D.C. Freedom 250 Triggers 3-Hour Flight Pause and Weeks of Road Closures
Updated
Updated · WTOP · Aug 17
D.C. Freedom 250 Triggers 3-Hour Flight Pause and Weeks of Road Closures
3 articles · Updated · WTOP · Aug 17
Summary
Reagan National will pause all flights from 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Sunday as D.C. stages the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, with the 1:10 p.m. main race set to run through downtown streets.
A 1.7-mile course around Pennsylvania, Constitution and Independence avenues will carry IndyCars at nearly 200 mph for 147 laps, turning roads near the Capitol and National Mall into a 250-mile racetrack.
Road and parking restrictions extend well beyond the track and will last for weeks, prompting officials to urge fans to use Metro; bus detours and water-taxi access from The Wharf are also planned.
Much of the National Mall from 12th Street to 3rd Street will be blocked off, and several Smithsonian museums will limit access to race ticketholders on Saturday and Sunday.
Crews have spent weeks preparing the route, including welding down more than 200 maintenance-hole covers because the roughly 1,700-pound cars could dislodge them at speed.