The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has granted a $200m loan under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) for construction of new lanes and to carry out improvements on New Hampshire's I-93 highway from Salem to Manchester.

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said: "The TIFIA loan will help New Hampshire embark on an ambitious project that will create more opportunity for communities along the corridor.

"As seen in our Beyond Traffic study released last year, this is a region with a rapidly growing population, experiencing greater traffic and increased gridlock.

"The new lanes along with other improvements will help address chronic congestion and the condition of aging infrastructure in the region."

"The I-93 widening will provide the area with an economic boost, and increase access to businesses and jobs."

The loan will be used for the reconstruction of 19.8 miles on I-93 highway and to convert two lane roads to four lanes in each direction, beginning from Manchester at the I-93 / I-293 interchange to Salem at the New Hampshire-Massachusetts state line.

Interchanges will be reconstructed and reconfigured in addition to the completion of work on bridges and construction of park-and-ride lots and bus facilities.

The I-93 highway was built in the 1960's with a capacity to accommodate up to 70,000 vehicles per day.

Currently, 100,000 vehicles per day use the highway, and New Hampshire DOT expects the number of vehicles using this highway to touch 140,000 in the next four years.

FHWA Administrator Gregory Nadeau said: "The state will be better connected and commuters and freight shippers will have more reliable travel times.

"The new lanes along with other improvements will help address chronic congestion and the condition of aging infrastructure in the region."