LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has appointed a Kansas transportation consultant to lead the Nebraska Department of Roads.

Kyle Schneweis will take over as director on June 8. Ricketts announced the appointment Friday at the conclusion of a national search.

Schneweis currently works as a partner at High Street Consulting Group, LLC, a transportation planning, policy, and financial consulting firm. The firm’s clients include more than a dozen state transportation departments, the federal government and industry groups.

Schneweis served in various roles at the Kansas Department of Transportation from 1999 to 2010.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of North Dakota. Ricketts says Schneweis will help the department think creatively about how the state finances roads and works with regulators.

Schneweis’s salary will be $145,000 a year.