Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation Secretary & CEO Jeffrey Mullan said that federal officials "expressed concern" to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's administration "about the appearance of using $9[M] in federal stimulus money to build a footbridge connecting privately owned parking lots next to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough," according to Noah Bierman of the BOSTON GLOBE. Mullan said that he was "contacted by federal officials in the past two weeks." Mullan: "It's fair to say that federal highway had concerns. They didn't like the fact that it was on the list." Mullan added that the state "has the ultimate say on what projects get funded by stimulus money," and that the "primary reason for pulling the project was its lack of readiness." But Mullan yesterday acknowledged that Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator for Massachusetts Lucy Garliauskas was "worried about the project's appearance and told him that her office had been contacted by the inspector general's office in Washington inquiring about it." U.S. Dept. of Transportation Dir of Public Affairs Jill Zuckman said that department officials "did not direct the state to remove the project from its list, but that it was part of an ongoing conversation about all stimulus projects in the state." Meanwhile, Patrick yesterday "defended the footbridge project," saying that it "would boost private development and create jobs." Patrick: "That bridge opens up 1.5 million square feet of commercial office development. It's the largest single commercial development plot we have in the Commonwealth." Patriots Owner Bob Kraft, at the state's request, has spent $2M "on the environmental permitting process" for the project, as the bridge "would link potential tenants to the retail complex that abuts Gillette Stadium, part of Kraft's $800[M] private investment in the area" ( BOSTON GLOBE, 12/8 ).
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