A light pole that toppled over onto Lake Shore Drive during high winds Wednesday blocked multiple lanes near the Michigan Avenue exit on one of the busiest travel days of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Three southbound lanes of the roadway were seen being blocked by police around 1 p.m. Wednesday between Fullerton Parkway and Michigan Avenue.
While it remains unclear what caused the lightpole to fall, dangeorusly strong winds were recorded in the Chicago area and the city remained under a High Wind Warning at the time. Wind gusts of more 60 mph were reported by 11 a.m. The warning remains in effect until 6 p.m.
The winds also closed Chicago’s Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza Wednesday.
Already Wednesday morning, two vehicles were damaged and a driver injured after debris fell near the Willis Tower.
Further south, an SUV was nearly smashed in half and multiple cars were damaged by a falling tree in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood.
ComEd reported nearly 15,000 people were without power in the Chicago area as of 11:30 a.m.
