Dozens stranded on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive

CHICAGO (AP) - Dozens of motorists were stranded for hours on Chicago's iconic Lake Shore Drive after it was shut down as a blizzard battered the city.

City officials said early Wednesday that multiple lanes of cars and buses became stuck on the northbound lanes of the city's crucial thoroughfare because of abandoned vehicles, multiple accidents and generally poor traffic conditions.

Rescue officials were evacuating motorists from their cars overnight and guiding some to stranded buses to keep them warm.

Motorist Frank Ercole told WLS-TV in Chicago that no one had any information and "everything was frozen." He described the scene as "insane."

City officials say the drive was closed just before 8 p.m. Tuesday. They worried that winds up to 60 mph could push waves from Lake Michigan over the roadway.