CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago’s first NASCAR street race is little more than two weeks away, and the grandstands are going up, which means road closures and detours are in effect.
There will be more as we get closer to race day, too.
The city laid out the plan Tuesday morning, though the majority of the impact on downtown traffic is still two weeks away.
See the Chicago NASCAR street race course, plus street closures and parking restrictions
The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications has spent many months planning for the race, and said they are trying to keep downtown streets open for as long as possible. They also want to make sure that even when race cars are zooming through the Loop, there is still access to attractions like Navy Pier and the Museum Campus.
“We take planning very seriously here in the city of Chicago. This is our bread and butter. We do large events. We have a sterling reputation across the nation,” said Chris Pettineo, OEMC.
Numerous road closures will take effect on June 28, leading up to race weekend July 1 and 2 and lasting through July 4.
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Street closures will involve a number of major routes into the Loop, especially DuSable Lake Shore Drive between Randolph Street and McFetridge Drive.
But city officials said they have been working on a plan for streets to facilitate this first-ever NASCAR street race for many months.
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OEMC and other city officials are urging people visiting downtown during those times to plan ahead.
“We take public safety planning very seriously here in the city of Chicago; this is our bread and butter,” said Chris Pettineo, with OEMC. “We do large events, we have a sterling reputation across the nation for such events, and in part of the planning process, we want to make sure everyone is involved, everybody has skin in the game, and we don’t want it to be a surprise to anyone.”
City officials said their objective in planning for the race was to minimize the impact to drivers, and also to keep access to major attractions, including Navy pier and the museum campus.
