ATLANTA — Decades after the U.S. interstate system cut through part of downtown Atlanta and split the community in the area around West Peachtree Street to Cortland Street, federal lawmakers from Georgia announced new funding to help reconnect those neighborhoods.
The Stitch, a project plan to reconnect the center of Atlanta, was proposed to bring 14 acres back together.
As Channel 2 Action News reported in 2022, Congresswoman Nikema Williams announced $1.6 million was awarded from federal funds to get community input on the reconnection plan.
Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff joined Williams in announcing more than $200 million had been granted for projects in key Georgia infrastructure projects, including funding for the Stitch.
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Of the more than $210 million announced, $157 million will be used for the Stitch, according to the lawmakers’ announcement.
“This tremendous federal award for The Stitch is a direct result of the people of Georgia sending Jon Ossoff and I to the Senate, and it’s exactly the kind of investment I had in mind when I championed legislation last Congress to invest in reconnecting communities severed by highway construction,” Warnock said.
According to project details, “The Stitch proposes to create a continuous bridge, or “cap”, over the Downtown Connector between the Piedmont Ave./Baker Highland bridge and the Ted Turner Drive bridge. This will be comprised of several new bridge structures “filling in” the existing bridges in this extent, in effect turning this section of the Downtown Connector into a ¾ mile tunnel. On top of these bridges will be the park and transportation improvements that comprise the Stitch.”
The Stitch was first proposed in 2019, where with the intention of returning the heart of Atlanta to the connection it had at the end of the 1940s.
Speaking with Channel 2 Action News previously, A.J. Robinson of Central Atlanta Progress said the project could take close to 20 years to build and could cost up to $400 million.
“We are delivering historic resources to upgrade transportation and recreation infrastructure for Georgia families. I thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Buttigieg, and Assistant Secretary Coes for their support as we lead Georgia forward, and I commend the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Regional Commission, Macon-Bibb County, Athens-Clarke County, and City of Savannah for their successful work bidding for these major awards,” Ossoff said, discussing the newly awarded funds.
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The lawmakers’ announcement said the more than $157.6 million awarded for the Stitch will be used to fund phase 1 construction of a multi-use 14-acre greenspace over I-75 and I-85 to reconnect neighborhoods in north Downtown Atlanta which were divided by the current highway system.
Additionally, funding for the Stitch will support affordable housing and transit-oriented developments while working to improve overall transportation in the Downtown Atlanta area and “transform existing car-oriented streets into complete streets.” The funding will also be aimed at enhancing local MARTA rail and regional bus station operations, according to the statement from Georgia’s federal lawmakers.
“The Stitch will reclaim a massive part of our city from infrastructure that divided the Black neighborhoods of Buttermilk Bottoms, Bedford Pines, and Sweet Auburn. And with a new connection to the BeltLine, we are increasing pathways to opportunity for communities that have historically been overlooked for federal investments,” Williams said. “Reconnecting our communities with a focus on equity is why I passed the legislation that funded these transformational grants. I will keep working with Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Regional Commission to build these visionary projects that serve everyone.”
According to a statement from Williams’ office, the congresswoman secured the first federal investment in the engineering phase for The Stitch with her Community Project Funding Grant for FY 22. The Stitch also received one of the first grants from the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which was based on legislation written by Williams. In total, the congresswoman’s office said she has secured more than $70 million to complete and connect the BeltLine, including $25 million in June to connect the BeltLine to Lindbergh Center.
An additional $50 million in funding was also awarded to a project aimed at reconnecting the Atlanta Beltline to the Flint River Trial in Southside Atlanta, according to lawmakers.
Other projects around the state to receive funding included:
- $1.8 million for the City of Savannah to remove the I-16 ramp
- $800,000 for Connect Athens
- $500,000 to Macon-Bibb County to reconnect the Pleasant Hill neighborhood to the downtown business district
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