Most everyone agrees Minnesota’s roads need fixing. But how to fund the fix has long vexed lawmakers.

Last year, the Legislature instructed the Minnesota Department of Transportation to study whether its feasible to expand toll roads in the state with an eye toward raising additional revenue to maintain them.

The 106-page tome released last month concluded that more study is needed if that’s the direction the state wants to take.

The discussion over toll revenue comes at a time when President Donald Trump pitched his $1.5 trillion plan to repair the nations crumbling infrastructure during his State of the Union. Of that amount, a reported $200 billion would come from federal sources, with states, cities and private interests making up the rest.

Minnesota has relied partly on federal and state gas tax revenue for highway upkeep, but that financial kitty has been shrinking. People are driving less and, when they do drive, they are commandeering vehicles that are more fuel-efficient. Efforts in recent years to increase the states gas tax, which now stands at 28.5 cents per gallon, have gained little political traction.

“We see tolling as one of the tools in the toolbox along with the traditional gas tax to help pay for road maintenance and other improvement costs,” said Pat Jones, executive director and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association.

Yet others see tolls as a regressive tax that unfairly targets those who are economically disadvantaged. And, as drivers use alternative routes to avoid tolls, some neighborhoods may be compromised by additional traffic.

“It’s the absolute worst tool in the toolbox, the most inefficient funding mechanism available for road funding,” said Stephanie Kane, spokesperson for the Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates, a national consortium of businesses, organizations and individuals.

Minnesota doesn’t have the kind of toll-road system that is common on the East Coast and other regions of the country. The E-ZPass electronic toll system, for example, was first deployed in New York 25 years ago and now serves 17 states, stretching from Maine to Illinois to North Carolina.

MnDOT considers the current MnPass system, available on three Twin Cities-area interstate highways, a toll.