President Bush has nominated the Federal Highway Administration’s acting head, J. Richard Capka, to be the agency’s administrator. Capka, whose nomination was sent to the Senate on March 7, has been FHWA’s deputy administrator since August 2002. He also has been the agency’s acting chief for most of the period since last July, when Mary E. Peters left to return to Arizona, her home state.

Before coming to FHWA, Capka was the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority’s CEO and executive director, overseeing the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel project. Earlier, he spent 29 years as an officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He rose to the rank of brigadier general and commanded the Corps’ South Atlantic and South Pacific divisions.