Flamingo and Koval Closure Detour Guide: How to Get Around Oct. 11 to 16, Plus the RTC Bus Detours and Overnight Strip Lane Cuts

by Ryan Rose

What Happened: The Closure and Everything Around It

8 News Now reporter Linsey Lewis laid out the October schedule on Sept. 25, and FOX5 Vegas confirmed the overnight pieces on Oct. 4. Here is the full picture for the next few weeks, in the order it hits.

Audrie Street, north of Harmon Avenue: Fully closed overnight, 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., Oct. 4 to 9.
Las Vegas Boulevard, Sands Avenue to Harmon Avenue: Overnight lane reductions from midnight to 9 a.m., Monday through Friday, Oct. 5 to 30. One lane stays open in each direction. Various left-turn lanes are affected.
Sands Avenue, Las Vegas Boulevard to Manhattan Street: Overnight lane reductions, 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday through Friday, through Oct. 16. One lane stays open each way. One eastbound lane from Las Vegas Boulevard to the Palazzo garage and one westbound lane from Manhattan Street to the Palazzo garage are closed at all hours. One northbound left-turn lane at Sands and Koval is closed at all hours.
Flamingo Road and Koval Lane: Full closure, 24 hours a day, from 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, for the Flamingo Vehicular Bridge. Sidewalks are partly closed for the Flamingo Pedestrian Bridge. All businesses stay open and reachable.
Las Vegas Boulevard, Flamingo Road to Bellagio Drive: Two southbound lanes closed through Nov. 9 for the Bellagio Fountain Club. The Bellagio entrance and exit stay open. The sidewalk there is closed until Nov. 9.

The Flamingo and Koval closure is the big one. Most race prep so far has been overnight lane cuts that leave at least one lane open. This is five straight days and nights with no way through the intersection at all.

The race itself is also here to stay. 8 News Now reported that a recent contract extension keeps the Grand Prix in Las Vegas through 2037. That means some version of this week will likely be on the calendar every fall for years.

Road Closed and Detour signs with orange barrels at the Flamingo Road and Koval Lane intersection during an earlier F1 bridge closure in Las Vegas

The RTC Bus Detours, Route by Route

If you ride the bus, this is the part to save. RTC says Routes 119 and 202 will run on detour starting Oct. 11, and 18 stops will close during the bridge work.

Route 202 (Flamingo), eastbound: After I-15, the bus leaves Flamingo Road and runs via Las Vegas Boulevard, Tropicana Avenue, University Center Drive, Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road, then returns to its normal route at Flamingo Road.

Route 202 (Flamingo), westbound: After Palos Verdes Street, the bus leaves Flamingo Road and runs via Paradise Road, Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, then returns to its normal route at Flamingo Road.

Route 119 (Simmons/Koval), northbound: After Tompkins Avenue, the bus leaves Koval Lane and runs via Harmon Avenue, Paradise Road and Sands Avenue, then returns to its route after crossing Koval Lane.

Route 119 (Simmons/Koval), southbound: The bus runs east on Sands Avenue across Koval Lane, then via Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue, returning to its route at Koval Lane.

RTC lists these Route 119 stops on Koval as closed during the detour:

Northbound: Stop 1250 (Koval after Harmon Avenue), Stop 1253 (Koval after Rochelle Avenue), Stop 1248 (Koval after Flamingo Road) and Stop 1259 (Koval after Westchester Drive).
Southbound: Stop 1254 (Koval after Sands Avenue), Stop 1260 (Koval after Krueger Street), Stop 1261 (Koval after Winnick Avenue) and Stop 1249 (Koval after Flamingo Road).

Two Sands Avenue stops are also affected from Oct. 4 to 16, according to 8 News Now. Westbound Stop 2505 is closed 24/7. Eastbound Stop 2504 is closed nightly, Sunday through Thursday, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Deuce on the Strip: Southbound Deuce stops on Las Vegas Boulevard close nightly, Monday through Friday, from midnight to 9 a.m., Oct. 5 to 30. That lines up with the overnight lane cuts on the boulevard.

Because the Route 202 detours swing down to Tropicana Avenue, expect longer rides. The eastbound loop alone adds several turns through the University District. Give yourself extra time, especially if you have a connection to make.

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Flamingo Road is one of the main east and west roads in the valley. It ties the Strip to the UNLV area, the neighborhoods off Maryland Parkway and Eastern Avenue, and the east side. Koval Lane is the back way a lot of resort workers use to skip Las Vegas Boulevard. Close the corner where they meet, and traffic spills onto every street nearby: Harmon, Tropicana, Paradise, Sands and Spring Mountain.

Bus riders feel it the most. A driver can pick a different road. A rider cannot pick a different bus. Route 202 runs 24 hours a day, according to RTC's route schedule, so the detour hits people at every hour, including graveyard shift workers getting off at 3 a.m.

Overnight workers also get hit twice. The Las Vegas Boulevard lane cuts run from midnight to 9 a.m., and the Sands cuts run from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Those are the exact hours when swing and graveyard shifts start and end. If you work days, you may barely notice. If you keep the resorts running at night, you will notice every shift this month.

People who live east of the Strip feel it too. There are a lot of apartments and condos around Koval, Harmon, Flamingo and Paradise. Many people picked them for a short commute. For five days, deliveries, rideshare pickups and visitors will all need to come in a different way.

Background and History

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is a street race. The track is built on public roads, used for one race weekend, and then taken apart. The Flamingo Vehicular Bridge is how the race keeps cars moving across the circuit during race week. It is put in each fall and taken out after the race.

This has happened before, so there is a track record. In 2024, KTNV reported that the bridge went in from 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, with the same full closure of Flamingo and Koval. KTNV also reported that the 2024 bridge was two lanes, down from four lanes the year before. After the 2024 race, News 3 Las Vegas reported that taking the bridge down closed the same intersection again for a full week, from Dec. 15 to Dec. 21. RTC posted bridge removal detour maps for Route 202 again in 2025.

Riders seated on a city bus, like the RTC Route 202 Flamingo and Route 119 Koval riders who face detours during the F1 bridge closure

The pattern is easy to see once you know it. Early prep work in September is light and mostly overnight. As race week gets closer, heavier pieces go in: bridges, barriers, grandstands and hospitality builds like the Bellagio Fountain Club. Then, after the race, there is a teardown period with its own closures. This year's install window is one day shorter than 2024's, which is a small but welcome change.

What Happens Next

Here is your calendar for October in one place:

Oct. 4 to 9: Audrie Street north of Harmon closed overnight, 9 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Oct. 5 to 30: Las Vegas Boulevard lane cuts from Sands to Harmon, midnight to 9 a.m., Monday to Friday. Southbound Deuce stops closed during the same hours.
Through Oct. 16: Sands Avenue overnight lane cuts, 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday to Friday, plus some lanes closed at all hours.
Oct. 11 at 9 p.m. to Oct. 16 at 9 p.m.: Flamingo and Koval fully closed. Routes 119 and 202 on detour.
Through Nov. 9: Two southbound lanes closed on Las Vegas Boulevard from Flamingo to Bellagio Drive.
Nov. 19 to 21: The Las Vegas Grand Prix.

After the race, plan on the bridge coming back out. In past years that removal has meant another full week with Flamingo and Koval closed, usually in December. Dates for the 2026 removal have not been announced yet. We will share them when they are.

Smart Ways Around the Closed Corner

The reports did not spell out official driving detours, so here is some common-sense planning. If you normally take Flamingo east and west across Koval, think about Tropicana Avenue or Harmon Avenue to the south, or Sands Avenue and Spring Mountain Road to the north. Keep in mind that Sands has its own lane cuts overnight and some at all hours, so Tropicana may be the steadier choice at night. Paradise Road is the main north and south choice in place of Koval.

If you are headed to a business near the corner, it is still open. Come in from the side that does not cross the intersection. During the 2024 closures, signs and flaggers directed drivers to business entrances, and the same kind of setup is likely again. Allow extra time for the first day or two, when everyone is still figuring it out.

A Quick Checklist for Closure Week

Here is a simple plan you can run through before Sunday night, Oct. 11, broken down by how you get around.

If you drive Flamingo every day: Pick a backup east and west route now. Test it once before Oct. 11, at the time you usually drive, so you know how long it really takes.
If you ride Route 202: Know that the bus will loop down to Tropicana Avenue on the detour. Plan on a longer ride and leave earlier, especially for an early shift.
If you ride Route 119: Check the list of closed Koval stops above. If your stop is on it, find the nearest stop on the detour path along Paradise Road, Harmon Avenue or Sands Avenue.
If you work overnight on the Strip: Remember the Las Vegas Boulevard lane cuts and the southbound Deuce stop closures run midnight to 9 a.m., weekdays, all month. Build in buffer time on both ends of your shift.
If you live near Koval and Flamingo: Give delivery drivers, rideshare drivers and guests clear directions that avoid the intersection. Schedule big deliveries for a different week if you can.
If you walk or bike: Expect partial sidewalk closures around the corner while the Flamingo Pedestrian Bridge goes in. Follow posted signs.

None of this is hard, but it is easy to forget until you are stuck at a barricade. Ten minutes of planning on the weekend can save you a lot of stress on Monday morning.

Ryan's Take

I get asked a lot about living east of the Strip, near Koval, Harmon and Paradise. My honest answer is that it is one of the best spots in the valley for a short commute to the resort corridor, and that is exactly why weeks like this sting. Five days of a closed main intersection is a real hassle. But it is a known, scheduled hassle. It happens around the same time every fall, and with the race signed through 2037, that will not change soon.

If you are thinking about buying or renting in that area, factor in race season the same way you would factor in summer heat. Ask yourself how you would get to work if Flamingo and Koval were closed for a week in October and again in December. If the answer is easy, the location is probably still a great fit. If you are a seller near the corridor, avoid scheduling showings or an open house that week. Buyers who fight detours to see a home are not in the best mood when they walk in.

Light trails from evening traffic on a busy city road, like the detour traffic expected on Tropicana, Harmon and Paradise during the Flamingo and Koval closure

What You Can Do

Sign up for alerts. Text F1LV to 31996 to get twice-weekly summaries of race-related road work. The official race transportation site, transportation.f1lasvegasgp.com, has maps and daily updates. For bus questions, check RTC's Alerts and Detours page at rtcsnv.com or call RTC at 702-228-7433.

Plan ahead for the week of Oct. 11. If you ride Route 202 or Route 119, check whether your stop is closed and find the nearest open stop before Sunday night. Leave earlier than usual. If you drive, pick your backup route now so you are not deciding at a red light. Share this guide with a coworker or neighbor who rides the bus, since they may not see the closure notices in time.

Finally, support the businesses near Flamingo and Koval. They stay open all week, but fewer people find them when a main corner is closed. If you have a favorite spot nearby, take the long way in and give them your business.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.

Ryan Rose | Real Broker, LLC | 702-747-5921 | ryan@rosehomeslv.com | rosehomeslv.com