RADFORD -- Gov. Tim Kaine told a New River Valley audience Wednesday night that Virginians can't expect a "free lunch" if they hope to shore up the state's transportation finances.

In a town hall-style meeting at Radford University, Kaine promoted his proposal to address the statewide funding shortfall for highway maintenance and said that lawmakers must come up with a solution during a special session of the General Assembly that begins June 23.

"Do we want to invest or don't we?" Kaine asked an audience of about 250 people in the Hurlburt Student Center Auditorium. Many in the audience were less interested in Kaine's plan than in a planned intermodal freight yard in Elliston.

The Radford meeting was the sixth of 10 town hall-style sessions Kaine has scheduled around the state in an effort to build support for his plan, which also is designed to address acute needs in the congested regions of Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

"There are some who think a transportation solution is just about Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, but it is not," Kaine said as he launched into a slide presentation of his plan.

A slowing economy and rising maintenance costs are forcing state transportation officials to divert dollars from road construction to the repair and upkeep of existing roads and bridges. The state will divert about $375 million from its construction budget in the upcoming fiscal year, Kaine said. By law, maintenance needs take priority over new construction.

To close the funding gap, Kaine has proposed an increase of 1 percentage point to the sales tax on vehicles and a $10 increase in annual vehicle registration fees. He also has proposed an increase in the grantor's tax on home sales, with most of the proceeds going toward mass transit projects.

Without new revenue, Kaine said, several projects in the Virginia Department of Transportation's Salem District could be delayed or canceled. To illustrate his point, he showed a map with colored dots depicting the jeopardized projects. Those include widening portions of U.S. 220 in Botetourt County, and making spot turn lane improvements on Virginia 8 and Peppers Ferry Road in Montgomery County, according to a list provided by Kaine's office.

During the public meeting, he fielded questions about the tax increases in his plan, about efforts to expand mass transit and telecommuting, and about bicycle lanes, among other things. Rocky Mount Town Manager James Ervin expressed support for Kaine's proposal, but took note of the colored dots on Kaine's map and asked whether the plan will be enough for the state's needs.

"It's at the aggressive end of what I think is possible with the legislature as I have come to know it," Kaine said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Leaders in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates have said they will not support statewide tax increases and have accused Kaine of exaggerating the severity of the maintenance shortfall. Democratic lawmakers want new tax revenue for roads, but lack consensus on a specific plan.

House Republican leaders reaffirmed their opposition to Kaine's proposal in a meeting with reporters in Richmond on Wednesday, with some suggesting that the governor is calling the special session for purely political reasons.

Del. Dave Nutter, R-Christiansburg, said he gained more information about Kaine's plan at the meeting. But like other House Republicans, he questioned the long-range revenue projections Kaine used in calculating the maintenance deficit.

"Some of the projections in the out years are based on some low, I would say historically low, growth rates," Nutter said.

Kaine said he recognizes that this is a difficult time to seek tax increases.

"It's a tough time economically," he said. "But I also know that no state has grown out of a bad economy by letting their infrastructure deteriorate."

That makes the upcoming session about more than transportation, he said.

"It's also about accountability of our leadership."