HOUGHTON – Preparations are underway for the Lake Superior Pro Rally this weekend.

The route for the race was painted out Wednesday afternoon for placement of concrete barriers Friday night and Saturday morning, Houghton City Manager Eric Waara reported at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

“This is something the organizers are very excited about, the racers are very excited about,” he said. “I think they ended up with about a third more registered cars this year because of the Houghton/Hancock urban stages.”

Eighty-three cars will race in staggered intervals over a three-hour period, starting at about 5 p.m. Saturday. The race will start behind the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce. The cars will go around the parking lot at the Lakeshore Center, turn south on Huron Street, make a hairpin turn at the elevated parking lot by the Suomi Restaurant, then take a left at the end of the parking deck. From there, the cars will go to impound on Lakeshore Drive.

Traffic control on Lakeshore Drive for the urban stage of the race will start Saturday morning. Use of the waterfront trail will be interrupted for a few hours Saturday for safety reasons.

“We’re going to get some larger signs printed so people know what’s going on,” Waara said.

Spectators will be separated from the racing area via a buffer. Waara said it’s important for spectators not to cross over into the racing area.

“We don’t want them to throw a flag because somebody thought they were special and climbed over a barrier or climbed over the controls out there,” he said. “If they throw a flag, the race is over. They’re done.”

Viewing areas will be set back from Lakeshore Drive on Isle Royale and Huron streets, though the best views should come from the parking decks, Waara said.

The full schedule for the LSPR’s events this weekend can be found at rally-america.com/events/2016/LSPR/schedule.