TxDOT Glossary: P

panel length: Panel length is the distance between adjacent transverse joints.; Pavement Design Manual

parapet: A parapet is a wall or rampart, breast high. A parapet is also the wall on top of an abutment extending from the bridge seat to the underside of the bridge floor and designed to hold the backfill.; Bridge Railing Manuall

parcel: A parcel is all property that the State will take.; Survey Manual

parent tract: A parent tract is the whole of the property of which a parcel taking is being made.; Survey Manual

parenteral: Parenteral contact is the piercing of mucous membranes or the skin barrier through such events as needlesticks, human bites, cuts and abrasions.; Occupational Safety Manual

Paris District: PAR; The Paris District (PAR) is a TxDOT district office including the following counties: Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Rains and Red River. Area offices are located in Bonham, Greenville, Paris, Sherman, and Sulphur Springs. This district also has the Denison Travel Information Center.; Inside TxDOT

park & ride: P&R; Park & ride (P&R) are vehicle parking areas located on the perimeter of urban areas. They provide parking for commuters and an interface with mass transit and/or car pools.

park road: PR; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual; Maintenance Collection

parking area: A parking area is a TxDOT-operated facility that primarily offers parking for commercial trucks, although passenger vehicles may also use the facility. Picnic tables are provided at some sites. Parking areas are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.; Maintenance Division

part-time employee: A part-time employee is an individual employed with the department and working between 20 and 39 hours per week.; Human Resources Manual

partial access: Partial access means only a portion of a property's total frontage has access to a given road, subject to police power restrictions.; Right of Way Collection

partial immersion thermometers: Partial immersion thermometers are liquid-in-glass thermometers designed to indicate correctly when the bulb and stem are immersed to a specified depth. These are marked on the stem to show the immersion depth. Errors are dependent upon the cooling of the glass stem above this mark.; Manual of Testing Procedures

partial interchange lighting: The lighting of acceleration and deceleration lanes, ramp terminals, crossroads at frontage road or ramp intersections, and other areas of nighttime hazard. (See complete interchange lighting.); Highway Illumination Manual

Partial Tensioning Cylinders: Partial Tensioning Cylinders are cylinders used to determine when the concrete strength is adequate to apply partial tensioning force by either pretensioning or post-tensioning method, to remove the member from the casting line.; 700-I, Structural Test Procedures Manual

particle projected area: Particle projected area is the maximum cross sectional area of the fractured particle.; Manual of Testing Procedures

Pascal’s Law: Pascal’s Law is pressure exerted at any point upon a confined liquid is transmitted undiminished in all directions.

pass: A pass is a structure allowing movement of livestock, vehicles or products underneath the roadway.; Maintenance Collection

pass through funds: Federal or state funds provided to subrecipients through grants/agreements as defined by OMB Circular A-133 or the State’s Uniform Grant Management Standards. These generally do not include advance funding agreements with local governmental entities involving projects in the department’s Unified Transportation Plan.; Contract Management Manual

pass-thru item: A pass-thru item is a non-stock item.; Materials And Supplies Management System Manual

passenger car equivalency: PCE; Passenger car equivalency (PCE) is the equivalency of larger vehicles, such as trucks and buses, to a quantity of passenger cars. This value is used in level of service and capacity analysis. The equivalency is dependent upon size, weight, and operating characteristics of the large vehicle, and the design speed and gradient of the highway.

passenger trip: A passenger tip is the number of passengers who board public transportation vehicles. A passenger is counted each time the passenger boards a vehicle even though the passenger might be on the journey from origin to destination.; Public Transportation Collection

passing sight distance: Passenger sight distance is the minimum sight distance that must be available to enable a driver of one vehicle, traveling at design speed, to pass another vehicle, traveling 10 mph slower than design speed, safely and comfortably, without interfering with the speed of an oncoming vehicle traveling at design speed and coming into view after the overtaking maneuver is started.

password history: Password history is the previous passwords “remembered” by the security system to prevent a particular password from being reused too frequently.; Information Security Manual

password interval: Password interval is the maximum number of days a password may be used before it must be changed.; Information Security Manual

password source: Password source is the originator of a password.; Information Security Manual

password threshold: Password threshold is the maximum number of consecutive times a wrong password can be entered before the user ID is suspended, disabled or unavailable for use for a period of time.; Information Security Manual

past due inventory: A past due inventory is when items scheduled for inventory are not physically counted by the due date.; Materials And Supplies Management System Manual

patching: Patching is an asphaltic concrete pavement (ACP) distress type. Patches are repairs made to pavement distress. The presence of patching indicates prior maintenance activity and is thus used as a general measure of maintenance cost. Patching ranges from 0 to 100 percent of the lane area.; Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) Rater's Manual

pavement: PMT; Pavement (PMT) is that part of a roadway having a constructed surface for the facilitation of vehicular traffic.; Pavement Design Manual

pavement crack: A pavement crack is a fissure or open seam in pavement which does not necessarily extend through the body of the pavement material. Pavement cracking includes alligator, longitudinal, and transverse cracking.

pavement crown: A pavement crown is a transverse roadway section formed by a plane surface, curved surface, or a combination of the two, for the purpose of insuring proper drainage of the pavement.

pavement design: Pavement design includes two tasks: (1) mixture or materials design and (2) structure or thickness design. These two tasks cannot be cleanly separated at the design stage; there must be interaction between the tasks. Specifications are the link between mixtures and thickness design.; Pavement Design Manual

pavement distress: Pavement distress is cracking, rutting, distortion or other types of surface deterioration which indicates a decline in the pavement’s surface condition or structural load-carrying capacity.; Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) Users Manual

pavement edge drop off: A pavement edge drop off is a condition frequently occurring on narrow pavement or roads without paved shoulders where the wheels of vehicles frequently traverse off the pavement.; Maintenance Collection

Pavement Evaluation System: PES; Pavement Evaluation System (PES) incorporates visual evaluation, Mays Ride Meter Serviceability Index (SI), optional Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) structural evaluation data, optional Skid Resistance Number (SN), and Roadway Information System (RIS) data into a framework designed to calculate, by modeling techniques, pavement condition and rehabilitation needs for statewide evaluation. PES was replaced in Fiscal Year 1993 by the Pavement Management Information System (PMIS). PES is part of the major investment study.; Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) Users Manual

pavement graphic: A pavement graphic is a type of marking, including stock bars, cross walks, railroad crossings, school zones, arrows, etc.; Maintenance Collection

pavement, invert: Pavement, invert, means the lower segment of a corrugated metal pipe provided with a smooth bituminous material that completely fills the corrugations, intended to give resistance to scour and erosion, and to improve flow.

pavement management: Pavement management is a method of finding cost-effective strategies for providing, evaluating and maintaining pavements in a serviceable condition.; Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) Users Manual

Pavement Management Information System: PMIS; The Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) is an automated system for storing, retrieving, analyzing and reporting information to help with pavement-related decision-making processes. PMIS began in fiscal year 1993, and includes Pavement Evaluation System (PES) data collected from fiscal years 1985-1992; Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) Users Manual

Pavement Management System: PMS; The Pavement Management System (PMS) is a set of tools or methods that can assist decision-makers in finding cost-effective strategies for providing, evaluating and maintaining pavements in a serviceable condition.; Pavement Management Information System (PMIS)Users Manual

pavement markings: Pavement markings are markings set into the surface of, applied upon, or attached to the pavement to inform or guide traffic. Markings intended to guide traffic, including striping, traffic buttons, raised pavement markers and graphics. All markings should be maintained as soon as practical according to the latest department standards.

pavement reconstruction: Pavement reconstruction is construction of the equivalent of a new pavement structure which usually involves complete removal and replacement of an existing pavement structure including new and/or recycled materials.; Pavement Design Manual

pavement rehabilitation: Pavement rehabilitation is work undertaken to extend the service life of an existing facility. This includes resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation (3R) work undertaken to restore serviceability such as placement of additional surfacing material and/or other work necessary to return an existing roadway, including shoulders, to a condition of structural or functional adequacy. This could include the complete removal and replacement of the pavement structure. This may include partial recycling of the existing pavement.; Pavement Design Manual

pavement structure: Pavement structure is the combination of sub-base, base course, and surface course placed on a subgrade to support the traffic load and to distribute it to the roadbed.

payee: A payee is an individual or entity that receives a payment from the State of Texas.; Voucher Manual

Payee Identification Number System: PINS; The Payee Identification Number System (PINS) is TxDOT’s procedure to set up vendors in the comptroller’s payment system.; Public Transportation Collection

payload: Payload is the combined maximum allowable weight of cargo and passengers that a truck is designed to carry. Payload is the same as tare weight and net carrying capacity.; Equipment Manual

payment: A payment is a transfer of funds from the appropriate TxDOT financial account to pay for any costs of the miscellaneous contracts.; Contract Management Manual

payment bond: The security furnished by the contractor solely for the protection of claimants, as defined by law, supplying labor and materials for the prosecution of the work in accordance with the terms of the contract.; Maintenance Contract Manual

payment rate: Payment rate is the proportional share of sampling cost to be paid to MAT when a supplier/producer chooses to have less that the MQR of a material sampled and tested.

payroll: Payroll is a list of employees entitled to the payment of wages.; Voucher Manual

peak hour factor: PHF; The peak hour factor (PHF) is a ratio of the total hourly traffic volume to the maximum 15-minute traffic volume within the hour. PHF represents the flow variation within an hour.

peak hour traffic: PHT; Peak hour traffic (PHT) is the percentage of Average Daily Traffic (ADT) that occurs during the hour with the highest traffic volume.

peat: Peat is a soil composed of vegetable tissue in various stages of decomposition usually with a dark brown to black color, a spongy consistency and a texture ranging from fibrous to amorphous.; Manual of Testing Procedures

pedestrian or bystander injury: Pedestrian or bystander injuries are occurrences which result in death or injury to pedestrians or bystanders caused by contact with a moving vehicle or road machine, or an object carried on or in such equipment and are classified as accidents.; Occupational Safety Manual

pedestrian overpass: A pedestrian overpass is a grade separation designed to carry pedestrian traffic over the subject highway.

pedestrian underpass: A pedestrian underpass is a grade separation designed to carry pedestrian traffic under the subject highway.

penetration: Penetration is the distance a needle penetrates asphalt, under a specified weight, in a specified time, and at a specified temperature. This is a controlled laboratory test.

percent combo unit trucks in ADT: Percent combo unit trucks in ADT represents all combo unit truck activity over all days of the week and seasons of the year as a percentage of total annual traffic. Combo unit trucks include vehicle classes 8 through 13.; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual

percent combo unit trucks in DHV: Percent combo unit trucks in DHV represents all combo unit truck activity for peak periods of the year as a percentage. Combo unit trucks include vehicle classes 8 through 13.; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual

percent density or percent compaction: The percent density or percent compaction is the ratio of the actual bulk specific gravity (Ga) of the compacted bituminous mixture specimen to the theoretical maximum specific gravity (Gr) of the bituminous mixture expressed as a percentage.; Manual of Testing Procedures

percent of grade: Percent of grade is the grade of centerline or profile grade road between vertical points of intersection +0.10% = Increase in elevation by 0.10 feet for each 100 feet station.

percent single unit trucks in ADT: Percent single unit trucks in ADT represents all single-unit truck activity over all days of the week and seasons of the year as a percentage of total annual traffic. Single unit trucks include vehicle classes 4 through 7.; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual

percent single unit trucks in DHV: Percent single unit trucks in DHV represents all single unit truck activity for peak periods of the year as a percentage. Single unit trucks include vehicle classes 4 through 7.; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual

percent soil binder: The percent soil binder is equal to 100 times the ratio of the oven-dry mass of the soil binder to the oven-dry mass of the total.; Manual of Testing Procedures

percent slope (% slope): Percent slope (% slope) is the change in elevation divided by the horizontal distance over which the change occurs for a vertical line.

perched water table: A perched water table, in hydrology, is the upper surface of a body of free ground water in a zone of saturation, separated by unsaturated material from an underlying body of ground water in a differing zone of saturation.

performance awards: Performance awards are awards that may be given to individual employees or work teams for outstanding contributions to the department. Awards may include cash, certificates of recognition, plaques, and gifts within state and department guidelines.; Human Resources Manual

performance bond: Performance bond is the security furnished by the contractor to guarantee the completion of the work in accordance with the terms of the contract.; Maintenance Contract Manual

performance period: Performance period is the period of time that an initially constructed or rehabilitated pavement structure will last (perform) before reaching its terminal serviceability. This is also referred to as the design period.; Pavement Design Manual

performing agency: The performing agency is the state agency providing the service or resources.; Contract Management Manual

performing district, division or office: The performing district, division, or office is the office responsible for providing the service or resource to the receiving agency.; Contract Management Manual

performing entity: Performing entity a party to a department contract, not a department employee, who accepts a department offer to participate in a contracting activity; the contract can define the performing entity as appropriate to the contract: engineer, surveyor, technical expert, private consultant, the city, the recipient, etc.; Contract Management Manual

peripherals (or peripheral devices): Peripherals are computer-oriented hardware components such as printers, modems, etc.; Information Security Manual

period ending: A period ending is a date that indicates the last day of the accounting period being reported.

permanently assigned vehicle: A permanently assigned vehicle is a vehicle permanently assigned to a division or office for its exclusive use and may be used for local or out-of-town travel.; Equipment Manual

permanent sign: A permanent sign is any sign permanently affixed or attached to the ground or a structure or which cannot be removed without special handling.; Maintenance Collection

permanent structure number: PSN; A permanent structure number (PSN) is a unique three-digit number assigned to any structure meeting the definition of a bridge. It is part of the 12-digit Bridge Identification. PSNs are assigned by control in ascending order as the bridges are built and are not necessarily in sequence along the control or section.; Bridge Inspection Manual

permeability: Permeability means penetrability.

permit system: A permit system is the employer’s written procedure for preparing and issuing permits for entry and for returning the permit space to service following termination of entry.; Occupational Safety Manual

permit-required confined space (permit space): A permit-required confined space is a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics: contains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant; has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section; or, contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard.; Occupational Safety Manual

person: Right of Way Manual; Maintenance Manual

personal care attendant: PCA; A personal care attendant (PCA) is an individual who provides personal care to a person with a very severe disability by providing assistance with activities of daily living that the individual would typically perform if the individual did not have a disability.; Public Transportation Collection

personal computer: PC; A personal computer (PC) is a microcomputer that is not a server.; Information Security Manual

Personal Digital Assistant: PDA; A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is a general category for two way digital networks with integrated voice, data, and messaging capabilities. A small computing device based on the Microsoft Pocket PC standard or Palm OS.; Source: Information Security Manual

personalty: A personalty is any property owned by a person other than real property.; Right of Way Manual

persons providing services on the project (“subcontractor” in §406.096 of the Texas Labor Code): Persons providing services on the project include all persons or entities performing all or part of the services the contractor has undertaken to perform on the project, regardless of whether that person contracted directly with the contractor and regardless of whether that person has employees. This includes but is not limited to independent contractors, subcontractors, leasing companies, motor carriers, owner-operators, employees of any such entity or employee of any entity furnishing persons to perform services on the project. “Services” includes but is not limited to providing, hauling, or delivering equipment or materials, or providing labor, transportation or other service related to a project. “Services” does not include activities unrelated to the project, such as food and beverage vendors, office supply deliveries, and delivery of portable toilets.; Occupational Safety Manual

person trips: Person trips are those trips made by persons five years of age or older by any mode of transportation. These are usually summed for all members of a household and reported as person trips per household and referred to as the person trip rate. Person trips are also summed by household and divided by the number of persons in the household to compute the person trips per person.; Traffic Data and Analysis Manual

petroleum storage tank system: PSTS; A petroleum storage tank system (PSTS) is any storage system designed to contain petroleum products or byproducts underground, and to be accessed from the ground's surface; also any container of hazardous material or waste buried beneath the surface of the earth.; Right of Way Collection

petty cash: Petty cash is a sum of money set aside to pay items for which the issuance of a formal voucher and warrant would not be cost- or time-efficient.; Voucher Manual

Pharr District: PHR; The Pharr District (PHR) is a TxDOT district office including the following counties: Brooks, Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Starr, Willacy and Zapata. Area offices are located in Hebronville, Pharr, Raymondville and San Benito. Other TxDOT offices in this district are the Valley Travel Information Center and a Vehicle Titles and Registration Regional Office.; Inside TxDOT

photometric curves: Photometric curves, also called photometric data, are derived from metered measurements of horizontal or vertical lux (or footcandles). These metered measurements are obtained by the use of a light meter usually calibrated in lux (or footcandles).; Highway Illumination Manual

photo mosaics: A series of overlapping aerial photos that form a composite image of a larger area.; Survey Manual

picnic area: A picnic area is a TxDOT-operated facility that offers parking and picnic arbors for the traveling public. Picnic areas are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.; Maintenance Division

pile, bearing: A pile, bearing, is a member driven or jetted into the ground and deriving its support from the underlying strata and/or by the friction of the ground on its surface.

pilferable items: Pilferable items are those items, of any value, which are desirable and/or quickly adjusted for personal use.; Materials and Supplies Management System Manual

piling: A piling is a long slender column of timber, steel, or reinforced concrete that is driven into the ground to carry vertical loads from the structure to the earth to act as a foundation for the structure.

pixel: A pixel is the smallest definable unit in a raster image. The actual size of the pixel depends on the resolution of the individual image.; Communications Manual

place of employment: Place of employment means the place where an employee routinely conducts official state business.; Travel Manual

plain elastomeric bridge bearings: Plain elastomeric bridge bearings consist of elastomer only.; Manual of Testing Procedures

plain old telephone service: POTS; Plain old telephone service (POTS) is short for plain old telephone service, which refers to the standard telephone service that most homes use.; Information Security Manual

plan quantity item: A plan quantity item is an item whose quantity can be accurately determined through calculation such as pounds of reinforcing steel or cubic yards of concrete for structure work.

planning emphasis areas: PEAs; Planning emphasis areas (PEAs) are FTA/FHWA priority themes for consideration, as appropriate, in metropolitan and statewide planning programs.; Public Transportation Collection

Planning Justification System: PJS; The Planning Justification System (PJS) contains a list of all TxDOT “approved for purchase” hardware and software.; Information Systems Division

planimetric (photogrammetric) map: Planimetric maps (“planimetrics” or “mapping”) contain two-dimensional data (X and Y coordinates). Planimetrics are digitized maps that show outlines and labels of topographic features. Contour lines (adding the vertical “Z” element) can be computed from a �digital terrain model (DTM) and superimposed on the map.

plans: Plans are drawings which show the location, dimensions, and nature of the prescribed work, including layouts, profiles, typical sections, and other details as is necessary to describe the work fully. These drawings are part of the contract for a project.

Plans, Specifications and Estimates: PS&E; Plans, Specifications and Estimates (PS&E) are the detailed plans and accompanying specifications and construction cost estimates which serve as documents for construction contract letting purposes. Plans are the contract drawings which show the location, character, and dimensions of the prescribed work, including layouts, profiles, cross section, other miscellaneous details, and quantity summaries. Specifications are the compilation of provisions and requirements for the performance of prescribed work. The estimate is a list of all bid items and quantities estimated bid prices, total cost for each bid item, and the total estimated cost for the proposed project.

plastic limit: Plastic limit is the constant defined as the lowest moisture content and expressed as a percentage of the weight of the oven dried soil at which the soil can be rolled into threads one-eighth inch in diameter without the soil breaking into pieces, also the moisture content of a solid at which a soil changes from a plastic state to a semisolid state.

plastic state: Plastic state is when the material will deform and remain in that deformed state when a deforming pressure is applied and then released.

plasticity: Plasticity is the property of a fine-grained portion of a soil which permits it, under certain moisture conditions to be remolded without crumbling or fracture in; the degree of plasticity a soil possesses can be used as a relative index of its clay content.0

plasticity chart: A plasticity chart is used to differentiate the plasticity and organic characteristics of the fine-grained soils based on liquid limit (LL) and plasticity index (PI) of the soils.; Manual of Testing Procedures

plasticity index: P.I.; Manual of Testing Procedures

plate: A plate is a flat-rolled iron or steel product (See �structural plate).

platform: A platform is the foundation technology of a computer system. It is the hardware and systems software that together provide support for an application program.; Information Security Manual

plottage value: Plottage value is an increment of value resulting from the combination of two or more sites that develops one site as having greater utility than the sum of each when separately considered.; Right of Way Collection

plotters and printers: Plotters and printers are devices that allow users to provide hard copies of drawings/text.; Information Security Manual

point of compound curve: A point of compound curve is the common point between two curves with different degrees of curvature.

point of beginning: POB; Point of beginning (POB) is the first point mentioned in the legal description of the boundary on the property being described.; Survey Manual

point of curvature: P.C.; The point of curvature (P.C.) is the point at which a curve begins.; Survey Manual

point of intersection: P.I.; The point of intersection (P.I.) is the point at which two straight line tangents intersect.

point of tangency: P.T.; The point of tangency (P.T.) is the point at which a curve ends.; Survey Manual

point source: A point source is any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, landfill leachate collection system, vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. Agricultural stormwater runoff and return flows from irrigated agriculture are excluded.

point-to-point protocol: PPP; Point-to-point protocol (PPP) is a protocol that allows a computer to directly access the Internet using a standard telephone line and a high-speed modem. PPP offers users data compression and compensates for noisy telephone lines.; Information Security Manual

pole: A galvanized steel or aluminum shaft to support the lighting unit (also called the lighting standard).; Highway Illumination Manual

police power: Police power is the right of government to limit the exercise of property rights in real estate, without compensation, provided the limitation is not specific to one parcel. The limitation is to serve the interest of public health, public safety, public morals and the general welfare.; Right of Way Collection

policy: A policy is a general statement of principle designed to provide broad guidance in fulfilling the agency's mission and in maintaining an agency work environment conforming to federal and state law. Policy requires, guides, and restricts present and future decisions and actions of the agency.

polish value: PV; A polish value (PV) is the average of a set of readings on the test specimen of aggregate after nine hours of polishing in the accelerated polishing machine. It is more commonly known as the ability of an aggregate to withstand the polishing effects of traffic wear.

political sign: A political sign is a tempoary sign associated with a campaign for an elective office or issue that will be put to public vote.; Maintenance Collection

political subdivision: A political subdivision is a municipality or county within the State of Texas.; Safe Routes to School Program Guidelines

pollution: Pollution is contamination of any component of the total environment by harmful sounds, smells, or sights degrading or injurious to humans and other living organisms.

polyvinyl chloride: PVC; Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the material of which a kind of tubing used for conduit is made.; Highway Illumination Manual

ponding: Ponding is jetting or the use of water to hasten the settlement of an embankment and requires the judgment of a soils engineer. In Hydraulics, ponding refers to water backed up in a channel or ditch as the result of a culvert of inadequate capacity or design to permit the water to flow unrestricted.

pool vehicle: A pool vehicle is a vehicle (such as a car, pick-up, or van) assigned to the equipment motor pool at department offices/complexes throughout the Austin area. These vehicles are available to be checked out upon request.; Equipment Manual

population density: Population density (Bureau of the Census definition) is determined by:1) outside of a place, one or more contiguous census blocks with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile. Or 2) inclusion of a place containing census blocks that have at least 50 percent of the population of the place and a density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile.; Transportation Planning and Programming Collection

portable computing device: A portable computing device is any easily portable device capable of receiving and/or transmitting data to and from an information resource. These sources include, but are not limited to, notebook computers, handheld computers, PDAs, pagers, memory sticks, memory pens, digital cameras, digital toys and cell phones.; Information Security Manual

port number: A port number is a standardized transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) port number that enables remote computers to know which port to connect to for a specific network service.; Information Security Manual

Portland cement: Portland cement is a finely powdered substance, usually gray or brownish gray, composed largely of artificial crystalline minerals, the most important of which are calcium and aluminum silicates. The calcium silicate compounds, upon reaction with water, produce the new compounds capable of imparting the stonelike quality to the mixture.

Portland cement concrete pavement: Portland cement concrete pavement is a hardened mixture of Portland cement, aggregate, and water used to pave streets or highways. This mixture may or may not contain steel reinforcing.

posting amount: Posting amount is the amount of the transaction.; Finance Division

potential vertical rise: PVR; Potential vertical rise (PVR) is expressed in millimeters (inches), is the latent or potential ability of a soil material to swell, at a given density, moisture and loading condition, when exposed to capillary or surface water, and thereby increase the elevation of its upper surface, along with anything resting on it.; Manual of Testing Procedures

pound force: Pound force is that force, which if applied to a one pound mass, will cause it to accelerate at a rate of 9.807 meters per second per second. (the gravitational acceleration factor is 9.807 meters per second per second).A 100-pound weight placed on an object exerts a force of 100 pounds to that object.; Manual of Testing Procedures

power: P; Power (P) is measured in watts. Formulae as follows:; For power loss due to resistance in lighting circuits, the power factor can be considered equal to one. This power can also be calculated: .; Highway Illumination Manual

power of attorney: POA; A power of attorney (POA) is a legal instrument authorizing a person to act as the agent of the grantor.; Letting Manual

power factor: pf; Power factor (pf) is the time relationship between current wave and voltage wave in an A.C. system.; Highway Illumination Manual

pre-bid conference: A pre-bid conference is used to present a general review of the completed plans and specifications plus a detailed review of the project’s special requirements.

pre-cast