Crews began work this morning to remove barricades, grandstands and bridges following the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend.

All streets that comprise the nearly 2-mile circuit have reopened to vehicle traffic, according to a tweet from Long Beach Special Events and Filming. The department urges drivers to move cautiously through the area as crews continue the removal process.

Under the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach’s agreement with the city, the organization has 20 days to fully remove the temporary infrastructure.

The Grand Prix grandstands in front of Hooters on Shoreline Drive are torn down Monday, April 11, 2022. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

Along with reopening the streets quickly, the removal of the grandstands that line the parking lots of restaurants along Shoreline Drive, including Hooters, Chili’s, Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang’s and Gladstone’s, is a top priority.

“That’s one of the commitments we have made over the years,” Michaelian said.

About 2,400 concrete blocks with guard fences lined the track in Downtown over race weekend, and a total of six temporary bridges spanned Aquarium Way, Pine Avenue, Shoreline Drive and a section of the track that runs through the Elephant Lot also are being removed.

“It was a very successful weekend for us,” Michaelian said. “We could well exceed where we were back in 2019, which is a high watermark for us.”

A crew member looks on as a section of barricade is hoisted onto a truck by a large crane on Aquarium Way in Downtown Monday, April 11, 2022. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to note streets have fully reopened.

Brandon Richardson is a reporter and photojournalist for the Long Beach Post and Long Beach Business Journal.