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Power Restored In Downtown Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - The traffic signals and lights were back on Friday afternoon about 24 hours after a power outage in downtown Detroit.

Chris Brown, Chief Operating Officer with the city, told reporters Friday afternoon that all power had been restored, however crews were still working to put two, 24,000 volt, tie lines back in service.

According to Brown, the power will be rolled out grid by grid, which means one grid will get power and then they'll move on to the next one.

View photos from the outage.

While power has been restored, there were a number of cancellations and school closings as a result of the outage.

The Coleman A, Young Municipal Center will be closed Friday. Employees are not required to report for work.

All classes and activities at Wayne State University and Wayne County Community College's downtown campus have been cancelled Friday.

Classes are also cancelled at these Detroit Public Schools: Cass Tech High, King High, Northwestern High, Bunche Elementary, Crockett Career Tech Center, Chrysler Elementary, Detroit International Academy, Detroit School of Arts, Douglass Academy, and Spain K-8.  Cass Tech's prom is being moved from The Y-Club to Detroit Marriott.

Wayne County Probate Court and the Third Circuit Court, both at the Young building and the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, will not be in session.  However, the Wayne County Prosecutor's office says although the Wayne County Third Circuit Court Criminal Division is closed today, all Wayne County Prosecutor's Office employees should call: 313-967-6822 for information regarding reporting to work Friday.

In addition, police personnel with victims or any person scheduled for a warrant interview must report to the  Lincoln Hall of Justice located at 1025 East Forest in Detroit at 9:00 a.m. today.

The Detroit Department of Transportation's Administrative office on Warren Avenue will be closed Friday, but employees who report for work will receive four hours' pay.  The People Mover is not running Friday.

The main branch of the Detroit Public Library and the Skillman Branch on Gratiot Avenue are closed due to the power outage.  All other branches are open as normal.

There is no power at the Detroit Historical Museum, so it is closed Friday.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is closed through 5 pm Friday. Employees and visitors can call 313-833-7905 for updates.

Power is out at the McNamara Federal Building, but the federal courthouse is open.

The 36th District Court has power and is open for business Friday.  All employees should report for work as scheduled. All scheduled court hearings will be conducted as well. Any person having a scheduled hearing should report as scheduled.

Cobo Center had power restored at 7 a.m. Friday and is open.

Detroit officials intentionally cut power to several city buildings Thursday to prevent the municipal power system from crashing due to the high energy demand - even though temperatures had tapered to the 70s after two days above 90.

"We knew based on the increased usage because of the increased temperatures the previous two days, that we could face a serious situation," Mayoral Spokeswoman Karen Dumas said.

For the very latest on the downtown power situation, tune to WWJ Newsradio 950 or click back to CBSDetroit.com.

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