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The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has approved a $280 million infrastructure loan to help fund construction of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver’s Eagle P3 commuter-rail project, USDOT officials announced Friday.

“This loan brings Denver a step closer to completing this ambitious and far-reaching project that offers better transportation choices in one of the most densely populated regions of the country,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a prepared statement.

The Eagle P3 entails the western segment, known as the Gold Line, which will serve the Denver suburbs of Arvada and Wheat Ridge; and the East Line, which will operate from Union Station nearly 23 miles east to Denver International Airport and connect to existing light-rail and bus service. Both lines are under construction.

The loan is part of the USDOT’s Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, which provides credit assistance for infrastructure projects. The loan is in addition to a $1 billion federal funding agreement that LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff signed in August.