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VDOT has a combination railing that is supposed to have the face of steel tube rails match the vertical face of the concrete parapet below.  The contract required a 1" architectural thickening. The railing was supposed to be moved to match the new "face" of the barrier using a 1" spacer. The railing was built without the spacer.  How closely aligned does the vertical rail element need to be with the vertical parapet element in a vertical combination railing?

This railing is being used to separate traffic from a shared use path. the posted speed will be 45mph or higher.

As I read your question, it would appear that the tube rails would now be offset 1/2" behind the face of the concrete parapet. We believe this would have limited affect on the safety performance of the railing. 

One item to note in looking at your detail is related to the terminal wall and how the end of the railing is configured. We recently worked with MnDOT to develop tapers for a similar end wall that may be useful to reduce snag in those areas. See the report at the link below. 

https://mwrsf.unl.edu/researchhub/files/Report431/TRP-03-403-21.pdf