UPDATE 11/14/11 @ 7:20 p.m.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Keeping West Virginia’s roads in good condition means stretching every dollar.

In order to stay within the budget, transportation officials now have to get creative.

Every project means digging deeper into the budget, and when it comes to the country roads of West Virginia, the financial hole keeps growing.

“We're having to utilize more and more of our state road fund just to take care of what we already have constructed,” Paul Mattox, Secretary of Transportation and Commissioner of Highways, said.

At a transportation conference Monday, state leaders discussed ways to stretch your dollars.

The cost of maintaining roads has increased 30 percent in the past 10 years, but the funding hasn't changed at all.

“We're trying to do as much as we can with an existing budget, but the deterioration of our bridges and roads continues, and the amount of resources we have to put towards their repair or replacement continues to dwindle,” Mattox said.

Without being able to spread money throughout the state like they once could, they're getting creative.

“We are thinking outside the box,” Mattox said. “We're being innovative and working with engineers that think differently.”

For example, you may soon be driving on roads with thinner paving, and you might also notice pavement that covers only the part you drive on rather than spreading from shoulder to shoulder.

One thing stressed at the transportation meeting is that the focus now is taking care of bridges and roads that have already been constructed.

When it comes to any new construction projects, the state will have to find alternative means of financing them.

Some may ask why West Virginia doesn't just dip into its budget surplus. The state's response to that is that would be a one-time shot in the arm rather than a long-term solution that can be counted on year after year.

The 2011 West Virginia Transportation Conference is set for Monday at the Embassy Suites.

The conference will provide a look at the state's transportation plans and funding challenges on the state and federal levels.

Among the speakers will be Congressman Nick Rahall, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Other speakers include state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox, U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, and the chairmen of the West Virginia House and Senate finance committees.