A new panel appointed by Gov. Kenny Guinn will begin meetings later this month about Nevada’s highway needs and how to compensate for funding shortfalls.

The meetings begin Oct. 27 and will include a task force, formed earlier this year by the state’s Transportation Board. During the next eight months, the group it will schedule as many as a half dozen public hearings to review the need for future roadwork. Topics to be considered include: the impact of congestion relief; reviews of project costs; and evaluations of funding options, such as tax increases.

By next June, the panel will start preparing recommendations for the legislative session that begins in 2007. Nevada lawmakers do not meet for a regular legislative session in even-numbered years.

Guinn, the Transportation Board chairman, told The Associated Press the state is now involved in its largest highway construction program ever – but by 2008 many more projects will be needed to keep up with Nevada’s rapid growth.

Officials with the Nevada Department of Transportation have said there’s enough funding on hand for the current construction cycle. However, from 2008 to 2014, there’s an expected budget shortfall of $2.4 billion in the roadwork.

Guinn has said if the panel determines the public won’t support a tax increase, the highway construction and improvement program probably would have to be scaled back, The AP reported. He also said the highway department’s shortfall estimate probably is conservative.