LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The 2024 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix is now 100 days away, which means construction for the race is just around the corner.
I've been following the F1 traffic saga since last year and listening to the concerns from local resort employees.
With the race returning, Formula 1 says there are several changes to how construction will look this year compared to last year.
One of the biggest changes will be to the path of construction, which will start with lighting installation at the corner of Harmon Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. After that, work will move clockwise in separate segments around the track in an effort to make construction more predictable and tolerable, grand prix officials tell me.
Gary Brown, a local living near the Strip, was on his way to work at the Gold Spike when I asked him about F1 construction. He told me navigating last year’s race was awful for him.
“Frustrating, time consuming, and I had to plan hours accordingly to get to work,” Brown said.
I showed him a chart F1 officials released at the Clark County Commission meeting last week. The document is based off of a 2,000-page traffic report F1 turned in to the county on May 1. Brown told me he thinks this plan will help with traffic control.
"To do one section at a time, that sounds great. That sounds like a better idea," Brown said.
The schedule — which Terry Miller of Miller and Ham Project Development cautioned is just a working schedule — details the work being done across the track path starting Sept. 2. It outlines which days to expect construction on each street including Sands and Harmon avenues, Koval Lane and Las Vegas Boulevard.
While changes could still be made to the plan, Brown told me he hopes F1 sticks with it so he can hopefully avoid leaving four hours early for work like he says he did last year.
“I’m an F1 fan and I’m glad they’re here, but still, they’re taking up our time, I guess you can say," Brown said.
Clark County says the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and the Culinary Union are giving out surveys to Strip workers to determine the best way to avoid traffic backups and get workers to their jobs on the Resort Corridor during the 2024 grand prix.
