The deputy director for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Houston office and a veteran of highway planning has assumed the top role for the region.

Eliza Paul took over as district director of the Houston region, effective Thursday. Her promotion was announced Friday afternoon. Paul is the first woman and the first Asian-American to lead the Houston office.

Though appointed within TxDOT, the position carries huge sway over planning and prioritization of highway projects in the metro area, overseeing a maintenance and construction annual budget of roughly $1.2 billion. The district director along with local elected officials and other appointees is a member of the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council, which doles out locally controlled federal transportation dollars.

The Houston district covers Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Montgomery and Waller counties. By population and daily miles of highway travel, it is the largest TxDOT region.

Paul has overseen much of it, over more than 30 years as a TxDOT employee, including oversight of the $2.8 billion rebuilding of Interstate 10 west of Loop 610. At the time, it was the largest project in state history.

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As director, she is likely to oversee the beginning of work on what’s now predicted to be the biggest project in state history — the rebuilding and redesign of Interstate 45 from downtown Houston north to the Sam Houston Tollway. The project, likely to cost more than $7 billion, includes significant changes to the downtown freeway system and has faced criticism for further separating neighborhoods along the freeway’s route.

Paul is married to state Rep. Dennis Paul, R-Houston. She is the fifth consecutive deputy director for the Houston area to elevate to district director.

She replaces Quincy Allen, who was promoted recently to TxDOT’s director of district operations, based in Austin. Allen in his new role coordinates between the transportation department’s headquarters and the 25 districts across the state.

dug.begley@chron.com