Lollapalooza street closures begin in downtown Chicago

Lollapalooza setup and closures in full swing

The music festival returns to Grant Park this week.

CHICAGO - Drivers, prepare for street closures as Lollapalooza takes over Grant Park this weekend.

A majority of the street closures will start on Monday at 8 p.m., and wrap up by mid-August.

Here is a full list of the closures from the festival's organizers.

Street closures

Balbo from Columbus to DuSable Lake Shore Drive: July 17 - Aug. 11
Jackson, from Columbus to DuSable Lake Shore Drive: July 23 - Aug. 10
Balbo, from Michigan to Columbus: July 29 - Aug. 5
Jackson, from Michigan to Columbus: July 29 - Aug. 5
Columbus, from Monroe to Roosevelt: July 29 - Aug. 5
Columbus (Northbound, two center lanes), from 13th Street to Roosevelt: July 29 - Aug. 5
Congress Plaza Dr., from Michigan to Columbus: July 29 - Aug. 5
Monroe, from Michigan to DuSable Lake Shore Drive: July 31 - Aug. 5th

Lollapalooza 2024 schedule released

Chicagos infamous four-day summer music festival has officially released its day-to-day schedule.

Sidewalk closures

Michigan, from Jackson to 11th St. Bridge: July 30 – Aug. 4th
Balbo (both sides, from Columbus to DuSable Lake Shore Drive: July 17 – Aug. 11
Columbus (Northbound side), from Roosevelt to the 9th St. Yard: July 17 – Aug. 19
Columbus (Southbound side), from 9th St. Yard to S. Ida B. Wells: July 22 – Aug. 10
Jackson (both sides), from Columbus to DuSable Lake Shore Drive: July 22 – Aug. 10
DuSable Lake Shore Drive (Northbound side), from Monroe to Roosevelt: July 24
Monroe (Eastbound side), from Columbus to DuSable Lake Shore Drive: July 20 and July 22 – Aug. 10
DuSable Lake Shore Drive (Southbound side), from Monroe to Roosevelt: July 27 – Aug. 10
Balbo (both sides), from Michigan to Columbus: July 29 – Aug. 5
Jackson (both sides), from Michigan to Columbus: July 29 – Aug. 5
Congress Plaza Dr, from Michigan to Columbus: July 29 – Aug. 5
Congress Plaza Dr. (Westbound & Eastbound side), from Michigan to Columbus: July 27 – July 28
Columbus (both sides), from Monroe to Roosevelt: July 29– Aug. 6
DuSable Lake Shore Drive (Northbound side), from Monroe to Roosevelt: Aug. 6

City officials urged festival-goers to use public transportation to avoid the nightmare of stand-still traffic and high prices for downtown parking.

"Public transportation is clearly the most affordable, most convenient way to travel to Lollapalooza, and Metra and CTA are again working together to make the trip as easy as possible," said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. "Our added service, Day and Weekend Passes make choosing public transportation an easy decision."

From Thursday until Sunday, the CTA and Metra will add service and capacity to existing train routes to serve the tens of thousands of music fans attending the four day festival, agency officials announced Monday.

Metra will provide extra trains with added railcars and adjust schedules on most lines to meet the added demand for ridership.

CTA customers are encouraged to use the Red and Blue lines along with the elevated lines in the Loop to get to the festival. In addition, Yellow Line service will be extended until 1 a.m. each night of the festival, and various bus routes will connect Metra trains at Union Station or Ogilvie Transportation Center with Grant Park.

Bus service to the festival includes

From Union Station, take the #126 Jackson
From Ogilvie Transportation Center, take the #J14 Jeffery Jump

CTA riders can take advantage of the multi-day unlimited ride passes: $5 for a 1-day; $15 for a 3-day; $20 for a 7-day— ideal for those attending Lollapalooza for multiple days or attending Lollapalooza after-show concerts.

Metra offers a variety of passes that can be used by festivalgoers. On weekdays, Metra offers a Day Pass good for unlimited rides between your selected zones on all Metra lines, all day. Day Passes are available only in the Ventra app. On the weekend, riders can choose the $7 Saturday or Sunday Day Pass for unlimited travel on Saturday or Sunday. Ventra app users also can choose the $10 Weekend Pass, good for unlimited travel on both Saturday and Sunday.

Visit Lollapalooza's website to view the comprehensive list of street and sidewalk closures and the full festival lineup.

Headliners of the four day event are Megan Thee Stallion, SZA, Melanie Martinez and Blink 182.