Northeastern Pennsylvania will get nearly $500 million more than expected for transportation projects over the next 12 years.

In 2012, area planners expected to spend $1.56 billion on transportation infrastructure in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming, Wayne, Pike and Susquehanna counties from 2013 through 2025, state Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Taluto said.

Gov. Tom Corbett signed the new transportation funding package in November, and transportation planners in the six counties recently allocated $2.03 billion to largely fix up the area's roads and bridges from 2015 through 2027.

"Every dollar we get helps, but the area's highways and bridges have been neglected so long, we still don't have enough money to address everything," said Steve Pitoniak, Lackawanna County's transportation planning manager.

With the influx of money, planners prioritized fixing up the most decrepit infrastructure first, and Pitoniak was looking forward to seeing more comprehensive fixes instead of patches everywhere.

"A full-depth restoration (paving project) should last 20 years," Pitoniak said. "We're used to filling potholes, then after the winter, having to go out and do it all over again."

Statewide, the State Transportation Commission has planned $63.2 billion worth of road, bridge, transit system, airport and railroad projects over the next dozen years compared to $41.6 billion in the last long-range plan updated two years ago, according to Corbett.

The transportation funding package will gradually collect more money each year by increasing various PennDOT fees and lifting the Oil Company Franchise Tax. The Governor's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission estimated that could eventually increase the price of gas by up to 28.5 cents per gallon.

State officials project the funding package will raise $946 million in total new transportation money in 2014, and $2.3 billion annually starting in 2018.

kwind@timesshamrock.com, @kwindTT