The Patrick administration is pushing through a plan to spend $9 million in federal stimulus money to build a walking bridge connecting parking lots on either side of Route 1 near Gillette Stadium. The lots belong to Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, who is tied for number 468 on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's billionaires.

State officials decided to bypass a host of projects across the state - including road rebuilding projects in Canton, Danvers, Braintree, and Bellingham - to build the footbridge.

The bridge was included on a slate of projects, prepared by the administration, that was approved late last month by a regional planning board that determines how to spend federal transportation money in the Boston area. Most transportation projects reviewed for federal funding are evaluated by two sets of professional planners before such votes, but the bridge and some other stimulus projects on the recently approved slate received no such review.

"Is this the best use of very, very limited stimulus money for transportation, a pedestrian bridge that basically goes between two parking lots?'' said Marc Draisen, director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, one of the planning agencies that would normally review such a project. "At this point, I don't feel we have enough information about this project.''

Draisen, who also has a seat on the regional planning board, voted against the latest round of stimulus projects on Oct. 29 because of his concerns about the process. The bridge is now under a public review period before it comes back to the planning board for final approval, most likely on Nov. 18.

In the meantime, Draisen said the administration has not adequately addressed several basic public policy questions about the project, including why the Kraft Group, owners of the Patriots and the Patriot Place mega-development that abuts the stadium, are not paying for it themselves.

Patrick officials announced earlier this year that they will use some stimulus money to help jump-start private projects. They say the bridge, which includes elevators on either side of the street, is key to spurring economic development and jobs along Route 1 in Foxborough. The Kraft Group will be responsible for maintaining it.

The use of the money in Foxborough follows a massive private investment by the Krafts, who privately financed a state-of-the-art, $325 million football stadium that opened in 2002, then built a sprawling commercial development next door several years later.