Traffic Restrictions Posted For 2024 Manchester Road Race
MANCHESTER, CT — The Manchester Road Race Committee Thursday announced parking restrictions, street closures, traffic disruptions and areas of central Manchester that will be inaccessible to public travel on Thanksgiving morning when the iconic race takes place.
The race is expected to attract more than 11,000 runners and as many as 30,000 spectators to the downtown Manchester area on Thanksgiving morning. As of early Thursday morning, 9,589 runners have signed up for this year's race.
The race, will start at 10 a.m. It will be run for the 88th time on a 4.737-mile loop course over central Manchester streets that starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. The street closures and parking restrictions will occur before the race begins and continue until after it ends.
Manchester Road Race Committee President Dr. Tris Carta said traffic patterns are set in conjunction with the Manchester Police Department, Connecticut State Police and local officials.
"The safety of our runners, spectators and the general public is our primary concern," Carta said.
The Manchester Police Department has announced that no on-street parking will be allowed on East Center Street from Lenox Street to Center Street during the overnight period from 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27, through 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
No parking will be permitted on Main Street from Center Street to Hartford Road during the same period.
If necessary, vehicles will be towed, race officials said.
In the Downtown area, Main Street will be closed to all traffic between Bissell Street and Maple Street at 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning to allow crews to erect fencing and ropes along the course. The Main Street closures will be extended from East Center Street to Charter Oak Street starting at 5:30 a.m.
All local roads intersecting the course will be closed at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Vehicular traffic will not be permitted to enter or leave the interior of the road race course from 9 a.m. until the race has ended (approximately 11:30 a.m.). A map of the MRR course, which indicates the interior streets that will be affected by the closures, can be viewed on "Race Info & Rules" at www.manchesterroadrace.com .
Plans are in place to provide fire, police and emergency medical services during the race to residents who reside in the affected area.
Exit ramps on I-384 that abut the MRR racecourse will be closed from 8:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving. They include westbound Exit 4 (Charter Oak Street); westbound Exit 5 (Highland Street); eastbound Exit 4 (Main Street) and eastbound Exit 5 (Wyllys Street). No parking is permitted along the shoulders of I-384.
Normal traffic should resume at approximately 11:30 a.m.
"We want to alert everyone, especially the residents who live within the interior of the racecourse, about the street closures so they can make their plans for the holiday," Carta said. "If you live in that area and need to travel on Thanksgiving morning, please be sure to leave before the roads close to traffic at 9 a.m."
Carta added that, due to the high volume of traffic expected in Manchester on Thanksgiving morning, the race committee will once again offer free shuttle bus rides to and from the event. The buses will run from the Connecticut State College Manchester (formerly Manchester Community College) parking lot before the race and return there after the event concludes. More information about the free shuttle service, including the schedule of operation, can be obtained on "Shuttle, Parking and Rest Rooms" at www.manchesterroadrace.com .
The Manchester Road Race has been designated a World Athletics Label Road Race by World Athletics, the international governing body of the sport of track and field. It is one of only 298 road races in the world, and 22 in the United States, to receive that designation this year.
