EXAMS OFFICE

3 hrs / / USE ONLY

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Course or topic No(s) CIVN3027A

Course or topic name(s)

Paper Number & title TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

Examination/Test* to be held during month(s)

of (*delete as applicable) NOVEMBER, 2020

Year of Study (Arts & Science leave blank) THIRD

Degree/Diplomas for which

This course is prescribed BSc (Eng)
(BSc (Eng) should indicate which branch)

ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT

Faculty/ies presenting candidates ENVIRONMENT

Internal examiner(s) and

Telephone extension number(s) DR. I. AIVINHENYO x77156

External examiner(s) DR. ESTIME MUKANDILA

Special materials required

(graph/music/drawing paper, maps, Calculator
diagrams, tables, computer cards, etc.)

Course
CIVN 3027A Hours 3
Time allowance No(s)

a. There are a total of 8 pages in this booklet

Instructions to candidates b.
(Examiners may wish to use this space
to indicate, inter alia, the contribution
c.
made by this examination or test towards d.
the year mark, if appropriate)
Answer all questions
This Exam is 70% of your final course mark
Submit the design chart used to answer
Question 3

Internal Examiners or Heads of Department are requested to sign the declaration Overleaf
Question 1 (Vertical alignment) 15 Marks = 40 Mins

An equal-tangent vertical curve is designed to connect a – 1.5[%] initial grade to a + 2.0[%] final
grade. The alignment crosses an underground telecommunications cable at stake value 4800[m].
The following additional information applies:

Elevation of the centreline of cable = 155[m] (above mean sea level).

Elevation of Point of Vertical Intersection = 156[m] (above mean sea level)
Stake value of Point of Vertical Intersection = 4860[m]
Stake value of Point of Vertical Curvature = 4750[m]

a. Make a sketch of the vertical alignment (not to scale) showing the information above and the
approximate position of the cable where it crosses the alignment. [2 marks = 5 minutes]
b. Determine the direct depth (in meters) from the road surface to the centreline of the cable at
the point of crossing. [8 marks = 20 minutes]
c. Determine the stake value and the elevation of the lowest point of the vertical curve. [5 marks
= 15 minutes]

Question 2 (Horizontal alignment) 15 Marks = 40 Minutes

A horizontal curve is designed to connect two straight sections A-B and B-C along the centreline
of an urban two-lane highway 7.2[m] wide (3.6[m] for each lane). According to information
provided by the surveyors in the design team, point B has a stake value of 8120[m], and straights
A-B and B-C have bearings of 198-degrees and 224-degrees respectively (using the South African
coordinate convention). The highway is designed to accommodate a maximum speed of
120[km/h], and based on terrain and climatic conditions, a maximum superelevation rate of 6[%]
is applied with the coefficient of side friction taken as 0.11.

a. Make a sketch of the horizontal alignment (not to scale) showing the approximate directions
of the straight sections based on the bearings given above. [2 marks = 5 minutes]

b. Determine the stake values of the beginning and end of the horizontal curve required to connect
the straights along the road centreline. [8 marks = 20 minutes]

c. If the straight section of the roadway described above is designed with a normal crown slope
of 2.5[%], and the full superelevation is attained by rotating the road about the centreline,
calculate the total length of superelevation transition for this road. Supplementary information
is given in Appendix 2. [5 marks = 15 minutes]

Page 2 of 8
Question 3 (Pavement Design) 10 Marks = 25 Minutes
The table below shows a pavement structure with the resilient moduli, layer coefficients and
drainage coefficients.

Pavement Modulus Layer Drainage Thickness 𝑫𝒊

Layers (ksi) Coefficient, 𝒂𝒊 coefficients, 𝒎𝒊 (inch)
Asphalt Surface 300 0.35 𝐷1 = ?
Base course 25 0.12 1.2 𝐷2 = ?
Subbase 11 0.08 1.2 𝐷3 = ?
Subgrade 5
NB: 1 ksi = 1 kilopound per square inch = 1000 lb per square inch

The following additional information is given for the road:

Design reliability = 80%
Overall standard deviation S0 = 0.35
Estimated design traffic (ESALs) = 5 million
Initial Serviceability index 𝑃𝑖 = 4.2
Terminal Serviceability index 𝑃𝑡 = 2.7

a. Determine the overall Structural Number of the pavement structure using the AASHTO Design
approach. The used design chart must be submitted with your answer booklet. [4 marks = 10
minutes]
b. Determine the minimum required layer thicknesses D1, D2 and D3 (in inches) for the pavement.
[6 marks = 15 minutes]
Question 4 (Traffic Flow Theory) 10 Marks = 25 Minutes
A section of a highway has the following flow-density relationship;

𝑞 = 90𝑘 − 0.3𝑘 2

a. Determine the capacity of this highway, and the corresponding speed at capacity. [5 marks =
12 ½ minutes]
b. Determine the density when the flow on this highway is 50% of its capacity. [5 marks = 12 ½
minutes]

Question 5 (Traffic Flow Theory – Shockwaves) 10 Marks = 25 Minutes

Studies have shown that the traffic flow on a single-lane approach to a signalized intersection can
be described by the Greenshields model. Jam density on the approach has been established to be
130[veh/km]. Given that the flow towards the intersection has a space mean speed of 40[km/h] at
a density of 45[veh/km],
a. Determine the speed of the stopping shockwave as the signal changes to red and vehicles
begin to stop. [5 marks = 12 ½ minutes]

Page 3 of 8
b. At the end of the red interval, what will be the length of queue (in km) and number of
vehicles in the queue from the stop line if the red interval lasted for 35[sec]? [5 marks = 12
½ minutes]

Question 6 (Signalised Intersection) 10 Marks = 25 Mins

An approach in a signalised intersection has an effective green time of 40[sec] with an overall
cycle time of 90[sec]. The traffic volume on this approach is 550[veh/h], while the saturation flow
rate is 1650[veh/h]. Using the Webster’s delay model,

a. Determine the number of vehicles that will queueing in this intersection approach. [5 marks =
12 ½ minutes]
b. What will be the average delay (in seconds) per vehicle? [5 marks = 12 ½ minutes]

TOTAL = 70 marks

Page 4 of 8
 APPENDIX 1 - FORMULAS
Vertical curve
 𝐴 = |𝐺1 − 𝐺2 | Elements of horizontal curve
 𝐿 = 𝐾|𝐴|
 𝑟 = (𝐺2 − 𝐺1 )/𝐿
𝐺 𝑟
 1
𝑦 = 𝑦0 + 100 𝑥 + 200 𝑥 2
𝐺1
 𝑥𝑡𝑝 = − 𝑟
𝑢2
 𝑆𝑆𝐷 = 𝑆 = 0.278𝑢𝑡𝑟 + 𝑎 𝐺
254( ± )
𝑔 100

(u in [km/h])
 Crest curves:
658
Lmin ≅ 2S − for S>L
A
𝐴𝑆 2
Lmin ≅ 658 for S<L

 Sag curves:
(120+3.5𝑆)
𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≅ 2𝑆 − for S>L  Tangent length 𝑇 = 𝑅 𝑡𝑎𝑛 2
𝛥
𝐴
𝐴𝑆 2 𝜋
𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≅ (120+3.5𝑆) for S<L  Length of curve = 𝑅𝛥 180
𝛥
𝐴𝑢2
 Chord Length = 2𝑅𝑠𝑖𝑛 2
𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 = (Comfort) ∆
395  𝑀 = 𝑅(1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2)
𝐿𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 30𝐴 (Appearance) 𝑣2
 𝑅𝑣 = 127(𝑒+𝑓)
South Africa Y & X co-ordinate system convention 𝑣2
 𝑆𝑆𝐷 = 0.278𝑣𝑡 + 0.039 𝑎

𝜋 100(𝑓𝑡)∆𝑠 30(𝑚) ∆𝑠
 𝑆𝑆𝐷 = 180 𝑅𝑣 ∆𝑠 = =
𝐷 𝐷

90𝑆𝑆𝐷
 𝑀𝑠 = 𝑅𝑣 [1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 ( )]
𝜋𝑅𝑣

𝜋𝑅𝑣 𝑅𝑣 −𝑀𝑠
 𝑆𝑆𝐷 = [𝑐𝑜𝑠 −1 ( )]
90 𝑅𝑣

(𝑤 𝑛𝑙 ) 𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑤
 𝐿𝑟 = 𝛥
𝑒𝑁𝐶
 𝐿𝑡 = 𝐿𝑟
𝑒𝑑

𝑉3
 𝐿𝑠 = 0.0214 𝑅𝐶

Page 5 of 8
 𝑔𝑖
Pavement Design  𝑐𝑖 = 𝑠𝑖 𝐶
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑥𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 4  𝑔𝑖 = 𝐺𝑖 + 𝑌𝑖 − 𝑡𝐿𝑖
 𝐿𝐸𝐹 = [ 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 80𝑘𝑁 ]
 𝐺𝑖 = 𝑔𝑖 − 𝑌𝑖 + 𝑡𝐿𝑖
𝑁𝑡𝐿
 𝐸𝑆𝐴𝐿𝑖 = 𝑓𝑑 ∙ 𝐺𝑟𝑛 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇𝑖 ∙ 365 ∙ 𝑁𝑖 ∙ 𝐹𝑒𝑖  𝐶𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑉
1−(3600𝑐 )
 𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = 365 ∙ 𝐴(1 + 𝑟)𝑛 ⁄ℎ
𝑠
𝑣
(1+𝑟)𝑛 −1  𝑦𝑖 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥 [ 𝑠𝑖𝑗 ] ∀
 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = 365 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ [ ] 𝑗
𝑟

 𝑆𝑁 = 𝑎1 𝐷1 + 𝑎2 𝐷2 𝑚2 + 𝑎3 𝐷3 𝑚3
401.8
 𝐶𝐵𝑅 = (𝐷𝐶𝑃 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟)1.284

Traffic Flow Theory

1
 𝑘= 𝑠̅
1
 𝑞 = ℎ̅
 𝑞 =𝑢∙𝑘
Q Q
PHF  
 qmax N t (60 / t )

q q  q1
uw   2
k k 2  k1

3600
 𝑠=
ℎ𝑠

Traffic Signal Control

 𝑇𝑛 = 𝑙1 + 𝑛 × ℎ𝑠
 𝑡𝐿 = 𝑙1 + 𝑙2

1 3600
 𝑉𝑐 = ℎ [3600 − 𝑁 × 𝑡𝐿 × ]
𝑠 𝐶

𝑔 𝑣𝑠
 𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠, 𝑉 = 𝐶 [1 − (𝐶 )] [𝑠−𝑣]

𝑔 2
[1−( )]
̅ = ~ 𝑅𝑉 = 1 𝐶
 𝐷 𝐶
𝑣
2𝑣𝐶 2 [1−( )]
𝑠
𝑦
 𝑔𝑖 = ∑𝑁𝑖𝑦 (𝐶𝑜 − 𝑁𝑡𝐿 )
𝑖 𝑖
1.5𝑁𝑡𝐿 +5
 𝐶𝑜 = 1−∑𝑁
𝑖=1 𝑦𝑖

Page 6 of 8
APPENDIX 2 – TABLES

Page 7 of 8
 STUDENT NUMBER:

AASHTO Design Chart for Flexible Pavement

NB: Detach and submit used Design chart along with your answer booklet

Page 8 of 8