HARRISBURG -- Three private consortiums have expressed interest in building one section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway and two segments of the Southern Beltway that state officials don't have the money to complete.

One construction team is composed of local firms, including PNC Capital Markets and Wilbur Smith Associates, while the other two include Spanish and American companies.

All three groups include firms with expertise in financing, designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the new roads, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesman Carl Defebo said yesterday.

The Turnpike Commission put out a request for interested parties in September and got three responses by yesterday's deadline. But announcing the three names is just the first step in what likely will be a lengthy process before road construction begins.

"Each proposal indicated that further analysis is necessary before providing dollar estimates" of how much it would cost each team to proceed, Mr. Defebo said.

The part of the Mon-Fayette Expressway that's up for bid is the 24-mile section in Allegheny County, from Route 51 in Jefferson Hills to Interstate 376 in Pittsburgh and Monroeville.

The two uncompleted sections of the Southern Beltway near Pittsburgh International Airport would extend it by 26 miles, from Route 22 to the existing Mon-Fayette Expressway in Washington County.

In exchange for building the roads with private money, the winning consortium would get the right to place tolls on the new roadways. Mr. Defebo said it will likely be months yet before a winning bidder is chosen.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

First Published: January 16, 2009, 8:45 p.m.