TxDOT Item 104 Removing Concrete: Bid Code Spec, Pricing and Measurement Basis
Item 104 pays for breaking, removing, and disposing of existing concrete. What actually decides the price isn't the concrete itself, it's how the code gets measured. Most concrete removal is priced by the square yard or cubic yard. Curb removal is priced by the foot, a totally different basis. Here are the 4 bid codes that show up most in recent TxDOT lettings, what separates one from the next, and one rule worth knowing before you price a retaining wall: footing removal isn't its own line item, no matter how you measure the wall.
TxDOT Item 104 Bid Code Variants: What Determines Pricing
Item 104 covers one kind of work, removing existing concrete, but how it's measured splits it into different pricing problems. Straight from the spec:
"Removing concrete pavement, floors, porches, patios, riprap, medians, foundations, sidewalks, driveways, and other appurtenances will be measured by the square yard (regardless of thickness) or by the cubic yard of calculated volume, in its original position."
"Removing curb, curb and gutter, and concrete traffic barrier will be measured by the foot in its original position."
Three things decide what you're pricing:
- What's being removed. Riprap, driveways, sidewalks, ramps, and similar work fall into the square yard or cubic yard group. Curb is priced by the foot, a straight linear measurement, no thickness or volume involved. That changes the whole cost basis, area or volume work scales differently than linear work.
- Square yard or cubic yard, for the general group. The spec allows either, square yard regardless of thickness, or cubic yard by calculated volume. Which one applies comes down to how the plans and proposal define the item, not a fixed rule by type. Confirm which basis you're pricing to before you commit to a number.
- Whether it's a retaining wall. Retaining wall removal has its own measurement basis, square yard along the front face, top of wall to top of footing. None of the four codes below are retaining wall codes, but it's worth knowing this third basis exists if your job has one.
TxDOT Item 104 Pricing: Key Takeaways
- Curb removal is priced by the foot. Everything else here is priced by area or volume. Two different cost structures under one item number.
- Retaining wall footing removal is never a separate pay item, no matter how the wall itself is measured. It's subsidiary to Item 104.
- This is a plans quantity item. You get paid the quantity shown in the proposal, not a field-verified count, unless an Article 9.2 adjustment applies.
- You own disposal of the broken concrete, and that's a real regulatory obligation, not just a hauling cost.
- Damage to concrete that's supposed to stay is a free fix, on you, not the Department.
Cost Factors for TxDOT Item 104 Removing Concrete
Cost Factors That Vary by Bid Code
What you're removing, and how it's measured. Riprap, driveways, sidewalks, and similar work price as an area or volume problem. Curb prices as a linear problem, by the foot, driven by length and access rather than thickness or volume.
Saw-cutting precision, wherever concrete has to stay in place. The spec calls for cutting to neat lines and protecting concrete that isn't coming out. That's real labor and equipment cost that never shows up in the bid code description, but it hits every job where the cut line actually matters.
Cost Factors That Apply to Every TxDOT Item 104 Bid Code
Disposal is on you, and it's regulatory, not just logistics.
"Accept ownership and properly dispose of broken concrete in conformance with federal, state, and local regulations unless otherwise shown on the plans."
That's landfill fees, possible recycling rules, and whatever local regulation applies to construction debris, all baked into your price, not a generic hauling line.
Damage to concrete meant to stay is a free repair.
"Replace any concrete damaged by the Contractor at no expense to the Department."
If a saw-cut runs long or adjacent concrete cracks during removal, that's your cost to fix, not a change order.
TxDOT Item 104 Payment Terms: Subsidiary Work vs. Separately Paid Items
Everything bundled into the Removing Concrete unit price, one number, no matter the unit:
"This price is full compensation for breaking the concrete; loading, hauling, and salvaging or disposing of the material; and equipment, labor, tools, and incidentals."
Breaking, loading, hauling, disposal, all in the same per-unit price, whether that's a square yard, cubic yard, or foot.
The retaining wall footing rule is the one worth knowing before you bid, because it's easy to get wrong.
"Removing retaining wall footings will not be measured or paid for directly but will be subsidiary to this Item."
Retaining walls are measured by the square yard along the front face, top of wall to top of footing, a measurement that stops at the footing. It's reasonable to assume the footing itself, sitting outside that measured face, gets priced on its own. It doesn't. If your estimate treats footing removal as a separate line, or skips pricing it because it falls outside the wall's measured area, that cost has nowhere to land inside a number that doesn't obviously cover it.
TxDOT Item 104 Quality Gates and Placement Requirements
Item 104 doesn't have an ongoing requirement like Item 666's retroreflectivity, or a mid-construction checkpoint like Item 432's stone verification. There's no inspection after the fact and no placement method the spec rules out. Your risk here is all at the point of removal, not after.
Two things to get right while you're doing the work:
Neat-line saw-cutting protects concrete you're not getting paid to fix. The spec calls for cutting to neat lines and keeping remaining concrete undamaged. Since damage repair comes out of your pocket, precision here is a cost control move, not just good workmanship.
Disposal has to clear regulatory rules, not just get the material off site. "Properly dispose... in conformance with federal, state, and local regulations" is a real compliance bar. Confirm your disposal method and destination clear it before you lock in a disposal cost.
Pricing Considerations for Concrete Removal
- Build saw-cutting precision into your labor cost, not just material removal, since damaging adjacent concrete comes out of your price, not a change order.
- Confirm the actual disposal destination and its rules before pricing hauling and disposal as a flat number.
- Confirm square yard versus cubic yard on the general codes, since the spec allows either and it changes how you build your number.
TxDOT Item 104 Bid Item Pricing Data
Weighted average unit price across TxDOT lettings over the last 24 months, both across every bid submitted and on the low, winning bid specifically. Each code links to its full pricing page, where you can see the spread by competitor, district, and quantity.
Pricing Analysis: Key Cost Comparisons Across TxDOT Item 104
Curb removal shows the widest gap between the two numbers, winning bids come in about 26% below the all-bids average. Riprap is close behind at 24% below. Driveways and sidewalk, ramp, or support removal are both tighter, 12% and 10% below average. If you're pricing curb or riprap removal, there's more room between a safe number and a winning number than the other two codes show, worth knowing before you price all four the same way.
Executing TxDOT Item 104: Avoiding Rework and Ensuring Payment
Same spec, laid out as things to actually do on the job.
Rework Triggers Under TxDOT Item 104
- Damaging concrete that's supposed to stay, a free repair on you
- Saw-cuts that miss the neat line, risking damage to what's next to it
- Disposal that doesn't clear federal, state, or local rules
Field Compliance Requirements for TxDOT Item 104
- Saw-cut to neat lines before you break and remove concrete
- Confirm what's staying in place before you start cutting
- Keep ownership and disposal records for the broken concrete
Pay Application Requirements for TxDOT Item 104
- Confirm the measurement basis, square yard, cubic yard, or foot, on every invoice line, since the unit changes depending on what was removed
- Never submit retaining wall footing removal as its own line. It's subsidiary to Item 104 and has no pay basis on its own
- Confirm plans quantity versus field-adjusted quantity before final pay application, since this is a plans quantity item by default
Built for people pricing and executing TxDOT concrete removal work
Frequently asked questions about TxDOT Item 104
What is TxDOT Item 104, Removing Concrete?
The TxDOT spec for breaking, removing, and disposing of existing hydraulic cement concrete, covering pavement, sidewalks, driveways, curb, and retaining walls, each measured differently depending on what's coming out.
How is Item 104 measured?
General work, riprap, driveways, sidewalks, and similar, is measured by the square yard regardless of thickness, or by the cubic yard of calculated volume. Curb, curb and gutter, and concrete traffic barrier are measured by the foot. Retaining walls are measured by the square yard along the front face, top of wall to top of footing.
Is retaining wall footing removal paid separately?
No. It's subsidiary to Item 104, no matter how the wall itself is measured.
Who's responsible for disposing of the removed concrete?
You are. Owning and properly disposing of it, per federal, state, and local rules, is on the Contractor unless the plans say otherwise.
What happens if you damage concrete that's supposed to stay?
You fix it at no cost to the Department. That's entirely on you.
Is this a field-measured item?
No, by default. Item 104 pays the quantity shown in the proposal, not a field count, unless an Article 9.2 adjustment applies.
Is this pricing data free to use?
Yes. Every bid item pricing page linked above is free, no account needed.