Texas traffic control plan requirements
Texas publishes its own manual, the TMUTCD 2025. Taper length, channelizing device spacing and advance warning sign placement come from Part 6; individual cities layer their own submittal checklists on top.
What governs in Texas
TMUTCDTexas publishes its own manual, the TMUTCD 2025.
Effective January 18, 2026.
- The 2025 TMUTCD supersedes the 2011 TMUTCD Revision 2. TxDOT Table 1 sets a phased transition: projects letting between January 18 and June 30, 2026 may still conform to the 2011 manual at the jurisdiction’s discretion; everything letting on or after July 1, 2026 shall use the 2025 manual.
- Texas adds a tangent rule the federal manual does not have (Section 6B.08 para 06): multiple merging tapers should have at least 2 L of tangent between them, and adjoining merging and shifting tapers at least 0.5 L.
Where Texas differs from the federal MUTCD
A plan drawn to the federal number is not automatically right here.
| Item | Federal MUTCD | TMUTCD |
|---|---|---|
| Taper length rounding | Formula result, rounded up to the next 5 ft | Published lookup table, rounded to the nearest 5 ftTMUTCD 2025, Table 6B-4A (TX) |
| Advance warning sign spacing | Keyed to road type — urban, rural or expressway (Table 6B-1) | Keyed to posted speed, one spacing value per speedTMUTCD 2025, Table 6B-1A (TX) |
Taper length for Texas work zones
Enter the posted speed and the width of the lateral offset. The base length L comes from MUTCD 11th Edition Table 6B-4, with the taper-type criterion from Table 6B-3. Texas modifies this — check the differences above before you draft.
Posted speed limit, off-peak 85th-percentile speed prior to work starting, or anticipated operating speed.
How far traffic is moved sideways — usually the width of the closed lane.
Merging taper length
245ft
L = W × S² ÷ 60 = 12 × 35² ÷ 60 = 245.0 ft
TMUTCD 2025, Table 6B-4A (TX) — at least L
Plan view
8 devices at 35 ftLength is to scale; the lateral offset is exaggerated so the taper is legible.
All taper types at these conditions
TMUTCD 2025, Table 6B-4A (TX)Merging taper
at least L
245 ft
Shifting taper
at least 0.5 L
125 ft
Shoulder taper
at least 0.33 L
85 ft
One-lane, two-way traffic taper
50 ft min, 100 ft max
50 ft
Downstream taper
50 ft min, 100 ft max
50 ft
Channelizing devices
MUTCD 11th Ed, Section 6K.01Maximum spacing in this taper
1 × 35 mph
35 ft
Devices required
One at each end, evenly spaced between
8