A row of Streets & Sanitation trucks lined up Saturday morning across Lake Shore Drive from Columbus Drive to Lake Michigan, preventing any cars from passing from Balbo south to 39th. NBC Chicago reporter Natalie Martinez has the details.
Parts of Lake Shore Drive and Interstate 55 are officially closed for the weekend ahead of Sunday's NATO Summit.
A row of Streets & Sanitation trucks lined up across Lake Shore Drive from Columbus Drive to Lake Michigan, preventing any cars from passing from Balbo south to 39th. Barricades also went up at midnight at the outbound Dan Ryan expressway to prevent unauthorized vehicles.
Through Monday, some main roads stretching north, south and west of McCormick Place, where NATO meetings will take place, are now closed, including north and southbound Lake Shore Drive between East Balbo and East 39th, and I-55 northbound from I-90/94 to LSD.
Others include:
- Columbus Drive from Balbo to McFetridge will be closed
- Roosevelt Road from Michigan Avenue to Lake Shore Drive will be closed
- Indiana Avenue from 21st Street to 25th Street will be closed
- 31st Street from Martin Luther King Drive to LSD will be closed
- Martin Luther King Drive from Cermak to 26th Street will be closed
- Cermak from Michigan Avenue to Martin Luther King Drive will be closed
- Ontario Street from Orleans to Fairbanks will be intermittently closed
- Ohio Street from Orleans to Fairbanks will be intermittently closed
- Clark Street from Oak Street to Ontario will experience lane reductions
- Dearborn Street from Kinzie to Ontario Street will experience lane reductions
Traffic Management Authority began its roll call at 5 a.m. Saturday, readying to help commuters navigate inevitable traffic snarls.
Even morning joggers had to alter their lakefront routes. The line of trucks on Lake Shore Drive forced runners back north.
Intermittent delays and temporary closures also will occur throughout the weekend in the areas around McCormick Place and along I-90 and I-55, between O'Hare International Airport and downtown.
