No new revenues without reform is the mantra we hope will be adopted by the entire North of Boston legislative delegation as it considers proposals for fixing the state's crumbling bridges and roadways.

"Once you put taxes on the table ... the creativity is gone," state Sen. Steve Baddour, D-Methuen, told our editorial board Wednesday. He's right. Reforms - whether they involve the elimination of unnecessary police details, ending duplication within the various state transportation bureaucracies, repealing the prevailing wage law, or reducing the time needed to permit projects - must come before there's any talk of hiking the gas tax or erecting new toll booths.

Wasteful practices, many of them aimed at fattening the pockets of those in the public employ, add immense sums to the cost of every public works project in the commonwealth. Before taxpayers are asked to pony up more money for infrastructure repairs, or new projects for that matter, they have a right to know they will get maximum value for those dollars. That's not happening now.

As Senate chairman of the Transportation Committee, Baddour is in an excellent position to move such reforms forward. But he must carry this message to every corner of the Statehouse and demand that promises of more stringent oversight be translated into action before motorists are asked to pay more at the pump.

The Legislature, at Gov. Deval Patrick's behest, is considering a $2 billion transportation bond bill. Baddour is insisting that some of the more logical reforms be included as part of that legislation, and that more difficult issues like police details be dealt with separately - but before lawmakers adjourn on July 1.

While the Patrick bill does not call for any new taxes, a recent study estimates that it will cost the state $1 billion a year over the next 20 years simply to keep existing roads and bridges safe. That's a huge sum that neither Baddour nor anyone else is foolish enough to think can be covered by reductions in personnel costs or other efficiencies.

What the veteran lawmaker is saying is that before the public can be convinced to put forth more of their money on these projects, an honest effort must be made to keep costs down. To date the Legislature has not shown much of a stomach for taking on the unions and other vested interests who benefit from the status quo. Perhaps the dire condition of the state's transportation infrastructure - and the knowledge that additional money won't be forthcoming without reform - will finally force their hand.