Recovery fund approved for businesses affected by Cascade Road project

The city of Atlanta will extend a helping hand to small business owners who experienced a considerable drop in foot traffic and profits during the Cascade Road Complete Street project.

Why it matters: While the city has completed resurfacing and removed detours in the work zone along the major thoroughfare on Atlanta's west side, businesses still have to play catch-up to get back to where they were before the project began.

The latest: The resolution approved at Tuesday's Council meeting allows Invest Atlanta to use left over dollars originally set aside for the Atlanta Recovery Fund, which was established for businesses affected by the 2024 water outage crisis, to help Cascade Heights entrepreneurs.

• Businesses that would be eligible are located along Cascade between Harbin Road and the east end of Cascade Circle.

Zoom in: Cascade Heights business owners criticized the city over the slow progress of construction and shared how the detour around the road work affected their bottom lines.

• A Change.org petition was created, calling on the city to establish an economic recovery fund similar to one that was approved following the 2024 water outage crisis.

Catch up quick: In response to the outrage, the city staffed two crews that worked 12-hour shifts to repave Cascade Road from Willis Mill Road to Kingsdale Drive.

• The 24/7 repaving schedule allowed the city to reopen the roadway on Aug. 20.

• A community celebration was held last Wednesday to mark the completion of the resurfacing.

Flashback: The $33 million Cascade Road Complete Street project began in spring 2022 and installed improvements along a roughly two-mile stretch, including resurfacing and restriping the road, adding sidewalks and bike lanes and upgrading traffic signals.

• The city also minimized the width of the travel lanes and reduced the speed limit to 25 miles per hour to get vehicles to slow down, Atlanta Department of Transportation Commissioner Solomon Caviness previously told Axios.

What's next: Invest Atlanta will fine-tune the recovery fund program and announce the details over the next few weeks.