TxDOT Bid Item Spec & Pricing Guide | Clarement
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TxDOT Bid Item Spec & Pricing Guide

TxDOT specs run to hundreds of items, far too many to read cold on a bid deadline. This guide starts from the item you're pricing, giving you the spec section that sets the cost and what it's actually priced at on real TxDOT lettings. The core problem: bid codes that read almost the same until the last line of the spec sends them in different directions.
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Data current as of August 2026, updated as new items are added.

How this guide was built

Each item below covers every bid code that falls under it, pulled straight from TxDOT's standard specification book, section by section, then matched against real historical pricing from TxDOT bid tabulation records.
This isn't a copy of the spec language. It's the spec read the way an estimator actually needs it: what separates one bid code from another that looks nearly identical, what's subsidiary to the item and what gets paid separately, what triggers rework or a payment dispute after the work is done, and what each variant is actually going for on recent lettings.
Coverage started with the TxDOT items that carry the most bid codes and the most dollars, since those were the ones worth the deepest read first. This first batch of 8 items is now live, covering 84 bid codes total. More items get added as they're built.

The item list

Live items link straight to the full spec-and-pricing breakdown. More get added as they're built.
Item Name Category Codes Status
666 Retroreflectorized Pavement Markings Lighting, Signing, Markings, and Signals 28 Live View guide →
506 Temporary Erosion, Sedimentation, and Environmental Controls Miscellaneous Construction 15 Live View guide →
644 Small Roadside Sign Assemblies Lighting, Signing, Markings, and Signals 10 Live View guide →
677 Eliminating Existing Pavement Markings and Markers Lighting, Signing, Markings, and Signals 8 Live View guide →
432 Riprap Structures 6 Live View guide →
540 Metal Beam Guard Fence Miscellaneous Construction 6 Live View guide →
672 Raised Pavement Markers Lighting, Signing, Markings, and Signals 6 Live View guide →
500 Mobilization Miscellaneous Construction 5 Live View guide →

Built for the people pricing TxDOT bids

Lead Estimators

Price the bid code you're actually looking at, not the one it looks like on paper. Know which variant carries a retroreflectivity requirement, which one runs at half the production rate, and which one is quietly sealer instead of marking, before the number goes on the bid.
Item 666, bid code 6041
FLAGGED
Carries a retroreflectivity requirement the base code doesn't.
Codes reviewed
Before the number goes on the bid

Project Managers and Project Engineers

Know what you're on the hook for once the crew's off the job. Payment terms, rework triggers, and post-installation requirements are documented per item, not buried in four paragraphs at the bottom of a spec section nobody reopens until there's a problem.
Item 666 payment terms
Subsidiary to mobilization
No
Rework trigger on reapplication
Yes
Fewer disputes
Payment terms documented per item

Owners

See where spec misreads turn into margin loss across more than one bid. A subsidiary cost priced as separate, or a requirement missed on a handful of codes, adds up the same way across every project that used the same bid item.
Misread, item 666 · 6 projects
REPEATED
Same code priced separately when it was subsidiary each time.
Caught earlier
Before it repeats across the next bid

Frequently asked questions

What is the TxDOT Bid Item Spec & Pricing Guide?

A guide that ties TxDOT's standard specification language to real bid pricing, one TxDOT item at a time. Each page covers every bid code under that item: what separates the codes, what's subsidiary, what triggers rework, and what each variant has priced at on recent lettings.

How is this different from reading the TxDOT standard specification book directly?

The spec book gives you the raw language, organized the way TxDOT organizes it, not the way a bid deadline requires it. This guide reads that same language and surfaces what actually changes a bid code's price and what actually creates cost or schedule exposure after the work is done, item by item.

How were these items chosen?

Starting with the TxDOT items that carry the most bid codes and the most dollars across recent lettings, since those were worth the deepest read first. The first 8 items now live cover 84 bid codes between them, led by Item 666, which alone covers 28.

Why isn't every TxDOT item covered yet?

This guide is being built out item by item. The first 8 items, covering 84 bid codes, are live now. More get added as they're built.

Does this replace reading the actual TxDOT spec book?

No. It's a faster way into the sections that actually matter for pricing and execution. For anything not covered here yet, or for full legal specification language, the TxDOT spec book itself is still the authoritative source.

How does this connect to bid item pricing data?

Every bid code covered in a guide links to its own detailed pricing page, showing real historical pricing by quantity, district, and competitor.

How often is this updated?

As new items get built out and as new TxDOT lettings publish pricing data for the items already covered.

Who is this for?

Lead Estimators pricing TxDOT work, and anyone on a bid team who needs to know what a bid code is actually carrying before it gets priced.

Is this free to use?

Yes. This guide and every linked bid item pricing page are free, no account required.

Find the TxDOT item you're pricing, get the spec context that actually matters, then price it against real bid history.

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