Shop Drawings

• Electronic Submission of Shop Drawings
• Items reviewed by the Bridge Division
• Research Project 5197 Implementation
  • 5197 Review Checklist
• Optional (Alternate) Designs
• Requirements and Procedures for Optional and Non-Standard Illumination Pole Designs and Shop Drawings
• Submittal Requirements for Metal Railing
• Pre-Construction Meeting Shop Drawing Submittal Forms
• Presubmittal Checks
  • Submittal Checklist
• Hardcopy Requirements
• Shop Plan Review Contacts
• Field-Change-Order-Related Revisions
• Using Adobe Acrobat for Shop Plan Reviews
• Review Tips
• Terminology

Electronic Submission of Shop Drawings

The Bridge Division accepts eligible, electronically submitted shop drawings for review and Bridge Division approval. Eligible shop drawings conform to requirements identified in the Guide to Electronic Shop Drawing Submittal. Ineligible submittals are returned unreviewed. Note: We are currently studying the possibility of web-based submission of shop plans.

Items Reviewed by the Bridge Division

Submit to the Bridge Division only eligible documents; eligible documents are shop drawings that meet the following criteria:

• They have been designed by TxDOT's Bridge Division, by TxDOT districts if Bridge Division review has been requested by the district, or by a consultant if Bridge Division review has been requested by the district or if the consultant is under contract to the Bridge Division.
• They are for items identified by "1" - "5" in the Division Review Contact column of this table, or they are based on standard drawings dated before June 2004 for sealed expansion joints, armored joints, concrete piling, or concrete panels.

The TxDOT area engineer should communicate submittal requirements summarized in this table to the Contractor at or before the preconstruction meeting, based on who performed the structural design.

Research Project 5197 Implementation - Shop Plan Handling Exceptions

The Research Project 5197 Implementation page provides instruction on how to handle shop plan resubmittals and “modified” optional designs associated with the implementation of Research Project 5197 findings.

Optional (Alternate) Designs

As of September 10, 2009, per a Texas Board of Professional Engineers ruling:

• Any shop drawing sheet that contains structural design information that departs from contract plan design values must be sealed, signed and dated by an engineer registered in the state of Texas.
• Optional designs typically propose design values that vary from contract plan designs and therefore fall under this requirement.
• Similarly, and even though originally proposed and sanctioned by TxDOT, sheets containing 5197 based release strength reductions (“modified” optional designs) must also be sealed.
• Previously, only the cover sheet of the calculations that were required to accompany optional or alternate designs was required to be sealed.
• Now, the calculations cover sheet as well as the associated shop drawing detail sheets must be sealed.

Requirements and Procedures for Optional and Non-Standard Illumination Pole Designs and Shop Drawings

The following are requirements and procedures of submittals for approval of roadway illumination pole designs and shop drawings for:

• Multi-sided steel pole optional designs to TxDOT’s Roadway Illumination Pole 2011 standards (RIP-11);
• Aluminum pole optional designs to TxDOT’s Roadway Illumination Pole 2011 standards (RIP-11); and
• Steel or aluminum pole non-standard designs required when these poles are installed in areas where basic wind speeds and/or pole base mounting heights above surrounding terrain are in excess of that shown on TxDOT’s Roadway Illumination Pole 2011 standards (RIP-11).

1. Associate all submittals with a TxDOT construction or maintenance let project or GSD purchase order. The Department may pre-approve shop drawings for optionally designed poles or for poles with non-standard mounting heights or basic wind speeds for included mounting heights and arm lengths submitted.
2. Upon the manufacturer’s request at the time of submittal and only after shop drawings are approved for fabrication, the Traffic Operations Division will add Bridge Division selected and approved details (shop drawings) to the TxDOT material producer list (MPL) under Item 610 for pre-approved use on future projects.
3. Submit the details (shop drawings) and calculations electronically for approval in accordance with Standard Specification Item 5, “Control Of The Work” and include:

• design calculations supporting the alternative details prepared in accordance with the governing AASHTO specifications;
• the illumination pole details (shop drawings), including details and material specifications for all associated members, attachments, base plates and bolt circles, connections, hardware, and assemblies;
• design wind speed and mounting height of base, if different from that shown on the RIP-11 standards;
• documentation of the design load sufficiency and crash worthiness of transformer bases upon which the poles are to be erected; and
• a statement requesting some or all of the submitted shop drawings to be considered for pre-approved use on future projects.

Note: All calculations and detailed shop drawings must be dated, uniquely identified, and sealed by a Texas Professional Engineer. Computer output is not acceptable for calculations unless accompanied by sufficient documentation demonstrating design methods and data used. Additional submittals may be required to correct calculations and shop drawings. The Department will not pre-approve details upon which the reviewer must make corrections as noted exceptions.

4. Manufacture poles according to the approved details without deviation.
5. Upon placement of the shop drawings to the MPL, TxDOT will notify the manufacturer by identifying each approved drawing added. The letter will include limitations on use of the pre-approved pole shop drawings.

Submittal Requirements for Metal Railing

Specification Item 450 requires shop-drawing approval as specified by contract plans. Submit shop drawings for curved railing to the Engineer of Record for approval of railing on horizontal curves meeting the following criteria:

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes rails not currently published as Standard Rail Drawings, but may appear in plans from past lettings.

Always check the applicable standard drawing for submittal criteria updates. For metal railing not requiring shop drawing approval, erection drawings showing section lengths, splice locations, rail post spacing and anchor bolt setting shall be submitted to the Engineer for approval.

Presubmittal Checks

Before submitting shop drawings for review, check the following:

• Each bridge component must be referenced to a placement layout with an orientation mark for placement and review.
• Each drawing should have sufficient information for correct fabrication and inspection without reference to any standard drawing.
• Each drawing must be legible at full scale on a monitor without zooming in (that is, 1-inch width on an 11 x 17 inch sheet is 1 inch on the monitor).
• Detailers should use drawing practices similar to those used in TxDOT standard drawings. Fonts must be no smaller than those used on TxDOT standard drawings.
• The first sheet of optional (alternate) design calculations and all affected shop drawing detail sheets must be sealed, signed and dated by an engineer registered in the state of Texas.

Please review the Submittal Checklist and Example Submittal.

Shop Plan Review Contacts

Send eligible shop plan submittals with PDF or DAT attachments directly to the reviewing office. Contact the area engineer or the district bridge engineer for information on the reviewing office. For more information, please contact us.

Terminology

Shop plan discussions include the following terminology:

• Shop drawing - Fabrication detail sheet prepared by fabricators for their manufacturing shop to use in fabrication of bridge components in compliance with contract plans and applicable TxDOT specifications and standards. Typically the Engineer of Record reviews shop drawings. Shop drawings become part of the as-built drawings for the completed structure.
• Working drawing - Forming detail sheet prepared for or by the contractor for form work, false work, shoring, or erection. Work detailed does not require review by the engineer of record. However, a Professional Engineer must sign and seal these drawings. Submittal is required, but approval is not required.
• Engineer - TxDOT's executive director or authorized representative. For shop or working drawing submittals, the engineer is usually the Area Engineer or District Bridge Engineer.
• Engineer of Record - The design engineer who signs and seals the bridge plans. The Engineer of Record is a Bridge Engineer with the district, Bridge Division, or a consultant. Review responsibility should be established during a pre-construction meeting.
• (MOD) - Modified standard. These are items detailed on TxDOT standard drawings that have been modified by a design engineer. They are distinguished by a (MOD) label in the title block and are subject to requirements for shop drawing submission and review by the Engineer of Record.
• (Alt Dsn) - Alternate design. Precast alternate designs for box culverts, junction boxes, and manhole/inlet items and any required calculations are typically submitted to the Engineer for approval. These designs are sealed by the fabricator's engineer and do not go through the usual shop plan review. Though commonly reviewed by TxDOT districts, these submittals are also reviewed by the Bridge Design Section at the request of the Engineer.