APPENDIX. 
TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS. 1 
The following specification clauses are intended only as an aid in 
preparing detailed specifications for contract work and frequently 
will need to be modified to meet special conditions. The general 
clauses and the clause covering grading are applicable to the three 
types of construction which have been discussed in the text, while 
the subsequent clauses are arranged with especial reference to sand- 
clay and gravel construction. 
In general, all contract road work should be done under the super- 
vision of a competent highway engineer, who, before contractors are 
invited to submit bids, should prepare specifications covering the 
work to be undertaken. 
Location. — The work referred to in these specifications is to be done on the 
road, beginning at and extending in a direction through 
to , a distance of miles. 
Work to be done. — The contractor shall do all clearing and grubbing, make all 
excavations and embankments, do all shaping and surfacing, construct all drain- 
age structures and other appertaining structures, move all obstructions in the 
line of the work, and, unless otherwise provided in these specifications, shall 
furnish all equipment, materials, and labor for the same. In short, the con- 
tractor shall build said road in strict accordance with the plans and specifica- 
tions and shall leave the work in neat and finished condition. 
Plans and drawings. — The plans, profiles, cross sections, and drawings on file 
in the office of at show the location, profile, details, and dimensions 
of the work which is to be done, and shall be considered as a part of these speci- 
fications. The work shall be constructed according to the above-mentioned 
plans, profiles, cross sections, and drawings. Any variation therefrom, as may 
be required by the exigencies of construction, will in all cases be determined 
by the engineer. On all drawings figured dimensions are to govern in cases of 
discrepancies between scale and figures. 
Grading. — Grading shall include all excavating, filling, borrowing, trimming, 
picking down, shaping, sloping, and all other work that may be necessary in 
bringing the road to the required grade, alignment, and cross section ; the clear- 
ing out of waterways and old culverts ; the excavation of all necessary drain- 
age and outlet ditches ; the grading of a proper connection with all intersecting 
highways ; the grubbing up and clearing away of all trees, stumps, and bowlders 
within the lines of the improvement ; and the removal of any muck, soft clay, 
1 These specifications were prepared by the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineer- 
ing largely for its own use in connection with particular projects. 
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