Lance Armstrong tweeted this iPhone photo of the Austin F1 track on 8/23/2011. No construction activity can be seen.
UPDATE: August 23, 2011, 4:30PM
AUSTIN, TEXAS – A Circuit of the Americas spokesman says the work stoppage at Austin’s new F1 track won’t stop the project from moving ahead.
Speed TV is reporting:
Despite reports of a short-term stoppage in construction, plans for next year’s scheduled United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, continue to move forward.
That is the claim of Circuit of the Americas spokesman Jeff Hahn, who told the Austin American Statesman newspaper that the estimated $300 million project is still moving ahead according to plan.
Hahn, responding to news that the newspaper received several anonymous phone calls in recent days from people asserting that construction has ceased, downplayed speculation of a long-term holdup.
Original Story
Speed TV and the Austin American Statesman are reporting that construction has been stopped at the new F1 track in Austin. Workers have been told to, “take a few weeks off.”
Could it really be true that a project being backed by San Antonio billionaire Red McCombs, millionaire (at least) Austin investor Bobby Epstein and state taxpayers, in the form of a $25 million annual public economic development subsidy from the comptroller’s office, is broke?
No, said circuit spokesman Jeff Hahn, who said the estimated $300 million project is still moving ahead as planned.
His explanation for any appearance of non-activity at the 900-acre site: The construction work is phased. Thanks to the dry weather, he added, early work has moved ahead quicker than planned. But because the construction phases also include a timetable for payments to be released, Hahn said, it’s likely that contractors now must wait a few days for the next installment.
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