Pike lease draws no bids

HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell didn't receive any bids for leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike by his self-imposed deadline of Wednesday, but observers say there is interest from private companies in the multibillion-dollar deal.

The governor's office had no bids by 5 p.m., said Chuck Ardo, Rendell's press secretary.

"We have not received any bids to this point but have been advised that a short delay in accepting them may result in higher bids," Ardo said.

He said the delay, recommended by financial adviser Morgan Stanley, might be a few days or weeks.

Morgan Stanley has estimated a 75-year turnpike lease could bring in $12 billion to $18 billion.

"There's definitely a lot of interest" from potential bidders, said Peter Samuel, publisher of TOLLROADSnews, an Internet publication on the toll road industry.

Samuel said companies might not have offered bids by yesterday because the deadline "was a bit sprung on them" by Rendell. The governor's office issued an April 16 statement saying that he wanted bids by the end of the month.

Some companies might be "affected by the financial turbulence" in national markets, Samuel said. But others have "lots of cash," he said.

Fourteen consortiums and companies had notified the governor's office earlier of their intention to offer a bid.

"Bidders don't want to show their hands before they need to do so, for fear it may give other bidder groups an advantage," Ardo explained.

Matthew Brouillette, president of the Commonwealth Foundation, a Harrisburg-based think tank, predicted at least three companies will offer bids.

"They will be getting bids," said Brouillette, who believes the new deadline will be May 9.

Rendell is hoping to raise billions of dollars from leasing the turnpike to pay for improvements to highways, bridges and mass transit across the state.

He plans to pick the winning bid and wants the Legislature to approve the choice by mid-June, before lawmakers recess for the summer, Ardo said.

There's been no groundswell of support in the Legislature.

House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Punxsutawney, said earlier this week that "secrecy" surrounding the deal and Rendell's demands that it be done in June don't bode well for legislative approval before the summer recess.

Act 44, which took effect in July, is slated to provide about $1 billion a year for highway, bridge and transit needs. A key component, however, is money from placing tolls on Interstate 80, something the federal government hasn't approved.