HARRISBURG -- As state and federal legislators continue trying to block the tolling of Interstate 80, Gov. Ed Rendell is going full steam ahead with an alternate plan to raise money to improve transportation -- leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private company or consortium.

Mr. Rendell said more than 30 financial, construction and transportation firms have submitted their qualifications and expressions of interest in running the 530-mile toll road. He expects that during the next few weeks, some of the companies will end up working together as teams, reducing the potential number of bidders to 14.

The companies expressing interest in operating the turnpike include such well-known names as Merrill Lynch, Cintra (of Spain), Macquarie Infrastructure Partners Inc. (of Australia), Goldman Sachs & Co., AIG Financial Products Corp., John Hancock Financial Services, Citi Infrastructure Investors and J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. Current turnpike employees have also formed a group that hopes to be involved.

It will be several weeks before Mr. Rendell asks each consortium to submit actual monetary bids for the turnpike.

He thinks that such a lease could last for up to 99 years and bring the state at least $1.5 billion per year. That would be used to fix 9,000 miles of roads in poor condition and more than 6,000 ailing bridges and to bail out struggling mass transit agencies including the Port Authority.

In July, the General Assembly enacted Act 44, which calls for yearly increases in turnpike tolls starting in 2009 and also for putting first-time tolls on I-80 in 2011.

But a backlash set in over the summer among legislators and residents of Pennsylvania's northern tier, through which the 311-mile I-80 runs. U.S. Reps. John Peterson, R-Venango, and Phil English, R-Erie, are trying to prevent any federal funds from being used on the tolling process, which could kill the action, and state Rep. Scott Hutchinson, R-Venango, has a bill in the state Legislature to repeal Act 44.