21-04-2025
Champaign announces road closures for race weekend, Ebertfest
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Champaign is gearing up for a busy weekend between the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend and Ebertfest. Now, the city is letting residents know that if you're driving around this week, you may see some road closures.
IL Race Weekend welcoming new faces from cancelled event
The Michael Hogue Team Mile will kick off the events on Thursday. It'll start on First Street, north of Kirby at the Grange Grove gate. Participants will go north to Green Street, and west on Green to finish near Neil Street.
One block of First, between Kirby and Peabody and one block of Green, from Neil and Locust will close at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The rest of the mile-long route will close at 7 p.m. Traffic will be able to exit the area along Kirby or roads north of Green.
Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend offering free entries through donation
On Friday, motorists will begin to see road closures beginning around 7 p.m. The Christie Clinic Illinois 5K starts on Oak Streetsouth of St. Mary's Rd. The route takes participants through campus using First, Green, Sixth, and Gregory before turning south on First Street and heading to the stadium.
Traffic will be closed off completely between 7-8:15 p.m. for the area in blue, according to the race map. The first intersection to open will be First and Armory. Once that's open, traffic will be able to leave the area by going west on Armory to Oak Street and then south out of the area.
Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend still asking for volunteers
Several races will take place on Saturday. This includes the marathon, half marathon, the wheelchair marathon, the relay marathon, the 10K and the Busey Illinois Youth Run.
IL_Marathon_FullDownload
Closures will begin at 7 a.m. on First Street, south of Green, and Green Street, from First to Race Street. The wheelchair racers begin at 7:31 a.m., followed by the full/ half marathoners and the relay racers. The 10K racers will begin at 8 a.m.
Stadium Drive, Kirby Avenue and St. Mary's Road will be closed to traffic east of Neil beginning at 7 a.m. Drivers attempting to enter State Farm Center parking should take Neil Street to Windsor Road, to Fourth Street.
2025 Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend medals unveiled
The City of Urbana will likely be clear of participants by 11 a.m. Then, marathoners and relay participants will be heading south on Prospect in the east-most lane, between Armory Avenue and Curtis Road. South and northbound traffic will continue through the event. The Village of Savoy should be clear of participants by 1:30 p.m.
To help drivers avoid road closures on race day, organizers provided a map, suggesting a route around town that isn't impacted by the race. You can find the map here:
For more details about when certain streets are expected to close — and reopen — click here. You can also find more details about the races on the Illinois Marathon's website.
Champaign County residents will also see temporary street closures from another event happening this weekend.
Ebertfest announces more guests, final films for festival later this month
Ebertfest, held at the Virginia Theatre, will run from April 23-26. During the festival, Park Avenue will be closed between Randolph Street and the entrance to Hickory Point Bank, beginning April 23. Traffic will not be allowed through in this area, but the city said residents will be able to reach businesses in the area through State Street to Park Avenue.
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