A downed wire forced the complete closure of Main Street in both directions through downtown Downers Grove on Tuesday, July 28, blocking one of the village's busiest corridors as ComEd crews were called to respond.
The Village of Downers Grove announced the closure at 10:01 a.m. on its official X account, stating that northbound Main Street from Ogden Avenue and southbound Main Street from 39th Street were completely shut down due to a wire down in the roadway. The village said ComEd had been notified.
The closure came one day after severe thunderstorms tore through Downers Grove on Monday, July 27, knocking out power to more than 281,000 ComEd customers regionwide and producing wind gusts between 90 and 100 mph in parts of the south and southwest suburbs, according to CBS News Chicago. As we reported Tuesday, more than 5,000 ComEd customers in Downers Grove remained without power as of 9 a.m. that morning. Monday's storms also left flooding, downed trees, and widespread power outages across the village.
No source has confirmed whether the Main Street wire was directly caused by Monday's storms. The village's storm response page noted that some damaged trees near power lines required ComEd crews to safely complete removal work, and that those locations had been reported to ComEd.
Public Works crews were already clearing roadways, removing damaged parkway trees, and addressing hanging branches Tuesday morning when the Main Street closure was announced. A National Weather Service damage survey team was also dispatched to DuPage County around Downers Grove and Glen Ellyn on Tuesday, July 28, to assess storm damage, ABC7 reported.
No reopening time has been announced. The village has not posted a follow-up notice indicating when ComEd cleared the wire.
What residents should know
The village warned residents to stay away from any downed power lines and call 911 immediately. Residents can report power outages to ComEd at 1-800-334-7661 or check the outage map at comed.com. Parkway tree damage and fallen limbs can be reported to Downers Grove Public Works at 630-434-5460 or through the village service request portal at cvportal.downers.us.
