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HIGHWAY AND TRAFFIC

ENGINEERING

Part 1: Introduction
 Course Contents (1)
Introduction, Traffic Engineering, Geomatric
Design
• Roads and Highway Systems, Location Surveys
• Traffic and Road User’s Characteristics
• Traffic surveys, O-D Surveys
• Highway Locations and Design Elements
• Horizontal and Vertical Alignment
• Highway Capacity Analysis
• Intersection Control and Design
• Traffic Safety

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 Course Contents (2)
 Pavement Design
• Types of pavements • Wheel loads • Equivalent
single axle load • Repetition and impact factors •
Load distribution characteristics • Design of
flexible and rigid pavements • Highway drainage
• Pavement failures • Introduction to non-
destructive testing • Pavement evaluation •
Construction, Maintenance and rehabilitation
 Introduction to resilient pavement
 Introduction to design software

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 Text / Reference Books
 Principles of Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis
Fred L. M., Scott S. W., Walter P. K., Wiley 4th Edition
 Principles of Traffic and Highway Engineering
• Garber and Hoel
 Highway traffic analysis and design (3rd edition)
• R.J. Salter and N.B. Hounsell
 Transportation Engineering Introduction to Planning,
Design and Operations, Jason C. Y. Elsevier Science Lt

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 Evaluation / Assessment
 Quizzes : 20%
 Assignments/Projects : 20%
 Mid Exam : 20%
 Final Exam : 40%

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 Chapter 1

 Basic definitions

 High planning and development

 Principles of Geomatics design

 Classification of Highways

 Roadway User’s Characteristics

 Location surveys

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 Highway Engineering
Highway
 Term commonly used to designate major roads intended for travel by
the public between important destinations, such as cities.
 The term highway can also be varied country-to-country, and can be
referred to as a road, freeway, expressway, motorway.

Highway engineering
 Process of design and construction of efficient, safe and economical
roads.
 Standards of highway engineering are continuously being improved.
 Concepts such as grade, surface texture, sight distance and radii of
horizontal curves and vertical slopes in relation to design speed and in
addition to interchange design are all important elements of highway
engineering.
 Most developed nations have extensive highway networks.

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 Importance of Highways
 Importance of highway system increases land value
of near area.
 It helps in development of agricultural activity
(areas, natural resources, industrial activities,
commercial activities, market activities,)
 It helps social, cultural, political, medical,
educational, and recreational activities.
 It helps in facilitating mailing and cargo activities…..

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Highway Planning and Development

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Highway Planning and Development

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 Geometric Design - Basic Principles
 Safety for all users
 Functionality – the need for access and mobility
 Accessibility for people with disabilities – as a prerequisite access to
employment, recreation, and healthcare
 Mutual support and compatibility between transportation facilities and
services and the adjacent land uses
 Consistency with transportation plans and policies, and environmental
regulations
 Transportation facility design and operational requirements
established by others
 Input and participation from local constituents, and the appropriate
local, regional and state reviewing agencies
 Cost effectiveness – the value returned for the investments made in
transportation

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Basic Design Elements / Design Controls
 Roadway Context

 Roadway Users

 Transportation Demand

 Speed

 Sight Distance
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 Roadway Context

 Roadway Type – the role the roadway plays in

terms of providing regional connectivity and local
access

 Access Control – the degree of connection or

separation between the roadway and the
surrounding land use

 Area Type – the surrounding built and natural

environment

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Roadway Type (Classification)
1. Administrative classification
2. Functional classification

Administrative classification
 It is done for the purpose of allocation of funds and defining
authority responsible for planning, designing, construction
and maintenance of highway.
• National highways
• Provincial highways
• District roads
• Local roads

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 Concept of Functional Classifications
 Hierarchies of Movements and Components
 A complete functional design system provides a series of distinct
travel movements.
 Six recognizable stages in most trips include main movement,
transition, distribution, collection, access, and termination.
 Highway trip using a freeway, where the main movement of vehicles is
uninterrupted, high-speed flow.
 When approaching destinations from the freeway, vehicles reduce
speed on freeway ramps, which act as transition roadways.
 The vehicles then enter moderate-speed arterials that bring them
nearer to the vicinity of their destination neighborhoods.
 They next enter collector roads that penetrate neighborhoods.
 The vehicles finally enter local access roads that provide direct
approaches to individual residences or other terminations.
 At their destinations the vehicles are parked at an appropriate
terminal facility.
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 Concept of Functional Classifications
 Hierarchies of Movements and Components

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 Functional Relation
 Functional classification thus groups streets and highways
according to the character of service they are intended to provide.
 This classification recognizes that individual roads and streets do
not serve travel independently.
 Rather, most travel involves movement through networks of roads
and can be categorized relative to such networks in a logical and
efficient manner.
 Functional classification of roads and streets is also consistent with
categorization of travel.
 A schematic illustration of this basic idea is shown in next slides,
lines of travel desire are straight lines connecting trip origins and
destinations (circles).
 The relative widths of the lines indicate the relative
amounts of travel desire.
 The relative sizes of the circles indicate the relative trip
generating and attracting power of the places shown.

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Functional Relation

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Functional Relation

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Roadway Type (Example)

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Roadway Type

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Roadway Type

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Roadway Type (classification)

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Roadway Type

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 Definitions of Urban and Rural Areas
 Urban and rural areas have fundamentally different characteristics
with regard to density and types of land use, density of streets and
highway networks, nature of travel patterns, and the way in which
these elements are related.
 Consequently, urban and rural functional systems are classified
separately.
 Urban areas are those places within boundaries set by the
responsible State and local officials having a population of 5,000 or
more.
 Urban areas are further subdivided into urbanized areas (population
of 50,000 and over) and small urban areas (population between 5,000
and 50,000).
 For design purposes, the population forecast for the design year
should be used.
 Rural areas are those areas outside the boundaries of urban areas.

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 Functional Categories
 The roads making up the functional systems differ for urban
and rural areas.

 The hierarchy of the functional systems consists of principal

arterials (for main movement), minor arterials (distributors),
collectors, local roads and streets.

 However, in urban areas there are relatively more arterials with

further functional subdivisions of the arterial category

 Whereas in rural areas there are relatively more collectors with

further functional subdivisions of the collector category.

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Area Type

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Area Type

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Area Type

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Area Type

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 Roadway Users
 A fundamental expectation in roadway design is that all users will be
accommodated safely.

 Virtually all roadways serve a variety of users including pedestrians,

bicyclists, animal driven traffic, motorcyclists, motor vehicle traffic.

 In a few cases, such as freeways, roadways serve almost exclusively

motor vehicle traffic.

 Early in the process, the designer needs to determine the composition

of users anticipated for the facility.

 Appropriately accounting for all user characteristics is essential for

obtaining a safe and efficient roadway.

 Experience demonstrates that when human and vehicular factors are

properly accommodated, the safety and effectiveness of the highway
or road system is greatly enhanced.
 Roadway Users
 The Pedestrian

 The Bicyclist
 Roadway Users
 The Motorized Vehicles
 Roadway Users
 The design parameters for the Motorized Vehicles

 Stopping sight distances depend on the speed of operation and vehicle

braking characteristics.
 Horizontal curvature depends on the side friction between tire and roadway,
among other factors.
 Truck acceleration and deceleration rates are factors in the design of highway
vertical alignment.
 Vehicles are restricted in how sharply they can negotiate a turn by their
physical dimensions and tire friction, which influences curb radii at
intersections.
 Another turning characteristic of vehicles is the transitional nature of their
turning path. Vehicles cannot immediately turn to their desired turning radius
but have an entering and exiting transition into that radius. This has led to the
use of compound curves on highways.
 Lane and shoulder widths are derived from the design width of vehicles and
horizontal clearances to allow safe operation.
 Location Survey in
Rural and Urban Areas
 Survey in Transportation Engineering
 Surveying is science of determining the
dimensions and contour of earth surface
by measurement of distance, directions
and elevations.
 Surveying is the first and most important
step in highway engineering, which
involves
◦ Details of grounds
◦ Details of surrounding areas
◦ Topography of the area

 Various methods are being used i.e.;

ground survey, air survey, route survey
etc.
 Survey in Transportation Engineering
 The data from the survey is used;
◦ In the design of new construction
◦ Improvement of existing facilities

 Location surveys are carried out in

Rural and Urban areas in different
ways.
 Location Survey in Rural Areas
 It is tedious job, field oriented and time
consuming. Most of the time and effort goes
in measurements and observations on the
ground.

 These are normally divided into three classic

stages;
◦ Reconnaissance survey
◦ Preliminary line survey
◦ Location survey
 Reconnaissance Survey
 Reconnaissance survey is the process of evaluating
the feasibility of one or more possible routes for a
highway between specific points, which may be
many miles apart.
 Good reconnaissance can be the greatest single
money-saving phase in the construction of a new
road.
Tools
 Existing maps (showing topography of the area)
 Aerial photographs
 The maps are divided into three groups.
◦ Large scale maps (50” to 1 mile)
◦ Medium scale maps (6” to 1 mile)
◦ Small scale maps (1” to 1 mile)
 Commencement of Reconnaissance
 Reconnaissance begins with a ‘paper study’ of an
area 40%-60% as wide as the distance between the
proposed highway lengths.
 Hills, valleys, waterways and land use are examined
first.
 Peat bogs (wetland that accumulates peat as a
deposit of dead plants) and other marshy areas
(waterlogged areas), which may have to be avoided,
can also be detected at this stage.
 Sides for necessary flyover structures can be located
along intersecting roads and railway lines and utility
relocation problems may be anticipated.
 Locations of potential drainage structures can also
be identified.
 The above activities can be
summarized as follows:

◦ Stereoscopic examination of small scale

photographs of the area, supplemented by
available maps

◦ Determination of controls points

◦ Location of feasible route on the

photographs and maps
 After the reconnaissance, engineer
goes to the field, where he obtains an
evaluation of the fact of unusual
topographic features, hydrology, the
nature of certain man made works
and subsurface conditions.

 If the available maps do not

adequately portray the topography,
approximate elevations of key points
can easily be obtained.
 These activities can also be
summarized as follows;

• Stereoscopic examination of large scale

aerial photographs of each route
• Determination of detailed controls of
topography and land use
• Comparison of feasible routes on
photographs and maps
• Selection of best route
 Returning to his office, the
reconnaissance engineer can now make
one or more paper locations of feasible
routes.

 If he is satisfied with the extent and

quality of the data, he may make the
necessary economic comparisons to aid
in the selection to the best routes
 Reconnaissance Report
 The results of his studies are presented in a report.

 Tthis report states the service and geometric criteria

to be satisfied by the project, describes its chosen
line and presents a tentative estimate of its cost.
 The following has been recommended as a typical
reconnaissance reports outline;

• Summary (Conclusions and Recommendations)

• Report
Parts of Reconnaissance Report

Parts of Reconnaissance Report

Introduction

General Alignment Detail

Project-Cost Estimates
 Parts of Reconnaissance Report
 Introduction
◦ Purpose of Reconnaissance survey
◦ Traffic survey method
◦ Study method
◦ Design criteria

 General Alignment Details

• Choice of routes
• Service to communities
• Interchange locations
• Land use type and control
• Safety considerations
• Drainage
• Soils and geology

 Project – Cost Estimates

◦ Road way
◦ Structures
◦ Right-of-way
◦ Utility relocation
 Preliminary Survey
 Definition:

“The preliminary survey is a large

scale study of one or more
feasible routes. It results in a
paper location and alignment
that defines the line for the
subsequent location survey”
 Most Feasible Route

Route I Station II

Route II

Route III

Station I
 With in established route area, survey is
performed for
◦ Shape of ground
◦ Limits of catchment areas
◦ Position and invert levels of streams
◦ Position of trees, banks, bridges, culverts, existing
roads, power and pipelines, houses and monuments
 The information from the survey is translated
into maps, profiles and cross-section using
route photographs and photogrammetric
methods, which can assist the engineer to
determine preliminary grades and alignment
and to prepare an approximate cost estimate.
 Choice of Mapping Methods
 Two approaches are available for
preliminary survey mapping;

• Aerial surveys
• Ground surveys
 Map Scale
 Usual horizontal maps scale limits are:
◦ 1 in = 400ft (in open country)
◦ 1 in = 100ft (in built up areas)

 Contour intervals of 10ft or 5ft are

usually suitable; occasionally 2ft
contours will be necessary for critical
areas such as interchange and bridges,
will have to map at larger scales
 Mapping Procedures
 The first step is to carry out the base line
traverse. This traverse must be simple and
series of connecting straight lines.

 In a flat or moderately rolling terrain, stations

at 100 ft intervals will usually be significant
but on rough ground, stations at intermediate
points may be necessary.

 Levels should always be referred to the

standard datum plan of the country.

 After the base line has been set and levels run
over it, the topography elevations may be
taken by one of the several methods.
 Final Location Survey
 This survey serves the dual purpose of
definitely fixing the center line of the
road, while at the same time physical
data is collected which is necessary
for the preparation of plans for the
construction.
Stages Final Location Survey
Final Location Survey

Pegging the Central Line

Central Line Leveling

Cross Sections
Property Lines
Intersecting Roads
Ditches and Streams
 Pegging the Central Line
 Central line pegs are usually placed at every
hundred feet at all intersections and tangent
points, and carried forward continuously
through curves and tangents.

Central Line Leveling

 Profile levels are taken along the central
line at each station and at all intermediate
points where there is any significant
change in slope of the ground, so that a
truly representative profile is obtained.
 This profile should normally extends for at
least 150 yards beyond the beginning and
end points.
 Cross Sections
 Cross sections should be taken at each
station, point of significant change in
ground slope and for a reasonable
distance beyond the beginning and end
points of the projects.

 Cross sections are taken every 50 ft.

instead of 100 ft. and in a very rough
terrain intervals of 25 ft. may be
necessary.
 Property Lines
 The positions of all property corner lines,
fences and other man-made features are
accurately determined and noted down
during the final location survey.

Intersecting Roads
 The direction with respect to the pegged
central line of all intersecting roads should
be measured.
 Profiles and cross sections of the
intersecting roads should be taken on both
sides of the new central line.
 Ditches and Streams
 All ditches and streams within the
area of construction should be
carefully located with respect to
pegged central line.
Location Survey in Urban Areas

Phases of Location Survey in Urban Area

Combination of reconnaissance-preliminary survey

Final location survey

A View of Urban Area
 Location Survey in Urban Areas
 The final location survey is similar to
that described in a rural area for a
highway location survey.

 It is difficult to carry out.

 The principal difference is in the scale

of the aerial photographs and drawings
which is roughly double the scale of
their rural counter part, as greater
detail is required.
 Location Survey in Urban Areas

Theoretical
Steps

Reconnaissance
Area Preliminary Final
of feasible
Reconnaissance Survey Location Survey
routes
 Location Survey in Urban Areas
 The reconnaissance - preliminary
survey leading to the location and
preliminary design of major highway in
an urban area has been divided in to
the following inter related steps.

◦ Determine the approximate traffic load

along a general route suggested by traffic
desire lines.
 Location Survey in Urban Areas
◦ Select the type of highway, the number of
lanes needed to accommodate the
approximate traffic load and the type of
the service to be provided.

◦ Make plan and field sketches to establish

one or more preliminary line that
approximates the desired line location,
and make sketch of preliminary design
including interchange location.
 Location Survey in Urban Areas
◦ Assign traffic to one or more of the selected
locations to determine design traffic
volumes.

◦ Adjust line and complete sketch preliminary

plans for major alternate locations.

◦ Analyze and compare alternative locations for

selection of the preferred one, by making
cost estimates, analyzing road user benefits
and considering other controls and factors.