Old Update - June 2, 2010

PennDOT Item Numbering
A link has been added to the design website which opens up the PennDOT Numbering conventions for structure items. This strike-off letter has been e-mailed around before, and although it's ancient (it's from 1990) most of it is still very much applicable, and very useful when figuring out what item number to use for structures (i.e. a spread box beam bridge is a 8010 item, while an adjacent box beam bridge is a 8020 item). The link is on the Client Links page under PennDOT. The file itself can be viewed here.

Contractor Prequalification (Work Classification) Codes
Since getting to the list of contractor prequal. codes through ECMS is a hassle, Joe Riley has made a PDF of this list so it can be quickly brought up whenever you need it. It can be found on the Client Links page immediately above the item numbering link mentioned above.

Roadway Sample Plans
As Eric mentioned yesterday, a set of sample roadway drawings has been added to the Helpful Drafting Tips page. These plans detail all the ins-and-outs of a typical roadway plan set, and also go over some common drafting errors and how to fix them.

Abbreviations
As we all know, engineering as a profession probably uses more abbreviations and acronyms than all other professions combined… As such, it can be quite difficult remembering what all those abbreviations and acronyms stand for. To help with this, three new links have been added under the PennDOT section of the Client Links page. These links will take you to:

The list of accepted abbreviations for drawings, as stated in the DM-3

The list of common abbreviations and acronyms, as used in the DM-4

Every other abbreviation or acronym you will ever need

Stone Arch Handbook
A newly discovered PennDOT publication, the PennDOT Stone Arch Bridge Maintenance Manual, was found by Ase last month and has been added to the K-drive library under PADOT Pubs > Bridge. A link has been added to the website on the still unfinished Bridge Rehab section.

Skewed Steel Bridges
The Skewed Bridge Geometry presentation that Nick Roberts e-mailed around last week has been added to the Steel I-Beam Design page under the seminars section. This presentation gives an overview of how steel I-beams are affected by skewed bridge geometry, and why beam layover is required to ensure the beams are plumb when the bridge is finished.