Nonpartisan think thank The Beacon Center of Tennessee has released a report that assesses the gas tax and the benefits and disadvantages of nine alternative funding mechanisms.

Titled There’s More than One Way to Pave a Road, the reviews numerous alternatives being considered by states across the country as means to construct and maintain transportation infrastructure.

The nine alternative funding mechanisms include the following:

• Public-Private Partnerships
• Vehicle Miles Traveled Taxes
• Tax Increment Financing
• Toll Roads
• Vehicle Weight-Mile Taxes
• State Infrastructure Banks
• Emissions Taxes
• Mass Transit
• Debt Financing

“Some of the funding options we reviewed lead in the right direction by placing transportation costs more directly on drivers themselves and reducing the overall tax burden on residents, while others move away from this free market principle,” Beacon Senior Fellow Dr. Paul Stumb, the report’s lead author, said in a release. “It’s important for Tennessee policymakers to scrutinize all the alternatives and choose a path that will lead to sustainable transportation funding without unduly burdening existing and future taxpayers.”

The report (read it here) will be provided to all 132 state lawmakers and key members of Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration.