Turnpike must solicit bids - PittsburghLIVE.com The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would have to solicit bids if it wants a private company to operate the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
The agency could not negotiate exclusively with an Australian company that initially expressed an interest in operating the toll highway, state Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville, minority chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Thursday.
Macquarie Group, of Sidney, Australia, told state officials it is interested in leasing the $4.3 billion expressway that eventually is expected to link Pittsburgh and Interstate 68 near Morgantown, W.Va.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Turnpike must solicit bids - PittsburghLIVE.com
Bids = four-letter word. Bids, oh my gosh. Bids, bring em on. And, then we get bids that greatly exceed the expected cost. So, then what. Bids are wothless. Just run the contract and expect that the over-runs are going to be paid anyway. Heck no.
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Turnpike must solicit bids to privatize road
By Jim Ritchie
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, March 3, 2006
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would have to solicit bids if it wants a private company to operate the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
The agency could not negotiate exclusively with an Australian company that initially expressed an interest in operating the toll highway, state Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville, minority chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Thursday.
Macquarie Group, of Sidney, Australia, told state officials it is interested in leasing the $4.3 billion expressway that eventually is expected to link Pittsburgh and Interstate 68 near Morgantown, W.Va.
Macquarie made an informal presentation to turnpike commission staff about a month ago, explaining lease agreements it has reached in other states to operate toll roads. The company did not make an offer for the expressway during the meeting, only saying it is interested in a deal, Stout said.
No Pennsylvania highways are run by private companies, but such arrangements are becoming more common in other states.
The commission would seek offers only if it decides forging a lease agreement is the right move, Stout said.
Turnpike and Macquarie officials continue to meet and gather information, commission Executive Director Joe Brimmeier said.
"It could drop dead tomorrow or it could move to the next stage," he said.
Macquarie spokeswoman Suzanne Mercer declined to comment.
A deal likely would provide enough money to complete the expressway's construction. Roughly half of the 100-mile network of toll roads hugging the Monongahela River -- splintering in the Mon Valley to link with Monroeville and Pittsburgh International Airport -- are complete. The commission does not have money for some pieces of the highway, including a $1.9 billion segment through Allegheny County.
Similar arrangements are in place elsewhere, including the Chicago Skyway and the South Bay Expressway in San Diego. The commission is reviewing the details of those arrangements.
The Indiana Senate yesterday approved a deal that would give a Macquarie-financed group, Statewide Mobility Partners, control of the Indiana Toll Road, also known as Interstate 80/90. The Indiana House approved a similar measure in January and now a conference committee will try to iron out the two bills.
Under the arrangement, Statewide Mobility Partners would pay the state $3.85 billion to operate the toll highway for 75 years. Tolls could be increased annually by up to 2 percent, or up to the percentage increases of the consumer price index or gross domestic product, said Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Gary Abell.
"What we plan to do with that money is fund our state highway new-construction program for the next 10 years," Abell said. "So, there's a lot of debate about the use of that money. And, of course, there's some debate about leasing the toll road itself."
The first privatization of a toll road in the U.S. was the Chicago Skyway. A Macquarie subsidiary was part of the Skyway Concession Co. that paid Chicago $1.83 billion for a 99-year lease on the toll road. Skyway Concession now is responsible for operating and maintaining the highway.
Talks in Harrisburg about Macquarie's interest in the Mon-Fayette Expressway have not yet involved what a lease package might include, Brimmeier said.
"This is just kind of a fact-finding, exploratory meeting that we've had and will continue to have," Brimmeier said. "There's obviously no commitments."
Jim Ritchie can be reached at jritchie@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7933.
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