The Senate approved J. Richard Capka on May 26 to head the Federal Highway Administration. Capka, FHWA acting administrator, was nominated for the top job in March, but Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) imposed a “hold.”

Kerry was concerned about Capka’s oversight of Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project when he was Massachusetts Turnpike Authority CEO. But Kerry lifted his hold after “a very candid conversation” May 24 with Capka about his work at the authority. Capka’s answers “satisfied my concerns about his record,” Kerry said.

Capka, who became FHWA deputy administrator in 2002, spent 29 years as an Army Corps of Engineers officer, rising to brigadier general and leading two Corps divisions.