Share
Getting home from Charlotte Motor Speedway after the Coca-Cola 600 requires patience, some planning, and a sober driver, authorities say.
The crowd of about 150,000 fans at the speedway will be filing out sometime after 11 p.m., at the end of the 600-mile race.
They'll discover that the N.C. Highway Patrol and the N.C. Department of Transportation have made a series of road changes to help get race fans back home as soon as possible.
"When you have that many people leaving the track after an event, it takes a little time to clear out the parking lots," said Capt. Doug Hayes, of the N.C. Highway Patrol. "We remind motorists to be careful in the darkness, because there will be a number of pedestrians near the speedway, and our officers will be directing traffic."
The speedway's Jonathan Coleman added, "We've worked hard to improve traffic coming into and leaving the track. But going home takes a bit of time."
The DOT and Highway Patrol have set up "counterflow" traffic after the race, turning lanes in opposite directions to increase the traffic flow away from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Here are the post-race changes:
U.S. 29 South -- Some northbound lanes will become southbound from the speedway to I-485.
U.S. 29 North -- Some southbound lanes will become northbound from the speedway to Poplar Tent Road.
Bruton Smith Boulevard -- Some lanes which normally move toward the track will instead move away from the track, from U.S. 29 to I-85.
Morehead Road -- One lane that normally comes from Harrisburg to the track will move the other direction instead, from Gate P to N.C. 49.
Mallard Creek Road -- One lane that normally goes toward the track will go in the opposite direction from U.S. 29 to Salome Church Road.
I-85 at Bruton Smith Boulevard -- Motorists will have limited access to Bruton Smith Boulevard from I-85, from about 11 p.m. until about 1 a.m. Monday.
