East India Turnpike Company?

Are you ready for some company in Hong Kong to own Pennsylvania’s longest road? Ed Rendell officially announced today that the Pennsylvania Turnpike is for sale.

The sale or lease of a state toll highway isn’t all that rare nowadays and companies have been eyeing the turnpike for about a year now. Interested parties have until Dec. 22 to submit proposals. If the state sold the turnpike, it could make anywhere from $2 to $30 billion dollars, which would then be put in a trust and used to fund various transportation projects.

The Inquirer’s Larry King writes that the Rendell said any buyer/leaser would have to agree to protections for current workers, adhere to a maintenance schedule and limits on toll increases.

A recent state study said that the state needed $1.7 billion more a year to stabilize and improve its roads and public transportation systems. Does this mean we’ll be seeing the Schuylkill Valley Metro anytime soon? Let’s hope so, but let’s see what our foreign investors want to pay us first.

Pa. Turnpike for sale or rent [Inquirer]