I guess I'd never given it much thought. But if I did, I would not have imagined...

It turns out an investment group has just bought the Pennsylvania Turnpike for $12.8 billion. Well, the right to run it, anyway, which of course includes the ability to charge tolls to drivers -- and make money. Here're the details from The New York Times:

A consortium led by Citigroup and Spain’s Abertis Infraestructuras won the bidding war to run the Pennsylvania Turnpike with a $12.8 billion offer, Gov. Edward Rendell said on Monday.

The group, which includes Australia’s Babcock & Brown, beat out a rival group that includes Goldman Sachs and Transurban Group.

The deal is the largest ever privatization of a toll road in the United States, as infrastructure investments become increasingly in vogue.

Of course, the transaction still needs legislative approval, which is no small matter. But it could come to pass. If so, what would it mean for drivers? If I were a betting man, I'd say higher tolls are on the way.