The private consortium that wants to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 75 years has extended its offer to the state for a second time period.

Abertis/Citigroup, also known as Pennsylvania Transportation Partners, has extended its offer to Sept. 30. The original deadline was mid June, later extended to mid July.

Gov. Ed Rendell is hoping the Legislature, when it returns Sept. 15, will approve the private offer, which would give the state an up-front payment of $12.9 billion. The state would invest that sum, with a goal of earning at least $1 billion a year in interest.

The money would be spent on improving roads, bridges and mass transit.

Mr. Rendell has said that the Abertis/Citigroup offer won'tl ast forever and he wants the Legislature to act on it soon. But some legislators, who are supporters of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, have called the offer "dead."

These legislators prefer Act 44 of 2007, which raises turnpike tolls and imposes first-time tolls on Interstate 80, if the federal government approves the idea.

If the turnpike lease were to go forward, the turnpike commission, which has connections to numerous powerful state politicians, would go out of existence. Operation and maintenance of the road would be done by Abertis/Citigroup.

First Published: July 23, 2008, 4:45 p.m.