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Home / Transportation Standards & Manuals

Transportation Standards & Manuals

The national traffic and construction standards that are public domain and viewable in full on BuildSpec: the MUTCD and FHWA's Federal Lands construction specifications. Copyrighted design references (AASHTO, TRB) are listed below with links to the official publisher.

FHWA publications (MUTCD, FP-24, HSIP guidance) are U.S. government works: free, public domain, and embedded in full on their BuildSpec pages. AASHTO titles are copyrighted and sold as a catalog — AASHTO does not publish stable per-title URLs, so the AASHTO entries below link to the store catalog rather than to the individual document. State-specific construction specs live under DOT Specs.

MUTCDPublic domainFull text viewable on BuildSpec

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) · 11th Edition (2023)

The MUTCD defines the standards for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, bikeway, or private road open to public travel in the United States. Published by FHWA, it covers signs, signals, markings, and other devices used to regulate, warn, and guide road users. The 11th Edition was published December 2023 with a compliance date of May 2026.

Part 1 · General ProvisionsPart 2A · General — SignsPart 2B · Regulatory SignsPart 2C · Warning SignsPart 2D · Guide Signs — Conventional RoadsPart 2E · Guide Signs — Freeways and Expressways+18 more on the detail page
FHWA FP-24Public domainFull text viewable on BuildSpec

FHWA Standard Specifications for Construction (FP-24)

Federal Highway Administration · FP-24 (2024)

The Federal Lands Highway Standard Specifications for Construction of Roads and Bridges on Federal Highway Projects (FP-24) provides standard construction specifications used by the FHWA Federal Lands Highway Division for roads and bridges in national parks, national forests, Indian reservations, and other federal lands. It serves as a template that many state DOTs reference or adapt. The full text of all 164 sections is browsable and searchable on BuildSpec.

Division 100 · General ProvisionsDivision 150 · Project RequirementsDivision 200 · EarthworkDivision 250 · Ground ImprovementDivision 300 · Aggregate CoursesDivision 400 · Asphalt Pavements and Surface Treatments+13 more on the detail page

Additional References

Published elsewhere. These links leave BuildSpec and open on the publisher’s own site — the host for each is shown on the right.

AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design SpecificationsAASHTO · 10th Edition (2024)store.transportation.org

The primary standard for design of highway bridges in the United States. Copyrighted — available from the AASHTO store. Topics: Bridge design, LRFD.

Cited in 343 sections across 45 state DOT spec books on BuildSpec →
A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (Green Book)AASHTO · 7th Edition (2018)store.transportation.org

The foundational reference for highway geometric design: design speed, sight distance, alignment, cross sections, and interchanges. Copyrighted — available from the AASHTO store. Topics: Geometric design, Sight distance, Cross sections.

Cited in 3 sections across 2 state DOT spec books on BuildSpec →
Highway Capacity ManualTransportation Research Board · 7th Edition (2022)trb.org

Methods for analyzing capacity and level of service of highways, intersections, and multimodal facilities. Copyrighted — available from TRB. Topics: Capacity, Level of service.

MASH — Manual for Assessing Safety HardwareAASHTO · 2nd Edition (2016)store.transportation.org

Uniform guidelines for crash testing roadside safety features. Copyrighted — available from the AASHTO store. Topics: Crash testing, Roadside hardware.

Cited in 203 sections across 44 state DOT spec books on BuildSpec →
Highway Safety ManualAASHTO · 2nd Edition (2023)store.transportation.org

Analytical tools for quantifying the safety performance of highways. Copyrighted — available from the AASHTO store. Topics: Safety performance, Crash prediction.

Roadside Design GuideAASHTO · 4th Edition (2011)store.transportation.org

Guidance on design and placement of roadside features: clear zones, barriers, and end treatments. Copyrighted — available from the AASHTO store. Topics: Clear zones, Barriers.

Cited in 22 sections across 11 state DOT spec books on BuildSpec →
AASHTO Pavement Design (MEPDG + 1993 Guide)AASHTOstore.transportation.org

The Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide and the 1993 Guide for Design of Pavement Structures. Copyrighted — available from the AASHTO store. Topics: MEPDG, Pavement structures.

Cited in 1 section across 1 state DOT spec book on BuildSpec →
AASHTO Materials Standards (44th Edition)AASHTOstore.transportation.org

Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing — the M and T standards cited in every state DOT spec book. Topics: M standards, T test methods.

Cited in 2,150 sections across 47 state DOT spec books on BuildSpec →
NCHRP Research ReportsTransportation Research Boardtrb.org

Cooperative highway research program reports — free PDFs covering design guidance, materials, safety, and construction practice that frequently become AASHTO policy. Topics: Free downloads, Design guidance, Safety research.

FHWA Publications & Research LibraryFederal Highway Administrationhighways.dot.gov

FHWA technical publications: geotechnical circulars, hydraulic engineering circulars, culvert and bridge guidance — public domain and free. Topics: GEC series, HEC series, Public domain.