RALEIGH - Those who want North Carolina to spend more money on infrastructure such as roads and bridges face a daunting challenge, even after the recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis focused attention on the issue.

The problem is money.

Policymakers in Raleigh can raise the taxes that pay for infrastructure, such as the gas tax, at the risk of alienating many voters. Or they can cut money from other programs, such as health care for the poor.

A decade-long debate has failed to break the gridlock.

So even though Gov. Mike Easley said last week he would form a study group on the issue -- led by his chief budget adviser, Dan Gerlach -- some doubt the issue will be seriously debated until after the 2008 elections.

In a report last year, transportation officials said the state needs $122 billion over the next 25 years to fix roads and meet the needs of population growth. But they said there would be just $57 billion available, leaving a $65 billion hole.

States across the country are staring at similar holes, and some have chosen to privatize roads in exchange for quick cash. Virginia lawmakers approved a bipartisan transportation package this year intended to collect $1 billion a year through regional taxes, reckless-driving fees and other measures.

North Carolina lawmakers largely left the issue alone during their six-month session this year. They focused on other big problems, such as relieving counties of some health-care costs.

"I think it's a travesty that we have a big fat goose egg for transportation funding in the budget this year," said state Rep. Becky Carney, a Charlotte Democrat and leader of the House Transportation Committee.

"I think there were higher priorities for some people," Carney said. "I do think that we need a major study and overhaul of the way we are funding the roads in our state."

In addition to federal aid, North Carolina has traditionally paid for transportation from three sources: taxing gasoline and other motor fuels, taxing car sales and collecting fees. Meanwhile, inflation and the state's rapid growth mean those sources aren't going as far as once expected.

Money detoured

About $170 million is scheduled to come out of one transportation fund this year to be spent on general services, including schools, health care and prisons. The annual payment dates to a 1980s tax compromise overseen by then-Gov. Jim Martin, a Mecklenburg Republican.

Republicans and some Democrats say it's time for those payments to end.

"What was a good idea in 1989 is not necessarily a good idea now," said Senate Republican leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County. "The public perception is that we collect taxes to be used for roads. And yet we use those taxes for something else."

He and other Republicans have argued against increasing taxes for roads as long as the annual payments continue. Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly.

Lawmakers in both parties have declared their intent to end the payments. Doing so immediately, without shifting other spending, would leave the state budget out of balance.

Rep. Nelson Cole, co-leader of a transportation budget committee, said many lawmakers would hesitate to do anything in the next 15 months that could be described as a tax increase.

"Politically, you can't ask somebody to stick their neck out and vote for it if their opponent is going to hit them over the head with it. No one likes taxes," said Cole, a Rockingham County Democrat. "It's going to have to be a consensus among both parties and everyone's who's involved."

Some options, such as an increase in the 3 percent tax on the sales price of a car, have been so controversial that they barely saw debate this year. The N.C. Automobile Dealers Association organized opposition with signs reading "Stop the Car Tax," and the idea failed.

Several toll roads are being planned. But in at least one case, the tolls may not be enough to finance the entire road.

The lack of money has meant particular frustration for Charlotte and the state's other metropolitan areas, said Beau Mills, leader of NC Go, a coalition of construction interests and others that favor more transportation funding.

"There is little doubt that it's something the citizens of the state think is important," Mills said. "These are things that need to be dealt with in the near future. They're not going to solve themselves."

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