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4.6 - USE AND SELECTION OF STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS
3. Section 106 - Measurement and Payment.
d. Vehicle Quantities (VQ). Due to the measurement in accuracies involved and the
inspection personnel required, VQ should not be used as a method of measurement, except where
very small quantities are involved.
4. Methods of Measurement
a. Low-Risk Items. Design Quantites (DQ) may be used for Item 304, Aggregate Base or
Surface Course, under the following conditions:
1. Quantity is less than 5,000 tons (3,000cy), or
2. Payment unit is "Compacted cubic Yards (In Place)"
b. High-Risk Items. Actual Quantities (AQ) shall be used for work items that are relatively
easy to measure, are often adjusted in the course of a contract, or have relatively high unit costs.
The most common items falling in this category are:
Item 304 Aggregate Base or Surface Course (large quantities)
Item 603 Culverts (and similar "culvert related" items)
Item 619 Riprap
Section 400 Asphalts
6. Section 203 - Excavation and Embankment. The following should be used when
specifying construction tolerances:
Where road grade changes are designed to facilitate drainage, the designated drainage feature
will govern over the allowable deviation in the specified tolerance.
For those roads to be built under "flag line control," the following constraints apply:
a. Minimum construction control shall be flagged clearing limits.
b. Drawings shall indicate the desired percent of grade.
c. Grade tolerances shall be expressed in terms of + or - percent of grade rather than + or feet.
18. Additional Uses
FSH 7709.56 - ROAD PRECONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK
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(2) Authority to approve use of all standatd specifications is delegated to the Forest
Supervisor.
19. Section 160 - Contractor Quality Control and Quantity Measurement
Use of Section 160, Quality Control and Quantity Measurement, requires the development of
Special Project Specifications to specifically identify:
1.The qualifications requirements of contractor Q/C and Q/M personnel. These
qualification requirements must be specific becuase they will be the basis for the
rejection or interim acceptance of the contractor's Q/C plan.
2.The frequency of sampling and testing to be performed by the contractor.
The Regional SPS shall be used as a basis for the development of project SPS's for contractor
Q/C. Deviations from these standards must be justifed and approved in writing by the Forest
Engineer in accordance with FSM 7721.04c(1e).
20. Section 299 - Composite Road Construction. Limit use of Section 299 to:
1) Roads identified as short-term facilities (5 yr + or -) on the transportation plan;
2) Terrain that is gentle and unbroken (few drainages; cross slope less than 30
percent);
3) Locations where environmental impacts and risks are low; and
4) Roads where flag-line construction control is appropriate; and
5) Roads where measurement and payment by "Station" or "Mile" for clearing and
excavation is appropriate; i.e., minor quantities with little chance for significant
variation in quantities of work actually anticipated.