Driving through downtown Chicago is about to get hairier, as the city prepares to shut down part of DuSable Lake Shore Drive and other roads in and around Grant Park for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race this summer.
Chicago residents are no strangers to large summertime events in the city’s downtown lakefront park, and occasional short-term road closures around the area. But the NASCAR race, to be held July 1 and 2, calls for closing major downtown roads like DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road for multiple days, forcing those trying to drive to or through downtown to find alternate ways of getting around.
Making matters worse for drivers is ongoing construction that has snarled traffic along another major route into downtown from the north, the Kennedy Expressway. As part of the first year of a three-year rehab of 7.5 miles of the highway, two southbound lanes are closed to traffic, and the reversible express lanes in the center of the highway are open only in the inbound, or southbound, direction.
City officials are encouraging drivers to take alternate routes, walk, bike or take public transportation to reach downtown, and they said Metra and CTA would provide additional service during the NASCAR race. Still, they cautioned that drivers should expect delays and, potentially, increased traffic on local streets.
“It makes the cost of the closures seem greater than the benefits of a car race,” said Joseph Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.
[ NASCAR Chicago Street Race: Timeline of road closures around the city for the July race ]
The 12-turn, 2.2-mile race along the first street course in NASCAR history will have drivers starting in front of Buckingham Fountain and navigating closed-off stretches of DuSable Lake Shore Drive and South Michigan Avenue. The event is expected to draw 100,000 attendees, and NASCAR estimates it could generate more than $3 million in tax revenue for the city in 2023.
But Schwieterman said the effects of the road closures could linger. People might not be following the day-by-day closure updates, and instead might decide to simply avoid driving near downtown for an extended period of time.
The closures also build on a variety of other driving challenges motorists have faced. Road traffic increased during the pandemic, especially on weekends and evenings, and truck traffic, especially, is high on the city’s expressways, Schwieterman said. Add in other road construction projects around town, and the costs of the closures add up, he said.
The good news is that the closures are in a part of the city easily accessible by public transit, he said. But many drivers use DuSable Lake Shore Drive to pass through downtown on their way elsewhere, and transit might not be a viable option for those traveling at night or heading to or from some suburbs, he said.
“The effects could extend beyond the period when the roads are actually closed,” he said.
Parking restrictions, road closures and CTA bus reroutes in and around Grant Park are being put in place throughout June. Among the most significant of the closures will be DuSable Lake Shore Drive, where traffic will be limited beginning at the end of the month.
The southbound lanes of the major lakefront thoroughfare will close from Randolph Street to the Museum Campus beginning June 28. Lane reductions will extend farther: Traffic will be reduced to two lanes at North Avenue, then to one lane at Chicago Avenue. Downtown traffic will be directed to exit at Michigan Avenue, and through traffic will be directed to exit at Grand Avenue. Between Grand and Randolph, only local traffic will be allowed.
Northbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be closed along the same downtown stretch beginning July 1. Traffic will be reduced to two lanes at 47th Street, then one lane near 31st Street. Northbound traffic will be required to exit at I-55.
Access will remain open to Navy Pier and the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium and other attractions on the Museum Campus, though some of the museums have adjusted their hours.
To access the museums, drivers must reach either DuSable Lake Shore Drive south of downtown, or arrive via I-55. From DuSable Lake Shore Drive, they can exit the northbound lanes at 31st Street, then take Fort Dearborn Drive along the lakefront to 18th Street. Those heading to the museums from I-55 can take DuSable Lake Shore Drive north and exit at 18th Street.
The northbound lanes are expected to reopen July 2, and the southbound lanes are anticipated to reopen by July 4. All other roads are expected to reopen between July 2 and July 13.
Visitors to downtown will have other ways to get around. The Lakefront Trail and an underpass through Grant Park will remain open to pedestrians and bicyclists.
Several CTA bus routes will be affected by the street closures, but will be rerouted and include stops near the racecourse, CTA spokeswoman Maddie Kilgannon said. Work on the CTA Blue Line that had tracks closed many weekends this spring along a stretch of the Northwest Side has been completed and trains are once again running along the full stretch of the O’Hare branch of the line.
But drivers hoping for a reprieve from the Kennedy Expressway construction will be out of luck. The Illinois Department of Transportation said it cannot reopen lanes on the highway because of “the nature of the ongoing repairs being completed,” and said the closures can’t be safely lifted until the work is complete.
