Higher gasoline taxes and tolls on interstates are two ways the state can generate more money to build and maintain roadways, Acadiana area leaders told the Governor's Task Force on Transportation Infrastructure Investment at a meeting Wednesday in Lafayette.

The task force was appointed by Gov. John Bel Edwards in June to identify ways to reduce the state's $12.7 billion backlog of road construction and maintenance, including megaprojects like the Interstate 49 connector in Lafayette.

The first hour of the two-hour meeting was dominated by representatives of One Acadiana and the Acadiana Planning Commission, which hosted the task force meeting along with the Lafayette Economic Development Authority.

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