Falling gas prices are causing some state lawmakers to consider something drastic: raising gas taxes. According to NPR, in states like New Jersey, lawmakers agree that drastic measures need to be taken in order to fix a backlog of bridge and road projects, including many deficient, unsafe, and in some cases, failing bridges.

In New Jersey, one bridge closed abruptly last month when it was deemed unsafe. This problem isn’t specific to New Jersey either, with the American Society of Civil Engineers claiming that one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years.

“Every day we wait becomes more of a crisis because we run the risk of more bridges closing,” Tom Bracken, head of New Jersey’s Chamber of Commerce, told NPR. “It is absolutely a crisis – the number one issue facing the state of New Jersey – and it needs to be resolved.”

New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox told the Associated Press that it’s time to raise the state’s gas tax, with gas prices low and critical transportation projects mounting.

However, for lawmakers in states considering raising gas taxes, raising gas taxes is not simply a reaction to low gas prices. In states like New Jersey, which has the second-lowest gas tax in the country after Alaska, according to NPR, lawmakers argue that gas taxes haven’t been raised in 20 years. Meanwhile, the costs of materials, machinery and wages have gone up, drying up state infrastructure funds.

In addition to New Jersey, dozens of states including Iowa, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah are considering raising gas taxes.

Last month, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said on C-SPAN that it’s time to rethink the state’s gas tax.

“Nobody wants to raise a tax,” he said. “My gosh, that’s the worst thing you can do as a politician. But the practical realities are, we’ve got to do something.”

According to NPR, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has proposed raising the gas tax in exchange for cuts to the state’s income tax.

Raising gas taxes; however, will be a tough sell to citizens and businesses. Some gas station owners in New Jersey told NPR that they would worry that business would drop if the state raised it gas tax, fearing that people would fill up in neighboring states.

Compounding this issue is the national government’s failure to pass a longterm fix to the way the U.S. raises money for the federal Highway Tust Fund.

In August 2014, Congress approved an $11 billion extension of federal highway funding, but only through May 2015.