PA Turnpike Bid Pulled

GROUP WANTING TO LEASE HIGHWAY TAKES OFFER OFF THE TABLE

It appears Pennsylvania’s self-help guide to road funding has been burned. After learning that the Federal Highway Administration denied its application for a grant to toll I-80, the state received word on Wednesday, Oct. 1, that the group looking to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike for $12.8 billion has pulled its offer. Pennsylvania Transportation Partners, led by Citigroup and Abertis Infraestructuras from Spain, allowed the deal to expire on Sept. 30. The Pennsylvania state legislature failed to bring the measure to a vote.

Gov. Ed Rendell proposed the idea of privatizing the Turnpike months ago, and the state selected Pennsylvania Transportation Partners in May in the hopes that the lease would serve as a model for large-scale public-private partnerships in the U.S. The original deadline for the bid approval was June 20, but Pennsylvania Transportation Partners granted two extensions. The struggling economy, made worse by a tightening credit market, led to the bid’s demise. Rendell, however, still looks to lease the Turnpike. “Should such legislation be enacted, it would be my hope to execute a lease with the [Pennsylvania Transportation Partners] team,” he told the Associated Press.