Design Control and Criteria-2

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 Traffic characteristics - Introduction
• The design of a highway and its features should explicitly consider
traffic volumes and traffic characteristics
• Financing, quality of foundations, availability of materials, cost of
right-of-way, and other factors all have important bearing on the
design;
• However, traffic volumes can indicate the need for the
improvement and directly influence the selection of geometric
design features, such as number of lanes, widths, alignments, and
grades

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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
• Traffic Volume. Number of vehicles passing a point on a highway
during a specified time interval. Units: Simply vehicles or vehicles
per unit time (veh/day; veh/hr)
• Average annual daily traffic (AADT). The average 24-hour volume
at a given location over a full 365-day year (366 days in leap year).
• Average daily traffic (ADT). The average 24-hour volume at a
given location over a defined time period less than one year; a
common application is to measure an ADT for each month of the
year
OR
• The ADT is defined as the total volume during a given time period
(in whole days), greater than one day and less than one year,
divided by the number of days in that time period

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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
• The most basic measure of the traffic demand for a highway is the
average daily traffic (ADT) volume.
• The current ADT volume for a highway can be readily determined
when continuous traffic counts are available
• When only periodic counts are taken, the ADT volume can be
estimated by adjusting the periodic counts according to such factors
as the season, month, or day of week
• The direct use of ADT volume in the geometric design of highways is
not appropriate, except for local and collector roads with relatively
low volumes, because it does not indicate traffic volume variations
occurring during the various months of the year, days of the week,
and hours of the day.
• A highway designed for the traffic on an average day would need to
carry a volume greater than the design volume for a considerable
portion of the year, and on many days the volume carried would be
much greater than the design volume
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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Peak-Hour Traffic
• Daily volumes, while useful for planning purposes, cannot be used
alone for design or operational analysis purposes.
• Volume varies considerably over the 24 hours of the day, with
periods of maximum flow occurring during morning or evening rush
hours.
• Peak Hour Volume - The single hour of the day that has the highest
hourly volume is referred to as “Peak Hour volume”.
• The hourly traffic volume used in design should be a value that will
not be exceeded very often or by very much
• On the other hand, it should not be a value so high that traffic
would rarely be sufficient to make full use of the resulting facility
• It is recommended that the hourly traffic volume that should
generally be used in design is the 30th highest hourly volume of the
year, abbreviated as 30 HV
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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Directional Distribution
• Highways must be designed to adequately serve the peak-hour
traffic volume in the peak direction of flow.
• Total hourly traffic in both directions is used to design two-lane
roads
• In the design of highways with more than two lanes and on two-lane
roads where important intersections are encountered or where
additional lanes are to be provided later, knowledge of the hourly
traffic volume for each direction of travel is essential- Directional
traffic is used for multilane roads and streets
• Typically, one direction contributes by 55-70% in total traffic,
although occasionally 80% is observed.

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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Directional Distribution - Example
• For example, consider a rural road with a design volume of 4,000
vehicles per hour (vph) for both directions of travel combined
• If during the design hour, the directional distribution is equally split,
or 2,000 vph is one direction, two lanes in each direction may be
adequate
• If 80 percent of the DHV is in one direction, at least three lanes in
each direction would be needed for the 3,200 vph

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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Directional Distribution -Directional Design Hourly Volumes
 DDHV- ADTs are converted to a peak-hour volume in the peak
direction of flow
DDHV  AADT * K ( Peakhr) * D( Peakdir  flow)

 K = proportion of daily traffic occurring during peak hour

 D = proportion of peak hour traffic travelling in peak direction
of flow
 For design, the K factor often represents the proportion of ADT
occurring during the 30th peak hour of the year

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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
• Example Consider the case of a rural highway that has a
20-year forecast of AADT of 30,000 veh/day, for given
highway, the K factor ranges from 0.15 to 0.25, and the D
factor ranges from 0.65-0.80.
DDHV  ADT * K ( Peakhr) * D( Peakdir  flow)
DDHV (low)  30,000 *.15 *.65  2,925veh / h
DDHV (high)  30,000 * .25 * .80  6,000veh / h
 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Composition of Traffic
• Vehicles of different sizes and weights have different operating
characteristics that should be considered in highway design
• Besides being heavier, trucks are generally slower and occupy more
roadway space
• Consequently, trucks have a greater individual effect on highway
traffic operation than do passenger vehicles
• The effect on traffic operation of one truck is often equivalent to
several passenger cars
• Trucks are equivalent to several passenger cars depending on the
gradient and passing sight distance available
• Thus, the larger the proportion of trucks in a traffic stream, the
greater the equivalent traffic demand and the greater the highway
capacity needed
• Traffic composition should be determined by traffic study
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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Projection of Future Traffic Demands
• Geometric design of new highways or improvements to existing
highways should not usually be based on current traffic volumes
alone, but should consider future traffic volumes expected to use
the facility
• A highway should be designed to accommodate the traffic volume
that is likely to occur within the design life of the facility
• It is difficult to define the life of a highway because major segments
may have different lengths of physical life
• Each segment is subject to variations in estimated life expectancy
for reasons not readily subject to analysis, such as obsolescence or
unexpected radical changes in land use, with the resulting changes
in traffic volumes, patterns, and demands

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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Projection of Future Traffic Demands
• Physical life expectancies:
– right-of-way and grading - 100 years,
– bridges - 25-100 years,
– pavement - 10-30 years.
• In a practical sense, the design volume should be a value that can be
estimated with reasonable accuracy
• Many highway engineers believe the maximum design period is in
the range of 15 to 24 years. Therefore a period of 20 years is widely
used as a basis for design
• Estimating traffic volumes for a 20-year design period may not be
appropriate for many rehabilitation projects. These projects may be
developed on the basis of a shorter design period (5 to 10 years)
because of the uncertainties of predicting traffic and funding
constraints.
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 Traffic characteristics - Volume
Projection of Future Traffic Demands
• Whether the design capacity of a highway should be based on its life
expectancy. The decision is greatly influenced by economics
• For example, a highway might be designed for traffic volumes 50
years hence with the expectation that the pavement structure
would be restored in 20 to 25 years
• However, if the added cost of a 50-year design over a design with a
25-year life expectancy is appreciable, it may be imprudent to make
a further investment providing capacity that will not be needed for
at least 25 years
• The construction cost savings could be used to construct another
currently needed highway project
• Furthermore, the cost of increased maintenance for the larger
highway would be avoided for at least 25 years
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Speed
• Speed is one of the most important factors considered by travelers in
selecting alternative routes or transportation modes
• Travelers assess the value of a transportation facility by its convenience and
economy, which are directly related to its speed
• The attractiveness of a transportation system or a new highway are
weighed by the travelers in terms of time, convenience, and money saved
• The speed of vehicles on a road/highway depends, in addition to
capabilities of the drivers and their vehicles, upon five general conditions:
– the physical characteristics of the highway
– the amount of roadside interference
– the weather
– the presence of other vehicles
– the speed limitations
• Actual travel speed on a facility - reflects combination of these factors
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
• Speed: It is considered as a quality measurement of travel
– It is defined as the rate of motion in distance per unit of time.
d
v
t
– where, v is the speed of the vehicle in m/s, d is distance
traveled in meters and time t seconds.
– Speed of different vehicles will vary with respect to time and
space.
– To represent these variation, several types of speed can be
defined.
(1) spot speed, (2) Free flow speed (3) 85th Percentile speed
(4) time mean speed (5) space mean speed

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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
• Spot Speed
– Spot speed is the instantaneous speed of a vehicle at a specified
location
– The average spot speed is the arithmetic mean of all traffic speeds at
a specified location
• Free flow speed:
– The theoretical speed of traffic, in m/hr or km/hr, when density is zero,
i.e. when no vehicles are present
– The average speed of vehicles over an urban street segment w/o
signalized intersections, under conditions of low volume
– The average speed of passenger cars over a basic freeway or multilane
highway segment under conditions of low volume
• 85th percentile speed:
– Speed at which 85% of the traffic is travelling
– Speed limit is commonly set at or below the 85th percentile speed
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
• Running Speed
– The speed at which an individual vehicle travels over a highway
section is known as its running speed
– The running speed is the length of the highway section divided by the
running time for the vehicle to travel through the section
– When vehicle speed is reasonably continuous, the spot speed at a
section is the equivalent average running speed
– On longer sections several spot speeds measured along the stretch of
highway may be averaged to give running speed
• Operating Speed:
– Operating speed is the speed at which drivers are observed
operating their vehicles
– The 85th percentile of the distribution of observed speeds is the
most frequently used descriptive statistic for the operating speed
associated with a particular location or geometric feature.
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
• Running speed: (Additional Definitions…………………………..)
– Running Speed is the highest safe speed at which a vehicle is
normally operated on a given roadway under prevailing traffic
and environmental conditions, it is also known as Operating
Speed
• Operating Speed:
– Operating Speed is the highest overall speed at which a driver
can travel on a given highway under favorable weather
conditions and under prevailing traffic conditions without at
any time exceeding the safe speed as determined by the design
speed on a section-by-section basis (AASHTO,1994)

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 Traffic characteristics - Speed

• Time Mean Speed

– Arithmetic mean of all instantaneous vehicle speeds at
a given “spot” on a roadway section. (Point measure)

x 
i  ti 
TMS 
n
Where
TMS  Time Mean Speed
x  distance traversed, ft
n  number of observed vehicles
t i  time for vehicle " i" to traverse the section
 Traffic characteristics - Speed
• Space Mean Speed
– Average speed of all vehicles occupying a given section
of highway or lane over some specified time period
x nx
SMS  
 ti   ti
 n  i
 i 
Where
SMS  Space Mean Speed
x  distance traversed, ft
n  number of observed vehicles
t i  time for vehicle " i" to traverse the section
 Traffic characteristics - Speed

• Calculating Space Mean Speed

– Individual vehicle’s speed is not directly measured

– Individual vehicle’s travel time across a pre-

specified distance is measured

– Obtain average travel time

– Obtain average space mean speed

 Traffic characteristics - Speed
• Calculating Space Mean Speed
x
ti 
vi
1
t avg 
N
i
x
vi
x
SMS 
t avg
SMS  Space Mean Speed
x  distance traversed, ft
N  number of observed vehicles
t i  time for vehicle " i" to traverse the section
 Traffic characteristics - Speed

Calculate TMS & SMS, Is the space-mean speed equal to the

time-mean speed?
Vehicle # x (ft)
Distance, d Travel Time, t (s) Speed (ft/s)
1 1,000 18 55.6
2 1,000 20 50.0
3 1,000 22 45.5
4 1,000 19 52.6
5 1,000 20 50.0
6 1,000 20 50.0
Total 6,000 119 303.6
Average 6000/6 = 1000 119/6 = 19.8 303.6/6 = 50.6
TMS = 50.6 ft/s
SMS = 1,000/19.8 = 50.4 ft/s
x nx
i  x ti  SMS 
 ti 

 ti
TMS   n  i
n  i 
55.6  50.0  45.5  52.6  50.0  50.0 6 1000
TMS   50.6 ft / s
6 SMS   50.4 ft / s
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed

𝜎2
𝑇𝑀𝑆 = 𝑆𝑀𝑆 + (Wardrop 1952)
𝑆𝑀𝑆

• Hence, time mean speed is space mean speed plus

standard deviation of the spot speed divided by the space
mean speed.
• Time mean speed will be always greater than space mean
speed since standard deviation cannot be negative.
• If all the speed of the vehicles are the same, then spot
speed, time mean speed and space mean speed will also
be same.
 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Design Speed:
• Design speed is a selected speed used to determine the various geometric
design features of the roadway
• The selected design speed should be a logical one with respect to the
anticipated operating speed, topography, the adjacent land use, and the
functional classification of the highway
• In selection of design speed, every effort should be made to attain a
desired combination of safety, mobility, and efficiency within the
constraints of environmental quality, economics, aesthetics, and social or
political impacts
• Once the design speed is selected, all of the pertinent highway features
should be related to it to obtain a balanced design
• Some design features, such as curvature, superelevation, and sight
distance, are directly related to, and vary appreciably with, design speed

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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Design Speed:
• Other features, such as widths of lanes and shoulders and clearances to
walls and rails, are not directly related to design speed, but they do
affect vehicle speeds
• Thus, when a change is made in design speed, many elements of the
highway design will change accordingly
• The selected design speed should be consistent with the speeds that
drivers are likely to expect on a given highway facility
• Where a reason for limiting speed is obvious, drivers are more apt to
accept lower speed operation than where there is no apparent reason
• A highway of higher functional classification may justify a higher design
speed than a lesser classification facility in similar topography
• A low design speed, however, should not be selected where the
topography is such that drivers are likely to travel at high speeds
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Design Speed:
• Drivers do not adjust their speeds to the importance of the highway,
but to their perception of the physical limitations of the highway
and its traffic
• The selected design speed should fit the travel desires and habits of
nearly all drivers expected to use a particular facility
• Should not change over a substantial length of highway
• It is desirable that the running speed of a large proportion of drivers
be lower than the design speed
• It is important that the design speed used for horizontal curve
design be a conservative reflection of the expected speed on the
constructed facility ---curves with low design speeds result in
crashes
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Design Speed:
• Although the selected design speed establishes the limiting values of curve
radius and minimum sight distance that should be used in design, there
should be no restriction on the use of flatter horizontal curves or greater
sight distances where such improvements can be provided as a part of an
economical design.
• The longer the trip, the greater is the driver’s desire to use higher speeds.
Therefore, as the average trip length served by a facility increases, higher
functional classes of roads with higher design speeds are more
appropriate
• In the design of a substantial length of highway, it is desirable to select a
uniform design speed. However, changes in terrain and other physical
controls may dictate a change in design speed on certain sections---drivers
warned well in advance
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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Design Speed:
• On rural highways and on high-type urban facilities, a percentage of
vehicles is usually able to travel at near the free-flow speed governed by
geometric design elements; therefore, the selection of an appropriate
design speed is particularly important
• On many arterial streets, vehicle speeds are limited or regulated more by
the presence of large volumes of vehicles and by traffic control devices,
rather than by the physical characteristics of the street, the selection of an
appropriate design speed is less critical
• Posted speed limits, are usually set to approximate the 85th percentile
speed of traffic as determined by measuring the speeds of a sizable
sample of vehicles

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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Design Speed:
• On rural highways and on high-type urban facilities, a percentage of
vehicles is usually able to travel at near the free-flow speed governed by
geometric design elements; therefore, the selection of an appropriate
design speed is particularly important
• On many arterial streets, vehicle speeds are limited or regulated more by
the presence of large volumes of vehicles and by traffic control devices,
rather than by the physical characteristics of the street, the selection of an
appropriate design speed is less critical
• Posted speed limits, are usually set to approximate the 85th percentile
speed of traffic as determined by measuring the speeds of a sizable
sample of vehicles

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 Traffic characteristics - Speed
Design Speed Summary
• Should be consistent with drivers' expectations
• Should fit the traffic habits of nearly all drivers
• Should not change over a substantial length of highway
• Depends on the functional class
• Ranges from 30 km/h to 110 km/h with 10 km/h increment

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