The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has made a fourth payment to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation under terms of the Act 44 transportation funding legislation passed last summer, fulfilling its $750 million commitment for the 2007-08 budget year.

A payment of $229.2 million was electronically transferred Monday, with $150 million going to the Motor License Fund for bridge and road projects and $79.2 million going to the Public Transportation Trust Fund to subsidize the Port Authority and 72 other public transit agencies.

The turnpike commission is to provide $850 million to PennDOT for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, in four payments of $212.5 million.

Turnpike commission officials are borrowing money to provide upfront revenue to PennDOT under a partnership created by Act 44. Bonds are to be repaid from higher turnpike tolls, which will be increased by 25 percent starting Jan. 1, and by converting Interstate 80 to a toll road, a move that requires approval from the Federal Highway Administration.

Turnpike commission officials have been aggressively moving forward with provisions of the act while Gov. Ed Rendell continues to pursue an alternate plan to lease the turnpike for up to $30 billion and use investment profits for the state's underfunded transportation programs.