Existing topography coming out to light

you can modify it two ways. You can edit the FDOT_GrayExisting.tbl file in the \\FDOTSS4\Resources\Plot\ folder and change the OUT_COLOR to something like 120 which is about 50% darker or you can edit the Pen Table in MicroStation.

There was actually an error in the FDOTSS4 pen table that not only reduced the color but also the lineweight of anything plotted with Color 20. This has been corrected in the MR2.

I generally make my own Pen Table for each project and don't just use the FDOT_GrayExisting. I like to tweak a lot of things to make the plans come out cleaner. Save the FDOT_GrayExisting to your roadway folder and call it Roadway.tbl. Hit Print, attach that Roadway.tbl, and then Resymbolization -> Edit Pen Table.

In the Modify Pen Table window, hit the Map Pen Colors button. Hit Edit -> Import from Printer Driver Configuration and choose the FDOTPDF.pltcfg. Now you will see that all the colors are black except for 20, which is 150,150,150.

Now what I like to do is redefine all the gray colors down the left hand side of the color table. So start with color 32 and change that to 115,115,115. Make color 48 105,105,105. And you can keep going as well. I also make a Color 80 which is 80,80,80, which I find is a nice solid gray color for shading adjacent projects, or using it on Signing and pavement markings to make the proposed roadway features gray and the pavement markings black so they pop.

There is a lot more you can do with your pen tables when you learn how to use them in conjunction with logical names.