PHOENIX — A majority of Arizonans are so frustrated with traffic congestion that they’re willing to hike their own taxes in hopes of fixing the situation, a new statewide survey shows.

 The poll done by the Social Research Laboratory at Northern Arizona University found 52 percent of those asked said they would be willing to hike taxes to raise the $20 billion a year or more some have estimated it will take to build new roads and repair the ones already in existence. Another 40 percent were opposed, with the balance undecided.

 But pollster Fred Solop said, though, there appears to be only limited interest among the 400 people questioned in dealing with the problems of congestion through toll roads. Only 32 percent said they think having a separate system for those who want to pay for it makes sense.

 Solop’s survey comes as a coalition of business and economic development groups is crafting a measure it hopes to put on the 2008 ballot to do exactly that. Marty Shultz, one of the organizers of the TIME committee — short for Transportation and

 Infrastructure Moving Arizona’s Economy — said the group is looking closely at asking voters to hike the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax.

 That tax hike the committee wants would be statewide. But Shultz said he believes voters, even in rural areas, can be convinced to tax themselves to fund a comprehensive plan, even if that only means their communities will get a “piece of the action.’’

 Solop agreed those living elsewhere — he is a Flagstaff resident — have an interest in the issue, too.

 “Certainly for those of us who live in rural Arizona and commute to Phoenix, the commute to Phoenix is becoming more daunting over time,’’ he said “People are more reluctant over time to travel to Phoenix,’’ Solop continued. And he said those wanting to go on to Tucson can face two hours just getting through the Phoenix area. Shultz, a lobbyist for Arizona Public Service Co., the state’s largest electric utility, said the plan also likely will also include a provision to allow the state to negotiate with private companies to build toll roads.

 He acknowledged the negative response to that in Solop’s survey. But Shultz said that is attributable to the ideas many Arizonans have about the nature of toll roads, ideas he said are outdated. “People were darned tired and pretty frustrated by dipping in their pockets and throwing change,’’ he said. Shultz said new technology allows motorists to zip past toll “booths’’ where the data about their vehicles is recorded and the fees automatically deducted from their accounts.

 And he said tolls need not be limited to entirely new highways but could be used to build special new lanes on freeways.

 Part of the reason sales taxes are attractive for new funding is the amount that can be raised:  A one penny increase could generate between $700 million and $1 billion a year, depending on whether the new revenues would be shared with local governments, as are most of the current collections.

 By contrast, a penny hike in the state’s 18-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax generates just $37 million a year.

 There also is precedent for sales taxes: Maricopa County voters have imposed a half-cent levy on themselves for urban freeway construction and some mass transit.

Solop’s survey, conducted earlier this month, has a 5 percent margin of error.