The highway and bridge construction industry that benefits from multibillion-dollar public works spending in Pennsylvania has its own ideas -- some old, some new -- about how growing transportation needs should be funded.

The multi-faceted approach includes raising the gasoline tax, tolling Interstate 80 and capping state police funding as part of generating $1.1 billion a year extra for roads and bridges. It would raise the state sales tax and combine transit agencies to help provide $865 million a year extra for buses, paratransit and trolleys.

Most of the plan would be tied to growing sources of revenue or adjusted according to inflation to fix recurring funding problems for the long term.

Representatives of a group calling itself the "Transportation Construction Industries Coalition" is to present the proposals tomorrow at a Senate Transportation Committee hearing in Harrisburg.

The coalition is basically the Associated Constructors of Pennsylvania, its executive director Bob Latham admitted, representing 440 contractors, consulting engineers, suppliers and others with a vested interest in transportation spending.

Mr. Latham said the industry hopes to break what has become a political stalemate while the state continues to fall behind in maintaining and expanding transportation infrastructure.

Under the plan, municipalities would share $160 million in extra liquid fuels funds for local road improvements, as opposed to $65 million they would receive under a plan by Gov. Rendell to lease the turnpike.

Counties would receive $30 million a year extra to repair bridges.

Here's what the highway construction industry recommends:

Public transit

Double the transit capital fund program by $125 million a year, to $250 million total, paid back at the rate of $10.5 million a year from the General Fund.

Replace the hodge-podge of existing funding sources for transit with a single, broad-based source: the state income tax. The rate for the 2007-08 fiscal year would be 0.65 percent to generate an extra $61 million, growing to 1 percent by fiscal 2012 (and nearly $1 billion).

Pass enabling legislation for regional funding for transit, with the sales tax, earned income tax or realty transfer tax as options.

Combine transit authorities in metropolitan regions to take advantage of savings through "economies of scale," from purchasing to eliminating duplication, saving $200 million a year.

Highways

Raise the existing $1.25-a-gallon cap to $1.75 on the oil company franchise tax assessed at the wholesale level but paid at the pump and index the cap to inflation, providing $500 million a year. The 31.5-cents state tax on gasoline would likely go up by 8 to 9 cents a gallon.

Increase Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls by 25 percent in 2010, and 3 percent per year thereafter, shifting the extra $150 million a year to PennDOT and county bridge programs.

Toll I-80 starting at the Ohio border using a "barrier toll system." Use tolls for the first barriers to finance construction of other barriers, working eastward. The yield by 2013 would be $270 million a year and the tolling would eliminate the turnpike competing with a free road across the state.

Impose a six-month moratorium on Gov. Rendell's plan to lease the turnpike for further study and while the Legislature enacts laws enabling creation of public-private highway and bridge partnerships.

Increase vehicle registrations, licenses and other fees to generate $100 million a year for local roads.

Give PennDOT 36 months to begin a pilot project that would create a mileage-based fee system to fund roads instead of the conventional gas tax.

Cap funding from gas taxes used to support the state police at $500 million a year and use the excess for roads and bridges. Funding for state police from PennDOT this year is $499.2 million with the balance, or $183 million, coming from the state's General Fund.