WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The annual Palm Beaches Marathon is back and bigger than ever!
The U.S. Polo ASSN. Palm Beaches Marathon will cause significant road closures throughout West Palm Beach this weekend, with some streets shutting down for nearly four days.
John Mathews, Palm Beaches Marathon chief revenue officer, expects this year's event to draw the largest crowd yet and with it comes more traffic than normal, especially with the road closures.
"The public needs to know that the roads are going to be closed and to be patient with traffic on Sunday morning. There are ways to get around town, but you can expect some traffic on Sunday morning for sure."
The closures begin Friday, December 13, at 10 a.m., when Flagler Drive will close between Banyan Boulevard and Lakeview Avenue. This section won't reopen until Monday at 7 a.m.
Additional closures take effect Saturday at 6 a.m. South Flagler Drive will close between Lakeview Boulevard and Southern Boulevard, while Washington Road will be closed between Avila Road and Southern Boulevard. Rolling openings will start at 9:15 a.m.
Sunday, the day of the marathon, north and south Flagler Drive will close from 59th Street to Southern Boulevard from 4:30 a.m. to noon. Washington Road will be closed from Avila Road to Southern Boulevard, and Greenwood Road to Roosevelt Place between Flagler Drive and Vincent Road with rolling openings beginning at noon.
To help mitigate some of the traffic and parking concerns, a shuttle will be implemented this year for the racers.
"We have a new shuttle this year with the growth. We've added a shuttle from the convention center to the race site starting very early, 4:20 in the morning. So as many runners can utilize that— that's obviously going to help."
All roadways will reopen by Monday morning.
Road closure schedule:
Friday-Monday closures:
- Flagler Drive between Banyan Boulevard and Lakeview Avenue
Saturday:
- South Flagler Drive between Lakeview Boulevard and Southern Boulevard
Saturday/Sunday:
- Washington Road from Avila Road and Southern Boulevard (rolling openings)
Sunday:
- North and south Flagler Drive from 59th Street to Southern Boulevard
- Greenwood Road and Roosevelt Place between Flagler Drive and Vincent Road
