Rhonda Faught, a career government worker and civil engineer from Deming, NM, has been named to head the New Mexico Highway and Transportation Department, according to a notice on the department's Web site.

Gov.-Elect Bill Richardson made the announcement during a press conference at 11 a.m. MST Thursday, the notice said. Faught has served as adjutant secretary of the department, the second-highest position in the agency, and would be the first woman to head the department if confirmed, The Albuquerque Tribune reported.

The DOT is trying to make ends meet after eight years during which it spent heavily on large highway projects, the paper said, including the Big I, a massive interchange reconstruction where I-24 and I-40 meet, and hundreds of miles of highways upgraded from two to four lanes. Those projects were led by Pete Rahn, former head of the department and Faught's former boss. He left in November, The Tribune said, for a position in the private sector.

Faught, who has worked for the department since 1988, must be confirmed by the state Senate, which meets in January.