Fort Worth

Race Weekend Brings Heavy Traffic, Change of Weekend Plans for Many

Expect heavy traffic anywhere near Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, as 150,000 fans flood the area for race weekend.

"The traffic is a nightmare," said Becca Clarke, who lives nearby in North Fort Worth. "You kind of have to pick and choose what hours of day you leave your own house in order to get in and out in a good amount of time."

With traffic already picking up on Thursday, people for miles around raced to finish errands before it gets only worse.

"It is the day to do the weekend errands, the day before the weekend starts," said Clarke, who went grocery shopping at the Walmart in Roanoke. "We're just stocking up so we don't have to come over the weekend."

"It's going to be a traffic nightmare," said Fort Worth Police Officer Tamara Valle.

"People are here to enjoy the races and they don't mind it, they're cool with the traffic nightmare," said Valle. "But those of us who live here and have to run errands and do normal everyday business do not like the thought of a traffic nightmare, and that's exactly what it can be if you're stuck in it."

"If you don't have to come through here this weekend, don't do it," Valle added.

Roanoke police offer the same advice on their website.

"What we tell our residents and anyone who lives around the Roanoke area is if you don't have to head (State Highway) 114 West, or travel near the speedway, avoid it through the weekend," said Detective Sandy Pettigrew, with the Roanoke Police Department. "They can be diverted north or somewhere that they didn't want to go."

Road construction that could tie up traffic leading to Texas Motor Speedway will come to a crawl, without many lane closures this weekend.

"We either try to get all our stuff done and stay in the house all weekend or get out of town," said Aaron McCuan, of Justin. "We've actually got a party, unfortunately, that had to be planned for this weekend, so I'm trying to get some of that stuff done today so I don't have to do it tomorrow."

Electronic signs along highways will help drivers navigate the race weekend traffic.

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