Special Provisions should modify the Standard Specification only to the extent necessary to accomplish the desired results. When voiding portions of an article, void only the sentences requiring removal/replacement and the remainder of the Article should remain exactly as it appears in the Standard Specification. While condensing and simplifying an article may result in what appears to be a more concise Special Provision, this practice has often resulted in misinterpretation and the unintentional omission of important Standard Specification requirements.

The same general format and wording used in the Standard Specifications should be followed in preparing Special Specifications. This can most readily be accomplished by using a similar standard item as a guide and substituting the desired wording where appropriate. In particular, the measurement and payment paragraphs should be essentially the same as similar standard items. This is necessary since conflicts or vagueness in these paragraphs are often the basis for claims against the department.

During the preparation of both Special Provisions and Special Specifications, considerable thought should be given toward requirements and wording which will permit the use of the Special Provisions or Special Specifications on other projects having slightly different conditions. This can be achieved by relegating certain features, such as density and gradation requirements, to the plans and exercising foresight in preparing the measurement and payment paragraphs. The repeated use of desirable Special Provisions and Special Specifications is most beneficial in that it results in progress in construction methods and materials, and uniform interpretation of specification requirements.

All articles of the newly prepared Special Specifications and Special Provisions should be reviewed and compared to those of the other specifications and provisions in the contract.