NASCAR road closures cause traffic headaches downtown ahead of race
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The NASCAR race action was just hours away Friday night – but if you were anywhere near downtown, you witnessed firsthand how the road closures for the race brought traffic to a screeching halt.
As CBS 2's Marybel González reported, it was already a headache Friday evening for some people trying to get in and out of downtown – with roadblocks set up on busy streets.
It will only get more hectic this weekend – because not only is the big race going on, but so are July 4th celebrations.
Regardless, of course, there was plenty of excitement as it was ready, set, go for the Chicago NASCAR Street Race.
"Everyone's driving by where we were parked today - windows down, pumping their fist, cheering for us," said NASCAR engineer Cody Jones.
The organizers rolled out the red carpet for the adventurous racers.
"I expected it to be cool, but I didn't expect it to be like quite as big of an event as it is – you know, half the town shut down for us," said NASCAR racer Corey LaJoie.
But it was not all glitz and glam. The shutdowns – in the form of roadblocks and closures – have already caused traffic jams near and around downtown Chicago.
Some folks struggled to get into the city, others to get out of it.
"We have been waiting for a bus for the past half an hour because all the routes are rerouted, and there's no other alternate options – so like, we're stuck," one woman said at the corner of Washington and State streets. "That's an issue."
It was not just the race driving up the traffic Friday evening. Nearly 3 million people were expected to jump into their cars for the holiday weekend – a record number, according to AAA estimates.
In addition to the heavy traffic, there was also hefty security.
Police officers were already on standby late Friday along the busy downtown corners. The CPD also canceled its days off for officers ahead of the busy holiday weekend.
The Chicago Transit Authority is also all-hands-on-deck for this extremely busy weekend. They said there will be multiple bus reroutes in the downtown area. A breakdown can be found here.
The CTA also advises that people travel to the race by 'L' train.
