CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — More than a decade after lawmakers increased the sales tax on Hampton Roads to fund improvements to the region's highways, there is a push to raise the tax rate again to better address major roadways around those interstates as well as roads at risk of flooding. Del. Jackie Glass (D-Norfolk) is sponsoring a bill in Richmond that would create the Hampton Roads Interstate Highway Corridor Improvement Program and Fund as well as the Hampton Roads Highway Coastal Resilience Program and Fund. Cash would flow the the funds by increasing the regional sales tax by three-tenths of a penny, or .3%. The idea, pushed by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, or HRTPO, came about after the planning organization identified $3 billion of unfunded needs on primary and secondary roads near interstates. Roads in mind include Routes 58 and 460. Both aren't part of the interstate highway system, but see heavy traffic. Roads in the southern part of Virginia Beach could also benefit from the new tax revenue. Families call for closure of deadly Route 58 cut-through "A funding mechanism such as increasing the sales and use tax to a full penny would allow nearly $1.5 billion of our unfunded primary and secondary road needs to be delivered between the years 2029 and 2034," the HRTPO 2025 legislative packet states. However, it was clear that even the board members who approved of the packet were skeptical of asking the region's residents for more. "Raising taxes during this time? "You know there can be other options," Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said during Thursday HRTPO meeting. "The fact is, from what I understand, there are budget surpluses going on in Richmond that really should be our first line of attack in getting this funding." Dyer said the state should pitch in because of the region's military presence. "With all operations that go on between various bases and everything, it is mission essential that we have that road structure to accommodate as part of military readiness," Dyer said. However Robert Crum, HRTPO's executive director, said getting any funds from the state's general fund is a tall task. "There's just so many competing priorities at the state level," Crum said. "And it's going to be difficult to have enough dedicated funding to make those improvements." Va. State House speaker: Use toll relief or risk losing it If the bill passes both houses of the General Assembly and is signed by the governor, the sales tax for most of Hampton Roads would increase from 6% to 6.3%. In Williamsburg, James City County and York County, it would rise to 7.3%. Crum said the tax could produce $84 million per year and would cost the average person $48 a year. "You know, increasing taxes is something nobody wants to do," Crum said. "But these transportation projects are escalating in price at a rate of 10% to 12% to 14% per year. To stop and do nothing will be a future tax increase to our residents. … There is a cost to waiting."