TxDOT may change its plans to shift nearly all of its highway construction dollars to maintenance, reversing course on a policy announced last fall to instant criticism among lawmakers.

Instead, the state transportation agency is considering proposals to spend more on new roads, a change that agency leaders said Thursday is largely because of lawmakers' complaints.

"Taking into consideration the strong signals we received from the Legislature, [this plan] would reprioritize funding for maintenance," chief financial officer James Bass said. "We've been talking for many months about the need to increase funding for maintenance. But given the circumstances, that may not be feasible."

Commissioners won't vote on the policy shift until next month, but the plan put forth by TxDOT staff Thursday would set aside about $5 billion for adding new lanes and highways and $12 billion on repairing existing roads and bridges. Previous plans had called for the agency to spend about $17 billion for maintenance and none on local mobility projects.

But the fact that the issue – once thought settled – is back before the commissioners shows the pressure felt by the agency as it prepares for a long and probably uncomfortable spring. TxDOT took a drubbing last month by senators convinced the agency paints a grimmer-than-necessary picture of its finances to increase support for Gov. Rick Perry's push for toll roads and privatization. It's scheduled for a similar close-up in the House next month.

Texas Transportation Commission interim chairman Hope Andrade said this week that the agency is attempting to strike a different pose than the one favored by her take-no-prisoners predecessor, Ric Williamson. Mr. Williamson, who died in December, was a fiery proponent of an ambitious road-building agenda favored by his close friend, Mr. Perry – an agenda that relies heavily on toll roads and privatization.

"We owe so much to Chairman Williamson, and he set the ground and foundation for everything we are doing," Ms. Andrade said. "What we are seeing now is a little different style, that is all."

With toll roads sure to be controversial in the 2009 Legislature, and with TxDOT poised to get a top-to-bottom review by the sunset advisory commission this summer, it may take more than a change in tone to satisfy the agency's critics.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Thursday in a written statement that the lawmakers have already told TxDOT to get serious, and to issue more debt to fast-track construction projects.

"The leadership of the Legislature has told TxDOT to stop playing games and build roads," Mr. Dewhurst said, adding that the Legislature has promised to increase funding for the agency to cover the debt service when it returns to Austin in January.

That's not a wise course, several commissioners said Thursday, even as they pledged to continue discussing the idea of additional borrowing with lawmakers between now and next year.

"The pressure to borrow more and more is like asking someone to load up your credit card and just hope that you'll get a raise next year to cover the payments," said Commissioner Ted Houghton of El Paso.

Instead, what's really required, Mr. Houghton said Thursday, is for lawmakers to face what he called an inescapably grim reality of fast-rising transportation needs and flat or declining traditional sources of revenue.

"The Legislature needs to take ownership," Mr. Houghton said, noting that the 2010 Census is expected to show that 3 million new residents arrived in Texas in the past decade, "bringing with them about 3 million cars."

"We are at crossroads and the economic realities have now sunk in," Mr. Houghton said.

Still, Texas' urgent transportation needs have helped encourage a new tone in Austin, acknowledged William Hale, TxDOT's top engineer in Dallas.

"If we can't get along, we're just not going to get anything done," Mr. Hale said.