Congressman Michael Capuano dismissed concerns that the administration of President-elect Donald Trump would shut down federal funding for local infrastructure projects, including the embattled Green Line Extension. “A lot of the things Massachusetts relies on are not subject to presidential input in a direct way,” Capuano said In an interview with Boston Public Radio Tuesday, “He has to go really out of his way to try to get us.”
In August, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board reviewed the project and authorized the MBTA to proceed with a search for a management team. Earlier this month, John Dalton was hired as a manager to oversee the project. The MBTA and the Mass DOT are now seeking approval from the Federal Transit Administration to for a scaled-down version, funded by a $1 billion federal grant. “They have taken every step that I know of to get re-approval of their tending and current approval,” Capuano said. “To take it away is a much more difficult step. If they hadn’t already gotten approval, I would be much more concerned. But they’ve gotten it, they’re doing what they needed to do.”
