Las Vegas Grand Prix traffic: What motorists can expect during race week

With Las Vegas Grand Prix race week upon us, road impacts associated with the Formula One race will ramp up this week as final preparations are made and the drivers take to the track later in the week.

Crews will be in overdrive as they ramp up for race weekend, taking place Thursday-Saturday, with race action taking place at night, including the Las Vegas Grand Prix kicking off at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Throughout the week, the 3.8-mile street circuit made up of mainly public roads, including Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane and Harmon and Sands avenues, will be under one of three designations, with different travel impacts associated with each.

There’s warm track, when the circuit is mostly open to the public, but with added barriers and traffic restrictions in place to allow for a quick transition to when the track needs to be closed.

Then there’s the transition period during which crews ready the course to be shut down.

Lastly, there’s hot track, the time when the track is locked down and only open to F1, when practice, qualifying and racing are occurring.

Daily schedule

Here’s what motorists can expect this week leading up to, during and after the grand prix has occurred.

Monday: The circuit will be in warm track for the entire day Monday.

Tuesday: The circuit will be in warm track for the entire day Tuesday.

Wednesday: The track will be in transition between midnight and 2 a.m. Then between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. the course will be in hot track, so it will be closed for F1 use only. The circuit returns to warm track between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Between 10 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. the track will shift to transition period.

Thursday: Between midnight and 5 a.m. the circuit will be in hot track. Then the course will be in warm track between 5 a.m. and 3 p.m., where it will shift to being in transition period from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. The track will be in hot rack again starting at 5 p.m. through 11:59 p.m., as the first night of practice takes place.

Friday: The circuit will be in hot track between midnight and 2 a.m., where it will then shift to warm track until 3 p.m. At that point the track will move into a transition period from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. The circuit will again be in hot track from 5 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. as the second day of practice and qualifying occurs.

Saturday: The circuit will be in hot track from midnight-2 a.m. and qualifying wraps up. The course then moves back to warm track from 2 a.m. until 3 p.m. Then, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., the course will be in transition period. At 5 p.m. the circuit will again move back to hot track, until 11:59 p.m. as the Las Vegas Grand Prix occurs.

Sunday: The circuit will be in hot track between midnight and 2 a.m. as the grand prix concludes. The course then moves into warm track for the rest of the day as the race weekend ends.

Post race work

Crews will begin to tear down the circuit following the race, with that process scheduled to occur through Dec. 24. The work begins with barrier removal on the Strip, which will see two lanes.

The most impactful work during teardown will be when the temporary Flamingo Road bridge over Koval is dismantled.

That work will lead to the closure of the intersection between Dec. 15 and Dec. 21. Access into businesses near that intersection will remain as the weeklong operation takes place.

Tropicana/I-15 configuration

Work on the yearslong Tropicana Avenue-Interstate 15 will continue during grand prix week.

On I-15, four lanes will be open in each direction during race day, with two lanes open in each direction on the Tropicana bridge, over the interstate. The I-15 northbound off-ramp to Tropicana and the Tropicana on-ramp to I-15 southbound will remain closed.

Frank Sinatra Drive will be open to traffic on the vital north-south road behind the Strip, with Dean Martin remaining at one lane in each direction across I-15 from Frank Sinatra.

Work on the $305 million project will continue into the new year, with substantial completion slated for summer 2025.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.