Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined business and labor leaders Wednesday to urge voters to reject Proposition 6, saying a repeal of the state’s new gas tax could force years-long delays for dozens of transportation projects across Southern California.

The hike in gas taxes and vehicle licensing fees, approved last year by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown, would raise an estimated $5.4 billion over a decade to repave streets, untangle freeway interchanges and build new transit lines in Los Angeles County.

Reversing higher fees on gas and vehicle licensing could put funding at risk for hundreds of miles of repaving work on streets and freeways, as well as several major transit projects, including a planned train station serving Los Angeles International Airport, Garcetti said.

Backers of the gas tax repeal say lower taxes and vehicle licensing fees would save a family of four about $779 a year. But paying to fix streets is far cheaper than shouldering the costs of tows, car repairs and time spent in traffic, Garcetti said.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.