In downtown Richmond, Indiana DOT used Fort Miller’s Super-Slab® System to install removable precast concrete pavement panels in daylight work windows, delivering long-life performance with built-in utility access.

Project Details

• Owner: Indiana Department of Transportation
• Engineer: First Group Engineering, Inc.
• Contractor: Gradex Inc. / E & B Paving
• Precaster: Norwalk Concrete Industries
• Project Completion: 2019
• Scope: 1,128 Super-Slab® precast concrete pavement panels  

Project Overview

US-40 through downtown Richmond, IN, is a busy urban route dating back to the 1930s. It was plagued by deteriorated pavement with multiple asphalt overlays. With steady daily traffic and numerous buried utilities, INDOT needed a long-lasting solution that could be installed quickly and allow easy future utility access.

Fort Miller’s Super-Slab® precast concrete pavement panel system was selected for the U.S. 40 portion to meet these challenges. Unlike traditional fixed pavement, each precast slab can be saw-cut free to access underground utilities, then replaced without sacrificing pavement integrity. 

INDOT anticipated several benefits: high-quality factory fabrication, rapid installation to minimize road closure time, and the ability to perform future utility repairs without demolishing the road.  

It became the first project in Indiana to use precast concrete pavement panels as a replacement for conventional road rebuilding.

Scope and Details

Fort Miller’s Super-Slab® precast concrete pavement panel system helped INDOT pair the speed and quality advantages of precast paving with utility access.

To execute that system efficiently in an active downtown corridor, the project relied on a tightly controlled field workflow led by E & B Paving.

Traffic was shifted to free up half the street for construction, creating full-time daylight work windows and a predictable production rhythm. E & B used a robotically controlled skid steer to fine-grade the base, achieving tight tolerances that supported consistent panel seating and smoother finished profiles. Precast panels were delivered and set in sequence, enabling high installation rates and helping the crew maintain momentum across the corridor.

Each Super-Slab® precast pavement panel (or series of panels) includes installed components that allow crews to sawcut and lift panels to access buried utilities beneath the roadway. After utility work is complete, panels can be cleaned, reset, and returned to service in the same location.

Impact and Innovation

As the first precast concrete panel pavement project in Indiana, this initiative was closely watched as a pilot.

Its success showed how precast pavement can deliver speed, quality, and utility access in one coordinated solution, giving INDOT confidence to consider precast panels for future applications. 

It also demonstrated the viability of removable precast concrete pavement in a busy urban corridor: Any future maintenance on water or sewer lines beneath U.S. 40 can be performed by lifting out the necessary precast slabs and later reusing them, rather than cutting and patching the pavement. This means utility repairs can be completed faster and with virtually no permanent scarring of the road, preserving ride quality.

INDOT is now evaluating broader use of precast “removable pavement” panels for other high-traffic locations, from major intersection rehabilitations to interstate highway patching.