Chicago authorities are warning residents to spend more time driving near downtown on Sunday night, with Mexican Independence Day celebrations and the El Grito festival expected to draw thousands of people.
According to an alert from the Office of Emergency Communication and Management, residents can “expect increased traffic” in the Central Business District, and street closures may occur for a second night in a row.
“Intermittent closures” went into effect downtown beginning at 6:40 p.m. Sunday, according to OEMC officials.
That news comes a day after officials closed numerous downtown streets and blocked off-ramps from the Kennedy, Dan Ryan and Stevenson freeways. They also instituted access restrictions to downtown areas, with designated checkpoints for residents, employees and emergency workers.
The same closures could go into effect on Sunday evening, according to the OEMC.
Access points in the Central Business District will be established at:
Halsted/Division
Halsted/Chicago
Halsted/Washington
Halsted/Madison
Halsted/Jackson
Division/LaSalle
Roosevelt/Canal
Desplaines/Channel
18th/State
18th/Michigan
18th/Indiana
The city’s Central Business District is an area bounded by Division Street to the north, Halsted Street to the west, 18th Street to the south, and DuSable Lake Shore Drive to the east.
Celebratory car caravans are expected to be back on the streets to mark Mexico’s Independence Day, which arrives on Monday.
What’s more, additional traffic from the El Grito festival in Grant Park could draw more residents to the area, leading to more congestion.
We will update this story with information on closures as it becomes available.
