7/11/2021

Haramaya Institute of Technology

Department of Civil Engineering

1 CEng3181- Transport Engineering

Chapter 1. Introduction to
Transportation Engineering

Instructor: Tilahun Mintie

Email: tilahun.mintie@yahoo.com
May 2021

Lesson Objective
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♠After studying this lesson, you will be able to

▪ Recognize the definition and importance of
transport
▪ Identify the various modes of transport and
describe the comparative advantages and limitations
▪ Understand the characteristics of transportation
system

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Transport Engineering
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 Transportation or Transport is the movement of people,

goods and animals from one location (origin) to another
location (destination):
 safely: minimum fatality, injury, and damage;

 comfortably: close to vehicle capacity;

 conveniently: shortest route;
 cost-effectively (reasonable fare);
 timely (shortest travel time possible); and
 environmentally friendly (less carbon emissions, nice
scene).

Transport Engineering
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Transportation Engineering
 Focuses on the infrastructure of transportation
 Transportation Engineers design runways, build bridges, layout
roads and plan docking facilities. They look at traffic patterns,
determine when new transport facilities are needed and
come up with better ways.
 It is application of technology and scientific principles to the
planning, functional design, operation, and management
of facilities.

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Transport Engineering
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Importance of Transport
▪ Makes available raw materials to manufacturers or
producers
▪ Makes available goods to customers
▪ Enhances standard of living
▪ Helps during emergencies and natural disasters
▪ Helps in creation of employment (maintenance, operator,
etc)
▪ Helps in labour mobility
▪ Helps in bringing nations together
▪ Balance b/n supply and demand.

Transport System
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 Transportation system: the combination of various

components like vehicle, way, terminals, and control
systems, so as to provide the service and utility to the user.
 Generally a transportation system has three elements
 Infrastructure: which includes Road, canal, rail, air Transfer
points, Supporting elements(signs, signals, safety
instructions)
 Vehicles: which includes Planes, trains, autos, buses, ships,
trucks etc.
 Operators/Content: which includes Drivers, pilots, freight,
passengers

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Characteristics of Transportation Systems

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 The characteristics of transportation system that makes it diverse

and complex are:
1. Multi-modal: Covering all modes of transport; air, land, and sea
for both passenger and freight.
2. Multi-sectoral: Encompassing the problems and viewpoints of
government, private industry, and public

Characteristics of Transportation Systems

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3. Multi-problem: Ranging across a spectrum of issues that includes

national and international policy, planning of regional system, the
location and design of specific facilities, carrier management issues,
regulatory, institutional and financial policies…
4. Multi-objective: Aiming at national and regional economic
development, urban development, environment quality, and social
quality, as well as service to users and financial and economic
feasibility.
5. Multi-disciplinary: Drawing on the theories and methods of
engineering, economics, operations research, political science,
psychology, other natural, and social sciences, management and
law

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Major Disciplines of Transportation

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A. Transportation Planning
o Involves the development of a transport model which will
accurately represent both the current as well as future
transportation system.
B. Geometric Design
o Deals with physical proportioning of transportation facilities which
includes
o Cross-sectional features,
o Horizontal alignment,
o Vertical alignment and
o Intersections

Major Disciplines of Transportation

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C. Pavement Design
o Deals with the structural design of roads, both (bituminous and
concrete)
o Drainage design
o Functional design
o Structural design
D. Traffic Engineering
o Covers a broad range of engineering applications with a focus on,
o The safety of the public,
o The efficient use of transportation resources, and
o The mobility of people and goods

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Additional Disciplines of Transportation

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A. Public transportation: Study of the transportation system that meets

the travel need of several people by sharing a vehicle.
B. Financial and economic analysis: Tries to quantify the economic
benefit which includes saving in travel time, fuel consumption, etc.
C. Environmental impact assessment: quantify the environmental impacts
and tries to evolve strategies for the mitigation and reduction of the impacts
due to both construction and operation.
D. Accident analysis and reduction: looks at the causes of accidents, from
the perspective of human, road, and vehicle and formulate plans for the
reduction.
E. Intelligent transport system: offers better mobility, efficiency, and
safety with the help of the state-of-the-art technology.
❖ There are also disciplines specific to various modes like railway engineering, port
and harbor engineering, and airport engineering.

Role of Transportation in Society

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Economic role of transportation:

● Transport by itself is not sufficient condition for development; however,
the lack of transport infrastructure can be seen as a constraining
factor on development.
● Transportation contributes place and time utility.
Social role of transportation
● Transportation has always played an important role in influencing
the formation of urban societies.
● Formation of settlements
● Size and Pattern of Settlement
● Growth of Urban Centers:

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Role of Transportation in Society

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Environmental role of transportation:

● The negative effects of transportation are more dominating than its
useful aspects
● Safety: Traffic Accidents
● Air Pollution: air pollution and respiratory disease
● Noise pollution: Sound during both construction and operation
● Energy consumption: Consume more than half of the petroleum products
Other impacts
● Transportation directly or indirectly affects many other areas of society
● Additional land for transport facilities.
● Aesthetics
● Social life and social pattern

History of Transportation Engineering

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 Humans first means of transport was walking and swimming.

 The domestication of animals introduces a new way to lay the

burden of transport on more powerful creatures.

 Inventions such as the wheel and sled helped make animal

transport more efficient through the introduction of vehicles.

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History of Transportation Engineering

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 Long before cars, snowmobiles and airplanes, humans had migrated to

all over the Earth powered almost exclusively by their feet.
 People got tired of walking and carrying goods and started to use
domesticated animals.
 Built machines and devices, like sledges and travois, to help them carry
more
 As people travelled back and forth, establishing trading routes, well-
used paths became more and more permanent. These paths became
the first roads.
 People started to maintain the roads and look at ways in which they
could be made easier to travel.
 These people were the first transportation engineers.

Modes of Transportation
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 Transport modes are the means by which people and freight achieve
mobility.
1. Road Transport
● Its flexibility of changes in location, direction, speed, and timings of travel
is not available to other modes of transport.
● It is possible to provide door to door
services.
● In Ethiopia, more than 90% of
passengers and commodities are
transported by road.
● Due to limited carrying capacity
road transport is not economical for
long distance transportation of goods.

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Modes of Transportation
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2. Rail Transportation
● In freight transport, railways are optimum for huge volume of bulk
commodities (minerals, grain, etc.) compared to road transport.
● Railway transport is environmentally friendly than road transport.
● The land transportation mode offering the highest capacity with a
23,000 tons fully loaded.
● Very high investment cost
● Advantages are low service cost,
env'tal friendly, high capacity

Modes of Transportation
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3. Air Transport
● The aircraft is the second fastest method of transport, after the
rocket. Commercial jets can reach up to 955 km/hour.
● It provides vital support to the national security and defense.
● Air transport incur high capital and operating costs and energy
use. It is relatively more expensive mode of transport
● For short distances or in
inaccessible places helicopters
can be used in developed countries

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Modes of Transportation
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4. Maritime transportation
● It is the primary means of international shipping between
countries separated by oceans for most products
● Slow but highly efficient method of transporting large quantities of
goods.
● It is significantly less costly than air transport for transcontinental
shipping

Modes of Transportation
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5. Pipe Transport
❑Common products transported by pipeline are:
• Natural gas, crude oil, petroleum products,
• Water, chemicals, sewage, and Slurry products
❑ Once in place, pipelines have a long life and are low

cost in terms of operation, maintenance, and labor.

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Modes of Transportation
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Questions ?

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