NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The proposal for toll roads in Tennessee is gaining momentum in the state.

Related: Survey: Toll Roads? | Watch The Story

The Legislature passed a toll way act last year, which allows the Tennessee Department of Transportation to study toll roads.

With budget shortfalls and federal funding cuts, toll roads could be a fact of life for anyone trying to get from one place to another in the future.

Currently, Tennessee is a pay-as-you-go state, which means the state has to have the money in hand to build roads. But when the money isn't there, officials have to look elsewhere.

Gasoline taxes are one way Tennessee funds road projects, but with gas at $4 a gallon, raising the fuel tax for new projects is not an option.

Another problem is federal funding cuts in the tens of millions of dollars, and compounding that issue is the cost of building roads, which has risen 49 percent since 2005, which means any pending construction would go up by 49 percent.

TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely said that toll roads are an idea worth looking into.

"It's something that I think we ought to consider as an option. It's not going to solve our transportation funding problems. It's an option that at least we are looking at," he said.

There are eight projects that are being looked into as possible toll roads. One of those possibilities would be the Hadley Bend connector, which would link Hendersonville to Nashville with the connector ending at Briley Parkway.

"The support's been very mixed. We would have to see a much higher level of public support than we've seen so far, I think, for that one to become reality," Nicely said.

Toll roads are not a new idea. Most roads with the word "pike" means it was originally built as a toll road.

"It's not a totally new concept in Tennessee. So, again, it's something, as they say, 'The more things change, the more they stay the same,'" Nicely said.

While the idea of toll roads was pushed aside in the '40s and '50s, the realities of the economy can’t be ignored.

"I think we are going to see a toll project or two in the next five to 10 years. I really do," Nicely said.

TDOT wants to know how the public feels about toll roads and has set up a public meeting for July 15 at TDOT's Region Three Auditorium on Centennial Boulevard in west Nashville.