The plan to reshape the Massachusetts Turnpike through Boston's Allston neighborhood is hitting a snag.
State officials were counting on the federal government to chip in about $335 million, but that funding looks to be cut as part of the "big, beautiful bill" recently signed into law by President Donald Trump.
"What's surprising is that we're not prepared for it," said former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi.
He says the state should revise its plan for the project, pare it down, and not rely on the federal government for help, and that the project is too important to abandon.
"Are you sick of traffic congestion? Well, if you are, you want this project to happen," said Aloisi.
The project would bring the elevated lanes of the Pike to ground level, create a new transit hub to make it easier for people coming in from the west to get into Boston and Cambridge, improve access to the Charles River for pedestrians and bicyclists, and make Allston a more cohesive neighborhood rather than being broken up by roadway.
"Every single American relies on transportation. It is essential for quality of life and for the success of our economy," the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said in a statement Tuesday. "That is why it makes no sense that President Trump and Congressional Republicans just cut billions of dollars in transportation funding."
"I think this is a once-in-a-generation kind of project," said Maha Aslam of LivableStreets Alliance.
She says the funding cut is a setback, but agrees that cuts can be made to the project and the state can bankroll it.
"There are parts of this project that we still hope we can move forward with, even despite not having all of the funding that we had hoped for," said Aslam.