(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – A large swath of Chicago’s downtown was closed to incoming traffic Friday evening after a caravan of Mexican Independence Day revelers began trying up some streets.
Under a plan announced by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, the area cordoned off to vehicles was bounded by Division to 18th Street and from DuSable Lake Shore Drive to Halsted Street.
Streets will be closed intermittently throughout the night, officials said.
OEMC said the plan was implemented due to public safety concerns over the caravans. Anyone who lives or works within the affected area could get access at:
· Halsted/Division
· Halsted/Chicago
· Halsted/Washington
· Halsted/Madison
· Halsted/Jackson
· Division/LaSalle
· Roosevelt/Union
· 18th/State
· 18th/Michigan
· 18th/Indiana
Caravans began arriving downtown around 8 p.m. Flag-waving vehicles were doing a loop along Michigan Avenue north of Randolph Street, amid a cacophony of horns and fireworks. At one point, revelers walked into the intersection of Lake and Michigan.
Police arrived on the scene and were attempting to untangle the crowds and vehicles.
Mexican Independence Day will be celebrated with a parade in Little Village on Saturday. In recent years, Mexican Americans in Chicago have taken to celebrating by driving around neighborhoods and the downtown, even though police have discouraged it.
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram