The number of miles traveled on Utah roads is growing twice as fast as the population and gas tax revenues are failing to keeping pace with transportation spending needs.

Yet "the state has been real slow to come to the realization of the magnitude of the problems," Herbert said.

For now, the administration's goal is general: broaden and increase available transportation-related revenue to enhance economic development and maintain Utah's quality of life. But by Oct. 14, when Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. convenes a transportation summit, the state's top executives plan to have solid proposals to advance to the Legislature for passage.

"We are not proposing anything [yet]," Herbert said after his presentation. "We don't want to propose anything to bias the discussion. I want to hear what others have to say."

Four major highway projects on the boards would each cost more than the $1.59 billion Interstate 15 overhaul in Salt Lake County, but the state is $3.5 billion short of what it needs to do the work.

"Which means we can't do it," Herbert told members of the Wasatch Front Regional Council. "Something's got to be addressed."

Herbert said he first will meet with the state's seven associations of government, regional planning groups made up of city and county elected officials. But by mid-September, Herbert will schedule sessions where the public can weigh in on the state's transportation needs and how to pay for them.

The 24.5-cent per gallon tax on gasoline is the main source of revenue for Utah transportation needs, though lawmakers have spent General Fund money to augment the tax revenue. The Legislature also has dipped into the Centennial Highway Fund, a $3.35 billion, 11-year funding mechanism for statewide road building and repair established in 1997.

Herbert noted that despite periodic increases in the fuel tax, the percent of personal income state residents spend on the tax actually declined 39 percent between 1972 and 2001. But Huntsman is not now proposing another gas-tax increase, Herbert said. Rather, the administration is merely providing information. "Now you tell us what to do with it," he said.

This year, legislators earmarked $265 million for new roads and buildings. Critics noted Utah County, with its growing political heft, received a robust share of the allocations.

Herbert, a former Utah County commissioner, said one of the Huntsman administration's main principles is that users and direct beneficiaries of transportation spending ought to bear proportionate costs. He also suggested it would be a good idea for transportation funding to be disconnected from political muscle.

"Some people are maybe going to have to give up some power," he said.