Lecture 1

HIGHWAY LOCATION OR HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT

The position or the layout of the center line of the highway or the
ground is called the alignment. (‫محاذاة )المسار‬

1. The horizontal alignment includes:-

 straight path
 horizontal deviation
 curves
2. The vertical alignment includes:-
 Gradients ‫الناحدارات‬
 Vertical curves

The new road should be aligned very carefully.

Improper alignment would mean either:-

‫رأس الماال‬
Capital loss initially recurring loss
in cost
in construction. or of maintenance
of vehicle

operation

or both

Once the road is aligned & constructed. It becomes very

difficult, sometimes impossible; to change it later because of the
exorbitant cost of the abutting land which had developed along the
new road.

Requirements of the Highway Alignment

The basic requirements of an ideal alignment between two terminal
stations are that it should be:-

a) Short :
 A straight alignment would be the shortest.
 Practical consideration may cause deviations from the
shortest path such as intermediate obstructions & topography.

1
 b) Easy:
 To construct.
 Maintain the road with minimum problems.
 For the operation of the vehicles (easy gradients & curves).
c) Safe:
 For the construction and maintenances (stability of natural hill
slopes, embankment & cut slopes & foundation of
embankment).
 For the traffic operation (safe geometric features).
d) Economical:
 The road alignment could be considered economical only if the
total cost lowest.
Total cost includes:
 Initial cost.
 Maintenance cost.
 Operation cost.
The alignment should be such that it would offer maximum
utility by serving maximum population products.

Factors controlling alignment

Factors which control the highway alignment in general may be
listed as:
a) Obligatory points. ‫الناقاط الجابارية‬
b) Traffic.
c) Geometric design.
d) Economics.
e) Other consideration.

In hill roads, additional care has to be given for:

1. Stability.
2. Drainage.
3. Geometric standards of hill roads.
4. Resisting length.

a. Obligatory points:-
a) Points through which the alignment has to pass. These points
may cause the alignment to often deviate from the shortest or
easiest path e.g. bridge site intermediate town or a mountain
pass.
b) Points through which the alignment should not pass. These
points which should be avoided while aligning a road include:-
1. Religious places such as mosque & church.

2
 2. Very costing structures.
3. Unsuitable lauds such as marsh, peaty water, lagged areas,
lake, pond or valley.
b. Traffic:-
Origin & destination study should be carried out & the desired
line be drawn showing the trend of traffic flow. Traffic flow
patterns & future trends are also required.
c. Geometric design:-
Factors such as gradient, radius of curve and sight distance
also would govern the final alignment of the highway.
d. Economy: -
The alignment based on the above factors should be also
economical.
-Initial cost, maintenance & vehicle operation should be taken
into account
e.g. avoid high embankment and deep cutting and balance
cutting and filling→ Decrease the initial cost.
Annual cost (H):- Yearly amount required amortizing the total
cost plus interest.

H  C1.K1  C2 .K2  ..........

M
H   C.K  M

where:-
C = Construction cost of each item (I.D./year).
K = Corresponding recovery factor.
r  1 r  n
K where r = 6%
 1 r  n  1
n = 40 or 20 years.
M = Annual maintenance cost (I.D./year).

a) User Cost
i. Running (fuel, tires,….etc.).
ii. Time value.
iii. Discomfort.
iv. Accidents.

Usercost(R)   365.A.L.u
A = Future ADT (Annual Average Daily Traffic).
L = Length (km).
I.D.
u = Combined unit user cost ( vehicle.km
).

3
 day vehicle I.D. I.D.
R  . .km. 
year day vehicle
.km year

B
 1.0
C
R1  R2
BC  1.0
H2  H1
R  R3
BC 1  1.0
H3  H1

Another method:-
S M
Rate of return method =  100 rate of interest (r = 6%).
C
S = Saving.
M = Maintenance.
C = Cost.

e. Other considerations-
 Drainage consideration.
 Political consideration.
 Monotony. ‫الرتابة‬
e.g. straight road of very long stretch may be monotonous for
driving. Hence after a few kilometers of straight road it may be
desirable to have a slight bend.

SURVEY AND PLANS

In the relocation or reconstruction of existing highway & the
establishment of new ones, surveys are required for the development
of project plans & the estimate of cost.
The work of the highway location may include a desk study, a
reconnaissance survey, a preliminary survey & a final location survey.

Available Techniques of survey: ‫تقليـدي‬

Highway survey may be accomplished either by conventional
ground survey methods or by remote sensing techniques.
 Arial photography is the most commonly employed remote
sensing procedure in highway location studies.
 Arial photography provides the highway location team with both
qualitative & quantitative information.
 By the direct study of photographs, trained professional may
gleam a great deal of information about land form soil &
drainage & the character of land use.

4
  While traditional technique are still used on projects of medium
small size, the use of photogrametric surveys a large work is
almost universal & it is becoming more frequent on smaller
projects.

Highway Location Process Involves the Following:-

1. Desk Study of Area:

 The first step in highway & design is to procure all available
pertinent data; these data may be in form of maps, aerial
photography, charts or graphs.
 When all available data have been assembled, detailed analysis
should reveal much information pertinent to the proposed project.
 After an exhaustive study of aerial photographs, topographs,
maps, drainage naps, soil maps & the other data is made in the
office, a series of proposed locations may be selected for a field or
photogrametric investigation.

2. Reconnaissance Survey: ‫المسح الستطلعاي‬

 For many projects the data on available maps & photographs will
be out of date or incomplete.
 The function of the survey is to provide sufficient information on
the topography & culture of the area to enable the selection of one
or more preliminary route locations.
 Control points between the two terminal points on the route are
determined.
 Then a base map is produced with a suitable scale.
 From the base maps & photos interpretation of the surveyed area,
likely routes can be designated.
 A location team should examine potential routes on the basis of
the following requirements:

1) Traffic service for population & industrial area.

2) Directness of routes.
3) Suitability of terrain encountered.
4) Adequacy and economy of crossing of water courses & other
transportation routes.
5) Extent of adverse social, environmental & ecological effects
 During this phase of the location process, the range of all
alterative routes is narrowed & a small numbers of routes are
selected for future study.

3. Selection of preliminary centerline:

5
 Possible alternatives alignments are plotted on the base map &
from these alignments, with preliminary grade lines, the
alternatives are compared for suitability.
 Design capacity, safety, road user cost, construction cost and
maintenance cost are examined.
 The effects of the roadways on the environment & the ecology
should be‫النظر‬
carefully considered.
‫مناظر طبيعية عند خط‬ ‫جمالي‬
 Opportunities to provide scenic vistas & an aesthetic enhancement
of the area should not be overlooked.
 Based on the results of objective analysis, a preliminary alignment
is chosen.

4. Mapping for final design:

 Future photogrametric mapping is necessary.
 The selected preliminary alignment is used as a guide for the strip
area to be mapped.
 A base line is established on paper & by monuments on the
ground.
 The aerial photographs are taken with markers on the ground to
line in the base line.
 The aerial photographs are used to produce base maps along a
preliminary alignment.
 This survey will produce topographic base maps & information
concerning property & ability location that will enable the engineer
to proceed with the design of final alignment.

5. Design of The Final Alignment:

 It is a trial & error process by which the most suitable alignment is
obtained.
 The highway is fitted by hand to the topography & land use until
the engineer is satisfied that no better fitting can be achieved.

6. Final Location Survey:

Conventionally, ‫ إصطلحيا ا‬the method of establishing the final location
in the field has been done by direct chaining along the tangents first
setting the points of intersection of the tangent lines & the closing
out of the horizontal curve between the tangents.