Super-Slab precast pavement panels allowed crews to replace failing pavement overnight without disrupting traffic on Honolulu’s busiest freeway.

Interstate H-1 Honolulu Precast Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation

Project Details

• Owner: Hawaii DOT
• Engineer: R.M. Towill Corporation
• Contractor: Kiewit Infrastructure West
• Project Completion: 2019
• Scope: 1,370 Super-Slab® Precast Panels

Project Overview

Interstate H-1 is one of Oahu’s busiest transportation corridors, carrying roughly 230,000 vehicles per day through Pearl City and Halawa. HDOT awarded a contract to Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. to reconstruct approximately 3.6 lane-miles of Interstate H-1 using Fort Miller’s Super-Slab® precast pavement system.

Aging pavement and inconsistent roadway profiles demanded a solution that could move quickly while delivering long-term performance. With roughly 230,000 vehicles using the corridor each day, conventional reconstruction timelines were not an option.

The solution was a fast-track rehabilitation using precast concrete pavement panels. Fort Miller’s Super-Slab® pavement technology and technical expertise helped to deliver a rapid, high-production installation approach within tight nightly work windows.

Scope and Details

The approach shifted critical work offsite. Precast panels were produced in advance and installed overnight so lanes could reopen each morning without waiting for the in-place concrete cure time. The precaster, GPRM, established an extensive casting operation capable of producing up to 30 panels per day during peak output. 

Fort Miller’s Super-Slab® system support helped ensure the project could maintain consistent panel quality while meeting the volume demands of more than 1,300 slabs.

To keep production and placement moving at speed, the team combined 3D surface modeling with robotically controlled grading and paving to match the corridor’s changing profile and maintain smooth, safe transitions to live traffic. This workflow allowed crews to place as many as 20–30 slabs during each 7.5-hour night closure

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) helped crews anticipate subsurface conditions ahead of nightly excavations, reducing surprises and keeping the installation cycle predictable.

Impact and Innovation

By pairing Super-Slab precast pavement panels with advanced construction methods, the project met its central goal: rehabilitating the freeway with minimal impact on drivers while achieving the pace needed to complete the work within a 180-day schedule. 

The project also added an extra eastbound shoulder lane for improved emergency access and future capacity.

Fort Miller’s Super-Slab® technology helped the team translate a complex roadway profile into an executable precast solution, allowing high-volume production and rapid installation to stay aligned. All major work was completed ahead of schedule, roughly 3 months earlier than originally planned.

2019 America’s Transportation Award (WASHTO region) Nomination: Best Use of Technology 

2020 Engineering Excellence Award: American Council of Engineering Companies – Hawaii Chapter