In anticipation of the NASCAR Chicago street race festivities this weekend, Columbia is closing all campus buildings.

Details: The buildings will be closed Saturday, July 1, and Sunday, July 2. Campus buildings are typically closed on Sundays.

Lambrini Lukidis, Columbia’s associate vice president of Strategic Communications and External Relations, said the closure of buildings Saturday was a college decision “given that access to the campus and downtown is going to be difficult.”

The exception to the closures will be the 618 S. Michigan Ave. building, where there will be an exclusive watch party on two floors hosted by the college.

The event was set-up as a raffle for staff, faculty and students enrolled in the Summer 2023 term.

Over 250 people sent their names in for a spot, and with both security measures and making sure everyone can get a good view, 100 total were drawn for the two spaces. For the private viewing, 30 students and 70 employees were awarded a spot, XX said. Everyone can bring one guest.

Public transit: CTA train schedules are not set to be impacted nor altered, but train cars may get busy with visitors commuting in to see the races. Multiple buses will be rerouted due to the closures on Balbo and Michigan avenues in addition to Roosevelt Road. A detailed list of all rerouted buses is available on the CTA website.

Driving in the Loop: Street closures will impact car traffic, most notably the closure of DuSable Lakeshore Drive during the weekend; southbound lanes will close Wednesday, June 28, at 8 p.m. and northbound lanes will close Saturday, July 1, at 4 a.m. Northbound lanes will begin re-opening on July 2, and all NASCAR take-down, including the massive grandstands being built for the course, is set to be completed by July 15.