Detroit Grand Prix wrapping up construction, with Jefferson Avenue under complete closure
If you take Jefferson Avenue downtown to work every morning, you might have to find a new route for the next week.
The Detroit Grand Prix is finishing up construction for the annual race weekend — from Friday, May 30-Sunday, June 1 — in downtown Detroit. The Grand Prix will use the same course as last year's race, highlighted by a 0.7 mile straightaway on Jefferson between Rivard and Griswold streets.
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Construction crews for the Grand Prix have been working night shifts this week to prepare the race course, with Jefferson undergoing a full closure starting on Monday, May 26 and lasting through the race the following Sunday.
As for the race weekend itself, Woodward Avenue will be closed from Gratiot (a block north of Campus Martius) to Jefferson, with additional closures at Cadillac Square between Woodward and Bates.
Here is a map detailing the downtown closures:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/viewer?mid=1lcdrk0wf76a2IiNsY25XYdxhlD0iMcw≪=42.330137079175046%2C-83.03865150000001&z=15
According to the Detroit Department of Transportation, bus services on Jefferson will remain closed through Monday, June 9, as construction crews tear down the fences and walls lining the avenue.
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More: One fan's idea for a memorial to a shifty visitor — Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna
At a pre-race event on May 6, Detroit Grand Prix chair Bud Denker said that construction around the event has gotten more efficient in the three years since the race has moved from Belle Isle to the streets of downtown.
"Now that we're in the third year, it's pretty honed in terms of what we do," said Denker. "You learn every year something else you want to add differently. And the key piece this year, we bought over $2 million of new fence and new walls. And that investment will allow us to be more efficient in construction."
More: How to buy tickets for the Detroit Grand Prix
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After being held on Belle Isle from 2012-22 (with a cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the coronavirus pandemic), the Grand Prix returned downtown for 2023.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Grand Prix road closures: Jefferson Avenue shut down
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