DOWNTOWN — Motorists exiting onto Wacker Drive from the lakefront this week will be detoured due to Chi-Town Rising, the new outdoor party ringing in 2016 here.
Construction crews are closing off East Wacker Drive as the New Year's Eve bash takes shape this week on the Downtown thoroughfare. The following streets will be closed till 11:59 p.m. Friday:
• North Stetson Avenue from East Upper Wacker to East South Water Street.
• East Upper Wacker Drive curb lane from North Stetson Avenue to North Columbus Drive.
• Eastbound, southernmost lane of Middle Wacker Drive from North Columbus to North Stetson.
• Westbound, northernmost lane of Middle Wacker Drive from North Stetson to North Columbus.
Westbound Upper Wacker will be closed from Columbus to 111 E. Wacker Drive till 11:59 p.m. Friday, and eastbound lanes will be closed starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The southbound curb lane on Columbus from Wacker to South Water will be closed from noon to 11:59 p.m. Saturday.
Chi-Town Rising work Tuesday afternoon on Wacker. [DNAinfo/David Matthews]
An unprecedented event, Chi-Town Rising will feature live bands and a nationally televised New Year's countdown akin to New York's annual celebration in Times Square. The Chicago event is highlighted by a fireworks show, the band Chicago, and the lifting of a giant star up the side of the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive.
Once billed as free, the festival is selling tickets starting at $119 for a "beach house party" presented by Corona at 225 E. North Water St., with tickets for the outdoor main stage available at $150.
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