Mary E. Peters, head of the Federal Highway Administration since October 2001, is leaving the agency to return to her home in Arizona, the agency said. FHWA said in a July 13 statement that Peters had told Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta about her decision the previous evening.
Before becoming FHWA administrator, Peters was director of the Arizona Dept. of Transportation. She spent 15 years at ADOT, rising from contract administrator to senior posts and, in 1998, to the top job. She is widely respected by state and industry officials for her extensive background on highway issues.