TUPELO (AP) — New income, such as a 5-cent-per-gallon increase in the state gasoline tax, is ‘‘absolutely critical’’ for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Executive Director Larry ‘‘Butch’’ Brown says.

‘‘If we don’t get new taxes, we’re going to be in trouble,’’ Brown told the Community Development Foundation in Tupelo on Friday.

He says that without new income, the department won’t be able to build any new roads or bridges in three years — its money will all be going to maintenance.

The department gets about $300 million a year from an 18.4-cent-per-gallon tax on gas and diesel.

Brown has said that tax has been in place since 1987, when gasoline cost a dollar a gallon.

He told the business group that a nickel tax would pay for state road maintenance, bridge improvements and projects needed for economic development.

‘‘You’re going to get all the benefits of a safe infrastructure program for your nickel — or you can keep your money going to the oil and gas men,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s got to change. Think about that.’’

Afterward, Brown said he strongly favors working with a grass roots group known as GetSMART — Start Mississippi’s Approved Roads Today — to use money from local governments and the private sector to support the state’s road projects.

However, he said he’s against ‘‘diverting any of our funds into GetSMART.’’

The group chaired by Bill Renick of Three Rivers Planning and Development District has proposed a state-run bank that would serve as a conduit to build Mississippi highways. Key legislators are skeptical about that idea.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://www.djournal.com