Introduction to

Highway Engineering

A presentation GSG
 Introduction to Highway Engineering

Contents:
1. Indian road sector at a glance.
2. Classification of Highways.
3. Highways Management.
 Highway Planning and Development Issues.
 Functional and Structural Design of Highways.
 Construction Maintenance & Management of Highways.
4. Important Terminology in Highway Engineering.
5. Construction, Maintenance and Management of Highways.
6. Common Problems in Highway Roads.
7. Future of Highway Engineering in India.
8. Road Construction Techniques.
 Indian Road Sector at a Glance
 India’s road network - 3.3 million km - second largest in the world.
 Contributes about 5 % to the GDP & Second largest investment
envisaged, after Power sector.
 15 % road network carries 80 % traffic. NH, comprising about only
2 % of length, carries 40 % of the total traffic. State roads,
comprising 18 % of length, carries 40 % of the traffic.

National highway traffic growth:

 NH traffic has grown between 7-10 % YoY.
 Passenger traffic projected to grow by 12-15 % per annum.
 Number of vehicles increasing at 30 % per annum.
 NH carries 8 5% passenger traffic and 65% freight traffic.
 Freight traffic is expected to grow by 18-22 % per annum.
 Indian Road Sector Administration
National Highways (NH) :
 Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways (MORTH).
2.12
 National Highways Authority of
18.06 India (NHAI).
 Border Roads Organisation.
State Highways (SH) :
 State Governments.
 Public Works Departments.
 Road Development Corporations.
 Infrastructure Development Boards.
MDR & Rural Roads
Rural Roads :
 Ministry of Rural Development.
79.81  State Governments.
 Rural Road Development Agencies.
 Village Panchayats.
 Classification of Highways
Depending on Depending the type of Depending upon the
weather Carriage way pavement surface

 All weather roads  Paved roads(WBM)  Surfaced roads

 Fair weather roads  Unpaved roads(earth (bituminous or concrete
road or gravel road) road)
 Un surfaced roads
Based on the Traffic Based on Load or Based on location and
Volume Tonnage function

 Heavy  Class 1 or Class 2 etc Primary

 Medium or  National highway (NH)
 Light  Class A , B etc  State highway (SH)
(Tons per day) Secondary
 Major district road
(MDR)
Tertiary
 Other district road
(ODR)
 Village road (VR)
 Expressways

 Heavy traffic at high

speed (120km/hr).
 Land Width (90m).
 Full access control.
 Connects major points
of traffic generation.
 No slow moving traffic
allowed.
 No loading, unloading,
parking.
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway
 National Highways (NH)

 The Indian NH have a total

length of 70,548 kms.
 NH of India cover 2% of the
total road network and carry
40% of the total traffic.
 Golden Quadrilateral :-
NH project connects all 4 major
cities of India:
Delhi – Kolkata – Chennai –
Mumbai with a total network
of 5846 Kms (completed).
 Other Roads in India
State Highways – (SH)
 They are the arterial roads of a state, connecting up with the national
highways, district head quarters and important cities within the state.
 Total length of all SH in the country is 1,37,119 Kms.
Major District Roads (MDR)
 Important roads within a district serving areas of production and markets,
connecting those with each other or with the major highways.
 India has a total of 4,70,000 kms of MDR.
Other district and village roads (OR & VR)
 Other district roads serves rural areas and linked to MDR or SH. Village
roads connecting villages or group of villages with each other or to the
nearest road of a higher category like MDR or SH.
 India has 26,50,000 kms of ODR+VR out of the total 33,15,231 kms of all
type of roads.
 Highways Management

For construction of any highways, the following factors are

to be considered.
Part – I :
Highway Planning and Development Issues.
Part – II :
Functional and Structural Design of Highways.
Part – III :
Construction, Maintenance and Management of Highways.
 Part – I : Highway Planning and Development Issues.

Factors determining Highway Planning and Development Issues:

Financing Highways:
Financing structure and sources of finance are the primary role of government. Since the
investment is huge, the Government with a view to encourage the private participation in
these developmental projects offered various business, models like BOOT, BOLT & BOT.
 BOOT means Build Own Operate & Transfer.
 BOLT means Build Own Lease & Transfer.
 BOT means Build Operate & Transfer.
Access Management of Highways
Access Management (AM) is a set of techniques that are used to control access to
highways, and other roadways. The benefits of access management include improved
movement of traffic, reduced crashes, fewer vehicle conflicts and minimize interference
to traffic flow.
 Highway Planning and Development Issues (Contd...)

Environmental Impact Assessment of Highway Development:

Minimizing adverse environmental impacts, can be achieved by integrating
environmental considerations into highway development planning, design,
and construction.

Highway Safety:
Design standards are essential for highway safety. The variables considered
include functional classification, volume, traffic mix, terrain, roadside
environment and character of travel.

Road Traffic Noise:

Road traffic noise, considered as one of the greatest public annoyances, is
often generated by unstable traffic. The traffic noise prediction models are
commonly designed to assist in the conception of new roads.
 Part – II : Functional & Structural Design of Highways.

Highway Geometric Design:

It refers to the calculations and analyses made by transportation designers to fit
the highway to the topography of the site while meeting the safety, service and
performance standards. To meet these objective, the following considerations
have to be properly addressed in the design process.

 Design speed & Design traffic  Facilitate easy grade and curvature.
volume.  Enable ruling gradient in most
 Number of lanes & Lane width. sections.
 Level of service (LOS).  Void sudden changes in sight
 Sight distance, Alignment, super- distance, especially near crossings.
elevation and grades.  Avoid sharp horizontal curves.
 Cross section, Horizontal and  Avoid road intersections near bend
vertical clearance. or at the top or bottom of a hill.
 Functional & Structural Design of Highways (Contd…)

Highway Design Process:

A highway designer is concerned with at least four major areas of design at
different stages of project planning and design phases:
(1) Location Design;
Location design takes place at the earlier stage of project planning. It refers to
the macro-level routing of a planned highway connecting two points through
the existing highways, communities, natural terrain.
(2) Access Design:
With all the necessary inputs like lane-use master plan, population, survey
maps, geology, ecological, biological, environmental information; and aerial
photographs, several potential routes are drawn up by the designer on a
contour map. After final approvals from competent person, the designer then
proceeds with the detailed alignment, cross sectional and access design.
Functional & Structural Design of Highways. (Contd..)

(3) Highway Alignment:

 The position or lay out of centre line of the highway on the ground
is called the alignment.
 It includes straight path, horizontal deviation and curves.
 If there is improper alignment ,then this may lead to:
 Increase in construction cost.
 Increase in maintenance cost,
 Increase in vehicle operation cost.
 Increase in accident rate.
 Once the road is aligned and constructed, it is not easy to change
the alignment due to increase in cost of adjoining land and
construction of costly structure.
 Functional & Structural Design of Highways. (Contd..)
(3) Highway Alignment (Contd..)
Factors Influencing Highway Factors controlling alignment:
Alignment (Requirements):
 Obligatory points
 Short  Traffic
 Easy  Geometric design
 Safe  Economics
 Economical  Other considerations
Factors governing alignment:
Additional care in hill roads:
 Obligatory points
 Stability
 Geometric design features
 Drainage
 Precautions at river and railway
crossings  Geometric standards of hill roads
 Topographical control points  Resisting length
 Materials and constructional
features.
Samples of Highway alignment
Functional & Structural Design of Highways. (Contd..)

(4) Cross Sectional Design:-

The cross section of a road includes:-

 Right of way.
 Carriage way.
 Camber or cross slope.
 Kerbs.
 Road margins.
 Shoulders.
 Parking lanes.
 Bus-bays.
 Service roads.
 Footpath.
Important Terminology in
Highway Engineering
Right of Way
Road Way Shoulders
Drainage Kerb
Median Traffic Barrier
 Part – III : Construction, Maintenance and
Management of Highways
 The quality of a project Highway construction depends on material
quality, skill and commitment of the work force.
 Technology, & modern machinery have raised the level of skill sets
required to understand and manage highway construction projects.
 Construction of a highway today requires broad knowledge of a
number of elements which could be divided into technical and
commercial elements of the system and process, respectively.
 The technical elements include materials, material quality,
installation techniques, and traffic control systems, etc.
 The commercial project elements include understanding of the
contract, environmental, political, legal and public concerns.
Road Construction Techniques
Road Construction Techniques
 Road Construction Techniques
Sequence of Construction Operations:
 Earthwork and Subgrade Preparation.
 Sub-base Construction.
 Gravel Base/Surface Course Construction.
 Providing Gravel Surface.
 Sealing a Gravel Road.
 One-Coat and Two-Coat Surface Dressing.
 Providing 20 mm Bituminous Premix Carpet.
 Seal Coat / Tack coat
 Road Marking
Step by step process of road construction
Earthwork and Subgrade
Sub-base Construction
Preparation
Gravel Base/Surface Course
Providing Gravel surface
Construction
One-Coat and Two-Coat
Sealing a Gravel Road
Surface Dressing
Providing 20 mm Bituminous
Premix Carpet Rolling & Compaction
Seal Coating Road Marking
Finished Road in operation
Highway Maintenance Management System

Common Problems in Highway Roads:

 Potholes
 Pavement Unevenness
 Raveling
 Rutting
 Slippage Cracking
 Alligator Cracking
 Reflective Cracking
 Shrinkage Cracking
Common Problems in Highway Roads
Pot Holes Pavement Unevenness
Common Problems in Highway Roads
Raveling Rutting
Common Problems in Highway Roads

Slippage Cracking Alligator Cracking

Common Problems in Highway Roads
Reflective Cracking Shrinkage Cracking
Highway Maintenance Management System
Highway maintenance has the following objectives:
 The repair of the functional pavement defects.
 Prolonging the functional and structural life of the
pavement.
 Maintaining road safety and signage.
 Keeping the road reserve in an acceptable condition.
Types of Highway Maintenance:
 Preventive maintenance
 Remedial maintenance
 Emergency maintenance
 Future of Highway Engineering in India
 The construction of highways had reached an all-time high of 6,029
km during FY 2015-16, and the increased pace is expected to
continue for the coming years.
 NHAI plans 50,000-km road projects worth $250 billion (about Rs 17
lakh crores) in next six years.
 The Road, Transport and Highways Ministry has decided to use
new materials and techniques in highway projects on experimental
basis to promote innovation in construction of roads.
 This may also result in saving in life cycle cost of road construction
as compared to road construction using conventional materials.
 The use of latest equipment would also result in saving in
construction period,
Thank You