Formula 1 preparations are changing how visitors experience the Las Vegas Strip, with construction in front of the Bellagio limiting access to a familiar fountain-viewing spot. The temporary structures are part of a larger race buildout, and visitors have reacted to the disruption in different ways.
The work is part of the 3.8-mile Formula 1 circuit buildout, which crews are preparing less than a month ahead of the Grand Prix, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Michaela Tirey, visiting from Texas with Grayson Tirey, told FOX5 Vegas that losing access to her usual fountain-viewing spot was “a little disappointing.”
Tirey told the station she had expected some race-related disruption but not a full closure of the area. Her experience illustrates how construction is affecting access and sightlines around the Strip, even as some visitors say the activity has not spoiled their trips.
Visitors take different views of the construction
Seamus Keane, visiting from Ireland, told FOX5 Vegas that the scaffolding and barriers suited the city’s energetic character and blended into its atmosphere.
Lucky Kioussis, visiting from Canada, said the work was obscuring views along the Strip’s central corridor. He told FOX5 Vegas he was still enjoying his visit, though he felt there was more he wanted to see.
Street Closures Stretch Into Late December
The disruption extends well beyond the fountains. The two southbound lanes of Las Vegas Boulevard closest to Bellagio, along with the sidewalk in front of the resort, are shut down around the clock and are expected to stay that way through late December, the Review-Journal reported. Several pedestrian bridges are also facing overnight closures this week, with the Venetian pedestrian bridge and the Planet Hollywood-to-Cosmopolitan bridge over the Strip closing between midnight and 9 a.m. from Thursday through Monday.
All of it is in service of the Grand Prix weekend scheduled for Nov. 19-21, when the temporary circuit will carry Formula 1 cars through the heart of the Strip. For now, the construction crews still have roughly two and a half weeks to finish transforming public roadways into race-ready infrastructure.
What Past Teardowns Suggest About Timing
A previous teardown offers a rough comparison, though it does not establish this year’s schedule. A separate Review-Journal report said removal of the earlier race infrastructure took about a month after the event. It also reported that MGM Resorts International said the Bellagio Fountain Club came down ahead of schedule, allowing the two southbound Las Vegas Boulevard lanes and the sidewalk to reopen.
What prior closure records show
The dated records available here concern the 2025 Grand Prix teardown. In a Nov. 26, 2025, report, 8 News Now (KLAS) said the Bellagio sidewalk was scheduled to remain closed to pedestrians until Dec. 30. Clark County’s information for the 2025 Grand Prix said track setup would begin in early September and dismantling was expected to finish by Dec. 24. These are scheduled dates, not records confirming the actual reopening of the sidewalk or Las Vegas Boulevard lanes. A separate precedent concerns access during race preparations: News 3 (KSNV) reported that the Bellagio sidewalk would close for the 2024 Grand Prix while the fountains continued to operate normally. That earlier schedule does not establish this year’s fountain operations or reopening dates.
In that teardown, crews also removed a temporary bridge on Flamingo Road by 6 a.m. on a Saturday, reopening the Flamingo and Koval Lane intersection after nearly a week of closure. This year’s reopening dates have not been detailed, so the prior teardown is only a general indication that major Strip closures can outlast race weekend.
