Urban Highway Planning

T
ransportation
Transportation is a way of moving of people or things from one place to another
by any mean.

The progress of a country is judged by its transportation system. The transportation

problem touches on almost every phase of modern life i.e. Continuing referred to the
need to periodically reevaluate and updatea transportation plan. Comprehensive was
defined to include the basic 10 elements of a planning
process for which inventories and analyses were required:

1. Economic factors affecting development.

2. Population.

3. Land use.

4. Transportation facilities including those for mass transportation.

5. Travel patterns.

6. Terminal and transfer facilities.

7. Traffic control features.

8. Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, and the like.

9. Financial resources.

10. Social and community-value factors, such as preservation of open space, parks,
and recreational
facilities; preservation of historical sites and buildings; environmental amenities; and
aesthetics.

Highway planning
The process by which new highways and other transportation facilities along with the
improvements to the old facilities are systematically designed, adequately tested, and
their future construction is properly programmed is called Urban Highway Planning.

It can also be defined as:

Activities that:
1. Collect information on performance
2. Identify existing and forecast future system performance levels
3. Identify solutions regarding highways is called “Highway Planning”.
Highway planners must continually be aware of the heavy responsibilities they bear.
Thus in preparing schemes for a single highway or complicated highway network, care
must always be taken to ensure that:
– Project is not treated in isolation
– It must be treated as an integral part of whole Transportation System
Entire planning process should be regarded as a definite step in the advancement of
environmental progress and not just as a concrete attempt to relieve congested traffic
conditions.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport

Stages of Highway Development:

Although the names may vary by State, the five basic stages in the highway
development process are: planning, project development (preliminary
design), final design, right of way, and construction.

After construction is completed, ongoing operation and maintenance

activities continue throughout the life of the facility.

Figure:1 Stages of Highway Development

Why urban Highway Planning is necessary?
Highway planning is essential due to following reasons
 Increase in population
 Growth of number of vehicles
 Increase in use of vehicles
 Density of growth in different areas
 Existing state of highway systems

Classification Of Highway Planning?

With respect to region and locality highway planning is divided into
following two kinds
 Urban Highway Planning
 Rural Highway Planning
Here we are restricted our discussion to Urban Highway Planning only.
(1)Urban Highway Planning:

The process by which new highways and other transportation facilities along with the
improvements to the old facilities are systematically designed, adequately tested, and
their future construction is properly programmed in urban territories is called Urban
Highway Planning. Now we are going to apply basic elements of transportation upon
urban highway planning

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport

Referece:https://www.google.com.pk/search?q=highway+planning&tbm=isch&imgil=Gx
ev1hdVlXk37M
THE PROCESS APPLICATION TO HIGHWAYS
Table:1
Inventary transportation
facilities
Situation Definition Measure travel patterns
Review Prior studies

Define Objectives-Reduce travel

Time Establish criteria-avg delay
Problem Definition Time Define Constrains
Establish design standards

Consider options-location
Search For Solutions & types
Toll charges

For each option determine

Analysis Of  Cost
 Traffic flow
performance  Impact

For urban highway project find

 Benefits VS. Cost
Evaluation OF  Profitibility
Alternatives  Cost-effectivenes

Consider factors involved

 Revenue Cost forecast
Choice Of Project  Site location
 Political judgment


Design of highway &
Construction construction plans
Now we discuss in detail steps involved in urban highway planning by first considering
the following flow-chart

1. Inventary Of Existing Travel And Facilities:

This is data-gathering activity in which urban travel characteristics are
described for each defined geographic unit or traffic zone within study area.Inventories
and surveys are made to find traffic volumes,land uses,origins and destinations of
travelers , population ,employment, and economic activity. Inventories are made of
existing transportation facilities both highway and transit. Capacity,speed,travel time,
and traffic volume are determined.The information gathered is summarized by
geographic areas called traffic analysis zones(TAS).

2.Establishment Of Goals And Objectives:

The urban transportation study is carried out to develop a program of
highway and transit projects that should be completed in the future.Thus a statement of
goals,objectives and standards is prepared that identifies deficiencies in the existing
system,desired improvements and what to be achieved by the transportation
improvements.

3.Genration Of Alternatives:
In this phase of the urban transportation planning process, the
alternatives to be will be identified.It may also be necessary to analyse the travel effects
of different land use plans and to consider various lifestyle scenarios.The option
available to the urban transportation planner include various technologies, network
configurations Vehicles, operating policies and orgnanizational arrangements.

4.Estimation Of Project Cost And Travel Demand:

This activity in the urban transportation planning process involves two
separate tasks. The first is to ascertain the project cost, and the second is to estimate
the amount of traffic expected in the future. The estimation of facility cost is relatively
straight forward whereas the estimation of future traffic flows is a complex undertaking
requiring the use of mathematical models and computers.

5.Evaluation Of Alternatives:
The purpose of the evaluation process is to identify feasible alternatives
In terms of cost and traffic capacity, to estimate the effects of each alternative in terms
of the objectives expressed, and to assist in identifying those alternatives that will serve
the travelling public and be acceptable to the community.Of particular importance are
the environmental assessments mandated in most transportation studies.
 6.Choice Of Project:
Selection of a project will be based on a process that will ultimately
involve elected officials and the public. Quite often, funds to build an urban
transportation project may involve a public referendum. In other cases, a vote by a state
legislature may be required before funds are committed. A multiyear program then will
be produced that outlines the projects to be carried out over the next 20 years. With
approval in hand, the project can proceed to the specification and construction phase.
Now we focused on the other states of urban highway

(2)Project Development:
After a project has been planned and programmed for implementation, it
moves into the project development phase. At this stage, the
environmental analysis intensifies. The level of environmental review
varies widely, depending on the scale and impact of the project. It can
range from a multiyear effort to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (a comprehensive document that analyzes the potential
impact of proposed alternatives) to a modest environmental review
completed in a matter of weeks. Regardless of the level of detail or
duration, the product of the project development process generally
includes a description of the location and major design features of the
recommended project that is to be further designed and constructed,
while continually trying to avoid, minimize, and mitigate environmental
impact.

The basic steps in this stage include the following:

 Refinement of purpose and need

 Development of a range of alternatives (including the "nobuild" and
traffic management system [TMS] options)
 Evaluation of alternatives and their impact on the natural and built
environments
 Development of appropriate mitigation
In general, decisions made at the project development level help to define
the major features of the resulting project through the remainder of the
design and construction process. For example, if the project development
process determines that an improvement needs to take the form of a
fourlane divided arterial highway, it

may be difficult in the design phase to justify providing only a twolane

highway. Similarly, if the project development phase determines that an
existing road cannot be rehabilitated at a reasonable cost to provide the
necessary capacity, then it may be difficult to justify keeping the existing
road without investing in the cost of a totally new structure.
(3)Final Design:

After a preferred alternative has been selected and the project

description agreed upon as stated in the environmental document, a
project can move into the final design stage. The product of this stage is
a complete set of plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&Es) of
required quantities of materials ready for the solicitation of construction
bids and subsequent construction. Depending on the scale and
complexity of the project, the final design process may take from a few
months to several years.

The need to employ imagination, ingenuity, and flexibility comes into

play at this stage, within the general parameters established during
planning and project development. Designers need to be aware of
designrelated commitments made during project planning and project
development, as well as proposed mitigation. They also need to be
cognizant of the ability to make minor changes to the original concept
developed during the planning phase that can result in a "better" final
product.

The interests and involvement of affected stakeholders are critical to

making design decisions during this phase, as well. Many of the same
techniques employed during earlier phases of the project development
process to facilitate public participation can also be used during the
design phase.

(4)Right Of way, Construction and Maintenance:

Once the final designs have been prepared and needed rightofway is
purchased, construction bid packages are made available, a contractor is
selected, and construction is initiated. During the rightofway acquisition and
construction stages, minor adjustments in the design may be necessary;
therefore, there should be continuous involvement of the design team
throughout these stages. Construction may be simple or complex and may
require a few months to several years. Once construction has been

completed, the facility is ready to begin its normal sequence of

operations and maintenance.
 Even after the completion of construction, the character of a road can be
changed by inappropriate maintenance actions. For example, the
replacement of sections of guardrail damaged or destroyed in crashes
commonly utilizes whatever spare guardrail sections may be available to
the local highway maintenance personnel at the time. The maintenance
personnel may not be aware of the use of a special guardrail design to
define the "character" of the highway. When special design treatments
are used, ongoing operation and maintenance procedures acknowledging
these unusual needs should be developed.

Reference: Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol. 5,
pp. 725 - 738, 2005
Table summarizes the five basic stages in highway planning and
development.

Table:2 Basic Stages in Highway Planning

State DOTs, MPOs, and local governments identify

transportation needs and program project to be built
Planning within financial constraints.

The transportation project is more clearly defined.

Project Alternative locations and design features are developed
Develpmentent and an alternative is selected

Design The design team develops detailed PS&Es.

Right-of- Additional land needed for the project is purchased.

Way
The State or local government selects the contractor,
Construction who then builds the project.
 In other words, a successful highway design process includes the
following:

 Early and continuous public involvement throughout the project

 The use of visualization techniques to aid the public
 Early and continuous use of a multidisciplinary design team
 The application of flexible and creative design criteria.

REFRENCES

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport

Referece:https://www.google.com.pk/search?q=highway+planning&tbm=isch&imgil=Gx
ev1 hdVlXk37M

Reference: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/publications/flexibility/ch01.cfm

Reference: Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol. 5,
pp. 725 - 738, 2005

Prepared by: Muhammad Ashraf

Reg # : 11-CE -205
Section : D