HIGHWAY PLANNING SURVEY AND LOCATION 

 
The aim of location survey is to select a route with the following kept in mind. 
*With reasonable economy it should meet the minimum requirement regarding crvature 
and grades. 
*To produce an easy riding(traveling), free flowing traffic artery that has a high capcity 
and it meets all the safety standards 
*The location survey should recognize and evaluate the routes impact on already 
existing industries, business, and on future development. 
 
Before field survey for any highway location is started, tentative decision or highway planning 
must be made. 
 
HIGHWAY PLANNING 
 
Introduction 
 
The process of transportation planning entails developing a transportation plan for an urban 
region. It is an ongoing process that seeks to address the transport needs of the inhabitants of 
the area, and with the aid of a process of consulta- tion with all relevant groups, strives to 
identify and implement an appropriate plan to meet these needs. 
 
Purpose of Planning 
 
The most important aspect of planning is that it is oriented toward the future. Although 
planning may increase the likelihood that a recommended action will take place, it does not 
guarantee that it will. Transportation planning relies on the use of models and forecasts, which 
are often wrong, because even the best models can, at best, only approximate future condi- 
tions. As such, transportation planning is as much an art form as it is sci- ence, placing a 
constant burden on the analyst to properly interpret model results and apply good professional 
judgment to any analysis. 
 
State transportation planning organizations are responsible for con- ducting long-range 
transportation planning, also known as systems planning, for all areas of the state, including 
metropolitan areas, small urban areas, counties, and multicounty regions. The metropolitan 
areas and regions in turn have their own planning organizations that offer a more detailed and 
in- depth look at transportation plans under their jurisdiction. Ideally, state and metropolitan 
planning organizations (MPOs) work jointly and in concert to develop robust future-year 
forecasts based on their combined expertise. 
 
A typical long-range planning study involves several steps, including: 
• Initial meetings with the local area citizens, staff, and elected officials 
• Data collection and analysis 
• Discussions of findings with the local area 
• Development of several alternative future scenarios 
• Public information workshops and public hearings 
• Selection of a preferred plan 
 
 Travel Data 
 
The planning process commences with the collection of historical traffic data covering the 
geographical area of interest. Growth levels in past years act as a strong indicator regarding 
the volumes one can expect over the chosen future time, be it 15, 20 or 30 years. If these 
figures indicate the need for new/upgraded transportation facilities, the process then begins of 
considering what type of transportation scheme or suite of schemes is most appropriate, 
together with the scale and location of the scheme or group of schemes in question. 
 
The demand for highway schemes stems from the requirements of people to travel from one 
location to another in order to perform the activities that make up their everyday lives. The level 
of this demand for travel depends on a number of factors: 
 
*The location of people’s work, shopping and leisure facilities relative to their homes 
*The type of transport available to those making the journey 
*The demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population in 
question. 
 
Characteristics such as population size and structure, number of cars owned per household 
and income of the main economic earner within each household tend to be the 
demographic/socio-economic characteristics having the most direct effect on traffic demand. 
These act together in a complex manner to influence the demand for highway space. 
 
 
Highway Planning  
 
When the highway planning process takes place within a large urban area and other transport 
options such as rail and cycling may be under consideration alongside car-based ones, the 
procedure can become quite complex and the workload involved in data collection can 
become immense. In such circum- stances, before a comprehensive study can be undertaken, 
one of a number of broad strategy options must be chosen: 
 
The land use transportation approach 
The demand management approach 
The car-centred approach 
The public transport-centred approach. 
 
Land use transportation approach 
Within this method, the management of land use planning is seen as the solu- tion to 
controlling the demand for transport. The growing trend where many commuters live in 
suburbs of a major conurbation or in small satellite towns while working within or near the city 
centre has resulted in many using their private car for their journey to work. This has led to 
congestion on the roads and the need for both increased road space and the introduction of 
major public transport improvements. Land use strategies such as the location of employ- 
ment opportunities close to large residential areas and actively limiting urban sprawl which 
tends to increase the dependency of commuters on the private car, are all viable land use 
control mechanisms. 
 
The demand management approach 
The demand management approach entails planning for the future by manag- ing demand 
more effectively on the existing road network rather than constructing new road links. Demand 
management measures include the tolling of heavily trafficked sections of highway, possibly at 
peak times only, and car pooling, where high occupancy rates within the cars of commuters is 
achieved voluntarily either by the commuters themselves, in order to save money, or by 
employers in order to meet some target stipulated by the planning authority. Use of car pooling 
can be promoted by allowing private cars with multiple occu- pants to use bus-lanes during 
peak hour travel or by allowing them reduced parking charges at their destination. 
 
 
 
The car-centred approach 
The car-centred approach has been favoured by a number of large cities within the US, most 
notably Los Angeles. It seeks to cater for future increases in traffic demand through the 
construction of bigger and better roads, be they inter-urban or intra-urban links. Such an 
approach usually involves prioritising the devel- opment of road linkages both within and 
between the major urban centres. Measures such as in-car information for drivers regarding 
points of congestion along their intended route and the installation of state-of-the-art traffic 
control technology at all junctions, help maximise usage along the available road space. 
 
The public transport-centred approach 
In the public transport-centred approach the strategy will emphasise the impor- tance of bus 
and rail-based improvements as the preferred way of coping with increased transport demand. 
Supporters of this approach point to the environ- mental and social advantages of such a 
strategy, reducing noise and air pollu- tion and increasing efficiency in the use of fossil fuels 
while also making transport available to those who cannot afford to run a car. However, the 
success of such a strategy depends on the ability of transport planners to induce increas- ing 
numbers of private car users to change their mode of travel during peak hours to public 
transport. This will minimise highway congestion as the number of peak hour journeys increase 
over the years. Such a result will only be achieved if the public transport service provided is 
clean, comfortable, regular and affordable 
 
HIGHWAY LOCATION 
 
Location design takes place at the earlier stage of project planning. It refers to the 
macro-level routing of a planned highway connecting two points through the existing 
highways, communities, natural terrain. Normally, information such as lane-use master plan; 
existing and projected population distribution; survey maps; maps of existing infrastructure; 
geology, ecological, biological, and environmental information; and aerial photographs are 
among the essential inputs. Inputs are also sought from civil engineers, planners, economists, 
ecologists, sociologists, environmental experts, and lawyers. With all the necessary inputs, 
several potential routes are drawn up by the designer on a contour map (e.g., on a scale of 
1:10,000). The designer then goes through the various iterative and consultative steps with the 
stake holders to modify and select the most feasible layout. The consultative process is 
perhaps the most time consuming, which may take several months. A more detailed site survey 
is then carried out to locate the key control points of the alignments, in terms of geo- 
coordinates and elevations. The designer then proceeds with the detailed alignment, cross 
sectional and assess design. 
 
 
 
PRINCIPLES OF HIGHWAY LOCATION 
The basic principle for locating highways is that roadway elements such as curvature and 
grade must blend with each other to produce a system that provides for the easy flow of traffic 
at the design capacity, while meeting design criteria and safety stan- dards. The highway 
should also cause a minimal disruption to historic and archeological sites and to other land-use 
activities. Environmental impact studies are therefore required in most cases before a highway 
location is finally agreed upon. Among the environmental concerns which must be considered 
for each alternative are the following: 
 
Air quality. A study of the effect of a proposed transportation improvement on the quality of the 
air 
 
Historic or prehistoric. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improvement on 
historic or prehistoric objects or on lands or structures currently entered into the National 
Register or which may be eligible for addition to the National Register 
 
Endangered species. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improve- ment on 
rare or endangered plants or animals having national or state recognition 
 
Natural areas. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improvement on natural 
areas designated as having regional, state, or national significance 
 
Parks and recreation. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improvement on 
publicly owned parks, recreation areas, or wildlife and waterfowl refuges designated as having 
national, state, or local significance 
 
Prime farmlands. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improvement on 
farmlands with high productivity due to soil and water conditions or having other unique 
advantages for growing specialty crops 
 
Scenic rivers. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improvement on 
any scenic rivers of state or national significance 
 
Streams and wetlands. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improvement on 
streams and wetlands on project and abutting land areas 
 
Water quality. A study of the effect of the proposed transportation improvement on the quality 
of live streams or bodies of water 
 
The highway location process involves four phases: 
• Office study of existing information  
• Reconnaissance survey 
• Preliminary location survey 
• Final location survey 
 
Reconnaissance Survey 
The object of this phase of the study is to identify several feasible routes, each within a band of 
a limited width of a few hundred feet. When rural roads are being consid- ered, there is often 
little information available on maps or photographs, and therefore aerial photography is widely 
used to obtain the required information. Feasible routes are identified by a stereoscopic 
examination of the aerial photographs, taking into consideration factors such as: 
• Terrain and soil conditions 
• Serviceability of route to industrial and population areas 
• Crossing of other transportation facilities, such as rivers, railroads, and highways • 
Directness of route 
 
Preliminary Location Survey 
During this phase of the study, the positions of the feasible routes are set as closely as 
possible by establishing all the control points and determining preliminary vertical and 
horizontal alignments for each. Preliminary alignments are used to evaluate the economic and 
environmental feasibility of the alternative routes. 
-Economic Evaluation 
Economic evaluation of each alternative route is carried out to determine the 
future effect of investing the resources necessary to construct the highway.  
Factors usually taken into consideration include road user costs, construction 
costs, maintenance costs, road user benefits, and any disbenefits, which may include 
adverse impacts due to dislocation of families, businesses, and so forth. The results 
obtained from the economic evaluation of the feasible routes provide valuable infor- 
mation to the decision maker 
 
-Environmental Evaluation 
Construction of a highway at any location will have a significant impact on its 
sur- roundings. A highway is therefore an integral part of the local environment and 
must be considered as such. This environment includes plant, animal, and human 
commu- nities and encompasses social, physical, natural, and man-made variables. 
These vari- ables are interrelated in a manner that maintains equilibrium and sustains 
the lifestyle of the different communities. The construction of a highway at a given 
location may result in significant changes in one or more variables, which in turn may 
offset the equilibrium and result in significant adverse effects on the environment. This 
may lead to a reduction of the quality of life of the animals and/or human communities. 
It is therefore essential that the environmental impact of any alignment selected be 
fully evaluated. 
Federal legislation has been enacted that sets forth the requirements of the envi- 
ronmental evaluation required for different types of projects. In general, the require- 
ments call for the submission of environmental impact statements for many projects. 
These statements should include: 
• A detailed description of alternatives 
• The probable environmental impact, including the assessment of positive and 
negative effects 
 • An analysis of short-term impact as differentiated from long-term impact 
• Location, Geometrics, and Drainage 
• Any secondary effects, which may be in the form of changes in the patterns of social 
and economic activities 
• Probable adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided if the project is 
constructed 
• Any irreversible and irretrievable resources that have been committed 
 
Final Location Survey 
The final location survey is a detailed layout of the selected route. The horizontal and 
vertical alignments are determined, and the positions of structures and drainage channels are 
located. The method used is to set out the points of intersections (PI) of the straight portions of 
the highway and fit a suitable horizontal curve between these. This is usually a trial-and-error 
process until, in the designer’s opinion, the best alignment is obtained, taking both engineering 
and aesthetic factors into consid- eration. Splines and curve templates are available that can 
be used in this process. The spline is a flexible plastic guide that can be bent into different 
positions and is used to lay out different curvilinear alignments, from which the most suitable is 
selected. Curve templates are transparencies giving circular curves, three-center compound 
curves, and spiral curves of different radii and different standard scales. 
The availability of computer-based techniques has significantly enhanced this process 
since a proposed highway can be displayed on a monitor, enabling the designer to have a 
driver’s eye view of both the horizontal and vertical alignments of the road. The designer can 
therefore change either or both alignments until the best alignment is achieved.