WHILE ROLLING OUT AFTER LNDG ON RWY 27R; MLG WAS TOLD TO TURN L ONTO RWY 4L. AS THE RPTR APCHED RWY 4L; HE DISCOVERED THERE WAS A WORK PARTY; MEN AND VEHICLES; JUST S OF RWY 27R. HE HAD TO STALL ON THE RWY CAUSING A FLT BEHIND THEM TO GAR. TWR SEEMED UNAWARE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE WORK PARTY.

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WHILE ROLLING OUT FROM LNDG ON RWY 27R AT ORD; I WAS INSTRUCTED BY TWR TO TURN L ONTO RWY 4L. AS I BEGAN TO TURN I NOTICED A WORK CREW CONSISTING OF 3 TRUCKS AND SEVERAL MEN WORKING ON SOMETHING IN THE CTR OF RWY 4L IMMEDIATELY S OF RWY 27R. I HAD ROOM TO CLR RWY 27R (I THINK) BUT I WOULD HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO PROCEED FURTHER (BECAUSE OF THE TRUCKS) IF I HAD MADE THE L TURN ONTO RWY 4L. I SLOWED TO NEARLY A STOP ON THE RWY 27R AND TOLD THE FO TO QUERY TWR ABOUT THE WORK CREW AND GET A CONFIRMATION THAT HE (TWR) DID INDEED WANT US TO TURN ONTO RWY 4L. BECAUSE OF FREQ CONGESTION; THERE WAS A DELAY IN FURTHER CONTACT WITH TWR. WHEN THE FO WAS ABLE TO MAKE THE CALL TO TWR; TWR DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE OUR XMISSION BUT DID IMMEDIATELY INSTRUCT A FLT LNDG BEHIND US ON RWY 27R TO GAR. AT THE SAME TIME THE GND CREW NOTICED US AT THE INTXN OF RWYS 27R AND 4L AND IMMEDIATELY GOT INTO THEIR TRUCKS AND CLRED RWY 4L. WE PROCEEDED TO TURN ONTO RWY 4L AND CONTACTED GND. THE ENTIRE EVENT (FROM THE TIME WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO TURN L ONTO RWY 4L UNTIL THE FLT HAD TO GAR) WAS ONLY 20-30 SECONDS. MY IMPRESSION WAS THAT THE TWR CTLR WAS NOT AWARE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE GND CREW WORKING ON RWY 4L.