RICHMOND -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore drew Democratic nominee Tim Kaine and the administration of outgoing Gov. Mark Warner into a squabble over transportation funding Tuesday, with Kaine and Warner aides adamantly disputing Kilgore's assertions that the state has failed to grab its fair share of federal dollars for road projects.

In a morning conference call with reporters, Kilgore complained that the Virginia Department of Transportation has dawdled in allocating the state's share of federal transportation funds and effectively delayed hundreds of millions of dollars in road and transit projects. Kilgore's complaints were similar to those made by some Republican lawmakers in early August, when the state had yet to obligate much of its $631 million federal highway allotment for the current year.

"It should make every Virginian upset to pass a half-built project, knowing that the money needed for its completion is gathering dust in Washington, D.C.," Kilgore said. "It is time we bring every available nickel and dime to bear on our transportation projects."

But VDOT has now allocated all of its federal funds, beating an October deadline for dedicating the money to specific projects. And, on Tuesday, the agency announced that it had received an additional $30 million in federal funds that had not been used by other states.

A Warner spokesman said VDOT has been meticulous in distributing the federal funds to ensure that the state's cost estimates match those of Virginia's metropolitan planning organizations.

"We want to make sure that the numbers match and that the books are clean," said Kevin Hall, Warner's press secretary. Warner has placed heavy emphasis on fixing VDOT's finances and improving the agency's track record for keeping projects on time and on budget.

Hall and Kaine disputed Kilgore's assertion that projects have been delayed because the state failed to allocate federal funds more quickly.

"Jerry's attack on VDOT for not getting projects done in a timely fashion and not drawing down federal funds shows that he has no idea what he's talking about concerning state transportation funding and the management of VDOT," Kaine said, calling Kilgore's comments "flat-out ludicrous."

Kaine used similar language to rebut Kilgore's charge that he favored a plan that would have doubled the state's gasoline tax. Kilgore has tried to link Kaine to a 2004 Senate tax package that included an increase in the gasoline excise tax and an additional wholesale tax on gasoline.

"He has always supported increasing the gas tax," said Kilgore, whose campaign also released a television ad Tuesday attacking Kaine on the same issue.

In the ad, an announcer declares that Kaine "supported a plan that would have doubled the state gas tax you pay today."

Kaine said he never supported the gas tax provisions of the Senate legislation, which was sponsored by Republican John Chichester of Stafford County, the chairman of the budget-writing Finance Committee. Kaine also insisted he will not consider increases in the gas tax or other transportation-related levies until lawmakers permanently ban the practice of diverting transportation funds to other programs.

"He's launching an attack on his Republican Senate colleagues, not on me, and trying to smear with that," Kaine said.

House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County, echoed Kilgore's sentiments in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

"Like Jerry, I believe VDOT needs to be organized properly and its focus sharpened on maximizing all available resources for transportation, including going after and using federal dollars in a more timely manner," Howell said. "I share Jerry's concern that the Warner-Kaine Administration waited until the eleventh hour to fully obligate the funding allocated to Virginia by the Federal Highway Administration."

Howell added that he welcomed Kilgore's embrace of new funding approaches such as making greater use of public-private partnerships.