The notion of raising Virginia's 17.5-cents-a-gallon gas tax is a near-yearly ritual for the Virginia General Assembly, and is likely a non-starter again this year. But it's an issue that Gov. Bob McDonnell is going to monitor, he said Thursday.

On his monthly call-in show on WRVA radio in Richmond, McDonnell acknowledged that the tax rate hasn’t adjusted for inflation since it was put in place in 1986, and as more fuel-efficient cars are developed, gas use may decrease.

“That’s a concern,” he said. “It’s just math…you’re going to continue to have less revenue and more demand for roads and more people driving, and so it’s something that we’re going to look at over the next year.”

McDonnell also touted his own $4 billion transportation plan that relies mainly on accelerating already-issued state bonds and using federally-backed bonds.