Construction at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin has ramped up with workers working through the night to ensure the circuit meets the FIA inspection deadline.
Whilst the extra night shift will please many fans who plan to attend the grand prix amid concerns it won’t be finished in time, local residents who neighbour the track are less than happy.
A meeting has been planned with county commissioners and track officials for this week, in which residents plan to express concerns over the expected traffic increase during the event, and the late-night construction work which goes on until the early hours of the morning.
Don Haywood, who lives opposite turn 11, described how the circuit is lit up at night by several high-power floodlights.
“There’s about 10 or 12 of these lights. Everything is illuminated on the west side of my house,” he told the Statesman. “They’ll have 20 to 25 trucks just lined up [waiting to enter].”
The added night-shift is critical to ensure the circuit, which is behind schedule, is completed on time for the FIA’s 60-day inspection deadline.
Earlier this month founding partner Bobby Epstein revealed he was ready to provide extra funds to accelerate construction work.
“It’s not so much a matter of whether the circuit will be completed,” he told CultureMap. “It will be completed. It’s really about how much it will cost if we need to accelerate the construction in order to finish.”
