Debre markos university

Institute of Technology
School of Civil and Water Resource Engineering

Highway Design and Engineering : CEng3201

Zeleke D.
zeladamtie@gmail.com
Mar, 2019
CHAPTER I
 Highway planning
• In the present time planning is a pre-requesting
before taking up any developmental programme.

• This is more true particularly in an engineering

project and thus also for highway development
program.

• When total requirements are much higher, than

those can be provided by available funds,
planning plays a vital role in fixing priorities.
 Cont’d
The planning of highway is done to achieve the following
objectives:
 To provide a most suitable types of road, of maximum length,
with the available funds.

 To plan road system for future anticipated requirements by

constructing new roads and improving the existing ones.

 If, with available funds, required road system cannot be

constructed, phased programme for road development may be
planned.

 Highway planning helps fix priorities of roads. If all the required

roads cannot be constructed, the most important should be
constructed first with the available fund and within the plan
period.

 Planning is also helpful to work out financing system of roads.

 Road planning survey
• Road planning is done keeping in view the following two
objectives:
i. To ascertain the road length requirement for a specified
area which may be a district, state or whole the
country. To achieve this objective,
• it is required to conduct varies field survey to collect data
which may help in assessment of road length requirements
for a specified area.

• The field surveys specified for collecting the factual data

are also sometimes called fact finding survey.

• The planning done on the basis of factual data, is

considered to be more scientific and sound.

• Field survey data reflects the actual site conditions and

planning done based on them cannot be wrong.
 Cont’d

 The following studies are under taken while

conducting field surveys of collecting
factual data.

1. Economic studies

2. Financial studies

3. Traffic studies

4. Engineering studies.
 Cont’d
1. Economic study: This study involves;
 Population studies on area basis in which distribution of
population in villages, towns and other localities is studied.

 Population growth trend due to economic development

programme going on in the area and also the anticipated effect
on population growth due to developmental activities likely to
be taken up in the area in the near future.

 Present agricultural development of the area and possibilities

of future development.

 Present industry in the area and its future trends.

 Per capita income of the area.

 Present recreational, educational, communicational and

commercial facilities and possible future expansions of all
these facilities.
 Cont’d
• Economic study will determine the area of zone of
supply and demand of material.

• This study will also point towards

– the areas of immediate and secondary commercial influence, and

– the amount of traffic that the highway will be expected to handle.

 Cont’d
2. Financial studies
• This study is essential to assess financial aspect of the
roads.

• This study indicates the manner in which funds can be

mobilized and spent.

• This study includes:

– Source of income to center and state, from vehicular

traffic and other allied facilities.

– Living standards of the people which indicates the

road facilities required by them.

– Future trends in source of income and living standard

aspect.
 Cont’d
3. Traffic studies/ road use study
• In this study details of existing traffic, their volume and pattern of flow
are studied.

• The traffic study should be carried out in the whole of the area and on
specific routes and locations, to collect the following information:

i. Traffic volume and its distributions: under this heading vehicle using roads
per day, peak hourly traffic are studied.

ii. Origin and destination studies: this study will indicates the origin and
destination of the traffic and also purpose of journey. This will also indicates
the materials coming in and going out of that place.

iii. Traffic flow pattern: this aspect will indicates types of facilities; area served,
route followed are studied.

iv. Time of journey.

v. Accident: under this, physical features of highway responsible for accidents,

number of accidents and facilities and total direct and indirect cost of accident
area studied.

vi. Future anticipated traffic volume and pattern of flow are assessed.
 Cont’d
4. Engineering studies
• In this study, topography of the area, types of soil, materials of
construction, maintenance and drainage problems are investigated.

• This study is undertaken to plan such a route of the highway, which will
not only be most economical in its construction and maintenance, but
will provide maximum transport facilities and will serve the largest
possible population.

• This study includes:

i. Topographical survey of the area.

ii. Soil survey of the area.

iii. Existing facilities of roads and railways.

iv. Anticipated developments due to introduction of proposed highway.

v. Road life studies.

vi. Specific problem in construction, maintenance and drainage of the roads.

vii. Availability of labor and materials for the constructions of the roads.
 Cont’d
• Details Collected in all the above studies are tabulated and plotted on

the maps of the area under planning.

Interpretation of results from planning data
• Data collected during road planning survey should be reflected in form

of plan and should be interpreted in such a way that a sound and most

suitable road development programme could be formulated.

• Following conclusions can be arrived at by correct interpretation of

factual studies.
 Relative importance of proposed road system.
 Fixing priorities of construction.
 Nature of surfacing of a proposed system, commensurate with the
traffic requirements.
 Future trend of growth of the area and thus that of road system.
 Area of congestion of traffic on the road system, and requiring
immediate attentions of authorities.
 Based on present traffic, type, intensity and performance of existing
road structure, a new road structure may be designed using past
experience and collected data.
 Cont’d
ii. To prepare master plan of road development programme
showing phasing of plan.
Preparation of plan: various data and information collected
during conducting planning surveys are translated on the
maps and charts.
Following drawings are generally prepared from the collected
data.
i. Topographical map: the plan shows all the physical features of
the area.

ii. Population map: this plan shows dispersal of populations.

iii. Agricultural and industrial map: this plan shows agriculturally
important areas with their annual production and also areas
having intensive set up of industries.

iv. Traffic charts and maps: this drawing shows the existing
network of roads with patterns of traffic flow.
 Master plan and its phasing
• Master plan is a final plan of road development, likely to be
taken up in the proposed area.

• On the basis of planning surveys, a final road development plan

for the area under study is prepared. This final road
development plan is called the master plan.

• On the basis of these plans different new road networks, and

improvements in existing road system are proposed.

• In each such proposal the population and productivity of each

area together with traffic flow, topography etc should be keep
in mind.

• If road length target based on area or population and

production, or both are fixed in national planning proposals,
that target may be taken as a guide for deciding the total
length of the road.
 Cont’d
• Phasing of road programme: road development
programme has to be phased from the perspective of
financial consideration.

• The phasing of the programme:

– includes fixing the priorities for each road in the
development programme.

– It tells us that which road should be taken up first and which

the next and so on.

– The phasing may be done for each annual budget year.

– The priority for each road may again be fixed scientifically

based on maximum utility.

– The utility per unit length of road based on population and

productivity for each road is worked out.
 Chapter II

Roads: Historical Perspective ,

Purpose, and Route selection.
• Traces of early roads have been found since the
recorded history of mankind.

• The first and oldest mode of travel obviously was foot

path. Before invention of wheel, people used to move on
foot, thus creating foot path.

• Men and materials must have been transported either on

backs of men or animals.

• After invention of wheel, (slow moving) animal drawn

bullock carts continued to be popular mode of transport
for quite a long time.

 This necessitated providing hard surface for wheel carts.

 Transportation
Transportation:
• is simply a movement of person, goods or information from
place to place by different means like vehicles, airplane etc for
some particular purposes.

• is a service created to serve society by linking locations where

activity takes place such as markets, industries and factories,
offices, schools and etc.

• It penetrates into all phases of production and distribution of

goods.

• Permit greater freedom to people to choose, where to live or

work and in the case of goods they lower the cost of
production and distribution tending to national economic
growth.
• Transportation improvements: increase personal mobility, reduces
travel time.
 Transportation systems
 consists of an aggregation of vehicles, guide ways, terminal
facilities and control system.

• There are various modes of transport having their own

attribute.

• The principal modes of transport are

 road transport, rail transport, air transport, water

transport and Other transport systems such as pipelines,
and ropeways.

• These modes of transport are operated on land, in air and on

water.

• the basic criteria considered in choosing modes of transport

system are Cost, Speed, Safety, Reliability, and Convenience
(ease).
 Road Transport
• It is the main mode of transport out of all modes,
internationally and locally.
• There are many reasons for the popularity of
road transport.
i) Wide geographical coverage
• A road can be constructed to penetrate the interior of
any region and to connect remote sparsely populated
areas.
ii) Low capital investment
• Roads can be constructed at comparatively a low initial
cost than railways. The cost of construction varies with
specification, but even the best road is cheaper than a
railway line.
 Cont’d
iii) Quick and assured delivery
• It is of course quick and assured delivery than that of a train.
iv) Flexibility
• It offers flexible service free from fixed schedule, but such
flexibility is absent in case of railways.

v) Door to door service

vi) Personalized travel: It assures privacy, freedom and

gives pleasure.
Shortcomings
• Safety

• Environmental pollution

• Energy consumption

• Parking problems
 Purposes of road
• It helps in the movement of passengers and freight from
one location to another.

• It relates the population to the land use.

• Defense and strategic needs of a country

• Facilitates international and national trade and

commerce

• Facilitates social development activities: health,

education, family planning, etc.

• Gives time and place utility (production to consumption)

• Helps to fight natural disaster such as: flood, drought,

etc (facilitating relief to the affected areas)

• Promotes tourism and As a measure of growth

• etc
 Highway alignment
o Objective:
– establishment of the new highway’s centerline and
cross-sections in relation to the terminal points and to
the topography through which the highway will pass.

• Generally, The position or the layout of the centre line of

the highway on the ground is called the highway

alignment.

• Highway alignment
 Horizontal alignment: consists of straight paths and
curves.
 Vertical alignment: consists of grades and curves.
 Cont’d

Vertical alignment

Horizontal alignment
 Cont’d
o Centerline determines
 the amount of cut and fill,
 cross-section details,

 drainage design,

 construction costs, and

 environmental impacts.
o Improper alignment would increase;
 Construction cost

 Land acquisition cost

 Maintenance cost

 Vehicle operation cost

 Accident rate
 Cont’d
o Requirements of ideal alignment:
 Short : It is desirable to have a shortest path between two terminals. A
straight alignment would be the shortest, however there may be several
practical considerations which would cause a deviation from the shortest
path

 Easy: The alignment shall be easy for Construction, maintenance, vehicle

operation

 Safe: Safe enough for construction and maintenance from the view point of

stability of natural slopes, embankments, cut slopes, and foundations.

▪ Safe for traffic operations with easy geometric features such as sharpness
of curves, grades, side slopes and etc.

• low accident, stable foundation

 Economical: This refers to the total cost of construction, maintenance

and operation. All these factors should be given consideration before working
of the economics of each alignment.
Factors controlling Highway alignment

o Factors controlling alignment

 Obligatory points

 Traffic

 Geometric design

 Economics

 Other considerations
 Cont’d
 Obligatory points
 Points through which the alignment is to pass
• Bridges sites

• Intermediate town between terminals etc.

 Points through which the alignment should not pass

• Very costly structures

• Highly developed expensive land areas

• Cultural or religious places

• Hospitals, schools

• marshes and low lying lands subject to flooding,

• hilly terrain where there is a possibility of land slides,

etc.
 Cont’d
Traffic
• The alignment should suit the traffic requirements.
Origin and destination study should be carried in the
area and the desire line for the new road to be aligned
should keep in view the traffic flow pattern and future
trend.

 Geometric design:
• Design factors such as maximum gradient, minimum
radius of curve, minimum available sight distance,
maximum allowable super-elevation, etc. should be
within the limits of allowable design values which are
governed by traffic speed to be expected on the road.
 Cont’d
 Economy:
Total transportation cost including initial construction cost,
maintenance cost, and operation cost.
For example : Deep cuttings, high embankments, no of bridges
that need to be constructed, etc. increases the initial cost of
construction.
• If high embankment and deep cuts are avoided there would
be a decrease in initial cost.
 Other considerations:
• Drainage consideration
• Guide the vertical alignment
• Hydrological factors
• Subsurface water level, seepage flow, high flood level
• Political considerations
 Route surveying
• Route surveying is of fundamental importance as it provides the basis
for many engineering design decision and subsequent cost estimates,
and the basis for cost and technically effective reproduction of the
design at construction stage.

• Detailed survey requirement shall be prepared including, as a minimum,

the following aspects:

Purpose of survey

Features to be identified

Time requirements (data collection time frame)

Level of accuracy

Data band width

Datum’s and control points to be used

Project environment description

Statutory (government control mark and/or cadastral legal

requirements)
 Cont’d
• Other relevant aspects may include,
– land acquisition requirements,

– environmental or sociological attributes,

– survey control availability or data collection associated with

road furniture/utility maintenance management.

• Particular attention shall be required :

– to conform to legal requirements in access to government or private

land, and

– any requirement in relation to engineering surveys where they may

encompass the establishment of survey marks and coordination of

cadastral boundaries.
 Route location survey
• The purpose of the route survey is to fix the road

alignment i.e. to position the central line of the road on

the ground.

• The work of the highway location survey may include

• Desk study

• Reconnaissance surveys

• Preliminary surveys

• Final location & detailed drawing

 1. Desk study
• is work taken up prior to commencing the work on site
and the ground investigation.

• The steps of the desk study are:

 Collect and investigate geological maps, soil maps,

land use map, topographical maps, aerial photos, and
climate maps.

 Study past investigation and other relevant existing

documents.

 Investigate logs of past test pits and results of past

laboratory tests.

 Carry out the desk study and produce a map at a

convenient scale showing the limits of the geological
formations and the indications of materials.
 Cont’d
• A desk study should be done to obtain sufficient
information to plan the field investigation.

• It saves much time later and improve the planning and

quality of the investigations

• If the topographic map of the area is available it is

possible to suggest the likely routes of the road

• The following details help to locate the routes:

• avoiding valleys, ponds or lakes

• Possibility of crossing through mountain pass

• Approximate location of bridges sites for crossing river

• Consider alternate routes by keeping the permissible

gradient
 Cont…
• A team consisting of the following personal or
Engineers should make a site inspection visit
(ERA)

 Highway Engineer

 Soil & material ( pavement ) Engineer

 Hydrologist

 Chief Surveyor

 Bridge/Structural Engineer

 Environmentalist / Sociologist ,and

 Local Administrative Personnel

 2. Reconnaissance surveys
Purpose :
• To examine the general character of the area

• Helps to decide the most feasible routes for

detailed studies

• A field survey party may inspect a fairly broad

stretch of land along the proposed alternatives
routes of the map in the field

• All relevant details not available in the map are

collected & noted down
 Cont’d
1st phase of Reconnaissance: Desk Study

– Involves an examination of a relatively large area between

terminal points for the purpose of determining a broad

corridors through which a road alignment may pass

– Usually such survey is made by the use of available maps and

Aerial Photographs (stereoscopy)

• Probable Alignment is identified on the map by:

– Avoiding valleys, ponds, etc.;

– Avoiding river bends where bridges should not be located;

– Keeping in view of geometric standards (e.g. avoiding steep

topographies, etc)
 Cont’d
2nd phase of Reconnaissance: Field Study
– A survey party inspects a fairly broad stretch of land along the proposed
routes identified on the map during the 1st phase and collects all
relevant details not available on the map. Some of the details include:
• valley, ponds, lakes, marshy land, ridge, hills, permanent structures, & other
obstructions;

• gradient, length of gradient, and radius of curves;

• number & types of cross-drainage structures, and maximum flood level;

• soil types from field identification;

• sources of construction materials, water and location stone quarries;

• geological formation, type of rock, depth of strata, seepage flow, etc to identify
stable sides of a hill

– A rapid field study of the area, especially, when it is vast and the terrain is
difficult may be done by aerial survey
 Cont’d
 The following are some of the  Useful checklists:
details to be collected on Field • Design standards
Study: • Grading & earthwork
• Valleys, ponds, lakes, marshy • Foundation condition
land • Geological conditions
• Approximate values of • Drainage
gradient, length of gradients • Right of way
• Number & type of cross- • Effect on community
drainage structures, max. flood
• Traffic
level
characteristics &
• Soil survey maintenance cost
• Sources of construction
materials, water & location of
stones
 Criteria to evaluate the most feasible routes
• Design standards: design standards (max permissible gradient, etc ) are
normally fixed prior to the survey and any one of the feasible routes that
economically fits in these standards would be feasible.

• Grading and Earthwork

– Grading is a function if roughness of terrain and routes following contour

is cheaper.

– The type of material encountered is another factor in the cost of

earthwork. Excavation of Hard Rock might need blasting and thus
expensive!!

• Foundation Conditions: Complete foundation study is not done during

Reconnaissance, but the presence of Marshy and bogy areas are
unsuitable.

• Geological Conditions: Related to stability of side slopes, good quality and

quantity of construction materials near site.

• Drainage: Likely surface & sub-surface drainage problems, type and

number of drainage structure
 Cont’d
• Right of Way: Acquisition of land for the location of a transportation
system may cost much; shifting the alignment a little may reduce the
cost considerably.

• Effect on Population: Services offering the nearby population, its effect on

the development of the community – schools, churches, public buildings,
etc, undesirable effects such as pollution, etc

• Traffic Characteristics: how best will a route fit with traffic requirements
of the area.

• Maintenance Costs: An extraordinary maintenance cost (landslide,etc),

and user costs from inconveniency due to closure of the facility due to
maintenance problems

After evaluating the alternative routes proposed, one or more routes will be
recommended. If more than one routes passed the reconnaissance
survey detail study is made to choose one best route in the preliminary
survey.
 3. Preliminary survey
In general, the objectives of preliminary surveys are:

• Survey and collect necessary data (topography, drainage,

soil, etc.) on alternate corridor routes.
 Establishing primary Traverse following the line
recommended in the reconnaissance survey.

 Record all topographical features.

 Leveling work: to determine the Centre Line, Profile &

Typical Cross-sections (just sufficient to approximate
earthwork)

 Hydrological Data: to estimate type, number, & size of cross-

drainage structures, and the grade line is decided based on
the hydrological and drainage data.
 Cont…
 Soil Survey: the suitability of proposed alignment is to
be finally decided based on the soil survey data.

The soil survey at this stage helps to: workout details of

earthwork, slopes, suitability of materials, sub-soil and
surface drainage requirements, pavement type and
approximate thickness requirements.

• To estimate quantity of earthwork, material, … of

different corridor routes.

• Compare alternate corridor routes.

Finalize the best corridor routes from all consideration

 Cont’d
 Methods of Preliminary survey :
1. Conventional method

2. Aerial photographic method

1. Conventional method
I. Ground survey is carried out

II. Collect topographical data

III. Carries out soil survey

Procedures for conventional method:

• Primary traverse

• Topographic features

• Leveling work- CL profiles & X-sections

• Drainage- type, number & size of Drainage structures

• Soil survey- slope, pavement type & thickness

 Cont’d
2. Aerial photography method
• It is a modern approach by taking aerial
photographs (proposed corridor) & using photo
interpretation technique to obtain the
necessary topographic, soil and geological
data.

• Then Preliminary survey of various alternate

alignments, a comparative is made.

• Finally the most suitable alignment is selected.

 4. Final location survey
Purpose:
• To fix the centerline of the selected alignment on the ground, and

• To collect additional data for the design and preparation of working

drawings.

Features of the final location survey:

• Pegging the center line

• centerline leveling

• X-section leveling

• Intersecting road

• The direction w.r.t the CL of all intersecting roads should be measured.

• Profiles and x- section

• Ditches and streams

• Profile and X-section leveling helps for location and construction of

culverts and bridges.
 Cont’d
1. Pegging the centre line: usually done at stations established
at 30m intervals with reference to preliminary traverse/ base
line (if used earlier) or a control survey (if aerial survey was
used).

2. Centre-line Levelling: at the stations and at intermediate

points between stations where there is a significant change
in the slope to obtain the representative profile of the ground

3. Cross-section Levelling: at each station and at points with

significant change in ground slope

4. Intersecting Roads: the directions of the centre line of all

intersecting roads, profiles, and cross-sections for some
distance on both sides

5. Ditches and Streams: horizontal alignment, profile, and cross

section levelling of the banks of the stream/river
51
 Drawings & Reports
• The data, after the necessary investigation and final
location survey, is sent to the design office to be used for
– geometric design, pavement design, and design of drainage
and other structures, preparation of drawings, reports, and
specifications

• A complete sets of drawings for a road design includes:

– Site plan of proposed alignment

– Detailed Plan & Profile

– Cross-sections for Earth work

– Typical Roadway sections at selected locations (e.g.

junctions)

– A mass-haul diagram

– Construction details of structures like bridges, culverts, ….

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