HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania state House delivered a body blow Monday to hopes for a major transportation spending proposal in a test vote that raised doubts about whether any roads bill will pass this year.

The House voted 98-103 against a proposal to raise gasoline taxes and a host of motorists’ fees to spend billions on roads, bridges and mass transit systems.

The divided Republican majority produced just 59 votes and was only able to persuade 39 Democrats to join them — many from cities heavily served by mass transit. A reconsideration vote lost by an even wider margin.

“I don’t know what else we could have done,” said Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch, saying state residents would pay the price for inaction.

The defeat came after a spirited debate in which opponents warned of constituent backlash from the tax and fee increases, while proponents said there was wide consensus the state’s transportation infrastructure needed an infusion of cash.

“I don’t want to be the one who hosts that bridge that goes down, but mark my words, there will be a bridge that goes down,” said Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong.

The issue has dogged the House for much of the year.

“This is about a $2.5 billion dollar tax increase,” said Rep Brad Roae, R-Crawford, saying gas prices would rise by about 28 cents per gallon as a result. “It is absolutely certain the oil companies will pass that on to the consumer.”

A brief debate followed on a scaled down “critical needs” approach, but it encountered strong opposition and was withdrawn before a vote by its sponsor, Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny.

Earlier in the day Republican Gov. Tom Corbett campaigned for passagein the Capitol Rotunda.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Let’s kick the can down the road,”’ Corbett said. “It’s pretty hard for a can to go down the road when it’s broken.”

An amendment by Rep. Nicholas Micozzie, R-Delaware, the Transportation Committee chairman, would have increased vehicle registration and driver’s license fees, added a surcharge to serious moving violation tickets and increased by $125 the fine for failure to obey a traffic control device.