Topeka ? State and national highway officials said Monday that policymakers need to figure out new ways to raise money to build roads – including the possibility of a mileage tax.

Lawmakers took no action but were briefed on inadequacies in the current motor fuels tax to keep pace with transportation needs.

More fuel-efficient vehicles, public opposition to increases in the gas tax and inflation have combined to reduce the purchasing power of transportation dollars at a time when the nation’s infrastructure is in dire need of repairs and expansion, officials said.

“There’s a train coming,” said state Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, and chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

“There is no question that as a nation, we are going to have to find and invest more public dollars in our infrastructure,” said Janet Kavinoky, director of transportation infrastructure with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

She addressed a joint session of the House and Senate Transportation and Tax committees.

Michael Meyer, with the Georgia Institute of Technology, said states across the nation are trying to find alternatives to supplement the fuel tax.

That includes additional toll roads, inflation-indexed fuel taxes, more public-private partnerships to build roads, and mileage-based fees, such as a pilot project in Oregon that measures how much drivers travel and charges them based on that.

The Kansas motor fuel tax rate is 24 cents on every gallon of gasoline.