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Low-flying helicopter filming will interrupt Loop, river traffic

Summit Entertainment

(Above) Chicago River depicted in the 2014 film Divergent. (Click on image to view larger version.)

14-Oct-14 – Filming this weekend for Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent, will shut down the Chicago River and streets on the north side of the Loop.

Notices from Puck Productions, LLC, say filming will take place on Saturday morning and again on Sunday morning.

On Saturday, October 18, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., the five bridges from Dearborn Street to Columbus Drive will be raised and a helicopter will fly low between them, making a few passes.

For periods of five to ten minutes, pedestrians will be asked to wait inside buildings. Boats will have it worse. During that time, the river will be closed to navigation between Dearborn Street and Lake Shore Drive except for two boats being filmed.

From 7 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., Dearborn Street, State Street, and Wabash Avenue will be closed from Wacker Drive south to Kinzie Street.

Michigan Avenue will be closed from Wacker Drive south to Illinois Street. Lower Michigan Avenue and Lower Columbus Drive will be closed from Wacker Drive to East North Water Street.

Sidewalks on Wacker Drive – and along with the Riverwalk – will be closed intermittently during this time from Dearborn Street east to Lake Shore Drive.

The bridges are scheduled to be raised again at 9 a.m. to allow sailboats to get from Lake Michigan to winter storage.

Google Maps

Then on Sunday, October 19, between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., a helicopter will fly low over four square blocks – Lake Street between Wabash Avenue and Michigan Avenue, and Michigan Avenue between Lake Street and Wacker Place (see map above).

During actual filming, which should last 5-10 minutes, vehicles will be held at intersections and pedestrians will be asked to wait inside buildings.

Intermittently between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., traffic will be kept away from these streets…

  • Beaubien Court (on east side of Millennium Park Plaza) from Lake Street south to Randolph Street

  • Garland Court from Haddock Place south to Randolph Street

  • Lake Street from Wabash Avenue east to Stetson Avenue

  • Michigan Avenue from Wacker Drive south to Randolph Street

  • South Water Street from Michigan Avenue east to Lower Stetson Avenue

  • Wacker Place from Wabash Avenue east to Michigan Avenue

Google Maps

(Above) Shaded areas indicate streets that will be closed on Sunday morning. (Click to view larger version.)

Sidewalks on both sides of Michigan Avenue will be closed intermittently between Wacker Drive to Randolph Street.

“All businesses will be open for normal hours,” reads the filming notice, “and we will direct you to the closest detour if you choose not to wait.”

The production company will provide shuttle buses to transport pedestrians around the closed streets.

Set in the year 2150, Insurgent is based on the novel by Veronica Roth about a society divided into factions. Divergent filmed in Chicago in July 2013 and was released in March 2014.

“We are excited to return to Chicago to capture the same unique Chicago look and remarkable architecture we found so cinematic in ‘Divergent,’” says the production company, which insists on calling the new movie by its code name, Mineral.

Located in Santa Monica, California, Puck Productions, LLC, is a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. The Chicago address listed for the company in the filming notices is for Cinespace Chicago Film Studios.