Pavement Plans and Specifications
Pavement Standard Plans and Specifications are the documents that implement the standards, policies, and best practices for pavements on California highways. They contain the standard requirements for bidding, constructing, and administering Caltrans contracts. Specifications include the Standard Specifications, Revised Standard Specifications (RSS), and Standard Special Provisions (SSPs). Caltrans' Pavements Program also maintains non-standard plans and specifications (nSSPs) for special circumstances.
Plans
An advertised set of project plans includes references to the applicable Standard Plans to incorporate details that are standard to all Caltrans paving projects.
Specifications
The List of Caretakers for Pavement-Related Specifications (PDF) identifies the contacts for pavement-related Standard Specifications, Standard Special Provisions (SSPs), and corresponding nonstandard Special Provisions (nSSPs).
The Pavement Standard Specifications are organized as follows:
Division III – Earthwork and Landscape
- Section 19-3.01C(6) - Controlled Low-Strength Material
- Section 19-9 - Shoulder Backing
- Section 19-10 - Subgrade Enhancement Geosynthetic
Division IV - Subbases and Bases
- Section 23 - General
- Section 24 - Stabilized Soils
- Section 25 - Aggregate Subbases
- Section 26 - Aggregate Bases
- Section 27 - Cement Treated Bases
- Section 28 - Concrete Bases
- Section 29 - Treated Permeable Bases
- Section 30 - Reclaimed Pavement
Division V - Surfacing and Pavements
- Section 36-2 - Base Bond Breaker
- Section 37 - Bituminous Seals
- Section 39 - Asphalt Concrete
- Section 40 - Concrete Pavement
- Section 41 - Existing Concrete Pavement
- Section 42 - Groove and Grind Concrete
Division VII - Drainage Facilities
- Section 68-4 - Edge Drains
Division XI - Materials
- Section 90 - Concrete
- Section 92 - Asphalt Binders
- Section 94 - Asphaltic Emulsions
- Section 96-1.02J - Paving Fabric
- Section 96-1.02K - Paving Mat
- Section 96-1.02L - Paving Grid
- Section 96-1.02M - Paving Geocomposite Grid
- Section 96-1.02N - Geocomposite Strip Membrane
- Section 96-1.02O - Subgrade Enhancement Geotextile
- Section 96-1.02P - Biaxial Geogrid
- Section 96-1.02Q -Geosynthetic Bond Breaker
Standard Special Provisions (SSPs) provide standardized language used with construction contracts to amend, supplement, and incorporate the Caltrans Standard Specifications. SSPs are identified according to their Standard Specifications section.
Nonstandard Special Provisions (nSSPs) is a project-specific specification. It may be either a completely new special provision or an SSP with added or deleted language not covered by the SSP instructions. It is typically developed by the district. Any pavement related nSSP must be approved by the State Pavement Engineer through the Office of Asphalt Pavements or Office of Concrete Pavements.