The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has released $49.5 million in design funding it froze last year for Seattle's planned Central Link light rail line after DOT's inspector general raised questions about the project's costs and financing.
DOT Secretary Norman Mineta, who announed the release of the design funds on Aug. 21, put a hold on the money for Seattle in April 2001, not long after he became head of the department.