EURASIAN DELEGATES TOUR TDOT’S SMARTFIX40
Project Tour Part of Training Program

Knoxville, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced today that they will be hosting a delegation of 18 transportation officials from ten Eurasian countries today and tomorrow, June 21-22, 2007, in a tour of the SmartFIX40 project and other TDOT facilities.

Delegates from Russia, Tajikistan, Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are participants in the Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT), which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce. This program will provide these high-level managers and executives with an understanding of U.S. road construction methodologies and management practices and enables them to return home with the skills and knowledge necessary to implement change.

The SmartFIX40 project was chosen as a training site because it is one of TDOT’s most unique projects. The tour/training will highlight the use of many modern design, engineering, construction and management techniques including:

• The accelerated construction schedule
• Complete closure of roadways to allow around-the-clock work
• The use of latest technology, materials and equipment
• The implementation of innovative design philosophies
• The focus placed on public information and involvement
• The availability of project information through resources such as the community center, hotline and website
• The high level of coordination among TDOT, local officials, businesses and residents on a consistent basis

“It is clear that very serious efforts have been made on the part of TDOT and the contractors,” said Aleksey Markov, Department Head of Road Construction for the Russian Ministry of Construction and SABIT participant. “This is a very complex project and we are extremely impressed by the coordination of work, speed and uniqueness of the project. We could tell that both TDOT and the contractors are working very hard to build a high quality project in a small amount of time.”

SmartFIX40 is TDOT’s single most expensive construction project in its 90 year history. Broken into two separate construction contracts, SmartFIX40 has a price tag of approximately $190 million. SmartFIX is an accelerated construction process used by the department to speed up construction. It involves closing the primary roadway to allow around-the-clock work that is uninterrupted by traffic in order to dramatically reduce the time it takes to complete the project, thereby reducing the long-term inconvenience to drivers. Using the SmartFIX concept will save over two years of construction time.