State officials have accomplished the first two steps toward converting Interstate 80 into a toll road, starting with signing a 50-year lease agreement between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

They also announced yesterday that they've forwarded the document and already applied to the Federal Highway Administration, asking for expedited approval to make the east-west highway the nation's third pilot interstate tolling project permitted under a federal transportation act.

"I respectfully request that you give prompt and favorable consideration to the application being submitted to your department regarding the tolling of I-80 in Pennsylvania," Gov. Ed Rendell said in an accompanying letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.

He said the highway is 40 years old and that the state no longer has sufficient resources to keep the key corridor between the Northeast and Midwest "safe and serviceable" for passenger and commercial vehicles.

If the FHWA approves the request, the 311 miles of I-80 would be added to 5,244 miles of tolled highways and bridges already in operation across the nation.

The approval process is expected to take three years.

If the proposal succeeds, officials estimate it will raise an average of $950 million a year over the next 12 years when combined with toll increases that are to be implemented on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Also, PennDOT is expecting to save about $100 million a year when it turns over responsibility for I-80 to the turnpike commission.

Most of the money would be used for the maintenance and repair of roads and bridges statewide, but about $300 million a year from the turnpike toll increases would be earmarked to increase subsidies to 73 transit systems, including the Port Authority of Allegheny County.

Over the 50-year life of the "public-public partnership," the turnpike commission expects to generate a total of $116 billion, with $83.3 billion to be turned over to PennDOT for roads, bridges and transit; $8 billion to be reinvested in I-80 improvements; and up to $24.8 billion to be dedicated to unspecified transportation projects.

Tolling I-80 and increasing turnpike tolls were initiated by Act 44, new transportation funding legislation approved in July by the General Assembly and signed by Mr. Rendell, who's still exploring a long-term lease of the turnpike to private interests in case the FHWA rejects the state's current plan.

"If we want to ensure a growing economy that continues to add jobs, we need a safe, viable transportation network funded by a long-term revenue stream," state Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said in a statement. "Act 44 provides [the] significant funding for our transportation needs."

The tolling proposal has raised considerable objection along the I-80 corridor. U.S. Reps. Phil English, R-Erie, and John Peterson, R-Venango, have led efforts to remove language from the federal law that permits three pilot tolling projects.

Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Officer Joe Brimmeier said a clause inserted into the I-80 agreement pledges that toll revenues will be used exclusively for roads and bridges statewide, and not for transit. One of Mr. English's main objections is that some of the I-80 money would subsidize transit.

State Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango, another opponent of tolling I-80, said she isn't giving up the fight despite the signing of the 50-year lease.

"I don't think it's too late to stop the tolling," she said. "I don't think it's a done deal."

She said it's still possible that federal highway officials won't approve the demonstration project and that Mr. English and Mr. Peterson may still be able to insert an amendment to block tolling of all interstates.

Turnpike commission officials are being proactive in pushing the project. They've developed a special Web site, www.paturnpike/i80, and they're planning a series of public meetings next month with residents and businesses along the corridor.

Mr. Brimmeier noted the turnpike commission has already passed along $62.5 million to PennDOT as a result of Act 44, and by the end of this month will make a second payment of $229.5 million. In all, the commission will provide PennDOT with $750 million in the 2007-08 fiscal year and payments will increase in subsequent years.

The states that have applied for the first two pilot tolling project slots are Virginia, in 2003, and Maryland, in 2005. The FHWA has yet to approve either one.

The turnpike commission has signed a $3 million, three-year contract with a planning-engineering consultant, McCormick-Taylor Inc., to spearhead its efforts to implement Act 44 and advance the I-80 project.

It also has amended an existing contract with Wilbur Smith Associates to update traffic information and develop a preliminary recommendation about the number and location of up to 10 tolling plazas.

The tentative plan calls for cars to pay 8 cents a mile and 18-wheel tractor-trailers to pay 30 cents a mile, putting border-to-border tolls at $25 and $93 respectively, starting in 2010.