The Stitch was awarded a $157 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2024 — the single largest outside funding commitment for the project. By June 2025, the White House was attempting to reclaim it.
The grant, part of a broader federal transportation funding program, had already been partially distributed. Design funds were dispersed and work was underway. But the majority of the money — the construction funding — was slated for release in early 2026, contingent on completion of federal permitting processes including the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review. The timing created a vulnerability: the money was committed but not yet in hand when the political landscape shifted.
The Rally
Atlanta leaders organized a public push to preserve the funding. U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock was direct about the stakes: "The Stitch would reconnect Atlanta communities, construct new housing, and create thousands of good-paying Georgia jobs."
Jack Cebe, the project's development manager, explained the permitting dependency: construction funding requires completed NEPA documentation, which was still in process. The grant was real, the project was real, but the bureaucratic timeline had not yet reached the milestone that would trigger the release of construction dollars.
Leaders requested that local organizations sign a support letter to Congress opposing the funding cuts — a grassroots lobbying effort to counter a federal policy decision that could delay The Stitch by years.
What's at Stake
The project's projected impact is enormous: 40,000 jobs, 25,000 new housing units, and $9 billion in economic impact for Georgia. Phase 1 construction was scheduled to begin in 2026, but losing the $157 million federal grant could push the timeline back several years while alternative funding sources are assembled.
The Stitch has been an idea since 2016, a formal proposal since 2019, and a funded project since 2024. The rally to preserve its federal funding is the latest chapter in a story that has required downtown Atlanta's leadership to fight for the project at every stage — from feasibility studies to engineering plans to, now, the halls of Congress.
Original reporting by GPB News, Georgia Public Broadcasting, June 11, 2025.