3-118 A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets

Horizontal sight restrictions may occur where there is a cut slope on the inside of the curve. For
the 3.50 ft [1.08 m] eye height and the 2.00-ft [0.60-m] object height used for stopping sight
distance, a height of 2.75 ft [0.84 m] may be used as the midpoint of the sight line where the
cut slope usually obstructs sight. This assumes that there is little or no vertical curvature. For a
highway with a 22 ft [6.6-m] traveled way, 4-ft [1.2-m] shoulders, an allowance of 4 ft [1.2 m]
for a ditch section, and 1V:2H cut slopes (1 ft or 1 m vertically for each, 2 ft or 2 m horizontally),
the sight obstruction is approximately 19 ft [5.75 m] outside the centerline of the inside lane.
This is sufficient for adequate sight distance at 30 mph [50 km/h] when curves have a radius of
about 275 ft [90 m] or more and at 50 mph [80 km/h] when curves have a radius of about 1,230
ft [375 m] or more. Curves sharper than these would need flatter slopes, benching, or other
adjustments. At the other extreme, highways with normal lateral dimensions of more than 52 ft
[16 m] provide adequate stopping sight distances for horizontal curves over the entire range of
design speeds and curves.

In some instances, retaining walls, bridge rails, concrete median barriers, and other similar fea-
tures constructed on the inside of curves may be sight obstructions and should be checked for
stopping sight distance. As an example, an obstruction of this type, located 4 ft [1.2 m] from the
inside edge of a 24-ft [7.2-m] traveled way, has a horizontal sight line offset of approximately 10
ft [3.0 m]. At 50 mph [80 km/h], this provides sufficient sight distance when a curve has a radius
of about 2,300 ft [700 m] or more. If the obstruction is moved an additional 1 ft [0.3 m] away
from the roadway, creating a horizontal sight line offset of 11 ft [3.3 m], a curve with a radius of
2,000 ft [625 m] or more provides sufficient sight distance at the same 50 mph [80 km/h] speed.
The same finding would be applicable to existing buildings or similar sight obstructions on the
inside of curves.

Where sufficient stopping sight distance is not available because a railing or a longitudinal barri-
er constitutes a sight obstruction, alternative designs should be considered. The alternatives are:
(1) increase the offset to the obstruction, (2) increase the radius, or (3) reduce the design speed.
However, the alternative selected should not incorporate shoulder widths on the inside of the
curve in excess of 12 ft [3.6 m] because of the concern that drivers will use wider shoulders as a
passing or travel lane.

As can be seen from Figure 3-14, the method presented is only exact when both the vehicle and
the sight obstruction are located within the limits of the simple horizontal curve. When either
the vehicle or the sight obstruction is situated beyond the limits of the simple curve, the values
obtained are only approximate. The same is true if either the vehicle, the sight obstruction, or
both are situated within the limits of a spiral or a compound curve. In these instances, the value
obtained would result in horizontal sight line offset values slightly larger than those needed to
satisfy the desired stopping sight distance. In many instances, the resulting additional clearance
will not be significant. Whenever Figure 3-14 is not applicable, the design should be checked
either by utilizing graphical procedures or by utilizing a computational method. Raymond (52)
provides a computational method for making such checks.

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