Huge traffic tie-ups for Indy 500, crowd estimated at more than 300,000 people

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) — It was all hands on deck in the town of Speedway on Sunday for the Indianapolis 500.

At the end of race, a mass exodus from the track — a crowd estimated at more than 300,000 people. The result — what some longtime race fans called the worst post-race traffic in years.

Traffic on all major thoroughfares in Speedway was reversed.

“The goal is to move as much traffic as possible away from the speedway when it’s over, and that takes a lot of effort. There’s a lot of pedestrians that we also have to deal with in those moments that we’ll take safety being the number one priority,” Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine, said.

“We were able to make sure that our officers were still out on the roads taking calls for service, and also the city wasn’t lacking in that area stating that all the officers were there on the track,” IMPD Officer William Young, said.

According to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Douglas Boles, more than 1,100 police officers including Indiana State Police, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Speedway Police Department patrolled the area.

The Speedway Police Department says right now they don’t know how many tickets were issued, but there will be meetings before next year’s race to determine what changes need to be made, if any at all.

Police closed Georgetown Road until about one hour after the race, as well as 16th Street between Olin Avenue and the roundabout from around noon until the end of race.