SUMMARY OF

TOPICS IN PRELIM
FOR HIGHWAY AND
RAILROAD
ENGINEERING

Group Members:
1. Casuyon, Ken Lester
2. Gabrillo, Rodin James
3. Marañon, Gabriel Anthony
4. Mirasol, Matthew
5. Tamson, Jurra Lou
6. Villalba, Christian
Importance and Components of Transportation

TRANSPORTATION – The act or process of moving people or things from one place to
another. It is essential for a nation’s development and growth. Played a significant role by
facilitating trade, commerce, conquest, and social interaction. It should be safe and
environmentally friendly.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING – Application of technology and scientific principles to
the planning, functional design operation, and management of facilities for any mode to provide
for the safe, environmentally compatible movement of people as well as goods.
TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH – speed, cost, and capacity of available
transportation have a significant impact on the economic vitality of an area.
SOCIAL COST AND BENEFITS OF TRANSPORTATION –history illustrates that the way
people move is affected by technology, cost, and demand.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING SPECIALTIES – planning, design, construction, traffic
management and operation, and maintenance.
o PLANNING – involves the selection of o TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND
projects for design and construction. OPERATION – studies to improve
o DESIGN – involves all features of the capacity and safety.
transportation project. o MAINTENACE – to ensure that the
o CONSTRUCTION – all aspects of the highway system is kept in proper
building process. working orders
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM – a planned network of elements or physical components. Is
developed nation is an aggregation of vehicles, guideways, terminal facilities, and control
systems that move freight and passengers.
COMPONENTS OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
1. MODES – it represents the conveyances, mostly taking the form of vehicles that are used
to support the mobility of passengers or freight.
 AIR TRANSPORT – all transport through the air by aircraft. It is extremely well
monitored, both in terms of passenger or freight and in terms of routing and
operations management. Examples hot air balloons, helicopters, and airplanes.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Fastest mode of transportation. More expensive mode of transport.
Very useful in transporting goods and Not suitable for transporting heavy bulk
passengers to the area. goods.
Provides vital support to national security Affected by adverse weather conditions
and defense.
Not suitable for short-distance travel.
 This results in heavy losses of goods,
property, and life.
 LAND TRANSPORT – transportation that takes place on land. It is the most
common means of transport in most places in the world.
MODES OF TRANSPORT
 RAIL – the movement of passengers and goods using wheeled vehicles, made to
run on railway trucks.
 ROAD – route or way on land between 2 places, including a horse, cart, or motor
vehicle.
 HUMAN-POWERED – transport of people or goods by walking, running, and
swimming.
 ANIMAL-POWERED – use of working animals for the movement of people and
goods.

 RAILROAD TRANSPORT – The movement of passengers and goods using

wheeled vehicles, made to run on railway tracks.
ADVANTAGES
Convenient mode of transport for traveling
long distances.
Faster than road transport.
Suitable for carrying heavy goods in large
quantities over long distances.
Operation is less affected by adverse weather
conditions like rain, floods, fog, etc.
DISADVANTAGES
Expensive for carrying goods and
passengers over short distances.
Not available in remote parts of the country.
Provides service according to a fixed time
schedule and is not flexible for loading or
unloading of goods at any place.
Involves heavy losses of life as well as goods
in case of an accident.

 ROAD TRANSPORT – Transportation of goods and personnel from one place to

the other on roads. The road is a route between two destinations, which has been
either paved or worked on to enable transportation by way of motorized and non-
motorized carriages.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Cheaper mode of transport. Not economical for long-distance
transportation of goods. Due to limited
carrying capacity
Perishable goods can be transported at a faster Transportation of heavy goods or goods in
speed by road carriers over a short distance bulk by road involves high costs.
Flexible mode of transport as loading and
unloading is possible at any destination.
Provide door-to-door service.
  WATER TRANSPORT – the least expensive and slowest mode of freight
transport. Generally used to transport heavy products over long distances when
speed is not an issue. Example: sailboats, ships, submarines, hoover crafts, water
planes, surfboard, and ferries

ADVANTAGES
Economical mode of transportation for bulky
and heavy goods
Safe mode of transport with respect to the
occurrence of accidents
Low-cost maintenance and construction of
routes, most of them are naturally made.
Promotes international trade.
DISADVANTAGES
The depth and navigability of rivers and
canals vary and thus, affect the operations of
different transport vessels.
Slow-moving mode of transport and therefore
not suitable for the transport of perishable
goods.
Adversely affected by weather conditions
Requires large investment in ships and their
maintenance.

 OTHER MODES
 Pipeline transport sends goods through a pipe, most commonly liquid and
gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes can also send solid capsules using
compressed air.
 Cable transport is a broad mode where vehicles are pulled by cables
instead of an internal power source. It is most commonly used at steep
gradients.
 Space transport is transport out of Earth's atmosphere into outer space by
means of a spacecraft.

2. INFRASTRUCTURES – physical support of transport modes, where routes “links” (e.g.

rail tracks, canals, or highways) and terminals “nodes” (e.g. ports or airports) are the most
significant components

3. NETWORKS – A system of linked locations that are used to represent the functional and
spatial organization of transportation.

4. FLOWS – An intermediary location is often required to go from an origin to a

destination.
HIERARCHICAL NETWORKS
 Highways
o Expressway o Collector Streets
o Arterial Street o Local Streets

EXPRESSWAY – the only facility that provides complete uninterrupted flow. Composed of
three subcomponents: Basic freeway segment, weaving areas, and ramp junctions.
ARTERIAL STREETS – A major surface street with relatively long trips between major points,
and with through-trips entering, leaving, and passing through the urban area.
SUB-ARTERIAL STREETS – A signalized street that primarily serves through traffic and that
secondarily provides access to abutting properties, with a signal spacing of 3.0 km or less.
COLLECTOR STREETS – A surface street providing land access and traffic circulation within
residential, commercial, and industrial areas. Collect traffic from local streets and feed it to the
arterial and sub-arterial streets or vice-versa.
LOCAL STREETS – Provide access to the abutting properties. Unrestricted parking and
pedestrian movement is allowed on these streets.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PEDESTRIAN, VEHICLE FLOW &
MOTION STUDIES

PEDESTRIAN CHARACTERISTICS
The pedestrian major user of the roadway system; when the system fails, he
or she is a major victim. Certain segments of the pedestrian population –
notably the very young and the very old – are either unaware of rules of
safe pedestrian behavior or unresponsive to efforts to enforce pedestrian
traffic regulations. Traffic engineers are challenged to design safe and
convenient pedestrian facilities that will function well even for those persons
who willfully or ignorantly disobey rules of safe walking behavior.

INFORMATION REQUIRED BY THE DESIGNER ARE:

 Space requirements for pedestrian
 Walking and running speeds
 Traffic flow characteristics of pedestrians

Space requirements for Pedestrians

 Shoulder Breadth 22.8” = 579mm
 Body Depth 13.0” = 33mm
We should give the pedestrian slightly more space to avoid bodily contact with others & for
things, that may pedestrianly carry with them. So, an elliptical shape with a 24-in. (610mm)
major axis and an 18-in. (457mm) minor axis has been used for determining the pedestrian
standing areas. For the design of sidewalks or other pedestrian corridors, one needs to be
concerned with dynamic spatial requirements for avoiding collisions with other pedestrians.
 Research has shown that one pedestrian following another prefers to leave an average
distance-spacing between himself and the lead pedestrian of about 8- ft (2.4 m). This
corresponds to an average time-spacing of about 2 seconds between pedestrians walking
in time.
Walking and Running Speeds
 Pedestrian walking speeds = 2.5 to 6.0 ft/sec (0.8 tom/sec)
 Mean walking speeds = 4.0 to 4.5ft/sec (1.2 to 1.4 sec)
A pedestrian walking rate of 4.0 ft./sec (1.2 m/sec) is generally assumed for the timing of
pedestrian traffic signals. In areas where are large numbers of elderly pedestrians, AASHTO
recommends the use of a 2.8 ft./sec (0.9 m/sec) walking rate.
Also, walking speeds decrease with an increase in pedestrian density. Empirical studies
indicate that for an average of 25 ft2 (2.3 m2) or more per pedestrian, walking speeds are only
slightly affected by pedestrian conflicts. But when the available space per pedestrian drops
below 25 ft2 (2.3 m2), the average walking speed decreases sharply.
Running Speeds
Running speed = 7.80 ft/sec (2.38m/sec)
Fasted Running Speed = 33ft/sec (10m/sec)
Traffic Flow Characteristics of Pedestrian
It is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those
traveling using tiny wheels such as roller skates, skateboards, and scooters, as well as
wheelchair users are also included as pedestrians.
Pedestrian Speed
- It is the average pedestrian walking speed, generally expressed in units of meters
per second (m/sec).
Pedestrian Flow Rate
 It is the number of pedestrians passing a point per unit of time, expressed as pedestrian
per 15 minutes or pedestrian per minute.
 Pedestrian Flow per Unit or Width
- It is the average flow of pedestrians per unit of effective walkway width, expressed
as pedestrians per minute per meter (p/min/m).
Pedestrian Density
- It is the average number of pedestrians per unit of the area within a walkway or
queuing area, expressed as pedestrians per square meter (p/m2).
Pedestrian Space
- It is the average area provided for each pedestrian in a walkway or queuing area,
expressed in terms of square meters per pedestrian.
Pedestrian Speed-Density Relationships
- As the volume and density increase, pedestrian speed declines. As density increases
and pedestrian space decreases, the degree of mobility a fforded to the individual
pedestrian declines, as does the average speed of the pedestrian stream.
- qped = kped * uped
 where: qped= unit flow rate (p/min/m),
uped= pedestrian speed (m/min),
kped= pedestrian density (p/m2 ).
Factors Affecting Pedestrian Demand
 The nature of the local community - Walking is more likely to occur in a community
that has a high proportion of young people
 Car ownership - The availability of a private car reduces the amount of walking, even
for a short journey
 Local land use activities - Walking is primarily used for short-distance trips.
Consequently, the distance between local origins and destinations
 Quality of provision- If good quality pedestrian facilities are provided, then demand will
tend to increase
Data collection
- Before deciding on the appropriate extent and standard of pedestrian facilities, it is
important to assess the potential demand.
- The possible methods of obtaining such estimates are:
 Manual count
 Video survey
 Attitude survey
Manual count
- Count the flow of pedestrian through a junction, across a road, or along a road
section/footway manually using manual clicker and tally marking sheet.
Video Survey
- Cameras are setup at the selected sites and video recording taken of the pedestrians
during the selected observation periods. A suitable vantage point for the camera is
important. Such survey produces a permanent record of pedestrian movement and
their interaction with vehicles.
Sidewalk
- Sidewalks are pedestrian lanes that provide people with space to travel within the
public right-of-way that is separated from roadway vehicles.
Crosswalk
- Crosswalks are often installed at signalized intersections and other selected locations.
It should be located at all open legs of a signalized intersections.
Traffic Islands
- Traffic islands to reduce the length of the crossing should be considered for the safety
of all road users. The Refuge area width should be at least 1.2 m wide and depend
upon traffic speed.
Pedestrian Overpass & Underpass
- These are expensive methods but eliminate all or most conflicts. These may be
warranted for critical locations such as school factory gates, sports arenas, and major
downtown intersections (especially in conjunction with transit stations).
Street Corner
- Available Time-Space: The total time-space available for circulation and queuing in
the inter-section corner during an analysis period is the product of the net corner area
and the length of the analysis period. For street corners, the analysis period is one
signal cycle.

Vehicle Characteristics
- Since nearly all highways carry both passenger-automobile and truck traffic, it is essential that
design criteria take into account the characteristics of different types of vehicles.
Static Characteristics
- The size of the design vehicle for a highway is an important factor in the
determination of design standards for several physical components of the highway.
- The axle weights of the vehicles expected on the highway are important when
pavement depths and maximum grades are being determined.
 Minimum turning radii at low speeds (16 kph or less) are dependent
mainly on the size of the vehicle.

 Minimum safe radius for a given design speed from the rate of
superelevation and side-friction factor.

2
 R = V / 127(0.01e + f )

Kinematic Characteristics
- A study of the kinematic characteristics of the vehicle primarily involves a study of how
acceleration rates influence the elements of motion, such as velocity and distance.
DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS
Factors that influence Elements of design
 Traffic safety considerations
 Functional classification of the
roadway
 Projected traffic volume and
composition
 Required design speed
 Multimodal needs of the surrounding
community
 Topography of the surrounding land
 Capital costs for construction
 Agency funding mechanisms
 Human sensory capacities of
roadway users
 Vehicle size and performance
characteristics
 Public involvement, review, and
comment
 Environment considerations
 Right-of-way impacts and costs

PRINCIPAL CRITERIA are considered in the design of a highway.

 Vehicle Mix
 Design Speed
 Vehicle Size
 Vehicle Mix

The functional class of a proposed facility is determined by the volume and composition of the
traffic to be served and it is related to the type of service and the design speed of a highway.
Average Daily Traffic The fundamental measures of traffic flow
(ADT) & Annual Average
Daily Traffic (AADT)
Design Hourly Volume The most significant measure of traffic volume to the designer
(DHV)
Directional Distribution
(D) The one-way volume in the predominant direction
of travel is expressed as a proportion of the
volume in the two-way design hour volume.
Ranges from 50% – 70%.

Percentage of Trucks (T) Expressed as the percentage of trucks (exclusive of light

delivery trucks) present in the traffic flow during the design
hour.
Design Speed (V)
ROADWAY CAPACITY – This implies that if the traffic volume using this facility exceeds that
value, the operating conditions will be inferior to the level of service for which the roadway is
designed.
DESIGN SPEED – A selected speed is used to determine the various geometric design features
of the roadway.
DESIGN VEHICLE – The dimensions of the motor vehicles that will utilize the proposed
facility also influence the design of a roadway project.
The width of vehicles affects:
 Width of the traffic lane
 Vehicle Length (Bearing Roadway and Affects Turning Radius)
 Vehicle Height (Height Clearance)

4 DESIGN VEHICLE CLASSES THAT AASHTO RECOMMENDS FOR THE GEOMETRIC

DESIGN OF HIGHWAY VEHICLES.
(1) Passenger cars, (2) Buses, (3) trucks, (4) recreational vehicles

CROSS–SECTION ELEMENTS – The width of the surfaced road and the number of lanes
should be adequate to accommodate the type and volume of traffic anticipated and the assumed
design speed of vehicles.
PAVEMENT CROWNS - It is the raising of the centerline of the roadway above the elevation of
the pavement edges.
CURB CONFIGURATIONS – The design of curbs varies from a low, flat angle – type, to a
nearly vertical barrier – curb.
The face of the curb should be no steeper than 45ᵒ. Curbs at parking areas and adjacent to
sidewalks should be 150 to 200 mm in height.
SHOULDERS – It is necessary to provide shoulders for safe operation and to allow the
development of full traffic capacity. A well-maintained, smooth, firm shoulders increase the
effective width (3m) of the traffic lane.
GUARDRAILS - A guardrail should be provided where fills are over 2.4m in height in
locations where there is a sudden change in alignment, and where a greater reduction in
speed is necessary.
3 TYPES OF GUARDRAILS
 W-Beam  Cable
 Box Beam

DRAINAGE DITCHES – Located and shaped to avoid creating a hazard to traffic safety.
Should be low enough to drain the water from under the pavement.
SLOPES -
Side slope - Graded area immediately adjacent to the graded roadway shoulder.
Back slope – The slope on the far side of the ditch where the roadside region slopes back to
the natural topography.
Fore slope – The side slope down to the ditch.
ROADWAY ALIGNMENT
The most economical type of highway to construct, but certain aspects of the design must be
maintained. The designer must produce an alignment in which conditions are consistent
and uniform to help reduce problems related to driver expectancy.
IDEAL HIGHWAY LOCATIONS – One with consistent alignment where both vertical grade
and horizontal curvature satisfy the limiting design criteria.
OPTIMAL FINAL ALIGNMENT – The best balance between grade and curvature is achieved.

3 CLASSIFICATIONS OF TOPOGRAPHY OF THE SURROUNDING AREA:

 Level
 Rolling
 Mountainous

LEVEL COUNTRY – Alignment is in general limited by considerations other than grade

ROLLING COUNTRY – Grade and curvature must be carefully considered and to a certain
extent balanced.
MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY – Grades provide the greatest problem and in general, the
horizontal alignment or curvature is controlled by maximum grade criteria.

SIGHT DISTANCE – This is the length of highway visible ahead to the driver of a vehicle.
3 GENERAL TYPES OF SIGHT DISTANCE
STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE – The minimum distance required to stop a vehicle
traveling near the design speed before it reaches a stationary object.
PASSING SIGHT DISTANCE – When sight distance is long enough to enable a vehicle
to overtake and pass another vehicle on a two-lane highway without interference from
opposing traffic.
DECISION SIGHT DISTANCE – The sight distance required for a driver to make
decisions and successfully execute required maneuvers at complex locations.

ROADWAY DESIGNS

ROADSIDE TOPOGRAPHY
When a motorist departs from the roadway, the vehicle’s lateral encroachment and trajectory are
affected by the geometry of the roadside. Not all roadsides are flat. It is common for a motorist to
experience an embankment, a cut slope, or a ditch. Slopes of embankments may be parallel or at
an angle to the flow of traffic.
DRAINAGE FEATURES
Ditches and drainage structures are the essential elements of the highway. The elements must be
flawlessly and suitably made according to the requirements of a safe roadside environment.
DITCHES
slopes of ditches have to be flat. It has to be wide and rounded to be traveled by out-of-control
vehicles. It requires to have roadside barriers if it is a narrow side ditch.
DRAINAGE STRUCTURES
It is required that curbs, cross-drainage structures, parallel drainage culverts, and drop inlets be
created with carefully thinking about safety. To enhance roadside safety, the following
guidelines apply:
Eliminate all nonessential drainage structures.
Design, relocate, or modify drainage structures so they are traversable and not otherwise
hazardous to an out-of-control vehicle.
Shield hazardous drainage features that cannot be redesigned or relocated with a suitable traffic
barrier.
CURBS
The use of curbs along high-speed roadways should be avoided. It is most likely for vehicles to
slip up against curbs. If a curb is required to be used on high-speed highways where a barrier is
present, it should be a barrier with flush or behind it.
CROSS-DRAIN
Drain structures are designed to execute water beneath the roadway embankment that varied in
size and design. It should be guaranteed that it won’t be a hazard or something where a vehicle
can have an accident.
LONGITUDINAL BARRIERS
Longitudinal barriers are used to avoid vehicles from having an accident especially when a
vehicle cross into another vehicle from the opposite direction. Before it is used, it is thoroughly
tested by vehicle crash test.
ROADSIDE BARRIERS
Is used to prevent vehicles from hazards from the other side of the road. It is mainly to avoid the
vehicles to leave the roadway and strike to more hazardous terrain features than the barriers.
Various types of roadside barrier systems are flexible, semi-rigid, and rigid systems. There are
agencies that used the weak spot system where the post-collapse when struck and the rail absorbs
the impact.
MEDIAN BARRIERS
Median Barriers are particularly used to restrict vehicles to cross into the opposite side of the
lane.
BRIDGE RAILINGS
Bridge railings are types of longitudinal barriers that restrict vehicles from falling off the edge of
brides or culverts. They vary from roadside barriers due to the fact that they are connected to the
structure and designed to have little to no deflection.
CRASH CUSHIONS
Crash Cushions are used to slow down errant vehicles to a stop, to lessen the impact. Varieties of
it are thoroughly tested, consisting of rows of barrels, an entrapment net and array containers
filled with sand or water.