HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett on Wednesday renewed his appeal for a compromise on stalled legislation to ramp up state transportation spending, slapping his hand on a lectern and holding up a chunk of concrete and rebar from a bridge in need of repair.

Corbett also tried to set the tone for the next two weeks of negotiations before lawmakers return to Harrisburg on Nov. 12. He urged everyone to give a little bit of ground and for people to contact their legislators.

“A reliable transportation system is not a matter of personal convenience,” Corbett told reporters after an unrelated news conference. “It is a matter of safety, of our livelihoods, of our economic competitiveness with other states, and frankly with other countries, and is matter of our overall quality of life.”

Corbett warned that, without new funding, more highway jobs will be lost because state transportation dollars are shrinking. And he echoed the warnings of supportive legislators who say the chances of the bill’s passing diminish, the closer next year’s election gets because it carries a hefty tax and fee increase that might not be publicly popular.

“Do not take this lightly,” Corbett said. “If this bill does not pass this year, I don’t know when it will.”

The legislation would boost the state’s spending on Pennsylvania’s transportation systems by almost 50 percent, while making the state’s fuel tax rates among the nation’s highest.

Corbett, who pledged during his 2010 campaign for governor not to raise taxes or fees, has nevertheless said he would sign either of two leading proposals in the House and Senate that each raise taxes and fees on motorists.