ALBANY - A plan that could use tolls to cut Manhattan's choking traffic and air pollution while creating a potential national model to combat global warming was put back on track Thursday.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and legislative leaders agreed three days after a federal deadline passed on a way to keep the mayor's proposal in the running to become a national pilot program and to keep New York eligible for up to $500 million in federal funding.

The Manhattan toll proposal will now be taken up by a commission that will decide how to implement the overall plan, and whether it should keep Bloomberg's tolls of $8 for most drivers entering Manhattan. The state Legislature will ultimately have until March 31 to consider its recommendations.

Bloomberg and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno had strongly resisted attempts to create a commission, saying that it was too weak a commitment and the U.S. Transportation Department would not give money to simply study the concept of “congestion pricing.”

The turning point, Bloomberg aides said, came when his administration won a formula for appointing people to the 17-member commission that gives them the majority - with more members supporting congestion pricing. Supporters believe this will ultimately lead to approval of the toll plan, and is the reason they can assure federal officials the tolls will eventually be approved.

“This is truly an historic moment for New York,” said The Straphangers Campaign, a New York City mass transit advocacy group. “Congestion pricing is a forward-thinking solution to local and global problems whose time has come. From soaring asthma rates, to snarled traffic, to global warming, congestion pricing will help New York lead in addressing all these issues.”

The commission won't be required to include tolls, but any alternative would have to hit the same traffic-reduction targets in Bloomberg's original plan and be approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Bloomberg staffers in Albany said they are confident that only tolls will reach the same goals and satisfy Washington.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has questioned the need for tolls and pushed for the commission that will include representation from the City Council, said that although a deal has been reached, “the debate and the negotiations have just begun.”

He said everyone in the process has “a right and, in fact, an obligation to critique and contribute to the final mitigation plan.”

The deal came as Spitzer continued negotiating with the mayor's office and state legislative leaders after midnight Monday, which Bloomberg said was the federal deadline to act.

“The past 96 hours have been hours of very intense negotiations,” Spitzer said. He said he won't “prejudge” whether the commission will include tolls in the final plan, but noted “certainly it is a critical part of what (Bloomberg) proposed.”

In a prepared statement, Bloomberg said, “We will continue to work together to access the federal funds that are available. Certainly there will be discussion of the details of various components of our plan, but together we have made a commitment to a greener, healthier and more livable New York.”

Sarah Echols, a federal transportation department spokeswoman, did not return calls Thursday.