A strange proposal from Gov. Patrick.

Gov. Deval Patrick is launching a detailed examination of options for leasing the state’s cash-starved bridges and roads to private companies, a move that critics fear could expose motorists to crippling toll hikes, the Herald has learned.

Patrick’s budget office is seeking to hire a financial company to analyze the impact of privatizing transportation facilities as part of a broader review of the state’s massive, $19 billion transportation funding deficit, according to state documents.

If approved, a deal to privatize could mean leasing the Massachusetts Turnpike, Tobin Bridge or Big Dig tunnels to for-profit companies that would pay billions of dollars for the right to collect tolls from motorists for their use. Under such arrangements, the company leasing the road or bridge is responsible for its operation and maintenance.A Patrick spokesman said the governor will consider privatization as part of a “top to bottom” effort to find savings and efficiencies in transportation agencies. Any such proposal would provoke fierce resistance from labor unions...

But critics raised concerns that privatization - which would provide a badly needed cash infusion almost immediately - could also lead to sharp toll increases without public approval. They say private companies would be primarily motivated by their bottom lines, not the interests of daily commuters.

UPDATE: More from the Boston Herald.