Geometric Design

of Highway Facilities
DR DEEPTI MULEY

CVEN-360-L01 SPRING 2023

Learning outcomes Page 774

 Fundamentals of highway geometric design

 Design of horizontal alignment
 Design of vertical alignment
 Design of bicycle facilities
 Design of parking facilities
Fundamentals of highway
geometric design
 Understand factors influencing highway design
 Understand the basic elements involved in
highway geometric design
 Understand the basis for classifying highways
 Identify key elements of roadway cross-section
design
Introduction
 What do we mean by geometric design?
 Physical proportioning of facilities

 Basic design elements

 Cross section
Design of roadway features perpendicular to the centerline within the right-of-way
(Pavement width, width of travel lanes, pavement slope, shoulders, etc)
 Horizontal alignment
Determination of roadway features in the horizontal plane (location of straight and curved
elements, dimensioning of curves)
 Vertical alignment
Determination of vertical curves providing a gradual change from one tangent grade to
another so that vehicles may run smoothly as they travel along the road
 Channelization elements
Physical and traffic control features used to delineate traffic movements or separate
conflicting movements
 Pavement
Selection of appropriate type of pavement and pavement thickness to sustain the
anticipated traffic loads
 Factors Influencing Highway
Design Page 774

 Functional classification
 Design hourly traffic volume and vehicle mix
 Design speed
 Design vehicle
 Cross section of the highway
 Presence of heavy vehicles on steep grades
 Topography of area
 Level of service
 Available funds
 Safety
 Social and environmental factors
 Highway Design Standards Page 777

 First step in the design

of any highway
 No single set of
geometric standards can
be used for all highways
 Characteristics of the
highway are used to
help determine
geometric design
standards
Highway Functional
Classification Page 774-777

 Highways are classified in terms of their service

 Principal arterials (includes freeways with special
considerations)
 Minor arterials
 Major collectors
 Minor collectors
 Local roads and streets
 Functional System of Urban
Roads Page 774-777

 Comprises of highway facilities

within urban areas with
communities of at least 5000
people
Urban Functional Classification Page 774-777

 Urban Principal Arterial System

 Serves the major activity centres and consists of highest-
traffic-volume corridors
 Urban Minor Arterial Street System
 Streets and highways used to interconnect and augment the
urban primary arterials
 Urban Collector Street System
 Used to collect traffic from local streets in residential areas
and convey to the arterial system
 Urban Local Street System
 System consists of all other streets
 Rural Functional Classification Page 774-777

 Rural Principal Arterial System

 Consists of a network of highways that serves most
interstate trips

 Rural Minor Arterial Street System

 Used to augment the principal arterial with
formation of interconnecting networks

 Rural Collector Street System

 Primarily carries traffic within individual counties
 Major collector roads: routes between county seats
 Minor collector roads: traffic from local roads to
other facilities

 Rural Local Street System

 All other network systems
Design Hourly Volume (DHV) Page 778-779

 The projected hourly volume of traffic used for design purpose

 Taken as a percentage of expected ADT on highway
 30th-highest hourly volume is usually selected as the DHV, consider
seasonal fluctuation.
Design Speed Page 779-780

 A selected speed used to determine the various geometric features of

the roadway
 Depends on the functional classification, topography, traffic volume,
and land use. Also average trip length.
 A design speed is selected to achieve a desired level of operation and
safety on the highway.
 One of the first parameters selected in the design process because of
its influence on other design variables.
Design Vehicle Page 780-781

 Selected to represent all vehicles on the highway

 Weight, dimensions, and operating characteristics
Impact of Road Functional Classification on Design
 Highway Classification
Schemes
 Jurisdictional classification
 Classification with respect to the entity responsible for the construction, maintenance and
operation of highways
o Federal road
o State road
o Municipal road
o Private road

 Functional classification
 Classification according to the function the highway serves
o Mobility
o Accessibility
 Functional classification more relevant to geometric design
 The level of service required to fulfill the intended function of the road for the anticipated
traffic provides a rational for the selection of design criteria

Speed & geometric design requirements linked to the intended function of the road
 Highway Functional
Classification Concept
 Classification based on the service provided by the
road in terms of:
 Mobility
Arterials
 Land access - Higher
 Defines 3 basic types of roads mobility
- Low degree of
 Arterials access
o Provide the highest level of service at the greatest speed
for longest uninterrupted distance, with some degree of Collectors
access control - Balance
between
 Collectors mobility and
o Provides a less highly developed level of service at a access
lower speed for shorter distances by collecting traffic
from local roads and connecting them with arterials Locals
- Lower
 Local roads
mobility
o Primarily provide access to land with little or no through - High degree
movement of access
Highway Functional
Classification: Concept
Functional link between various types of
roads

 Arterials
 Interstates and freeways
 Intercity state routes
 Important streets in urban areas

 Collector
 Streets carrying traffic from local
residential roads to arterials

 Local roads
 Residential streets
 Lightly-travelled county roads
Functional Classification:
Types of Roads
Functional road classification system
Functional Classification:
Example
 Functional road classification for Des Moines, Iowa
Relation of Classification to
Design
 Example of design standards for urban roads
Relation of Classification to
Design
 Example of design standards for rural roads
 Cross-Section Elements

Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0ekq866ndP4/maxresdefault.jpg
 Highway Cross-Sections Page 781-790

 What is cross-section design?

 Determination of profile of facility that is perpendicular to the centerline and extends to the limit of the
right-of-way within where the facility is constructed
 Typical cross-section elements
 Required right-of-way  Medians (for divided highways)
 Pavement width Roadside barriers
 Width of travel lanes  Curbs
Pavement slope (for water drainage)  Sidewalks
Shoulders  Drainage ditches
Clear zones  Side slopes
 Cross-Section Elements Page 781-790

 Principal elements
 Travel lanes, shoulders, and
medians (for divided roads)

 Marginal elements
 Roadside barriers, curbs,
gutters, guardrails, sidewalks,
and side slopes
 Highway Cross-Sections Page 781-790

 Typical cross-section for a two-lane highway

 Typical cross-section for a multilane highway (half section only)

Highway Cross-Sections Page 781-790

Typical cross sections of

four-lane rural highways
 Page

Overview of Alignment Design

Road Alignment Design
 Basic elements of alignment
 Horizontal alignment design
 Vertical alignment design

 While these elements can be treated separately, they are

interrelated as they must eventually be integrated to produce plans
for the construction of the facility

Horizontal Profile

Vertical Profile
Road Alignment Design: Issues
 Primary design considerations
 Road Alignment Design Issues
 Earthwork considerations
 Economic considerations warrant that cuts and fills should be balanced
within the limit of the construction area as much as possible
 Avoid the cost of bringing extra material to the site or removing excess
excavated quantities to locations outside of the construction site

 Economic factors
 Overall cost of road

 Legal issues
 Need to provide a certain level of safety

 Environmental considerations
 Will construction of the road have detrimental impacts on the road
Elements Considered in
Following Lectures
 Horizontal alignment
 Properties of horizontal curves
 Determination of curve design radius
 Development of pavement superelevation in curves

 Vertical alignment
 Properties of crest and sag curves

 Sight distances
 Impacts of passing and stopping sight distance on design of
horizontal and vertical curves

 Traffic channelization
 Delineation of vehicular paths
 Design vehicles