Here are all the Taste of Chicago street closures to know about

As foodies from near and far prep their appetites for some of the best Chicago eating around, the city is also taking steps to get ready for the 46th annual Taste of Chicago. The beloved food festival kicks off Wednesday, July 8 and runs through Sunday, July 12. For five glorious days, you can enjoy iconic local dishes, live music and enough community dance lessons to burn off at least one of those deep-dish slices. But long before you can dive face-first into the city’s legendary culinary scene, event-related street closures are already rolling out. Here are the Taste of Chicago street closures you need to know about:

Now through July 5
Curb lanes on S. Columbus Dr. will be closed from Monroe St. to Balbo Dr.

July 2, 6am
S. Columbus Dr. will be fully closed from Monroe to Balbo and E. Ida B. Wells Dr. will be fully closed from Columbus to Congress Pkwy.

July 5, 6am
E. Jackson Dr. will be fully closed from Michigan Ave. to L.S. Dr. and S. Columbus Dr. will be fully closed from Balbo to Roosevelt.

Obviously, you can expect heavy traffic downtown near Grant Park through July 12. But all streets will officially reopen to traffic on Monday, July 13, at 11:59pm—just in time for your food coma to wear off.

Taste of Chicago runs daily from 11am to 9pm. Admission is completely free, meaning you can save your hard-earned cash for digging in at the staggering variety of vendor booths.

The street closures will be a pain, so make a plan to leave the car at home, embrace public transit and let your feet do the walking. For real-time traffic updates , be sure to sign up for alerts at NotifyChicago.