Auditor General Eugene DePasquale earlier Thursday said his new audit of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) shows the agency could be further along in repairing rough highways and fixing 2,829 structurally deficient bridges with the billions of dollars it has been forced to pay to the state police.

According to a press release sent out by DePasquale’s office, he noted that transfers from the Motor License Fund to the state police have totaled more than $4.25 billion since the 2012-13 fiscal year, money that PennDOT could otherwise have used to address a growing list of needed repairs across the state.

“More than 2,800 state-maintained bridges across Pennsylvania are structurally deficient and our bridges average over 50 years in age – beyond what they were designed to last,” DePasquale said in the release. “That $4.25 billion could have cut that list in half and if PennDOT could use all of the gas tax money for roads and bridges we could get that number to zero in about 5 years.”

Under the state Constitution, proceeds from the Motor License Fund are to be used solely for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of and safety on public highways and bridges.

“There’s a whopping 57.6 cents of state tax added to each gallon of gas sold in Pennsylvania,” DePasquale said, noting that adds $5.76 to the cost of every 10 gallons of gas put in the tank. “Pennsylvanians are frustrated that our roads and bridges still need so much help at the same time we are paying the highest gas tax in the United States.”

DePasquale did credit PennDOT for its aggressive efforts to address the list of structurally deficient bridges, which peaked at 6,034 in 2008. He spoke earlier Thursday near Harrisburg’s Market Street Bridge, the western span of which is rated as structurally deficient and carries approximately 13,000 vehicles per day, the release noted. The bridge was built in 1928.

He made two other recommendations:

The Transportation Infrastructure Investment Fund (TIIF), which PennDOT oversees with the help of the Department of Community and Economic Development, be revised "to work like a competitive grant program and steps should be taken to ensure all regions of the state have an equal chance to receive funds.”

Acceleration of the grant cycle for funds awarded through the Multimodal Transportation Fund, which was created to help communities pay for projects that promote pedestrian safety and transit revitalization.