Engineers from several of the former Soviet republics took a tour of the Springfield interchange project with the Moscow Beltway in mind.
The head of the Russian road-construction division, Serguei Kouznetsov, liked the way Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) keeps the traffic moving despite the construction. This feat was hailed by others throughout the project. He spoke through interpreter Ken Mkrttchian.
"It was the first time to see an interchange of this scale. In Russia, there is nothing of such scale and volume," he said. He had a brochure of the Moscow Beltway with arrows, colored lanes and construction progress pictures similar to the brochures available at the Interchange Information Office.
"A deep tunnel will be built under a park. What could be applied is arranging and organizing work so the traffic won't be impeded," Kouznetsov said.
He works for a company in Russia that builds roads all over the former Soviet Union, as well as airports. Roadwork in Afghanistan is being looked at by the company as well, according to Kouznetsov.
<mh>Free-Market Support
<bt>Department of Commerce international-trade specialist Frank Borghese had international politics and the world wide economy on his mind, though, as he discussed the project with the participants. That was one of the driving forces behind organizing the tour, which he referred to as the Special American Internship Training Program, or SABIT.
"The ultimate goal is to support free market economy in Eur-Asia," which is the slang term for the countries that previously made up the Soviet Union.
"If we can promote their free market, it's going to be a benefit. The business guys develop a lot of relationships with American businessmen," he said.
VDOT’s interchange-information specialist, Steve Titunik, looked at the global ramifications as well. He has seen several countries from all over the world looking at the highway project.
"We certainly want them to develop in our mode. We need to work with them. This is a fun group," Titunik said.
VDOT senior engineer Larry Cloyed noted the global aspect as well.
"They are looking at the way others do business, some information exchange," he said.
<mh>World Tour
<bt>These engineers were from just one of the countries that are interested in this highway project. The project in Boston, dubbed "The Big Dig," is another stop for the international engineering teams, according to VDOT information specialist Donna Kierstead.
"They always choose this and The Big Dig in Boston. They're amazed at how far we go into public outreach," she said.
Countries that have visited the information office include several countries from Africa, as well as Egypt, Vietnam, China and Japan. There is a cabinet in the front of the store with gifts various groups have given to VDOT.