Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill into law earlier this month that will force drivers to pay a lot more fuel taxes at the pump to help pay for roads and bridges.

The revenue is expected to pay for $8.5 billion in work in the next 16 years. It will come from a 9.5 cent-per-gallon fuel tax increase that will be phased in during the next four years, The Associated Press reported. Drivers will start paying an extra 3 cents a gallon July 1.

Gregoire acknowledged that it’s not the best time to raise fuel taxes, with fuel prices at or near record highs.

“So when is a good time?” Gregoire asked. She told the news agency there isn’t a good time. “You either do it, or watch the (Alaskan Way) Viaduct pancake or 520 go down in the next 77 mph wind. What the public expects, fundamentally, from government is safety.”

The transportation package and accompanying fuel tax hike passed after an 11th-hour turnaround in the recently wrapped up legislative session. The package failed in the House the day before the session ended, but after intense lobbying by the governor and others, it passed on the Legislature’s final day.

Supporters said the package is the only way to pay for 270 transportation projects such as the replacement of the viaduct in Seattle and a new Highway 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington, linking Seattle and Bellevue, as well as congestion relief, farm-to-market projects and local roads across the state.

Opponents ripped the plan, saying it should be referred to voters for final approval if it clears the Legislature.

The plan bumps the state’s 28-cents-per-gallon fuel tax by 3 cents a gallon in July for each of the next two years, 2 cents in July 2007 and a final 1.5-cent boost a year later. The Legislature raised it from 23 cents a year ago.

It also includes a new vehicle weight fee that adds between $5 and $25 to annual licensing fees, as well as tolls and local-option tax increases for cities and counties.