Downtown Access To Be Restored Wednesday, With Some Restrictions Remaining

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday announced restored access to downtown Chicago for the following day, after days of unrest and violence in the city.

Still, select closures and service interruptions will remain in effect, and the 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will also be in effect until further notice.

Since violence, vandalism, looting, and arsons struck in the Central Business District and nearby areas on Saturday, access has only been available to employees whose businesses are located within the district.

Beginning at 5 a.m. Wednesday the following will reopen:

• Lake Shore Drive will open with the following exits remaining closed: Michigan Avenue, Chicago Avenue, Grand Avenue, Lower Wacker Drive and Randolph Drive.

• All entrance and exit ramps on 290 and 90/94 will reopen.

• CTA train and bus service will be restored, but some train stops located within or near the designated boundaries in the Central Business District and Loop area will remain closed. Closures impacting the morning rush will be posted beginning at 5 a.m. Wednesday and will be updated throughout the day at the CTA website.

• Bridges in the Central Business District will be lowered over the Chicago River on Clark Street, Dearborn Street, Lake Street, Randolph Street, Wells Street and Washington Street.

Also Wednesday, Divvy Bike sharing stations will reopen from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. until further notice.

As Tara Molina reported, CBS 2 started asking questions about this plan much earlier in the day Tuesday – as soon as Mayor Lightfoot announced the city - with resounding support from local businesses - would move forward with reopening Wednesday.

CBS 2 reached out to Metra, the CTA, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Mayor's office. We even checked in with Chicago Police and Illinois State Police, who are monitoring closures.

A spokesperson for Metra, where service has been suspended for days, said the commuter rail line would resume most service Wednesday:

"Metra service will resume on most lines on Wednesday, June 3, but on a modified Sunday schedule with the last late night inbound train and last late night outbound train cancelled.There will be no service on the SouthWest Service, Heritage Corridor or North Central Service lines. Riders are advised that more trains could be cancelled during the day depending on circumstances; we will be closely monitoring events and our priority will be the safety of our passengers, employees and our system. Please pay attention to metrarail.com for the latest updates. We hope to be able to expand service to our alternate weekday schedule later in the week if possible."

With transportation cut off in response to the violence and destruction that broke out over the weekend, public transit has been spotty for days.