Review the P-401 the contract actually uses.

What AC 150/5370-10 is.

Advisory Circular 150/5370-10 is the FAA’s standard specifications for construction of airports. Edition 150/5370-10H is the one the FAA lists as active. The consolidated PDF on the FAA site includes the published errata.

Paragraph 1 limits the subject to materials and methods: general provisions, earthwork, flexible base courses, rigid base courses, flexible surface courses, rigid pavement, fencing, drainage, turf, and lighting installation. Paragraph 3 says the circular does not constitute a regulation and is not mandatory. It recommends these practices for construction of pavements and airport development serving aircraft greater than 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg). It contains methods acceptable to the Administrator for compliance with 14 CFR part 139. Use is mandatory for all projects funded under federal grant assistance programs, including the Airport Improvement Program, under Grant Assurance No. 34. It is mandatory, as required by regulation, for Passenger Facility Charge projects, under PFC Assurance #9. For building construction, the general contract provisions apply, together with applicable laws and local building codes.

Paragraph 4 says the standards must be edited to develop construction specifications for the individual federally funded project, by copying the pertinent portions into the contract documents. For airfield pavement projects at non-primary airports serving aircraft less than 60,000 pounds (27216 kg), state highway specifications may be used in states where the state has requested and received FAA approval to use state highway specifications. Modifications to standards requests must meet FAA Order 5300.1. For AIP or PFC projects, or for grant-obligated airports, the contract uses the current contract provisions and the mandatory provisions, including wage, labor, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise requirements. The AIP Handbook points change orders and supplemental agreements on construction and equipment contracts to the current edition of this circular.

FAA review of plans and specifications for federally funded projects checks that the latest revision of AC 150/5370-10 was used and that modifications were identified, and that modifications to construction standards are documented and approved. The memorandum says modification proposals are handled under Order 5300.1. It also says the review is not a quality control check for the engineer of record, and that comments are not official approval of a modification of standards.

How special provisions and modifications amend it.

Two different acts change the published item. The engineer edits the item into the contract. A special provision or a modification of standards can change it again, and they are not the same approval.

Paragraph 5 is the editing rule. Engineer notes, printed between lines of asterisks, explain options to the engineer and must not remain in the final project documents. Where numbers, words, phrases, or sentences are enclosed in brackets, a choice or modification must be made. Where blank spaces occur in sentences, the appropriate data must be inserted. Where an entire paragraph does not apply, the text is deleted, “Not Used” is entered after the paragraph number, and the paragraphs are not renumbered. Paragraph 7 says the English units govern, and that one unit of measure is selected for the final documents.

Paragraph 50-03 is the conflict rule. The pitfalls section states it in the circular’s order, including the blank at paragraph 50-04. The contract, under paragraph 10-16, includes the general provisions, the technical specifications, the plans, supplemental provisions, standards incorporated by reference, and issued addenda, among the other documents that form it. A review that stops at the bid-day item misses an addendum that is part of the contract. Paragraph 10-15 defines a change order as a written order covering changes in the plans, specifications, or proposal quantities, and establishing the basis of payment and contract time adjustment, if any.

A modification of standards is defined at paragraph 10-35 as any deviation from standard specifications applicable to material and construction methods, in accordance with FAA Order 5300.1. Paragraph 5 requires that approval, in accordance with FAA Order 5100.1, for a deviation needed to accommodate an unusual local condition, and it says adding a new section and/or item requires one. Paragraph 4.c names Order 5300.1 for modifications to standards requests. Order 5300.1 requires a materials request when available materials cannot meet the specification or are at a significantly higher cost, a construction-method or tolerance request when the change saves cost or adds efficiency without sacrificing safety or useful life, and a general-provisions request when the change is required to conform to local laws and regulations. Material and construction modifications are approved for the life of the project. An approved modification cannot be modified. The airport submits a new one. A state standard approved under AC 150/5100-13 may be used for nonprimary airport development without a modification of standards, in the state where that standard was approved.

What teams ask about FAA airport specifications.