Traffic Control for NASCAR Championship Weekend
Phoenix Raceway relies on AWP Safety for NASCAR Championship Since 2015
Each November, 40,000 race fans arrive at Phoenix Raceway to watch top drivers in NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Trucks series battle for the top titles. The influx of travelers and traffic into one of America’s largest cities require extensive planning and communication to keep everyone safe. AWP Safety has delivered comprehensive safety and traffic control solutions for NASCAR Championship weekend since its inception in 2015.
Challenge
Located in the suburb of Avondale, Arizona, the Phoenix Speedway is mainly accessible via busy Interstate 10. Fans start traveling to the track hours before race time to claim one of about 32,000 parking spots across several lots. Most race traffic approaches the raceway from multiple I-10 exit ramps located along a short stretch of freeway – creating traffic congestion, travel delays and potential safety risks. This extra traffic also challenges 90,000 local residents and businesses, who want to conduct usual activities with as little disruption as possible.
For race organizers, local road safety and efficient traffic flow is crucial for delivering a great fan experience. It’s also important to maintain trust with local residents, law enforcement and government agencies.
Solution
AWP Safety starts with an Event Management Plan that includes five phases: program planning, event operations planning, pre-event implementation, day-of-event activities and post-event activities. Traffic control engineers design plans for all area freeways, intersections and streets to ensure safety, manage speeds and optimize traffic flow.
“Just two ramps on I-10 are responsible for exiting 17,200 vehicles from Phoenix Raceway over a six-hour period,” says Jesus Duarte, operations manager for AWP Safety’s Mountain Division. “Our detailed plans outline other routes to help alleviate that volume so everyone can get home more quickly without incident.”
In another case, AWP Safety’s plan carefully orchestrates traffic flow for seven lanes of traffic that move outbound traffic from the speedway’s parking lots to the main road. This enables 900 cars per lane, per hour, to safely exit the premises. With this planning, all parking lots can be emptied within two to three hours.
AWP Safety works closely with several government agencies throughout race planning and NASCAR Championship Weekend:
- Municipalities of Avondale and Goodyear, Arizona – permitting and managing signalized intersections
- Maricopa Department of Transportation – permitting, intersections and interagency communication
- Arizona Department of Transportation – permitting and messages to provide real-time traffic updates to drivers on all major local freeways
- Department of Public Safety – communications to reroute traffic in the event of an accident
- Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office – sharing information about accidents and other emergencies
Finally, a team of 32 AWP Safety experts use 5,501 pieces of equipment to support this event, from trucks and trailers to cones, barricades and custom signs. Throughout the weekend, an on-site representative joins race organizers in their central command location, ready to address any traffic issue as soon as it arises.
Results
- Safety. Since 2015, AWP Safety’s solutions have prevented even a single major accident from occurring near Phoenix Speedway during NASCAR Championship Weekend.
- Improved Traffic flow. Vehicles on and around I-10 are able to move as efficiently as possible despite the additional traffic volume. Parking access. Vehicles fill up and vacate 32,000 parking spaces within 2-3 hours both before and after the event.
- Reduced safety risks for the community and the customer. Highly-orchestrated traffic control prevents life-threatening accidents, and reduces Phoenix Raceway’s overall liability.
- Efficiency. Event staff can focus on other tasks while AWP Protectors use their safety expertise to manage all traffic control and safety issues.
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