Roads closing for Detroit Grand Prix
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Just a month after the NFL Draft closed many roads in downtown Detroit, prepare for more of the same as INDYCAR returns to the Motor City.
For the second straight year, downtown Detroit will be transformed into a 1.645-mile street circuit and cars will fly down Jefferson, hitting speeds up to 200 MPH.
But that means road closings in Downtown Detroit.
Detroit Grand Prix expected to be another boon for local businesses
They start on Tuesday, May 28 with these closings that will be in place until June 5:
- Atwater from Riopelle to Hart Plaza
- Bates from Jefferson to Atwater
- EB Jefferson from M-10 to Rivard
- WB Jefferson from Rivard to Washington Blvd.
- Woodward from State to Jefferson
- Cadillac Square west of Bates
- Campus Martius
Then on Wednesday, May 29, more are coming but these will reopen on June 3:
- Renaissance Drive West
- Franklin between Rivard and St. Antoine
- Rivard between Jefferson and Atwater
- Antoine between Jefferson and Atwater
The Detroit-Windsor tunnel will remain fully open.
"The biggest impact for people using the tunnel behind me and everyone that’s going to it will have to use I-375. The tunnel is completely open. It’s not shut down for any part of the event. You can have on one part of Jefferson Avenue — the tunnel traffic. On the other part cars whizzing by at 100, 150, 200 miles an hour," Detroit's Chief of Infrastructure, Sam Kassenstein, said.
The Detroit Grand Prix is the hottest event since last month's NFL Draft and the city started building the track shortly after the league left town.
The closings aren't quite as drastic as the draft but the city is still encouraging people to use alternative routes – like the QLine, People Move, and DDOT Buses.
Learn more about those options here and, if you head downtown, enjoy the trip!
"It’s great! I’m honored to be apart of it. So many people work behind the scenes to put these events together and getting all the planning in. So, it’s cool to be a part of," Kassenstein said. "Every time we have an event here, people visit or they see Detroit on TV, they say, ‘wow, Detroit is looking really good. I’ve got to make plans to go there.’"