January 2026 Digital Delivery Newsletter

Hello TxDOT staff. I hope you all had a great holiday season and are rested and ready for a great 2026. This is the first newsletter of the year, and we plan to produce these quarterly so we can provide comprehensive updates on TxDOT’s Digital Delivery Program.

This quarter we are focusing on highlighting pilot project achievements and lessons learned and giving you an overview of the new directives for expanding digital delivery throughout the state. Additionally, we will highlight upcoming requirements for all model-based deliverables. Be on the lookout for training opportunities and resources for both TxDOT staff and contractors as we transition toward fully digital project delivery that emphasizes collaboration, efficiency, and continuous improvement across districts.

As TxDOT moves forward with digital delivery, every team member is encouraged to actively participate in upcoming pilot projects, embrace new digital workflows, and take advantage of the training and resources provided. Your use of, engagement with, and providing feedback are essential for refining our Digital Delivery processes and helps in a successful statewide rollout.

Let’s work together to drive innovation, improve efficiency, and set new standards for project delivery in 2026 and beyond.

Thank you,

Jacob Tambunga, P.E.

Director, Digital Delivery

TxDOT’s first digital delivery pilot project marked a critical milestone: using the 3D Model as the Legal Deliverable (MALD) for letting. The pilot project was located on FM 1977 at the border of the San Antonio and Austin districts. The approximately 0.30 mile stretch of road runs from FM 621 to the Guadalupe and Caldwell County line. The roadway project focused on full depth reconstruction and shoulder widening, was let in January 2025, and was completed in September 2025. The FM 1977 pilot project has been used to test and validate digital delivery processes for design, letting, signing and sealing, inspection, operations, and asset management.

Informed by direct feedback from the design team and contractors, FM 1977 produced valuable lessons for future digital delivery projects.

Preliminary Engineering

While the initial rollout of Bentley Infrastructure Cloud faced some challenges, it ultimately provided valuable lessons that strengthened the project team’s approach. Limited early support and training was provided for reviewers in a structured attempt to avoid overcomplication of the review session. This resulted in lower participation than expected, with only one reviewer fully engaging on the platform. The team pivoted late in the process to a Bluebeam session to keep momentum moving, which demonstrated staff’s flexibility and commitment to meeting project goals. Future projects will build on this experience by providing earlier training, clearer expectations, and stronger support for reviewers to ensure Bentley Infrastructure Cloud (or another pilot review software) is used consistently and

effectively. Establishing this foundation early will help maintain disciplined reviews, reduce late-stage changes, and set future projects up for even greater success.

Final Design

The Trimble Business Center (TBC) workflow ultimately supported successful review of the project with the reinforcement of engineering judgement alongside automated checks. While discrepancy tolerances were not demonstrated early in the process, the flagged items identified at signing and sealing were reviewed against design and construction standards and were determined to be within the signing engineer’s acceptable tolerance. This experience highlighted an opportunity to strengthen future efforts by establishing clear, quantitative tolerance guidelines for the various types of discrepancies flagged by TBC.

Another learning point involved the treatment of gaps in 3D breaklines. The team took a proactive and flexible approach by delivering two versions of the 3D model to the contractor, one unmodified and one with manually closed gaps, ensuring no loss of usability regardless of preference. Gathering targeted feedback from contractors will help finalize a preferred standard, streamline future deliveries, and further align models with construction needs.

Letting

Throughout the project, the team took a careful and measured approach to introducing Level of Development (LOD) concepts, ensuring that decisions were made with district and contractor readiness in mind. Although LOD was ultimately not shared externally, this choice reflected a strong commitment to minimizing risk and protecting project outcomes while the team gained a deeper understanding of how LOD can be effectively communicated and applied. The experience clearly demonstrated the value of LOD and underscored an opportunity to further enhance its impact through future education and alignment across districts and contractors.

The project also supported a smooth transition toward digital delivery by providing rollplots and reduced plan sets as a courtesy to contractors. This flexibility helped maintain momentum and accommodate varying levels of digital adoption. Moving forward, the lessons learned will allow future pilots to reinforce a digital-first mindset through clearer expectations and early communication, ensuring that digital deliverables remain the primary tool for construction. Overall, the project made meaningful progress in advancing digital workflows while building a strong foundation for even more effective implementation on future efforts.

Construction

The team made strong progress toward integrating digital delivery into the construction phase. Training efforts were thoughtfully adjusted to align with area office staff availability, allowing the construction team to engage with key digital workflows while maintaining project schedules. Although not all planned workflows were experienced, this approach ensured continuity and practical exposure during an important transition period.

While Synchro Control could not be implemented as a common data environment with the contractor due to ITD security requirements, the project team remained adaptable and collaborative, using alternative tools to continue coordination and information sharing. The pilot provided valuable insight into the importance of early planning and alignment. Future efforts can build on these lessons by engaging area office staff earlier to tailor training plans and by continuing coordination with TxDOT ITD and Associated General Contractors (AGC) to expand secure, collaborative digital solutions. Overall, the pilot strengthened communication, highlighted realistic implementation paths, and laid a solid foundation for enhanced collaboration on future projects.

As part of TxDOT’s ongoing shift toward digital project delivery, a new expectation has been established requiring the submission of model files “For Information Only” (FIO). This expectation applies to all design teams working on projects with alignment work and/or cross sections.

Starting with projects that reach 100% RTL PS&E in February 2026 for May 2026 letting, design teams must provide the following files in the correct formats:

• Existing Terrain Models – .DGN and .XML

• Horizontal and Vertical Alignments – .DGN and .XML

• Roadway Corridor Files – .DGN

• Master corridor files and all relevant reference files

All files must be listed in an Index of Files. The model files and Index of Files should be packaged in a single ZIP file and submitted to the district as part of the 100% RTL PS&E package. Districts will then upload the ZIP to Box.com, following the provided guidance. At the time of submission, model files should be final with no additional effort beyond exporting the required elements to XML and preparing the Index of Files.

This interim step supports the transition to model-based design and construction, ultimately aiming for digital models to serve as the official contract deliverables. It’s an important step ahead of the future expectation to deliver curated 3D breaklines and comprehensive design surfaces, which will roll out after additional workspace development and training.

For the Index of Files naming convention and further information, please see the TxDOT DDP website.

Our team is actively working on several bridge pilot projects, which include a range of structures such as standards, phased bridges, and overpasses. These pilots are helping us refine processes and set the stage for broader implementation across all TxDOT districts.

One key focus area is developing a workflow for adding reinforcement into bridge elements. This ensures that our models are not only accurate but also comprehensive and helps with detecting construction clashes. In addition, we are creating training materials that outline the workflow for generating 2D sheets directly from the 3D model, making it easier for your teams to transition to this new approach. This will reduce unnecessary duplication of details and create 2D sheets that are more precise. We are excited to test new features in modeling software this upcoming quarter.

Our goal is to support districts throughout this transformation by updating the workspace to streamline and standardize models all while adding more detailed properties. This means moving beyond simple geometric representations to an intelligent 3D Bridge Model that enhances design quality, coordination, and efficiency. Please don’t hesitate to provide feedback—your input helps us better serve your needs. For questions or support, contact BRG_ Bridge3DDesign.

· The Digital Delivery Program will be hosting a webinar focused on the Model FIO (For Information Only) process on Tuesday, February 17^th at 9am. This session will address how inconsistent or inaccurate FIO implementation can lead to project errors and bottlenecks and will provide guidance to prevent these issues. Key topics include benefits for contractors, user documentation, required files, file index production, submission steps, and open discussion on relevant topics. This webinar was also held in January. You can attend the webinar here:

https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/28204086275811?p=OFUFW37eZB7P9fa6lS

Meeting ID: 282 040 862 758 11

Passcode: sB74jS6n

• The Digital Delivery Program will be hosting a digital delivery crash course specifically designed to equip district personnel with the practical skills and knowledge needed for their roles in the upcoming district pilot projects. This course will be in person at Stassney and will take place in February. Visit the Digital Delivery website for more information.

• Project development training will be available in February and hosted on the Digital Delivery website. The materials will be on demand, in the form of written SOPs or micro-videos. The training will communicate the changes from traditional delivery to digital delivery and how to execute these changes.

• Additional webinars are to be held in Spring 2026. Topics will include project QA/QC and project constructability review. Stay tuned for more information.

As pilot projects kick off, the TxDOT DDP Website is an excellent resource for TxDOT staff, consultants, and contractors to get better acquainted with digital delivery practices. The website offers a comprehensive range of information, from foundational explanations of digital delivery to detailed guidance on executing projects.

Resources that should be used during pilot projects include:

• Digital delivery documentation, including a toolbox created to help guide design and QC

• Prerecorded training videos for Roadway, Bridge, Drainage, Construction Inspection, and Visualization topics

• Workspace setup instructions and ProjectWise support

• Information on past pilot projects and the interactive Pilot Project Map

The Digital Delivery team is prepared to provide support to Districts as they transition to new workflows. Please contact digital-delivery@txdot.gov with any questions.