Next month, IndyCar will hold a grand prix race in Washington, D.C., but before those very fast cars take to the streets, crews must make sure the roads are in good shape.
Racecars will go 180 mph down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
Road crews make sure the avenue is smooth. Workers put down fresh asphalt to make sure everything is even.
This weekend, the racecourse will be outlined.
“We’ll start putting the walls and fence up July 26, but here’s the thing, our work on the roads putting walls and fence up will be between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.,” assured Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation, a sponsor of the event. “We’re not out here in the middle of the roads when people are out here congregating and driving on them to get in their way.”
The course for Aug. 22 and 23 will take cars down Pennsylvania Avenue, over to Constitution Avenue, across the National Mall at 7th Street, down Independence Avenue and back to 3rd Street in front of the U.S. Capitol.
Sponsors IndyCar and Penske Entertainment said they are absorbing a lot of the cost of the ongoing roadwork and design modifications. An exact price tag hasn’t been released.
Tickets for the event were handled with a lottery, which since closed.
