Skip to main content

Cleanup from Freedom 250 Grand Prix will keep major streets closed for a while

The Freedom 250 race is over, but those who drive D.C.’s streets in regular vehicles aren’t out of the woods yet. Crews are taking apart the racecourse but there’s a lot of work to do, meaning road closures will persist.

Workers could be seen Monday taking apart huge sections of fencing and stacking them to be picked up later.

Large concrete barriers that require machinery to be moved, the grandstands along the course, portable toilets and large metal pedestrian bridges all must be taken away before roads can reopen.

D.C. police released the following information about the cleanup timeline.

The following streets remain completely closed to public vehicle traffic through Sept. 3:

  • Constitution Avenue, NW — fully closed between 3rd and 7th streets
  • Pennsylvania Avenue, NW — fully closed between 3rd and 7th streets
  • Madison Drive, NW — fully closed between 3rd and 7th streets
  • Jefferson Drive, SW — fully closed between 3rd and 7th streets
  • 4th Street, NW/SW — fully closed between Pennsylvania Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW

Authorized museum employees and local delivery trucks are permitted access at designated checkpoints.

Partial closures and parking restrictions

The following segments have active lane reductions or emergency no-parking zones during teardown operations:

  • 3rd Street, NW/SW — restricted between Constitution Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW through Sept. 15
  • 7th Street, NW/SW — restricted between Pennsylvania Avenue, NW and Independence Avenue, SW through Sept. 15
  • C Street NW — parking and lane restrictions between 3rd and 6th streets through Sept. 3
  • 6th Street NW — parking and lane restrictions between Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues through Sept. 3

Alternative commuter routes

To bypass the National Mall gridlock, drivers should use these major open corridors:

  • East-west traffic: Use Independence Avenue, SW, E Street, NW or the I-395/I-695 tunnels
  • North-south traffic: Use 9th Street, NW (northbound reopened Monday), 14th Street, NW or tunnel traffic via I-395

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
Read Next Story