LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — With Nebraska expected to see millions in new state funding for roads next year, lawmakers are looking for ways to accelerate work on a decades-old backlog of highway projects.

Members of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee have spent the summer traveling the state to examine Nebraska’s highway and bridge repair needs as they prepare legislation for next year’s session.

Lawmakers voted in May to increase the state fuel tax to 31.6 cents per gallon by 2019, eventually generating an extra $25 million in annual roads funding for the state and $51 million for cities and counties.

Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, the committee chairman, says lawmakers are trying to find ways to generate more money up front so work can start sooner on road and bridge projects.