I.

Define/Describe the following:

1. Highway

- It is a public main road or a land route that allows vehicles to move. The purpose of a highway is to
reduce travel time between two distant cities and towns. Highways are often describe as wide, with
numerous lanes and road signage’s.

2. Transportation

-It is the act of transporting or conveying someone or something from one location to another and it can
be done in a variety of ways. Transportation has become an important role in our society for this made
the all the transactions easier in the aspect of trading, commerce, conquest, and social interaction, while
taking up a significant amount of time and resources.

3. Highway Engineering

- It is a branch from civil engineering concerned with the design, planning, location, and development of
roadways, as well as the operation, construction, and maintenance of various types of roads, bridges,
and related infrastructural, in order to guarantee the efficient and safe transportation of individuals and
products.

4. Transportation Engineering

- The application or use of science and technology in dealing with the design, operation, mobility service,
traffic, and the maintenance of transportation networks (roadways, railways, waterways and intermodal
operations) to ensure that people and products are moved in a safe, efficient, quick, comfortable,
convenient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly manner.

5. Stages of Engineering Surveys in determining Highway Location

1. Map Study
- The first step in the procedure is to conduct a map study, which comprises reviewing a
topographical map in order to find potential roadway routes. Hills, rivers, and valleys are
depicted on topographical maps. Other maps, such as stream and drainage maps, should be
studied as well to provide a thorough picture of the area where the road will be built.
2. Reconnaissance survey
- After the map study the next procedure is the reconnaissance survey, it’s a thorough
examination of a large area that could be utilized for a road. Its goal is to find the more
promising routes or places while eliminating those that are impractical or impracticable.
3. Preliminary survey
- The preliminary survey is a detailed examination of a route that has been tentatively chosen
based on the results of the reconnaissance survey. This process needs to gather sufficient
information in order to determine the best route for constructing a highway and develop a
plan/map of the area for planning and design purposes. Compass, level, chain, tape, theodolite,
and other equipment will undoubtedly provide an accurate result of the specified route.
 4. Environmental Survey:
- Environmental survey is conducted in order to preserve a viable environmental balance with the
least amount of disruption possible. It entails investigating air pollution, noise pollution, wildlife
research, and the area’s history.
5. Survey:
- It entails gathering social data such as census data, building permit records, living standards, and
demographic data, among other things.
6. Final Survey/Field Analysis:
-Following the completion of the aforesaid surveys ( map Study, reconnaissance survey,
preliminary survey, environmental survey and social survey) the location will be finalized, and a
complete detailed field analysis will be conducted. To begin the construction, all of the analysis
is done with precise instruments. The structure’s plans and drawings are created. The figures are
calculated with the economic element in mind. It also encompasses the engineering and design
of roads. During the survey’s last stage, all of the specifications are created. This process also
includes the purchasing of land.

II. Draw, Enumerate & Explain the following:

1. Explain the importance of Transportation.

Transportation plays a vital role in economic activity. Accessing natural resources and markets, as well as
preserving a competitive advantage over other regions and countries, are all dependent on the
transportation system’s quality. The speed, cost, and capacity of available transportation have a big
impact on an area’s economic vibrancy and ability to make the most of its natural resources. The
following are some of the reasons why transportation is important:

-The lower the transaction costs for businesses operating in the economy, the more efficient
transportation becomes.

-It helps to expand the market’s reach and availability of products.

-The larger the role of transportation and the number of opportunities for enterprises to take advantage
of economies of scale, the wider the product distribution and reach.

-Transportation costs account for more than a quarter (25%) of total logistics expenditures. This could
affect the final product’s price (cheaper price).

-Transportation is also required for government services such as mail delivery, defense, and territory
assistance.

As a result, I believe that building and supporting transportation planning processes that use IT
technology and approaches can result in a good transportation system that is linked to higher economic
growth and development.
 2. What are the purpose(s) of constructing early road systems?
- Armies needed to be able to travel quickly from one site to another throughout the Roman
Empire, and the available pathways were frequently muddy, delaying the movement of large
numbers of troops. To remedy this problem, the Romans built vast highways. In addition, the
growth of the people and the establishment of towns and cities demanded the development of
communication and commerce between those rising population centers. As a result, the
purpose of early road systems were not only used to move armies for conquest or defense, but
also to move food and trade goods between and into cities.

3. Describe or Explain the characteristics & draw the cross-sections of the following
methods of road construction:

 Roman Road

-Roman roads were built with stone blocks of considerable thickness.

-They were built straight ( with minimal slope or without slope).

-They were built after soft soil is removed and a hard status was reached.

-The total thickness of the construction was as high as 0.75 m to 1.2 m.

 Trésaguet Road

-Pierre Trésaguet (1716–1796 AD) devised a number of road-building techniques that were thought to
be highly beneficial and worthwhile.

-The main feature of his proposal was that the thickness of construction needs to be only 30 cm.

- Side drainage was also provided on these roads.

 Metcalf Road (Describe only, no drawing)

- During Trésaguet’s time in France, John Metcalf (1717-1810) worked in road construction in England.

- He followed the recommendations made by Robert Phillips.

- Metcalf was responsible for the construction of 290 km of road in northern England.
 Telford Road

- In the early nineteenth century, Thomas Telford (1751 – 1834 AD), the founder of the London
Institution of Civil Engineers, commenced road construction.

- He believed in using a heavy foundation above the soil subgrade to keep the road foundation formed
and also insisted on providing a definite cross slope for the top surface of the pavement by varying the
thickness of the foundation on stones.

- He proposed to provide cross drains at an interval of almost 90m which were usually laid below the
foundation level.

 Macadam Road

- The surveyor-general of the road in England, John Macadam (1756-1836 AD), proposed a completely
new style of road construction.

- The macadam method is the first method based on scientific thinking.

- It realized that the stresses due to wheel load get decrease at the lower layers & so it is not necessary
to provide large layer pavement.

- Macadam road is the most successful type of road.

4. Describe or explain the characteristics & draw the different types of road patterns.

RECTANGULAR OR BLOCK PATTERN

A plan where the streets and roads are in the form of grids or blocks running perpendicularly into each
other thus forming a grid or block. Streets or branch roads intersect with each other at the right angle.
Usually the main road is wide which passes through the centre of the area and other roads connecting
to it are narrow. The main roadways should provide direct access to the city’s outskirts.

RADIAL OR STAR AND BLOCK PATTERN

It is a combination of star and block patterns. The entire area is organized into a radial network of
roadways radiating outwardly from the centre, with a block pattern network of roads in between.

RADIAL OR STAR AND CIRCULAR PATTERN

It’s a pattern in which primary roadways (radial roads) radiate outwardly from a central point and are
linked to concentric roads (ring roads) that similarly radiate outwardly.
RADIAL OR STAR AND GRID PATTERN

A star and grid patterns are combined to create this pattern. A radial network of roads, like other
patterns, spreads outwards from the centre. The main radial streets are then linked together in a grid
layout.

HEXAGONAL PATTERN

This pattern is made up of a network of roadways that expand in different directions forming hexagons.

MINIMUM TRAVEL ROAD PATTERN

In this road layout, the town is satisfied by sector centers, suburban facilities, and neighborhood centers
by the highway, which takes the shortest time to reach the city center.

5. the current situation of the transportation systems network in highly urbanized cities in
the Philippines and as a Civil Engineer, what can you do in order to solve this problem?

The current situation of the transportation systems network in highly urbanized cities in the Philippines
is POOR as it faces numerous transportation challenges. Some of the transportation challenges are the
poor quality of the road network, poor intermodal integration, weak sector governance and institutional
capacity, lack of quality urban transport systems, and limited private investment in transport
infrastructure. These challenges resulted in traffic congestion, parking difficulties, accidents, heavy air
and water pollution, and lack of affordable housing and swaths of blighted zones. As a civil engineer in
making remedy to these issue the best way to do are to develop additional urban transport, proper road
planning and support private sector participation in urban development. But instead of creating new
transportation infrastructure which takes more than a year, I think it’s better to create more alternative
transportation to reduce the budgeting cost of the government and to save up more time.