Las Vegas Marathon impacts traffic and bus service in Charleston on Sunday | Road Warrior | News

About 6,000 runners are expected to head to Charleston Boulevard between Red Rock Canyon and downtown Las Vegas on Sunday for the new Las Vegas Marathon.

In order to accommodate the participants in the newly launched marathon, the large east-west road will be closed to traffic for several hours.

On the first racing day of the Las Vegas Marathon, roads will be closed at 4 a.m. Sunday ahead of the race's scheduled 6 a.m. start time. Runners have three options: the full 26.2-mile marathon, the 13.1-mile half marathon and the 7.02-mile run. All three start at 6 a.m

As runners run along Charleston and other streets in downtown Las Vegas, the street will periodically reopen to vehicle traffic. The goal is to reopen Charleston and other affected streets by 12:33 p.m. Sunday.

Reopening schedule

The reopening of the streets will take place gradually. All closures in Charleston apply to eastbound traffic only. Westbound Charleston remains open, but some interchanges along the route are restricted.

– Charleston on Desert Foothills Drive is scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m

– Charleston at Pavilion Center Drive is scheduled to reopen at 8:30 a.m. At this time, Hughes Parkway West and Pavilion Center Drive near Charleston will also reopen to traffic.

— Charleston on Town Center Drive will reopen at 8:45 a.m

– Charleston on Fort Apache Drive will reopen at 9:15 a.m

– Charleston on Buffalo Drive will reopen at 9:40 a.m

— Charleston on Rainbow Drive will reopen at 10 a.m

– Charleston at Decatur reopens at 10:45 a.m

— Charleston on Rancho Drive will reopen at 10:55 a.m

– Northbound Martin Luther King Boulevard between Charleston and Grand Central Parkway will reopen at 11:10 a.m

– Westbound Bonneville Avenue between Grand Central Parkway and Martin Luther King will reopen at 11:15 a.m

– The northbound Grand Central Parkway between Bonneville and Main Street will reopen at 11:30 a.m

– Northbound Main Street between St. Louis Avenue and Ogden Avenue will reopen at 11:55 a.m

– Southbound Las Vegas Boulevard between St. Louis and Bridger will reopen at 12:15 p.m

– Bridger Avenue in both directions between 4th Street and Maryland Parkway will reopen at 12:33 p.m

– Ogden Avenue in both directions between Casino Center Boulevard and 4th Street will reopen at 1 p.m

Important access to stay

Joe Jurisic, racing director for Brooksee, a Salt Lake City-based urban race production company, said all businesses and residents will continue to have access to their properties along the route.

“UMC remains open from these westbound lanes,” Jurisic said Friday. “The way we built the course, whether it's a residential building, a business or an apartment complex, everyone still has access whether you're on the north side of Charleston or the south side of Charleston. The way the traffic control pattern is set up is that we have alternate lanes in place. We have put the diversions in place to ensure everyone can still mobilize if necessary.”

Impact on bus routes

On Sunday, there will be disruptions for those riding the Regional Transportation Commission bus along the route between 3 a.m. and 1 p.m., the agency announced last week.

The following routes near the marathon route are affected: 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 113, 119, 120, 121, 206, 207, 208, 214, 215-west, 401, Boulder Highway Express, Centennial Express, Downtown/Veteran Medical Center Express, Deuce on the Strip and the Sahara Express. Drivers can find detailed information on race day at rtcsnv.com/detours.

“Developing this event was a lengthy process. January marks the third anniversary of our launch and RTC has been involved in the discussions from the beginning,” said Jurisic. “Obviously last year when we found this path, the conversation was a more serious part. We wanted to make sure that transit remains active, but also that people are informed and can plan accordingly so they can still get where they need to go.”

Teams have been setting up barriers for the race along Charleston over the past week and will continue the race downtown through the weekend.

Scenic course

Organizers wanted the race to encompass such a variety of landmarks and areas from Red Rock Canyon to downtown Summerlin to downtown Las Vegas to showcase what the city has to offer. In addition, the route is all downhill, making the race a fast-paced race.

“The goal was to highlight the different touchpoints of our city,” Jurisic said. “I realize a lot of the attention is just on the Strip or even the downtown corridor, but some people don't know about the Red Rock and Downtown Summerlin scenic loop and the ability to walk through Symphony Park and the Arts District . These are all things we wanted to highlight as landmarks of our city that may not be recognized by tourists who may not be as familiar with the area.”

Contact Mick Akers at [email protected] or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to [email protected].