Want to Buy a Bridge? No, Really.

States looking to close pesky budget gaps are finding an untapped mother lode beneath their feet -- er, wheels. Last year Chicago leased its eight-mile Skyway for $1.8 billion to a private consortium for 99 years. Now, governors on both coasts are salivating at the prospect of turning their asphalt and rest stops into cash.

So far, the biggest money to be made is in New Jersey. The state could raise a whopping $30 billion by leasing the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, according to a report by Merrill Lynch. The two roads collect $716 million in tolls annually but have $5 billion in outstanding debt. Subtract out the debt and the leftovers could just about feed the state budget monster for a year.

New Jersey isn't alone. California's Route 73 is attracting fewer cars than the state projected, putting the highway's bonds at risk for default. One of the Chicago Skyway's lessees is offering to bail out Route 73 for $1.9 billion. And in New York, Governor George Pataki is wondering what public infrastructure he might sell. He once bragged to other governors that the state's airports, toll roads and bridges are "worth billions." Albany is now looking closer at its options.

It's hard not to wonder what these states would do if they suddenly found themselves with billions of additional dollars of cash on hand. Oh wait, that's what happened after the 1998 tobacco settlement. According to Congress's Government Accountability Office, tobacco settlement money went largely to closing budget shortfalls, in essence using addicted smokers to finance state spending sprees. Look for the call for road privatization to continue, especially in states with lots of traffic and little backbone for cutting spending.