I FAIL to understand the source of outrage regarding the governor’s push to spend $9 million in federal stimulus funds on a footbridge over Route 1 at Gillette Stadium (“For the Krafts’ Patriot Place, a golden gateway,’’ Page A1, Nov. 7). We were right to expect Bob Kraft to build the stadium with his own money, and he did. But it is the state’s responsibility to ensure that people can get to that stadium safely and without having a negative impact on others. Stopping traffic on a highway to allow thousands of people to cross is not a sensible solution.
Construction like this is exactly the kind of infrastructure improvement that government is supposed to carry out, as it makes possible the private developments such as Patriot Place. The price tag is more than offset by the income taxes the state collects from the team and players, not to mention the sales taxes on the concessions every Sunday.
Construction projects to put unemployed builders, contractors, and engineers to work are exactly what the federal stimulus money was intended for. It’s a far better way to spend it than giving raises to those who already have jobs (“Pay raises used to tally number of jobs saved by stimulus,’’ Page A11, Nov. 5).
Dave Brown
Brighton 
