HARRISBURG – Gov. Edward G. Rendell met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters Wednesday to discuss the role of public private partnerships as an option to address Pennsylvania’s unmet transportation needs.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss innovative funding initiatives with Secretary Peters,” Rendell said. “I have proposed exploring the potential lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to generate nearly $1 billion a year for state highways and bridges. This approach will create a dedicated annual revenue stream that will help us pay for desperately needed road and bridge repairs without adding to individuals’ tax burden.”
Peters spent the day in Pennsylvania meeting with administration and leaders of the state Senate and House transportation committees to discuss the role of public private partnerships in solving transportation funding shortfalls.
As part of his budget address in February, Rendell outlined an innovative plan — including a possible Turnpike lease — to generate $965 million a year for highways and bridges.
Last week, Rendell announced that the commonwealth selected Morgan Stanley & Co. as the state’s principal financial adviser in assembling a financial transaction that could leverage the Turnpike. Morgan Stanley will analyze and explore:
• A lease or concession of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private operator;
• New revenue generating activity advocated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which has suggested the issuance of bonds, instituting new tolls on other Pennsylvania highways, and creating a $1 “congestion fee” in certain urban areas as a way to raise the necessary funds for infrastructure repair;
• A highly leveraged debt recapitalization of the Turnpike by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission or another public entity owned by the commonwealth.
As part of her visit, Peters earlier met with Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Allen D. Biehler at the site of a Cumberland County bridge that was closed in March 2005 because of concrete deterioration. The bridge is not slated to be replaced until 2011.