Keeping the Dream Alive of a Downtown Freeway Cap in Atlanta

Sean Keenan reports on the latest action for "The Stitch," a conceptual plan that would cover a half-mile stretch of the Interstate 75/85 Connector in Downtown Atlanta.

An initial design study in 2016 "mapped out pipe-dream plans to cover a half-mile stretch of the Interstate 75/85 Connector with concrete, creating a long tunnel for cars and a 14-acre canvas above for green space, between the Civic Center MARTA station and Piedmont Avenue," according to Keenan.

Engineering and feasibility studies have been underway since then, but most recently an Urban Land Institute Technical Advisory Panel is set to examine The Stitch's vision plan to bring real estate and development expertise to the table in making the vision a reality.

According to an earlier article updating the public about the ongoing planning for The Stitch, Dave Huddleston shares soundbites from AJ Robinson with Central Atlanta Progress, who describes the statues of the proposal and describes some of the construction challenges that would face the project.

When Planetizen first picked up news of the Stitch in 2016, the proposal came with an estimated price tag of $300 million. Now Huddleston and Keenan report $400 million as a possibility.