Pick a project
Any real TxDOT project, by name or CSJ
Select a real TxDOT project by name or CSJ.
CSJ 0912-31SELECTED
One TxDOT bid package
Drawings
General notes
Special provisions
Read once, not sheet by sheet
Estimated Quantity, as published
132-7005 · Embankment
Estimated Quantity42,180 CY
TxDOT's number
Takeoff Quantity, calculated
132-7005 · Embankment
Takeoff Quantity42,180 CY
Calculated independently
Status
132-7005MATCHED
260-7001MISMATCHED
618-7030NOT PROCESSED
One of three, every time
TxDOT Engineer's Estimates, turned into a quantity you can actually verify.
TxDOT publishes an Engineer's Estimate with every bid package. It's official, current, and not independently checked against the plans. Clarement reads the full bid package, drawings, general notes, and special provisions, and calculates its own quantity for every listed bid item, so you're working from a verified number instead of a published one.
Gaps in the TxDOT Engineer's Estimate
Published, not verified
TxDOT's Engineer's Estimate is official, but nothing checks it against the plans for you
The Engineer's Estimate is TxDOT's own reference figure, published with every bid package. It's official and current, but it isn't independently re-derived from the drawings and special provisions as a routine check, it's the number as prepared. Confirming it actually matches what the plans call for is left to whoever's pricing the bid.
Estimated Quantity, as published
132-7005 · Embankment
Estimated Quantity42,180 CY
One number, no independent check
One number, no comparison
132-7005 · Embankment
Estimated Quantity42,180 CY
Takeoff Quantity— not available
Nothing to compare it to
One number, no context
A quantity on its own doesn't tell you whether it's right
A bid item's listed quantity is just a number. It carries no signal about whether it matches what's actually shown in the drawings, that only becomes visible if someone does the independent calculation and compares the two. Without that second number, there's nothing to check the first one against.
Found after the fact
Quantity errors usually surface after the bid, not before
When an Engineer's Estimate quantity is wrong, it typically doesn't get caught until execution, when a measured quantity in the field doesn't match what was priced. By then it's a field problem and a margin problem, not a five-minute fix before the letting.
260-7001 · Lime Treatment
Takeoff Quantity
1,240 SY
Estimated Quantity
12,400 SY
10x gap, caught before bid day
How it works
Read and calculate
Drawings, notes, and provisions, together
The full bid package gets read, drawings, general notes, special provisions, and an independent quantity gets calculated for every listed bid item.
132-7005 · Takeoff Quantity42,180 CY
Compare and flag
Matched, Mismatched, or Not Processed
Each calculated quantity is checked against TxDOT's Engineer's Estimate and marked Matched, Mismatched, or Not Processed.
260-7001MISMATCHED
Who this is for
Lead Estimators
You're pricing against the Engineer's Estimate whether or not you've had time to verify it. This gives you that check without adding a manual takeoff step to every single bid item.
260-7001MISMATCH
Takeoff 1,240 SY vs Estimated 12,400 SY.
Verified, not assumed
Project Managers and Project Engineers
Field cost problems tied to a bad Engineer's Estimate are easier to manage when you know about them at award, not when a measured quantity in the field stops matching what was priced.
Status breakdown
108
Matched
113
Mismatched
183
Not Processed
Known at award
Owners
Whether a bid was priced against verified numbers is a real input into how confident you should be in that bid, not something you find out after the fact.
Bid items · full package
108 matched · 113 mismatched · 183 not processed.
Every item, accounted for
FAQs for TxDOT AI Takeoff
What is a bid item quantity takeoff?
A quantity takeoff is the measurement work behind every bid item: reading drawings, notes, and special provisions to figure out how much of something a project actually needs, then checking that number before you price against it.
How is this different from TxDOT's own Engineer's Estimate?
The Engineer's Estimate is TxDOT's number, published with the bid package as a reference point. This calculates its own quantity independently from the same drawings and notes, then checks it against TxDOT's figure, so you're not just trusting the published number, you're verifying it.
Does this replace Bluebeam, AGTEK, or HCSS Heavy Bid?
No. Those are where you do a full manual takeoff and build your estimate. This is a check that runs before or alongside that work, confirming whether the Engineer's Estimate itself holds up, which is the one number none of those tools verify for you.
What does this check today, and what's still a manual takeoff?
Today, this checks bid-item-level quantities, the same numbers listed in the Engineer's Estimate, against what the bid package supports. Deeper sub-item detail, forming area, steel weight, painting area within a structure, is a different, harder layer of takeoff that still needs to be done by hand for now.
Why would the Engineer's Estimate have the wrong quantity or unit in the first place?
It's a real, if uncommon, failure mode. A unit can be entered wrong, square feet where it should read square yards, which can throw a quantity off by a factor of ten. Catching that before bid day is the difference between pricing accurately and pricing blind.
What information do I see for each bid item?
Bid code and description, the unit of measure, the calculated Takeoff Quantity, TxDOT's Estimated Quantity for that same item, the Quantity Variance between the two, and a Status showing whether it's Matched, Mismatched, or Not Processed, everything needed to decide whether an item is worth a closer look without leaving the results.
Does this work for heavy civil construction generally, or only TxDOT highway and road projects?
Right now this runs on TxDOT projects. More state DOT projects are planned, so the same approach will extend to heavy civil highway and road work beyond Texas as those are added.
Do I need an account to use this?
No. Select a project and run the comparison, no sign-up required.
Is this free to use?
Yes. This tool, and the projects loaded into it, are free to use, no account required.
Are there other free TxDOT tools from Clarement?
Yes. Bid Item Pricing, Win Margin Analysis, and Loss Gap Analysis cover competitor pricing and margin patterns from real TxDOT lettings, and the Contract Risk Register covers contract and execution risk, both free, both no account required.
Check your next TxDOT bid before you price it
Pick a real TxDOT project, run the comparison, and see exactly which bid items match TxDOT's Engineer's Estimate, which don't, and which still need a manual look.