MODULE 4: IMPORTANCE OF GEOMETRIC DESIGN Pavement Surface Characteristics

The geometric design of a highway deals with the • Pavement surface depend on the type of pavement
dimensions and layout of visible features of the which is decided based on the following:
highway such as alignment, sight distance, and
– Availability of material
intersection.
– Volume and composition of traffic
The main objective of highway design is to
– Soil subgrade
provide optimum efficiency in traffic operation
– Construction facility
with maximum safety at reasonable cost.
– Cost consideration
Geometric design of highway deals with
• The important surface characteristics are:
following elements:
▪ Cross-section elements – Friction
▪ Sight distance considerations – Pavement unevenness
▪ Horizontal alignment details – Light reflecting characteristics
▪ Vertical alignment details – Drainage of surface water
▪ Intersection elements
Friction
Design Controls and Criteria

• Design speed Friction | When the path travelled along the road
surface is more than the circumferential movement of
– In the Philippines, different speed standards have
the wheels due to their rotation.
been assigned for different class of road.
Slipping | When a wheel revolves more than the
– Design speed may be modified depending upon the
corresponding longitudinal movement along the road
terrain conditions.
• Topography – This is classified based on the general
• Factors affecting the friction or skid resistance:
slope of the country
– Types of pavement surface
– Plane terrain < 10% – Roughness of pavement
– Rolling terrain 10-25% – Condition of the pavement (wet or dry)
– Mountainous terrain 25-60% – Type and condition of tire
– Steep terrain > 60% – Speed of vehicle
• Traffic Factor – Brake efficiency
– Load and tire pressure
– Vehicular characteristics and human characteristics of
– Temperature of tire and pavement
road users.
– Different vehicle classes have different speed and
- Smooth and worn-out tires offer higher friction
acceleration characteristics, different dimensions, and
factor on dry pavement but new tire with good
weight.
threads give higher friction factor on wet
– Human factor includes the physical, mental, and
pavement.
psychological characteristics of driver and pedestrian.
• Hydroplaning | or aquaplaning by tires of a road
vehicle occurs when a layer of water builds between the
• Design hourly volume and capacity
wheels of the vehicle and the road surface.
– Traffic flow fluctuating with time
Pavement Unevenness
– Low value during off-peak hours to the highest value
during the peak hour
• Higher operating speed are possible on even surface
– It is uneconomical to design the roadway for peak than uneven surface.
traffic flow. • It affects:
– Vehicle operation cost
• Environmental and other factors – Comfort and safety
– Aesthetics – Fuel consumption
– Landscaping – Wear and tear of tires and other moving parts
– Air pollution • It is commonly measured by an equipment called
– Noise pollution bump integrator.
Bump integrator | also known as automatic road
unevenness recorder gives quantitative integrated
evaluation of surface irregularities. It gives cumulative
measure of vertical undulations of the pavement
surface recorded per unit horizontal length.
Bump integrator | 250 cm/km for a speed of 100 kph
and more than 350 cm/km considered very
unsatisfactory even at speed of 50 kph.
• Unevenness of pavement surface may be caused by:
– Inadequate compaction of the fill, subgrade and
pavement layers
– Un-engineered construction practices including the
use of boulder stones and bricks as soiling course over
loose subgrade soil
– Use of inferior pavement material
– Improper surface and subsurface drainage
– Improper construction machinery
– Poor maintenance
Light Reflecting Characteristics
• Night visibility very much depends upon the light
reflecting characteristics of the pavement surface.
• The glare caused by the reflection of head light is high
on wet pavement surface than on dry pavement
particularly in case of black top pavement (flexible
pavement).
• Light colored or white pavement (rigid pavement)
surface give good visibility at night particularly during
the rain, but produces glare or eye strain during bright
sunlight.
Highway Cross-Section Elements
• Carriageway
• Shoulder
• Roadway width
• Right of way
• Building line
• Control line
• Median
• Cross slope
• Crown
• Curb
• Gutter
• Guardrail
• Other facilities
Carriageway
• It is the travel way which is used for movement of
vehicle and it takes the vehicular loading.
• It may be cement concrete (rigid pavement) road or
bituminous pavement (flexible pavement).
• Width of carriageway is determined on the basis of
the width of the vehicle and the minimum side
clearance for safety.
As indicated in the table (Design Standards), the basic
lane width appropriate for national road is 3.35 m.
• On lower trafficked roads, the lane width can be
reduced. This is justified on the basis of economics.
• For a single lane road traffic, the lane width is 4.0 m.
• For two lane national road, the minimum width is 2 x
3.35 m lanes (total of 6.7 m).
• As the traffic volume increases, so the need for extra
width is justified. This width can increase up to a
maximum of 3.65 m.
Shoulder
• It is provided along the road edge to serve as an
emergency lane for vehicles. It acts as a service lane for
vehicles that have broken down.
• Shoulder width is generally selected according to the
traffic volume and standards that are detailed in the
table (Design Standards).
• Shoulder widths on low volume roads may be
increased if there are significant number of pedestrians
or other needs requiring use of the shoulder to improve
safety.
• The surface should be rougher than the traffic lanes so
that vehicles are discouraged to use the shoulder for
regular traffic.
• On curved alignments, it is advisable to consider the
paving of the outside curve shoulder width. This will
minimize the possibility of a vehicle that strays off the
traffic lane from loosing control due to poor traction on
a graveled shoulder
Roadway Width | Right of Way
Roadway width – It is the sum of the width of the
carriageway or pavement including separators if any,
and the shoulders.
• Right of way – It is the total area of land acquired for
the road along its alignment.
– It depends on the importance of the road and possible
future development.
– It is desirable to acquire more width of land as the
cost of adjoining land invariably increases very much,
soon after the new highway is constructed.
Building Line| Control Line
•Building line – In order to reserve sufficient space for
future development of roads, it is desirable to control
the building activities on either side of the road
boundary, beyond the land width acquired for the land.
• Control line – In addition to building line, it is
desirable to control the nature of building up to further
set-back distance.
Median (Traffic Separators)
The section of a divided highway that separates traffic
moving in opposite directions is the median.
• Its width is measured from the edge of the inside lane
in one direction to the edge of the inside lane in the
opposite direction.
• The main functions of medians include:
– Providing a recovery area for out-of-control vehicles
– Separating opposing traffic
– Providing stopping areas during emergencies
– Providing storage areas for left-turning and u-turning
vehicles
– Providing refuge for pedestrians
– Reducing the effect of headlight glare
– Providing temporary lanes and crossovers during
maintenance operations
Median (Traffic Separators)
• Medians can be raised, flush or depressed.
• Raised median | In urban areas where it is necessary
to control left-turn traffic at intersections of arterial
streets, raised medians are often deployed so that part
of the median width can be used as a left-turn lane.
• Flush median | Flush medians are commonly used on
urban arterial streets but are also used on freeways if a
median barrier is provided.
• Depressed median | Depressed medians are mainly
deployed on freeways where they are often used as a
means to facilitate drainage of surfaced water from
travel lanes. AASHTO recommends a slope of 6:1 for
depressed medians, although a slope of 4:1 is adequate.
Median width generally range from 2 ft to 80 ft or more.
• AASHTO recommends that a divided arterial should
have a minimum median width of 4 ft.
• A minimum of 10 ft for four-lane urban freeways is
recommended. This includes two 4 ft shoulders and a 2
ft median barrier.
• For freeways of six or more lanes, a minimum of 22 ft
is recommended but 26 ft is preferable.
• The widths of medians on urban collector streets vary
from 2 to 40 ft depending on the median treatment.
The narrowest widths (2 to 4 ft) are usually for medians
that are separated by paint stripes and the widest (16 to
40 ft) are for medians in curbed areas. Intermediate
widths (2 to 6 ft) are usually for narrow raised curbed
areas.
Cross Slope | Crown
Cross slope (camber) – It is the slope provided to the
road surface in the transverse direction to drain off the
rain water from the road surface.
– AASHTO recommends that rates of cross slopes for
high-type pavements should be 1.5 to 2 % and for
intermediate-type pavements 1.5 to 3 %.
– High-type pavements | those that have wearing
surfaces that can adequately support the expected
traffic load without visible distress due to fatigue and
are not susceptible to weather conditions.
– Intermediate-type pavements | those that have
surfaces that vary from qualities just below that of high-
type pavements.
• Crown – The curved cross-section usually takes the
shape of a parabola, with the highest point (crown) is
slightly rounded.
Curb
Curbs are used mainly to delineate pavement edges and
pedestrian walkways in urban areas, but they can also
be used to control drainage.
• They are classified as either barrier or mountable
curbs.
• Barrier curbs | are designed to prevent vehicles from
leaving the highway and are therefore higher (6 to 8
inches).
• Mountable curbs | are designed to permit vehicles to
cross over them if necessary and have heights varying
from 4 to 6 inches.
Gutter
Gutters or ditches provide the principal drainage facility
for the roadway.
• They are usually located at the pavement side of the
curb and in conjunction with storm sewer systems.
• They are used mainly in urban areas to control street
runoff.
• They are usually 1 to 6 ft wide.
• In order to prevent any hazard to traffic, gutters are
usually constructed with cross slopes of 5 to 8 % on a
width of 2 to 3 ft adjacent to the curb.
Guardrail
Guardrails are used to prevent errant vehicles from
leaving the roadbed at sharp horizontal curves and at
high embankments.
• They are normally placed at embankments with
heights greater than 8 ft and when side slopes are
greater than 4:1.
• Guardrails should be properly designed to avoid
creating a hazardous situation when they are placed at
a location.
Road Margins
Parking lane – These are provided on urban roads to
allow curb parking.
– As far as possible only parallel parking should be
allowed as it is safer for moving vehicles.
– It should have a sufficient width of 3 m.
• Lay bay – These are provided near the public
conveniences with guide map to enable driver to stop
clear off the carriageway.
– It has 3 m width, 30 m length with 15 m end tapers on
both sides.
• Bus bay – These may be provided by recessing the
curb to avoid conflict with moving traffic.
– It is located at least 75 m away from the intersection.

Frontage road – These are provided to give access to

properties along an important highway with control
access to expressway or freeway.
– It may run parallel to the highway and are isolated by
separator.
• Driveway – It connects the highway with commercial
establishment like fuel stations, service stations, etc. It
should be located away from the intersection.
• Cycle track – It is provided in urban areas when the
volume of cycle traffic on the road is very high. A
minimum of 2 m is provided for cycle track.
• Footpath – These are provided in urban areas when
the vehicular as well as pedestrian traffic are heavy.
Minimum width of 1.5 m is provided.