HIGHWAY CAPACITY

General Characteristic

Highway Capacity

- The term ‘highway capacity’ pertains to the ability of a roadway to accommodate traffic.
Highway capacity is considered in two broad categories – uninterrupted flow or open
highway conditions and interrupted flow as at intersections.

Capacity
- The term ‘capacity’ is defined as the maximum number of vehicles that can pass over a given
section of a lane or roadway in one direction (or both directions in the case of a 2-lane highway) during a
given period under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
Three appropriate ranges of average running speeds.

 Average running speed 55-65 kph: Applicable for 2-lane rural highways in mountainous terrain
where design for higher running speed is not feasible. Also applicable to controlled access
highways in urban areas where during the design hour it is expected that freedom to travel at
high speed will be curtailed by DHV (design hourly volume) traffic.

 Average running speed 65-70 kph: Applicable for highways approaching urban areas, for
multilane highways in mountainous terrain and wherever feasible for two-lane highways in
mountainous terrain.
  Average running speed 70-80 kph
Applicable for most main rural 2-lane, two-way highways and all rural multi-lane
highways in level and in rolling terrain.

Table 3-47 Possible and Design Capacities of Highways Constructed to High Design Standard in
Terms of Passenger Cars per Hour