Integrated Roadways wants to revolutionize street and highway construction.

Some people fiddle with their car radio or guzzle coffee during their morning commutes. Tim Sylvester used his to come up with a company that could change how roads are built in the United States.

Sylvester is the founder of Integrated Roadways, a local startup that sells and oversees the installation of precast, factory-made slabs of pavement. Construction crews can slot those slabs into place much faster than it would take to put down asphalt on a street or highway, the traditional solution.

Plus, Integrated Roadways’ slabs will have embedded sensors that can send back reports on traffic flow, road conditions and other metrics.

The inspiration for Integrated Roadways came several years ago when Sylvester had to drive through a major road project every day on his way to work. Construction dragged on for months and months.

“I spent every day for a year driving by and thinking there’s got to be a better way to do this,” said Sylvester, who went back to college and earned a degree in computer and electrical engineering so he could pursue his business idea.

So far, Integrated Roadways has completed two projects: a parking lot at UMKC’s new Bloch Executive Hall and a repair job on Interstate 35 near Gardner.

The I-35 job was a major milestone for the company. The Kansas Department of Transportation, which had never used a precast pavement solution before, hired the startup within three months of hearing Sylvester’s pitch. It was, he said, “an astonishing display of trust.”

But one that paid off. A KDOT official said that Integrated Roadways’ work on I-35 will probably outlast the road surrounding it.

Other cities have expressed interest, but Sylvester is battling decades of tradition. Most cities, when they put road projects up for bid, only accept asphalt-based solutions. Sylvester is lobbying a handful of local governments to change their bid specifications to include precast.

Using precast pavement takes much more planning. Also, the initial costs are higher—though the slabs last as long as 50 years, Sylvester adds. To attract customers, Integrated Roadways offers a $500 million line of credit with very long terms.

“We can provide them a smooth, preplanned expense from five to 35 to even 50 years,” he said.

Sylvester believes Integrated Roadways is poised for big things. After all, he said, construction and infrastructure are two of the major industries that haven’t been turned upside-down by technology. “It is desperate for disruption.”