HIGHWAY AND

RAILROAD
ENGINEERING
HREN01E LECTURE 1 / ENGR. D. B. SIBAL

Photo by Aleksejs Bergmanis from Pexels

 IMPORTANCE OF
TRANSPORTATION
OBJECTIVES
After the lecture, the students must be
able to:
 state the construction structure used
in transportation system.
 identify the related profession in the
road construction development.
OBJECTIVES
 describe the history of road
development.
 describe the road category.
 identify the related agencies
involved in road construction.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
Transportation engineering is a sub-discipline of civil
engineering which deals with the application of
technology and scientific principles to the planning,
functional design, operation and management of
facilities for any mode of transportation in order to
provide the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient,
economical, and environmentally compatible
movement of people and goods (transport).
THE PROFESSION OF
TRANSPORTATION
IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORTATION
 Transportation and
Economic Growth
 Social Costs and Benefits
of Transportation
TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC
GROWTH
TRANSPORTATION DEMAND is a byproduct
derived from the needs and desires of
people to travel or to transfer their goods
from one place to another. It is a necessary
condition for human interaction and
economic competitiveness.
SOCIAL COSTS AND BENEFITS OF
TRANSPORTATION
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
 Building vast transportation systems
requires enormous resources of energy,
material, and land.
 Travel is not without danger
SOCIAL COSTS AND BENEFITS OF
TRANSPORTATION
ADVANTAGES
 Providing medical and other
services to rural areas and enabling
people to socialize who live some
distance apart
SOCIAL COSTS AND BENEFITS OF
TRANSPORTATION
A major task for the modern
transportation engineer is to
balance society’s need for fast and
efficient transportation with the
costs involved.
What Does a Transportation Engineer
Do?
TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYMENT
 Logistics and Supply-Chain Management
 Vehicle Design and Transportation
Services
 Transportation Infrastructure Services
 Specialties within Transportation
Infrastructure Engineering
LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY-CHAIN
MANAGEMENT
Business logistics or physical-distribution management is concerned
with the movement and storage of freight between the primary
source of raw materials and the location of the finished
manufactured product.
Logistics is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling
the efficient and effective flow and storage of goods, services, and
related information from origination to consumption as required by
the customer.
Supply-chain management is a process that coordinates the
product, information, and cash flows to maximize consumption
satisfaction and minimize organization costs.
VEHICLE DESIGN AND TRANSPORTATION
SERVICES
Vehicle design and manufacture involves the application of
mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering skills as well as
those of technically trained mechanics and workers in other trades.
The service sector provides jobs for vehicle drivers, maintenance
people, flight attendants, train conductors, and other necessary
support personnel. Other professionals, such as lawyers, economists,
social scientists, and ecologists, also work in the transportation fields
when their skills are required to draft legislation, to facilitate right-
of-way acquisition, or to study and measure the impacts of
transportation on the economy, society, and the environment.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
SERVICES
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
SERVICES
The transportation engineer is the
professional who is concerned with
the planning, design, construction,
operations, and management of a
transportation system
SPECIALTIES WITHIN TRANSPORTATION
INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING
 Transportation Planning
 Transportation Infrastructure Design
 Highway Construction
 Traffic Operations and Management
 Maintenance Operations and Management
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Transportation planning
deals with the selection of
projects for design and
construction
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
DESIGN
Transportation design involves the
specification of all features of the
transportation system to assure that it
will function smoothly, efficiently, and
in accord with physical laws of nature.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
DESIGN
Highway design:
 the process involves the selection of dimensions for all geometrical
features, such as the longitudinal profile, vertical curves and
elevations, the highway cross section, pavement widths, shoulders,
rights-of-way, drainage ditches, and fencing.
 includes the pavement and structural requirements for base
courses and the concrete or asphalt surface material.
 includes bridges and drainage structures as well as provision for
traffic control devices, roadside rest areas, and landscaping.
HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
Highway construction involves all aspects
of the building process beginning with
clearing of the native soil, preparation of
the surface, placement of the pavement
material, and preparation of the final
roadway for use by traffic.
TRAFFIC OPERATIONS AND
MANAGEMENT
Traffic engineering involves the integration of
vehicle, driver, and pedestrian characteristics to
improve the safety and capacity of streets and
highways. All aspects of the transportation
system are included after the street or highway
has been constructed and opened for operation.
MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS AND
MANAGEMENT
Highway maintenance involves all the work necessary to ensure that
the highway system is kept in proper working order.
Maintenance includes pavement patching, repair, and other actions
necessary to ensure that the roadway pavement is at a desired level
of serviceability.
Maintenance management involves record keeping and data
analysis regarding work activities, project needs, and maintenance
activities to assure that the work is carried out in the most
economical manner.
DEVELOPING A
TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEM
MODES OF TRANSPORTATION
 Freight and Passenger Traffic
 Public Transportation
FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC
The principal modes of intercity freight
transportation are highways, railroads,
water, and pipelines.
Four transportation carriers for
intercity passenger movement:
automobile, air, bus, rail
MODES OF TRANSPORTATION CAN BE
CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS :
 roadways or highways
 railways
 water ways
 airways
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Public transportation is a
generic term used to describe
the family of transit services
available to urban and rural
residents.
TRANSIT MODES

 Mass transit
 Paratransit
 Ridesharing
TRANSIT MODES
Mass transit, characterized by fixed routes, published
schedules, designated networks, and specified stops.
TRANSIT MODES
Paratransit is characterized by flexible and personalized
service intended to replace conventional fixed-route, fixed-
schedule mass-transit lines.
TRANSIT MODES
Ridesharing (as the name implies) is characterized by two or
more persons traveling together by prearrangement, such
as carpool, vanpool, or shared-ride taxi.
Highway Transportation
Ancient Roads
The first mode of transport was by
foot. These human pathways would
have been developed for specific
purposes leading to camp sites, food,
streams for drinking water etc.

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Ancient Roads
The next major mode of transport was
the use of animals for transporting both
men and materials. Since these loaded
animals required more horizontal and
vertical clearances than the walking
man, track ways emerged.

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Ancient Roads

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Ancient Roads

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 Roman Roads

The earliest large scale road construction is attributed to Romans who

constructed an extensive system of roads radiating in many directions from
Rome. They were a remarkable achievement and provided travel times across
Europe, Asia minor, and north Africa.
Romans recognized that the fundamentals of good road construction were to
provide good drainage, good material and good workmanship.

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Roman Roads
Section of a Roman road,
according to the
Vitruvius' description,
taken from HAMEY, L. A.
y HAMEY, J. A.: Los
ingenieros romanos,
Madrid, 1990

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Roman Roads

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PHILIPPINE HIGHWAY
SYSTEM
HISTORY OF HIGHWAYS IN THE PHILIPPINES
 The concept of land transportation system in the Philippines
started when our ancestors invented the means of locomotion
with the animals in moving people and goods from place to
place. Although the means of land transportation during the
Philippines early days were not as sophisticated as the modern vehicles of
today and the roads not as well constructed, the early Filipinos
also observed some laws to govern their mobility.
As early as 1910, there were already few motor vehicles seen
operating in public highways in Manila and suburbs.
(http://www.lto.gov.ph/historical-background.html)
 Early 1900’s

Transportation is
dependent on trails,
water ways, railroads,
earth roads and
partially gravelled 1868 : The Bureau of Public Works and
roads. Highways were organized under a civil engineer
known as “Director General”
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo provided for the creation of four (4)
Departments in the government, one of which was the
DEPARTMENT OF WAR AND PUBLIC WORKS.

◦its functions as builder and maintainer of roads, bridges

and other public works structures

Department of War (Department of National Defense)

Post World War II
The new and independent government of the
Philippines continued the rehabilitation and
construction of roads through reparation and war
damages paid by the Japanese government.

Other financial support and aids are provided by the

US government for the innovation of roads and
bridges.
 The American
Government were the
ones who initiated the
development of
roadways making
connections between
towns, cities and
provinces the country.

1898 : The public works and activities were placed under the
U.S. Army engineers
1902 : creation of the Department of Commerce and Police which gave
birth to the
◦ Bureau of Engineering (Construction of public works)
◦ Bureau of Architecture (Construction of public buildings)

Need for a more extensive road network that would penetrate the
rural areas
◦ In order to achieve that end, provincial boards were created with authority to
collect double cedula taxes to finance the construction of provincial roads and
bridges
◦ In addition, the national government appropriated P1,700,000 as aid to such
constructions.
1910 : The first appearance of motor vehicles in the
Philippine highways

Roads and bridges had to be kept in good condition at

all times. Naturally, there was a need for funds to keep
the roads passable the whole year round.

1921 : To raise such needed funds, motor vehicles

and drivers plying the highways were required to
register with fee
1954 : In relation to road and bridge construction and
maintenance, the Bureau of Public Highways was created
and placed under the Department of Public Works,
Transportation and Communications.
◦This provided for a more effective management of the Philippine
Highways under a Commissioner.
◦Active plans & programs were formulated & implemented.

• 1981 : Ministry of Public Works and Highways (MPWH)

◦The Ministries of Public Works and Public Highways were merged
for a more effective and sustained implementation of
infrastructure projects.
Marcos Era
Bridges:
oSan Juanico Bridge
Toll-ways:
oManila North Diversion
Roads and Highways:
oMarcos Highway
 1960 – 1980 (Automobile Age)
Cars are no longer a luxury but a necessary
in transporting people and goods.
During this decade, roads construction is a
matter of priority of the government.

“The nation is on Wheels”

1987- Department of Public Works and Highways
◦As the primary engineering and construction arm of the
government
◦They are responsible for the planning, design,
construction and maintenance of infrastructures such
as roads and bridges, flood control systems, water
resource development projects and other public works
in accordance with national objectives
Major highways and expressways were constructed
through the financial and loans from foreign bank.

But with this improvement, vehicles started clogging the

roadways causing various traffic problems.

In 2007, there were about 5.53 million registered motor

vehicles with registration increasing at an average
annual rate of 4.55%
Philippines’s National Road Length data
was reported at 32,868.000 km in Dec
2017. This records an increase from the
previous number of 32,770.000 km for
Dec 2016. Philippines’s National Road
Length data is updated yearly, averaging
29,370.000 km from Dec 1993 to 2017,
with 25 observations. The data reached
an all-time high of 32,868.000 km in
2017 and a record low of 26,572.000 km
in 2003.