A Guide To NFL Draft-Related Road Closures, Which Start Today
By Mae Rice in News on Apr 18, 2016 5:51PM
This year's NFL Draft will be held in Chicago, at the Chicago Auditorium Theatre, and we all know what that means: road closures!
Chicago's Office of Emergency Management (OEMC) has issued a traffic advisory due to the draft and the NFL Draft Town Fan Festival that goes with it. (Though the latter might sound to the uninitiated like a random string of nouns, it's actually a free, three-day football festival in Grant Park and Congress Plaza, which is both be fun for the whole family and involves beer.)
The festivities will be accompanied by 18 days of on-and-off road closures, beginning Monday and not coming to a complete stop until May 6. If it helps, the Michigan Avenue road closure on April 28, sure to create Gordian Knot-style traffic snarls, is happening to "accommodate the red carpet introduction featuring NFL legends and top college prospects," according to OEMC.
We've listed out the road closures below in the most intuitive way we could, bolding all the street names for easy scanning. Good luck driving!
Starting Today
Balbo from Columbus to Lake Shore Drive is currently closed to traffic. Westbound Balbo will stay closed until the night of Friday, May 6; Eastbound Balbo will reopen in time for the April 24 morning rush, then close again again May 3 through May 6 for the load-out of the event.
Starting Tuesday
Michigan Avenue from Van Buren to Congress will be closed from 9 p.m. Tuesday until 5 a.m. Wednesday. Traffic will be rerouted through the Congress Circle during the closure.
Starting Thursday
Columbus from Jackson to Balbo will be closed at 9 p.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Friday for set-up of the Fan Festival. Columbus will close again for the event and load-out from 8 p.m. on Friday until Monday, May 2.
Starting Friday
Congress from Michigan to Columbus Drive, including sidewalks, and the Congress Circle will be closed from Friday night until Monday, May 2.
Starting April 28
Michigan Avenue from Jackson to Balbo will close on April 28 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and then again on April 29 from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Congress Parkway from Wabash to Michigan Avenue will close April 28 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on April 29 from 3 p.m. until "later that evening."