TTEng 312: Highway Engineering Spring 2017

Capacity Design and Analysis: Problem Set 1

Problem 1:
For the given highway cross-section data:

Number of lanes = 4 (2 lanes for each direction)

Lane width = 3.2 m
No Median
Shoulders = 1.2 m
PHF = 0.90
Speed limit = 85 km/hr (BFFS)
Access Points = 8 access points/km
Current flow rate = 1410 vehicle/hr
Terrain Type: Level

Then:
A. Estimate the current LOS
B. Determine maximum service flow rate under current LOS
C. If the projected growth in current traffic demand was 20% determine the optimal
modification(s) to the highway cross-section in order to maintain the current LOS

Problem 2:
A new highway segment is going for design; the relevant data are given below. You are required to
design this segment @ LOS= C for the given Right of Way (ROW).

Given the following facts:

AADT = 54000 veh/day
Directional Split percentage = 55% (D = 0.55)
Proportion of Traffic occurring during peak hour = 12% (K = 0.12)
Expected Truck Percentage = 5%
Right of Way (ROW) = 30 m
Expected Peak Hour Factor = 0.90
The Design Speed was 90 km/hr (i.e. BFFS = 90 km/hr)
Segment Length = 800 meters, Grade= 4%

Required: Number of lanes, lane width, shoulders, median … etc.

Problem 3:
Highway segment is going under planning review. Given the following facts:

Lane Width = 3.4 m

Number of Lanes (N) = 2 (in each direction)
Total Lateral Clearance = 3.0 m
Median = No Median
The 85th % Speed was found to be 100 km/hr (i.e. BFFS = 100 km/hr)
PHF = 0.83
Terrain Type: Rolling

You are asked to:

A. Determine the maximum peak-hour volume that the segment can serve at a LOS C.
B. Make suggestions on how to increase the total capacity while maintaining the LOS at C
without major investments.

Spring 2017 ElDessouki Page 1 of 1