Taste of Chicago road closures begin downtown

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Downtown road closures have begun for the annual Taste of Chicago, which starts next week.

Traffic in the area will be heavier as a result of the Grateful Dead concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Soldier Field as well as Fourth of July celebrations. As a result, the CTA has increased its holiday weekend train and bus service.

Preparations are also getting underway for the city's big summertime food festival, resulting in the following street closures:

• Columbus is closed from Monroe to Roosevelt
• Jackson is also closed from Lake Shore Drive to Columbus
• Congress is closed from Michigan to Columbus

The Taste kicks off Wednesday and runs through July 12.