Atlanta’s ‘Stitch’ transit project wins $1.1 million federal grant

Two major metro Atlanta infrastructure projects are about to receive significant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Georgia U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-atlanta, announced Tuesday that the “Stitch” project was awarded $1.1 million from a federal grant. The project would “stitch” together north downtown Atlanta neighborhoods with the creation of a green space park spanning 14 acres over I-75 and I-85, from the Civic Center MARTA station to beyond Piedmont Avenue.

The federal planning award will support research into transportation improvements and infrastructure upgrades for the Stitch, according to a DOT news release. It will also fund the initial building stages for the 14-acre green space “cap” park.

The city of Atlanta and Georgia’s DOT are partnered on the project, with extra funding support from the Atlanta Regional Commission, according to the DOT.

Williams said in a statement that I-75/I-85, also known as Atlanta’s Downtown Connector, divided the Black neighborhoods of Buttermilk Bottoms, Bedford Pines and Sweet Auburn through the 1956

Federal Highway Act. But Williams said the communities will be reconnected through the Stitch, which has been discussed among Georgia’s public officials for more than a decade.

In 2021, the Stitch obtained a $900,000 federal grant to finance its planning studies. Last year, Williams secured a $1.16 million federal grant for the project’s public outreach and preliminary engineering. The latest award comes from the Reconnecting Communities Program, a new grant based on legislation Williams wrote.

The DOT also used the pilot program to invest $2 million into Roswell’s Big Creek Greenway Community Connectivity Planning Project. Georgia DOT gave Roswell a 20-foot easement along Ga. 400 to build a multiuse path. The path would connect the Liberty Square neighborhood with Roswell’s town center, Alpharetta and the greater metro Atlanta.

Meanwhile, city leaders in Atlanta are lauding Williams, Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sen. Raphael Warnock for their support toward the Stitch. The project would cost an estimated $713 million, and supporters say it could be completed by 2032.

RENDERINGS BY JACOBS A rendering shows design concepts of “the Stitch,” a more than $700 million proposal to cover a portion of the Downtown Connector with parks and a restored street grid.