CONCORD, NH The New Hampshire Department of Transportation said it expects to close on a $200 million long-term, low-interest federal loan to widen a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 93 from Salem, New Hampshire, to Manchester, New Hampshire.

NHDOT Commissioner Victoria Sheehan described that plan in a request to the state Executive Council to formally seek the funding from the USDOT's loan program known as TIFIA, for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.

The Council approved her request May 3, the Union Leader reported. The story said state transportation officials also said the low-cost loan allows New Hampshire to do more construction work at less cost than if the state had issued $200 million in bonds to the credit markets.

The USDOT issues TIFIA loans for up to 35 years at the federal government's own cost of funds, which was 2.61 percent.

The council also approved a $46 million contract for part of the work that the TIFIA loan would cover. The Union Leader said the project is the final phase of a broader $600 million I-93 expansion that began in 2006 and is expected to be completed in 2020.

The newspaper reported that Sheehan said she expects to bring the TIFIA loan agreement before the council at its scheduled meeting, and have the loan deal signed by the end of the fiscal year.