A Baker administration bill seeking $50 million for short-term MBTA improvements is not necessary for an accelerated-repair plan this fall, but the money could speed up the work or advance similar projects in the future, the T’s top official said.

MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak told the News Service on Wednesday that additional funding could boost the size of a “flex force” of workers, who will tackle some of the maintenance work planned during weekend shutdowns. However, he said the ambitious project can go forward without that money.

“We will be able to do the capital acceleration plan independent of the flex force,” he said. “The flex force, which we’re already starting to hire, would make us more effective in doing it. But we are going to do the 2019 capital acceleration plan independent of the discussion of the funding.”

T officials will expand Saturday and Sunday shutdowns this fall, shuttering rail service on the Orange Line for six straight weekends, another four on the Red Line and several more on the Green Line. Doing so, they said, will allow quicker work on projects to replace aging tracks and to maintain stations.

The project, which will cost about $27 million, will not be funded by a bill the governor filed in June in the wake of a Red Line derailment. While that bill (H.3934) continues to languish in the legislature, Poftak said the additional funding could help hire employees to do “secondary and tertiary” projects during station shutdowns such as clearing debris. Separately, Baker has filed an $18 billion bonding bill for various transportation infrastructure projects.

Further closures are possible in 2020, including on weekdays, to allow for additional work.

“If we have a flex force in place, we have that much more capacity to do those projects,” Poftak said. “It will help us be much more effective. Every time we close a station, we want to maximize the amount of work we get done. The more of that flex force we have in place, the more work we can get done.”