Although the Dig itself was a fiasco, no one is complaining about how great the greenway is…

There’s federal money available to do just this. It’s a connecting neighborhoods program. If you take a look at the article I linked it says that the time to apply ends 2027 though. So it’s feasible that most of the project could be paid for by the federal government. I’m sure that would ease some of the worries state level even if somebody’s cousin still winds up being the person getting that fed money.