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Washington Streets Are Being Readied for the Freedom 250 IndyCar Street Race

Organizers are installing overnight safety barriers and repaving sections of a 1.7-mile circuit that will run around the National Mall while key permit, funding and security details remain undisclosed.

Overview

  • Crews have begun resurfacing pavement and leveling utility covers along the planned 1.7-mile, seven-turn route that will loop the National Mall and run down Pennsylvania Avenue.
  • Organizers say concrete barriers and catch fencing will be installed during overnight work windows from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. to convert public streets into a race circuit.
  • Event sponsors IndyCar and Penske Entertainment say they are covering a large share of road and course costs, but officials have not released a total price or full accounting of public versus private funding.
  • General admission is free and tickets were allocated by a now-closed lottery with organizers saying over 250,000 people signed up and capacity set at about 100,000 spectators per day.
  • The race, promoted at the White House as part of 250th-anniversary celebrations, requires complex federal and local permits and security plans that organizers have not fully disclosed, raising questions about road closures and crowd control as work accelerates.