The Bank of America Chicago Marathon returns for its 47th year this Sunday, October 12. A record-breaking fleet of 53,000 participants will be racing through the city streets and—whether you plan to cheer on the runners from the sidelines or not—there are a slew of road closures you need to know about.
Read on for a comprehensive list of streets that will be shut down, and for how long.
What roads will be closed for the 2025 Chicago Marathon?
Grant Park closures:
- Balbo Dr from Columbus Dr to DuSable Lake Shore Dr, 10am on Sept 25 to 3pm on Oct 17
- Jackson Dr from Columbus Dr to DuSable Lake Shore Dr, 10am on Oct 9 to 6am on Oct 14
- Balbo Dr from Michigan Ave to Columbus Dr, 4am on Oct 9 to 3pm on Oct 13
- Columbus Dr from Ida B. Wells Dr to Balbo Dr, 4am on Oct 9 to 3pm on Oct 13
- Columbus Dr from Balbo Dr to Roosevelt Rd, 4am on Oct 9 to 3pm on Oct 13
- Columbus Dr from Monroe St to Jackson Dr, 4am on Oct 10 to 8pm on Oct 12
- Columbus Dr from Jackson Blvd to Ida B. Wells Dr, 4am on Oct 10 to 8pm on Oct 11
- Congress Plaza Dr from Michigan Ave (Van Buren St to Harrison St), 4am on Oct 10 to 8pm on Oct 12
- Jackson Blvd from Michigan Ave to Columbus Dr, 4am on Oct 10 to 8pm on Oct 12
- Columbus Dr from Randolph St to Monroe St, 4am on Oct 11 to 2pm on Oct 12
- Roosevelt Rd from Columbus Dr to DuSable Lake Shore Dr, 11am on Oct 11 to 6pm on Oct 12
- Monroe St from Michigan Ave to Columbus Dr, 4am on Oct 11 to 2pm on Oct 12
- Monroe St from Columbus Dr to DuSable Lake Shore Dr, 4am on Oct 11 to 3pm on Oct 12
Street closures along race course beginning at 6am:
- Columbus Dr from course start to Grand Ave until 10:30am
- Grand Ave from Columbus Dr to State St until 10:30am
- State St from Grand Ave to Jackson Blvd until 11am
- Jackson Blvd from State St to LaSalle St until 11am
- LaSalle St from Jackson Blvd to Stockton Dr until 11:30am
- Stockton Dr from LaSalle St to Fullerton Dr until 11:45am
- Fullerton Dr from Stockton Dr to Cannon Dr until 11:45am
- Cannon Dr from Fullerton Dr to Sheridan Rd until noon
- Sheridan Rd from Diversey Pkwy to Belmont Ave until noon
- Inner Lakeshore Dr from Belmont Ave to Sheridan Rd until 12:15pm
- Sheridan Rd from Inner Lakeshore Dr to Broadway until 12:15pm
- Broadway from Sheridan Rd to Briar Pl until 12:30pm
- Broadway from Briar Pl to Diversey Pkwy until 12:45pm
- Clark St from Diversey Pkwy to Fullerton Dr until 12:45pm
- Clark St from Fullerton Dr to Webster Ave until 1pm
- Webster Ave from Clark St to Sedgwick St until 1pm
- Sedgwick St from Webster Ave to North Ave until 1:15pm
- North Ave from Sedgwick St to Wells St until 1:30pm
- Wells St from North Ave to Walton St until 1:30pm
- Wells St from Walton St to Wacker Dr until 1:30pm
- Wacker Dr from Wells St to Adams St until 1:45pm
- Adams St from Wacker Dr to Damen Ave until 2pm
- Damen Ave from Adams St to Jackson Blvd until 2pm
- Jackson Blvd from Damen Ave to Halsted St until 2:30pm
- Halsted St from Jackson Blvd to Taylor St until 2:30pm
- Taylor St from Halsted St to Loomis St until 2:45pm
- Loomis St from Taylor St to 18th St until 3pm
- 18th St from Loomis St until Halsted St until 3pm
- Halsted St from 18th St to 21st St until 3:15pm
- 21st St from Halsted St to Canalport Ave until 3:15pm
- Canalport Ave from 21st St to Cermak Rd until 3:30pm
- Cermak Rd from Canalport Ave to Wentworth Ave until 3:30pm
- Wentworth Ave from Cermak Rd to 26th St until 3:45pm
- 26th St from Wentworth Ave to Michigan Ave until 4pm
- Michigan Ave from 26th St to 35th St until 4pm
- 35th St from Michigan Ave to Indiana Ave until 4:15pm
- Indiana Ave from 35th St to 31st St until 4:15pm
- 31st St from Indiana Ave to Michigan Ave until 4:15pm
- Michigan Ave from 31st St to Roosevelt Rd until 4:30pm
- Roosevelt Rd from Michigan Ave to Columbus Dr until 6pm
- Columbus Dr from Roosevelt Rd to the finish line, 4am to 3pm
The following streets are expected to remain open:
- DuSable Lake Shore Dr: Northbound and southbound lanes
- Inner Lake Shore Dr: Northbound and southbound lanes from Diversey Pkwy to Belmont Ave; access to DuSable Lake Shore Dr will remain open at Belmont Ave
- Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94): Eastbound and westbound lanes Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94): Eastbound and westbound lanes; the exit ramp at Adams St will be closed
- Eisenhower Expressway (I-290): Eastbound and westbound lanes
- Stevenson Expressway (I-55): Northbound and southbound lanes
All streets in the Loop are expected to be open to traffic again by 9am on race day, but organizers recommend using public transportation regardless.
What time does the Chicago Marathon start?
The marathon will have multiple waves, each with its own start time. The men’s and women’s wheelchair marathons will start at 7:20am and 7:21am, respectively, followed by wave 1 kicking off at 7:35am. Wave 2 begins at 8am and wave 3 starts at 8:35am.
What is the Chicago Marathon route?
You can find the full course map here.
How can I watch the Chicago Marathon?
Spectators will be able to watch the marathon from any of the streets along the route, as well as from designated cheer zones. NBC 5 Chicago, Telemundo Chicago and TeleXitos will air a live broadcast from 7 to 11am and a livestream will be available via the stations’ websites, apps and Roku and Apple TV channels from 7am to 3pm. More viewing information can be found here.