HARRISBURG -- A Republican state senator has come up with a major revision to a plan to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to private operators, and, if enacted, it would have several major ramifications including wiping out Allegheny County's 10 percent drink tax.

Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia, yesterday presented an alternative to leasing the entire west-east turnpike, including the northeast extension, to just a single private entity, as Gov. Ed Rendell wants to do.

Mr. Gordner, who strongly opposes a new law to put tolls on Interstate 80, wants to carve the turnpike into three sections and lease them separately to as many as three lessors. He thinks his plan could generate a one-time windfall of $20 billion to $30 billion for the state, which would be invested and produce an estimated $1 billion a year for 50 years.

Under the Gordner plan, the first turnpike section up for lease extends from the Ohio line to mile marker 247, which is the Harrisburg East exit, located near the Susquehanna River. The second piece of the toll road would be from mile marker 247 eastward to the New Jersey line. The third piece would be the northeast extension, also called Interstate 476.

Mr. Gordner said that of the $1 billion per year the state could get, $750 million would go to fix roads and bridges, and $250 million would go for mass transit, most of it for the Port Authority of Allegheny County and SEPTA in Philadelphia. This money wouldn't be generated, however, before January 2010, because it could take that long to pass the law and then complete the three leases.

Mr. Rendell said he would "certainly consider" the alternative plan.

"I don't know if leasing in three sections makes sense, but I would look at it," he said. "I was never in favor of tolling I-80, but I told [the Legislature] to bring me an alternative that would raise $1 billion and that's what they brought me."

But Mr. Gordner's bill contains several surprising elements that could affect its future in the Legislature. Among them:• As soon as the bill is signed into law, the controversial 10 percent tax on alcoholic drinks in Allegheny County would be eliminated. County Chief Executive Dan Onorato pushed for that tax, which just began in early January. The drink tax is expected to generate $30 million a year for the county to use for mass transit. But the tax has also angered many bar and restaurant owners and patrons by making drinks more expensive.

Asked yesterday about eliminating the drink tax, Mr. Onorato said, "I've made it very clear about the drink tax not being the best way [to fund transit]. Give me more options."

• It would make a major change in state government structure by eliminating the powerful Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and transferring the turnpike-leasing power to a lesser known agency called the State Transportation Commission. It has 15 members, some legislators and some named by the governor, and is headed by Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler.

• The bill would repeal Act 44 of 2007, which was passed in July. That law has two parts: increasing Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls by 25 percent in January 2009, and imposing first-time tolls on I-80, which goes through Mr. Gordner's district.

A foe of the I-80 tolls, he says they will hurt his constituents. He also said federal officials seem increasingly unlikely to allow Pennsylvania to put tolls on I-80. Without the tolls, Act 44 will only raise about $500 million a year for transportation improvements instead of the nearly $1 billion that was hoped for, he said, so Act 44 won't do the job of improving transportation.

Mr. Gordner said the state has a better chance of leasing the turnpike if the leases are divided into three parts rather than leasing the entire 530-mile system to just one company.

He thinks more bidders would come forward if the amount of money they have to raise for a lease is smaller, as it would be for a firm leasing only one of the three sections of the turnpike. Mr. Gordner would also restrict the lessors to companies based in America.

Mr. Gordner's legislation, Senate Bill 1280, should have a good chance to pass the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, many of whom don't like the patronage-laden turnpike commission. It could face more trouble in the House, which is run by Democrats.

Republican Sens. Jake Corman of Centre and Mary Jo White of Venango appeared with Mr. Gordner yesterday and endorsed the measure.

Mr. Rendell has said that next month he'll release the bids he has gotten from companies interested in leasing the entire turnpike. Those bids are expected to produce at least $1 billion a year, for many years, money that could be used to fix roads, bridges and mass transit.

Mr. Rendell is pursuing his leasing plan because of the strong possibility that federal officials won't permit the tolling of I-80, which would sharply reduce the revenue-raising potential of Act 44.