Home Design-Build US-301 Concrete Test Road

US-301 Concrete Test Road

Superior Construction built the Southeastern United States’ only full-scale concrete pavement testing facility for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The site features 52 experimental concrete sections with embedded instrumentation that monitor pavement performance under real-world traffic conditions, helping FDOT determine which materials perform best and shaping pavement design decisions across Florida for decades to come. As FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue noted, “The more resilient the materials we use, the longer they last, reducing our maintenance costs and construction times, and limiting the congestion travelers feel in active work zones.” 

Project Highlights
  • 52 experimental concrete pavement sections
  • 36,500 square yards of concrete pavement
  • On-site concrete batch plant for quality control
  • Zero lost-time accidents over 76,000+ worker hours
Client
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
Location
Clay County, Florida
Work Performed

Excavation, subgrade preparation and concrete paving of 52 experimental test sections; installation of embedded pavement instrumentation; operation of on-site concrete batch plant; placement of 36,500 square yards of concrete pavement with varying thicknesses, base configurations and surface textures; coordination with active railroad operations

Completion Date

June 2025

Industry
Transportation, Concrete Paving
Delivery Methods
Design-Build

The Work

The US-301 Concrete Test Road required Superior to execute complex technical specifications while maintaining exacting quality standards for this sophisticated research facility. The team performed all excavation, subgrade preparation and paving work for the two-mile test road constructed parallel to northbound US-301.

To maintain full control over product quality, Superior established an on-site concrete batch plant. This allowed the team to efficiently produce varying mix designs for the 52 experimental sections — some incorporating fiber mesh reinforcement and others using recycled materials as aggregate— and eliminated transportation delays, enabling the team to complete the paving phase ahead of schedule.

The project’s most technically demanding aspect involved the precise placement of advanced instrumentation within the pavement structure. Superior’s concrete paving crews worked in close coordination with FDOT engineers to ensure that strain gauges, thermocouples and moisture gauges were properly positioned without compromising either pavement integrity or sensor functionality.

The project’s proximity to active rail operations required extensive and careful coordination with CSX Railroad. Superior’s project team developed detailed phasing plans and maintained ongoing dialogue with railroad authorities, successfully managing this complex interface without disrupting rail or highway operations. The team maintained an exemplary safety record throughout construction, working adjacent to high-speed traffic and achieving zero lost-time accidents over more than 76,000 worker hours.

Project Gallery

The Results

The completed facility is a state-of-the-art concrete pavement research laboratory where sophisticated monitoring systems continuously collect performance data under live traffic conditions. A weigh-in-motion system documents the types and weights of vehicles traveling the test road, while embedded sensors track pavement response to loading, temperature variations and moisture conditions.

The site’s layout enables FDOT to divert traffic between the test road and existing US-301 lanes, providing researchers full access to test areas without disrupting highway operations and allowing construction of additional experimental sections as needed. Superior’s work established a research platform that will continue to advance FDOT’s pavement design and material innovation efforts throughout Florida.