publicly available.
The traffic plan will be made available before any work tied to the race begins, Cooper said in an email.
“Work for the 2024 track is not slated to begin until September so department review precedes this activity,” she said.
The traffic plan this year is an all-encompassing document laying out the entire work schedule tied to the race’s setup and teardown, instead of being released piece by piece, as was the case last year.
This year’s race will take place on the same 3.8-mile track, mainly on public roads, including Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane and Harmon and Sands avenues.
Streamlining the process
Grand Prix officials have previously stated that the infrastructure work tied to this year’s race will take about three months, including the setup for the race and then the teardown following the event. That would be a drastic reduction compared with the nine months of work that occurred last year for the inaugural race. The additional time needed last year was mainly tied to paving operations, which aren’t needed for the 2024 race.
Aside from a shorter work period, race officials also announced early this year that the size of the controversial temporary Flamingo Road bridge over Koval Lane would be half the size of last year’s race.
Last year the bridge, which allows necessary traffic to travel between to and from the resort corridor when racing is occurring, was two lanes in each direction. Plans this year call for just one lane in each direction, which will take up the eastbound lanes of Flamingo Road.
When the condensed bridge plan was announced in June, Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm said it would not only disrupt traffic less while in place, it would also lead to shorter build and take-down time because the structure will be smaller.
The change comes following businesses near the bridge claiming to be out tens of millions of dollars because of the bridge hurting access to their establishments last year. The group of six businesses in May launched a petition aimed at trying to halt the 2024 race, which has gathered just over 3,000 signatures as of Tuesday. According to a Change.org petition’s website, 65 percent of those who signed the petition are from the Las Vegas Valley.
After the announcement of the reduced bridge plan, a representative of the business owners said the structure would still negatively affect her clients.
Locals will be kept up to date on the latest traffic impacts tied to race infrastructure work via a text alert line that launched for last year’s race. Details on the text line will be released in coming months.
“The county will work again in partnership with the LVGP to ensure the public is made aware of impacts to the roadways with ample time to adjust routes to and from the resort corridor,” Cooper said.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.