The 32nd Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach took its first step toward the green flag when construction began on Shoreline Drive, the famed racing circuit's front straightaway. source: champcarworldseries.com The setting of the first of more than 14 million tons of concrete blocks that line the 1.97-mile circuit in downtown Long Beach marks the beginning of two months of work preparing the 11-turn racing circuit for the 175,000 fans expected April 7-9. Grand Prix Association of Long Beach director of operations Dwight Tanaka and his staff of 40 will put in more than 30,000 working hours installing concrete blocks, three miles of fencing and 16,000 bolted-together tires, along with 15 huge spectator grandstands, seven pedestrian bridges and eight giant-vision boards for full-circuit TV coverage. "After that," said Tanaka, "we start installing porta-johns, hospitality suites, tents, trash containers and a hundred other little things. And when the race is over, we take everything down, inspect it and get ready for the race in 2007." "We've always prided ourselves in keeping the Long Beach race circuit competitive and safe for the drivers and, at the same time, exciting for our fans," said Jim Michaelian, CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach LLC. "Dwight and his staff do a fantastic job, but it would all be impossible without the assistance of the many Long Beach city departments and a host of private entities. "Quite frankly, without their help we would never have been able to make the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Bach the premier street race in America." All businesses along the race circuit, which includes Shoreline Drive, Aquarium Way and Pine Ave., will remain open during construction of the racetrack.
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