BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick last week filed a transportation bond bill to authorize and fund a 10-year plan for the next generation of transportation investments.

The bill would invest $13.7 billion over a 10-year period in the 21st-Century Transportation Plan “The Way Forward,” to address a backlog of deferred maintenance and strategically improve the state’s transportation system to reduce congestion on roads, curb delays and minimize crowding on trains and buses, and improve customer service. In total, the bill authorizes $19 billion of capital investment in the commonwealth’s transportation system.

The transportation bond bill, which would be funded by existing revenue and additional revenue through passage of tax reform, includes the following investments:

• $3.4 billion to provide $300 million annually in Chapter 90 funds distributed to towns and cities for local road and bridge projects.

• $2.4 billion for transportation construction projects over the next four years that are eligible for 82 percent federal reimbursement of costs.

• $4.6 billion to fully state-fund highway maintenance and construction.

• $4.4 billion for regional rail projects identified in the Transportation Plan, including Green Line expansion, South Coast Rail and South Station expansion. •