When the Legislature capped North Carolina's gasoline tax in 2006, it gave politicians something to crow about at election time to show they cared about voters' pain at the pump.

While motorists currently save about a nickel for each gallon they buy because of the cap, its loss for the state Transportation Department is much greater: $600 million.

That's about how much less the department will have taken in cumulatively by the time the cap is scheduled to expire next June 30, compared to the amount that would have been collected had there been no cap, according to state estimates.

The department and General Assembly researchers estimate more than half of that money would have been collected this fiscal year, when record gas prices combined with the state's variable gas tax formula would have brought in more than $400 million extra.

Lawmakers returning to Raleigh in January must decide whether to let the cap expire or extend it and find money elsewhere to pay for road construction and repair. There's an estimated $65 billion gap between transportation revenues and needs in North Carolina through 2030, the Department of Transportation has said.

"Politically to some it would be better not to touch" the cap, said Rep. Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg, a member of a blue-ribbon transportation funding committee meeting last week. "But there's no money. We're going to have to find it somewhere and it's going to have to be in the form of a tax or fee."

The extra money could have been used to reduce a road-building backlog that now stretches for decades. This year's uncollected money would have been enough to cover the $316 million shortfall now projected for the Highway Trust Fund and Highway Fund this fiscal year. (AP)

State Rep. Bill McGee said an increase in funding for transportation is needed.

"I don't think it's any doubt that if more funding were available it would be put to good and immediate use," McGee said.

McGee is a member of the 21st Century Transportation Committee. The committee is studying the infrastructure needs of the state.

Projects in Forsyth County, the district McGee represents, have been delayed year after year because of low funds, he said.

The Department of Transportation also needs to finish the major roads across the state, which would relieve traffic congestion and tie-ups, he added.

"I think that's something that needs immediate attention," McGee said.

Bill Graham said Tuesday that counties might play a bigger role in transportation if he's elected governor.

"I do think some of the local maintenance issues could be turned over to the county, if you send the money with it. Don't turn it over to the county as an unfunded mandate," said Graham, a Republican and lawyer from Salisbury.

He was speaking at a transportation conference in Cary sponsored by NC Go!, a group backed by transportation contractors that lobbies the state to spend more money on transportation, David Ingram reports.

Unlike many states, North Carolina's road system is highly centralized. The state is generally responsible for building and maintaining all non-city roads, including county roads. But with pressures on the state transportation budget, some state leaders have questioned whether localities need to chip in more.

Graham reiterated his support for ending transfers from the Highway Trust Fund, for focusing on improving interstate highways and for using tolls in some areas.

Five candidates for N.C. governor agreed Tuesday that they don't like transportation bureaucracy.

They spoke at a transportation conference in Cary sponsored by NC Go!, a group backed by transportation contractors that lobbies the state to spend more money on transportation, David Ingram reports.

"The bureaucracy that has to make every decision in Raleigh is antiquated," said Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat, adding that DOT's bureaucracy "needs to be totally reconfigured."

State Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton, a Republican and chief executive of a paving contractor, said DOT's job should be to build roads, "not to elect politicians." He added, "We need the people and the leadership to make sure that we use our money the right way."

N.C. DOT has been a frequent political target in recent months after an external audit called the agency poorly managed and too political.

Also Tuesday, Salisbury lawyer and Republican Bill Graham called the agency a "Soviet-style-managed organization."

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, said the state has "an organizational process set up for failure." Former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, a Republican, reiterated his proposal to strip the Board of Transportation of its power.

State Treasurer Richard Moore, a Democrat, did not attend the conference.

Fred Smith knows about roads first-hand.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate took over as chief executive officer of Raleigh-based paving company C.C. Mangum Co. in 2004.

He recently told Dome the company gets about 30 percent of its business from public contracts.

Since 2004, the state Department of Transportation has paid C.C. Mangum about $42.4 million for 16 completed and ongoing projects in Wake, Granville, Durham, Orange, Chatham and Johnston counties.

The most expensive project is still being finished. C.C. Mangum bid $35 million for work on N.C. 54 in Durham and Wake counties and has received about $15 million for work so far.

More after the jump.

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A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation says it was a misunderstanding that led security officers to temporarily deny entry this morning to a News & Observer reporter seeking to attend Board of Transportation meetings.

"That's been cleared up," said Ernie Seneca.

Seneca said the department's policy is to let his office know when reporters show up for the meetings.

Why?

"Well, you know, sometimes we like to know if the media are attending an event," Seneca said. "They may want to interview a member or staff. It's a good idea to know who's covering a particular meeting, what (media) outlets are being represented. And that's all that was intended."

A News & Observer reporter was temporarily denied entry today to public meetings of the state Board of Transportation after two security officers said they were told the department's public information office had to be notified before any reporters could enter.

"Anything that has to do with the newspapers, TV, media we have to call (the office) before we can let you go back there," one of the security officers said.

The state's public meetings laws state that "each official meeting of a public body shall be open to the public, and any person is entitled to attend such a meeting."

There is nothing in the law that allows public agencies to delay someone's attendance until public information officers are notified.

Ernie Seneca, the department's chief public information officer, said the policy was not intended to bar or intimidate reporters trying to cover public meetings. He said the intent was for security officers to give his office a "heads up" when reporters enter the building.

Bob Orr said that state transportation secretary Lyndo Tippett should be fired.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate said the fact that the department had to hire a consultant to assess its problems was a "damning statement about the failure of the leadership."

The candidate referred to an article in Sunday's News & Observer that reported continued accusations of conflicts of interests in the N.C. Department of Transportation.

The claim came in response to a question at a press conference this morning in which Orr presented his transportation proposal.

But Orr said change will most likely have to wait for a new administration.

State Sen. Fred Smith says as governor, he would support a $4 billion highway bond.

Smith, a Republican running for governor, said his "Good Roads, Safe Bridges" plan would distribute the money across the state's counties on a per capita basis. County leaders would decide how best to use the money, Smith said.

Smith said the state could borrow the money without raising taxes through spending cuts and other measures.

"The issue is not money," Smith said. "The issue is willpower."

Republican candidate for governor Bill Graham repeated his call to lower the gas tax.

Graham, a Salisbury lawyer who previously pushed for a cap on the tax, said in a statement Thursday that the tax is still too high.

"Our state government has failed the taxpayer; we pay one of the highest gas taxes in the nation, yet our roads are ranked among the worst. We pay more taxes than any state in the Southeast, yet we have the most congested roads," Graham said in a statement.

The tax cannot rise higher than 30.15 cents per gallon. The N.C. Department of Revenue would have set the rate at 33.68 cents without the cap. The tax is the state's primary source of paying for road improvements and other transportation needs. The tax is one of the highest in the nation.

Graham believes that through reform of the Department of Transportation and a revision of the highway funding formula, the state can meet its transportation needs with a lower gas tax.

Update: Mark Binker supplies a useful backgrounder here.