SECTION 810 — REINFORCING STEEL 800-77 — REINFORCING STEEL
810.01 Description.
This work includes furnishing, protecting, and placing reinforcing steel, both plain and deformed, uncoated and galvanized; spiral wire; welded wire fabric; and the drilling and grouting of reinforcing dowels.
810.02 Materials.
Furnish materials that conform to the following: • Subsection M05.02, bar reinforcement • Subsection M05.03.1, wire fabric • Subsection M05.03.2, spiral wire • Subsection M05.06, galvanized reinforcement
810.03 Construction Methods.
Bar Schedules and Bending Diagrams. Submit complete bar schedules and bending diagrams, including material weights, for all reinforcing steel on the Project. Do not initiate fabrication of the reinforcing steel until written approval of the submittals has been received. Test Bars. Follow the Master Schedule of Testing requirements for reinforcing steel. Fabrication and Delivery.
a.Bending. Cut and cold bend to the shapes shown on the Plans. Provide f abrication tolerances according to ACI 315-92, “Detailing Manual.” Do not field bend bars partially embedded in concrete.
b.H ooks and Bend Dimensions . Ensure that the dimensions of hooks and the diameters of bends comply with the latest edition of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications or ACI 318, “Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete.”
c.I dentification. Furnish bar reinforcement shipped in standard bundles, tagged and marked according to the Manual of Standard Practice of the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI). Handling, Storage, and Surface Condition of Reinforcement.
a.Uncoated Bars. Store all reinforcement bar, wire, or fabric above the ground on sills, blocking, or other supports immediately when unloaded, and protect from mechanical injury or corrosion causing conditions.
Part 800 — Bridge Structures August 2025
800-78 SECTION 810 — REINFORCING STEEL Ensure that all reinforcement is free from dirt, loose rust or scale, mortar, paint, grease, oil, and other materials that could reduce bond, immediately before placement of concrete. Thoroughly hand -wire brush all rusted areas just before installation. After hand -wire brushing, the remaining rusted areas are acceptable if the minimum dimensions, cross sectional area, and tensile properties meet the physical requirements for the size and grade of steel specified.
b.Galvanized Bars. In addition to the above requirements for uncoated bars, the following apply to galvanized bars: ● Use acceptable methods for handling galvanized bars that have padded contact areas for the bars. ● Use padded bundling bands and lift bundles with a strongback, multiple supports, or a platform bridge to prevent bar -to-bar abrasion from sags in the bar bundle. Do not drop or drag bars or bundles. Provide galvanized bars without visible white oxide or other surface contaminants of the zinc at the time of concrete placement . Bar that has white oxide or other surface contaminants may be cleaned by methods selected by the Contractor, if the methods do not compromise the zinc coating protection, including causing any reduction of the film thickness below the minimum specification limit. Placing and Fastening.
a.Uncoated Bars . Carefully check all bar lists and assume full responsibility for their accuracy before ordering bar reinforcement. Ensure that the steel reinforcement is held in place during the placing and setting of concrete. Ensure that reinforcement is free from dirt, rust, loose mill scale, paint, oil, and other foreign deleterious materials when placed in the work. The following apply: ● Spacing and Cover. Ensure that the required spacing and cover of reinforcement is met. ● Support Systems. Maintain bars at the correct distance from the forms by using blocks, hangers, chairs, or other approved devices. Do not use pieces of stone, brick, wood, or metal pipe. If required, precast concrete blocks placed with the small face down may be used. Furnish metallic support systems with a protective coating for corrosion protection. Install plastic tips on metallic support hardware resting against formwork. ● Fastening. Before the concrete is placed, securely fasten together all reinforcement and support with approved chairs or other approved devices. Ensure that chairs are properly sized and spaced to provide the specified minimum concrete clear cover. Securely tie bars with wire at all intersections around the perimeter of each mat and within the interior at not less than 2- ft centers or at every intersection, whichever is greater. Tie bundled bars together at not more than 6-ft centers. Tie a sufficient number of intersections to prevent any movement of the mat or loose bars.
Part 800 — Bridge Structures August 2025
SECTION 810 — REINFORCING STEEL 800-79 Use plastic coated metallic wire ties and miscellaneous metallic hardware. Use plastic tips on metallic hardware resting against formwork. Ensure that all reinforcement has been placed and tied, inspected, and approved by the Engineer in writing before placement of concrete. ● Splicing Reinforcing Steel. Furnish full length reinforcement bars. Splicing of bars and wire fabric reinforcing is not permitted without the written approval of the Engineer. When allowed, stagger splices as far as possible. Ensure that splices do not reduce the concrete clear cover. The following also apply: ○ Lap Splices. Use only mechanical splices for splices of bars greater than No. 11. The length of each lap splice must conform to the Plans for tension or compression splices. Place the bars in contact and wire them together for the full lap length of the splice. ○ Mechanical Splices. Mechanical splices will be approved in writing by the Engineer. Ensure that the splices develop at least 125 percent of the specified yield strength of the bar being spliced, in tension or compression. Install according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. ○ Welds. Do not weld unless authorized in writing by the Engineer. Where welding is indicated, ensure that it conforms to the applicable requirements of ANSI/AWS D1.4, Structural Welding Code - Reinforcing Steel. ○ Wire Fabric. Overlap sheets of welded wire fabric sufficiently to maintain a uniform strength and securely fasten the sheets at the ends and edges. Overlap the edge at least one mesh in width plus 2 in.
b.G alvanized Bars . In addition to the applicable provisions of Subsection 810.03.5(a), the following apply to galvanized bars: ● Field Bending. Ensure that field bending complies with ASTM A1094. Where field bending of galvanized reinforcing bars exceeding the ASTM A 1094 limits is allowed by the Engineer, touch -up after field bending with a zinc rich primer according to Subsection 810.03.5(b). ● Splices. The following apply: ○ Lap Splices. Splices for bar sizes No. 11 or smaller may be either a lap splice or a mechanical splice. ○ Mechanical Splices. Use mechanical splices for bars larger than No. 11. Ensure that these splices are galvanized. ○ Welds. Before welding reinforcing fabric, remove the galvanized coating for the length of the bar to be welded plus 6 in. on each side of the weld. After welding, remove all slag, weld spatter, and other foreign material; clean the spliced area and re- galvanize according to the field repair procedure in Subsection 810.03.5(b).
Part 800 — Bridge Structures August 2025
800-80 SECTION 810 — REINFORCING STEEL ● Placement. Before placement, remove all grease, dirt, mortar, and any other foreign substance from the bars. Place galvanized reinforcement in the position and within ACI tolerances. ● Hazardous Materials. Conform to all OSHA regulations that apply to working with zinc- based materials. ● Field Repair. Repair damage to the galvanized coating from shipping and handling and replace bars that are not field repairable. Repairable damage is defined as any bare or loose spots or breaks in the coating that affect an area smaller than 1 sq in. Field repair is allowed only when the total number of repairable damaged areas in a 10-ft length of bar is less than six. Do not use material with a total number of damaged areas greater than six or material with a damaged area greater than 1 sq in. Immediately remove the rejected bars from the work site and replace at no cost to the Department. Repair the galvanized coating with an approved zinc -rich paint using the following method: ○ Clean the damaged area by power disk, wire brushing, sand, or grit blasting to a near-white metal condition according to SSPC-SP10 (1-mil to 2-mil anchor pattern) as a minimum. Ensure that the surface is clean, dry, and free of oil, grease, flux residue, corrosion products, or other foreign substances. ○ Apply a minimum of two coats following the manufacturer ’s recommendations. Apply to achieve the applicable ASTM adherence and quality requirements of the original coating, with a minimum dry film thickness of 4 mils. Apply immediately after surface preparation is complete. ○ Grind smooth and chamfer the ends of field cut bars before application to ensure a uniform thickness of paint. ○ These repair procedures are only allowed for field repairs not shop repairs. Complete all repairs at no cost to the Department. Drill and Grout Reinforcing Dowels. See SECTION 819 for the provisions for drilling and grouting dowels and the applicable Sections above.
810.04 Method of Measurement.
Bar Reinforcement and Spiral Wire. Bar Reinforcement and Spiral Wire, either plain or deformed, galvanized or uncoated, is measured by the total number of pounds of each type placed. The weight of plain or deformed bars is computed using the unit weights in the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications. No allowance is made for the weight of the galvanizing in computing the weight of galvanized bar reinforcement.
Part 800 — Bridge Structures August 2025
SECTION 810 — REINFORCING STEEL 800-81 Wire Fabric Reinforcement. Welded Wire Fabric Reinforcement, galvanized and uncoated, is measured by the number of square feet placed. Galvanized coating of fabric reinforcement is not measured separately for payment.
810.05 Basis of Payment.
The Department will pay for the completed and accepted quantities as follows. Pay Item Pay Unit Bar Reinforcement and Spiral Wire LB Wire Fabric Reinforcement SF The weight of clips, ties, separators, chairs, mechanical splices, or other material used for fastening the reinforcing in place is not included for payment. The prices constitute full compensation for all labor, materials, equipment, and incidentals required to finish the work by the Engineer.
Sections that cite this one
Reinforcing Steel in other states
Get an email when 810 changes
Rhode Island revises spec sections through supplementals and new editions. We check this one every week and email you the day it changes. Free, no account.
Source: Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction (Blue Book), 2022 (Aug 2025 compilation) Edition. Pages 446–450 of 951. View official source ↗