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COLUMBIA -- DOT Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry, who served as the agency's leader for a decade and who more recently as a lightning rod for criticism, will retire Dec. 31, officials announced Tuesday.

Mabry, through a representative, approached the DOT board Monday with an offer to retire, said DOT Chairman Tee Hooper, who had repeatedly asked her in the last year to step down.

The board spent 90 minutes behind closed doors to discuss her offer, then agreed to seek to purchase about nine months of retirement credit for between $40,000 and $45,000. The settlement must still be approved by the State Budget and Control Board.

Mabry has been on medical leave for an undisclosed illness all month and was unavailable Tuesday for comment. She didn't attend Tuesday's commission meeting.

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"I think the commission wishes her well and good health," Hooper said.

State highway engineer Tony Chapman, who has led the agency since her illness, was appointed as interim executive director.

Mabry guided the agency through a multi-billion-dollar accelerated construction program designed to complete 27 years worth of roads in seven years. Under her watch, the agency also built the Arthur Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, the Conway Bypass and Carolina Bays.

But Mabry's management was criticized, first by Hooper and then in last month's Legislative Audit Council report, which alleged the agency wasted millions of dollars, mismanaged contracts and violated laws.

Four of the board's seven commissioners, even after the audit, didn't want to remove her, Hooper told lawmakers Tuesday.

The cracks in her support surfaced after testimony this month from two DOT officials who said the agency purposely hid money from the Legislature in 2004. Mabry had denied that to lawmakers last month.

Then last week, the five-member Budget and Control Board, chaired by Gov. Mark Sanford, voted not to award her any raise because of the audit report.

"Mrs. Mabry's retirement does not fix the problem at DOT," said Joel Sawyer, a Sanford spokesman. "The problem at DOT is structural. Until that structure is fixed, we believe it's likely that taxpayers will see similar results."

Sen. Greg Ryberg, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, criticized what he called a "sweetheart deal" in Mabry's retirement.

"Frankly, this smacks of the very cronyism that, when exposed, led to this day's events at SCDOT," Ryberg said. "The irony of this deal only fuels the momentum that already exists within the General Assembly for true reform of the agency."

DOT Commissioner Marion Carnell of Ware Shoals praised Mabry for her service and accomplishments. "She did so many good things," he said. "The few bad things that happened, I don't think she did them intentionally."