LECTURE 2

2.1 Design Controls

The major controls that influence the geometric design of highways include topography, land
use and physical features, the design vehicle, driver performance, traffic characteristics,
highway capacity, access control and management, the pedestrian, bicycle facilities, and safety.
Other controls such as esthetics, environment, economics, and public concerns are important
but are reflected in either the preceding major controls or the preliminary location study.

2.1.1 Topography, Land Use and Physical Features

Road design is an exercise in three-dimensional planning whose success will be measured not
only by the efficiency of the road but by its appearance and impact upon the adjoining area. A
fundamental consideration in route location and final design is to fit the road sympathetically into
the landscape with a broad awareness of the character and features of the area through which it
passes. This is required not only to obtain an aesthetically pleasing alignment, but in general to
obtain the most economical solution and best possible service to the traversed area with the
least detrimental effects.

Topography is a major factor in determining the physical location, alignment, gradients, sight
distances, cross-section and other design elements. In a flat terrain the topography may have
little influence on location but may cause difficulties in some design elements such as drainage.
In mountainous terrain the route location and certain design features may be almost entirely
governed by topography.

Geological, soil, climatic and drainage conditions affect the location and geometric of a road. Of
particular importance is the prevention of soil erosion.

Manmade features such as industrial, commercial, residential, recreational developments are

important for route location and final design. Care should be take to avoid unnecessary
destruction, demolition or severance of valuable properties.

2.1.2 Design Vehicle

A design vehicle is a vehicle with representative weight, physical dimensions, and operating
characteristics, used to establish highway design controls for accommodating vehicles of
designated classes. Each design vehicle has larger dimensions and a larger minimum turning
radius than most vehicles in its class. Four general classes of design vehicles have been
established: passenger cars, buses, trucks, and recreational vehicles. The dimensions of 20
design vehicles within these general classes are given by AASHTO. The design vehicle
selected for geometric design is the largest vehicle likely to use the highway with considerable
frequency or a vehicle with special characteristics appropriate to a particular intersection for
determining the radii at intersections and the radii of turning roadways. A typical minimum
turning path for a single-unit (SU) truck design vehicle is shown in Fig. 2.1.

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Other vehicle characteristics such as acceleration and braking capabilities, the driver’s eye
height, and vehicle headlights also affect many geometric design features. Design criteria
significantly affected by the type of vehicle include:
 Horizontal and vertical clearances
 Alignment
 Lane widening on curves
 Shoulder width requirements
 Turning roadway and intersection radii
 Intersection sight distance
 Acceleration criteria
Particular care should be taken in establishing the radii at intersections, so vehicles may enter
the street or highway without encroaching on adjacent travel lanes or leaving the pavement. It is
acceptable for occasional trucks or buses to make use of both receiving lanes, especially on
side streets. The KRDM has outline that the following 3 design vehicles should be used as
controls in geometric design Table 2.1 Design Vehicles (Kenyan Standards)
Design Wheel Front Rear Overall Overall Height Turning
Vehicle base overhang Overhang length width Radius
Passenger car 2.9 0.9 1.2 5.0 1.9 6.0m
Single Unit 6.5 1.5 3.0 11.0 2.5 3.8 12.5m
Truck(11m
overall)
Semi trailer 4.8+8.4+13.2m 1.2 0.6 15.0 2.5 3.8 12.5m
combination
(15m overall)

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2.1.3 Driver Performance

Highways should be designed to be compatible with driver capabilities and limitations.

Information about the performance of the drivers (how they interact with the highway and its
information) is useful in highway design and operations. Since it is not generally possible to
reduce errors caused by innate driver deficiencies, a “forgiving” design that lessens the
consequences of failure should be implemented. In addition, a positive guidance approach
should be applied to design. Here are some examples:

 The design should focus a driver’s attention on the safety-critical elements by providing
clear sight lines and good visual quality.
 The design should take into account the longer reaction time required for complex
decisions by providing adequate decision sight distance.
 On high-speed facilities, guidance activities should be simplified because speed reduces
the visual field, restricts peripheral vision, and limits the time available to process
information.
 Another important means to aid driver performance is the development of designs in
accordance with driver expectancies.

2.1.4 Environmental Considerations

No project is without positive and negative effects on the environment. The location and design
of a road should aim at maximizing favorable effects of the project such as providing and
removing undesirable traffic from environmentally vulnerable areas while at the same time
minimizing the adverse effects of the project as much as possible. The following factors related
to the road as a physical feature in the environment, have to be considered in the location and
design of a road project:

1. The preservation of the natural beauty of the landscape

2. Preservation of areas and land use of particular value, including: national parks and
other recreational areas, wild life and bird sanctuaries, forests and other important
natural resources, land of high agricultural value and importance, land use of great
economic or employment importance, historic sites and other man made features of
outstanding values
3. The prevention of soil erosion and sedimentation
4. The prevention of health hazards by ponding of water leading to formation of swamps
5. The avoidance or reduction of visual intrusion
6. The prevention of undesirable roadside development

Other considerations are mainly related to the operation of the road as a facility for moving
traffic and include the following detrimental effects:

 Noise pollution

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  Air pollution
 Vibration
 Severance of areas

These operational effects are mainly a problem of urban roads but in some cases are also
relevant to the design of roads in rural areas;

2.1.5 Traffic Characteristics

Traffic characteristics include traffic volume, directional distribution, capacity, traffic composition,
and speed. Design volume and composition determine the highway type, required roadway
width, and other geometric features. The design of a road should be based upon factual data on
traffic volumes which the road will accommodate. It will be uneconomical to design roadway
facilities for the peak traffic flow or highest hourly traffic volume. Therefore a reasonable value to
traffic volume is decided for the design. The usual control is the design volume, which is
estimated traffic volume at a certain factual year, the design year, which is usually 10 years after
the year of opening the new road. The general measures of vehicular traffic on a road are:

i. Average annual daily traffic (AADT)-The total traffic volume for the year divided by 365
ii. Average daily traffic (ADT)- Total traffic volume during a given time period in whole days
greater than one day and less than one year divided by the number of days in that time
period.

The most adequate design control is AADT in year 10 after opening the road, estimated from
historical AADT data and envisaged socio-economic development pattern. KRDM outlines that
design volume exceeding 8,000pcu a dual carriage way should be considered

The different vehicle classes such as passenger cars, buses, trucks, motor cycles, and various
other non-motorised vehicles have different speed and acceleration charcteristics, apart from
having different dimensions and weights. The capacity is expressed in Passenger Car Units
(PCUs) in order to take into account the influence on capacity of different vehicle mixes on
different gradients. The following guide values are given for the conversion factors applicable to
different vehicle types in different types of terrain:

Table 2.2: Conversion factors applicable to different vehicle types in different types of
terrain

Vehicle Type Level Terrain Rolling Terrain Mountainous terrain

Passenger cars 1.0 p.c.u 1.0 p.c.u 1.5 p.c.u
Light goods vehicles 1.0 p.c.u 1.5 p.c.u 3.0 p.c.u
Medium goods 2.5 p.c.u 5.0 p.c.u 10.0 p.c.u
vehicles*
Heavy goods vehicles 3.5 p.c.u 8.0 p.c.u 20.0 p.c.u
Buses 2.0 p.c.u 4.0 p.c.u 6.0 p.c.u
Motor cycles, scooters 1.0 p.c.u 1.0 p.c.u 1.5 p.c.u

Pedal Cycles 0.5 p.c.u 0.5 p.c.u n.a

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*
Also representative for combined group of medium and heavy goods vehicles and buses

The following definitions apply to the different vehicle types mentioned in the above table;

Passenger cars; Passenger vehicles with less than nine seats

Light goods vehicles: Land rovers, mini buses and goods vehicles of less than 1500kg
unladen weight with payload capacities of less than 760kd
Medium goods vehicles: Maximum gross vehicle weight 8500kg
Heavy goods vehicles; Gross vehicle weight greater than 8500kg
Buses; All passenger vehicles larger than mini-buses

2.1.6 Access Control and Management

Access control refers to the interference regulations of public access rights to and from
properties on the roadside. These regulations include full control of access, partial control of
access, and access management. Full-controlled access facilities (such as freeways) have no
at-grade crossings and have access connections only with selected roads. With partial control of
access, preference is given to through traffic to an extent, but there may be some at-grade
crossings and driveway connections. Partial access control can be achieved by driveway
permits, zoning restrictions, and frontage roads. The extent of access control is a significant
factor in defining the functional type of a highway. Access management, a new element of road
design that applies to all types of roads, involves providing (managing) access to land
development while simultaneously preserving the flow of traffic (safety, capacity, and speed) on
the surrounding road system. It views the roadway and its surrounding activities as part of a
system with the goal of coordinating the planning and design of each activity.

Road function determines the level of access control needed. Motor ways should always have
full control of access. For all-purpose roads the following general guidelines are given for the
level of access control in relation to the functional road classification:

Table 2.3 level of access control in relation to the functional road classification

FUNCTIONAL CLASS LEVEL OF ACCESS CONTROL

Desirable Reduced
A Full Partial
B Full Partial
C Full or Partial Partial
D Partial Unrestricted
E Partial or unrestricted Unrestricted

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2.1.7 Pedestrian

Interaction of pedestrians with traffic is a major consideration in highway planning and design.
Pedestrian facilities include sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps for the handicapped, and grade
separations. Sidewalks are usually provided in urban areas and in rural areas with high
pedestrian concentrations, such as schools, local businesses, and industrial plants. Pedestrian
crosswalks are provided at intersections and at midblocks. Curb ramps for the handicapped
should be provided at all intersections that have curbs and sidewalks and at midblock
pedestrian crossings. Because these crossings are generally unexpected by drivers, warning
signs and adequate visibility should be provided. Pedestrian grade separations are necessary
when pedestrian and traffic volumes are high or where there is abnormal inconvenience to
pedestrians, such as at freeways. Bicycle Facilities Design of bicycle facilities is an important
consideration in highway design. Design measures to enhance safety for bicycle traffic on
existing highways include paved shoulders, wider outside traffic lanes, adjustment of manhole
covers to pavement surface, and provision of a smooth riding surface. The highway system can
also be supplemented by providing specifically designated bikeways/cycle tracks.

2.1.8 Safety

Safety is a major consideration in the design of nearly all elements of highway geometric
design, including horizontal and vertical alignments, cross sections, roadsides, traffic control
devices, and intersections. Safety must be reflected not only in new highway and major
reconstruction projects but also in the resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation (RRR) projects.
It is important to establish a safety evaluation program to identify safety hazards, evaluate the
effectiveness of alternative improvements, and allocate available funds to the most effective
uses. Safety considerations in road design have 2 objectives;

1. To provide design features aimed at preventing accidents, and

2. To provide features aimed at reducing their seriousness when they occur

For the prevention of accidents the following points are of particular importance:

1. Prevention of physical separation between motorized and non-motorized traffic and

separate facilities for these two road users.
2. Provision of a balanced design, i.e. compatibility between various design elements
3. Avoidance of surprise elements for the drivers, i.e. no abrupt changes in standards,
adequate visibility conditions and proper phasing of vertical and horizontal alignment
4. Avoidance of situations where drivers must make more than one decision at a time
5. Provision of design features that reduce speed differentials between vehicles e.g flat
grades and speed change lanes;
6. Proper location and design of junctions with particular emphasis on sufficient sight
distances, minimum conflict points, and clearly defined controlled traffic movements
7. Proper design, application and location of traffic signs, road markings and other traffic
control devices.

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 8. Provision of design elements compatible with traffic volumes and types of traffic
9. Provision of proper drainage of road surface

Because of the human element involved, some accident will happen even on roads designed to
high safety standards. Therefore, a basic consideration in road design is to minimize injuries
and damage when accidents occur. Important points in this respect are:

a) Safety fences should be considered only when fill of slope of 1:4 are not feasible or
flatter are not feasible, and the damage caused by hitting the safety fence would be less
serious that the damage from leaving the carriageway;
b) Safety fences should be provided at dangerous obstacles which cannot be removed,
and which will cause serious damage if hit by out-of-control vehicle
c) Road signs and lighting support and other utility poles should be located far enough from
the carriageway to make them unlikely to be struck by out-of-control vehicle or should
have breakaway capability

2.1.9 Economic Considerations

The relationship between costs and benefits is a measure of justification and often a deciding
factor in determining the geometric features of design. The costs include

 Right of way (road reserve)

 Construction
 Maintenance
 Vehicle operation

The general value resulting from an improved road link includes services and benefits to the
country, community and road users. A high geometric design standard is warranted where there
is sufficient benefits to road users to justify the additional costs above that of a low design
standard. Particularly in stages of preliminary design and planning when decisions regarding the
location and general design parameters are made, the relationship between costs and benefits
for different alternatives is of great importance. Monetary analysis of alternative plans should e
made and the best alternative chosen

2.1.10 Design Speed

The design speed determined for the design and correlation of the physical features of a road
that influence vehicle operation. The design speed is defined as a selected rate of travel used to
determine the various geometric features of the roadway. It is the maximum safe speed that
can be maintained over a specified section of a road when the conditions are so favorable that
the design features of a road govern. Some design elements such as curvature, super
elevation, sight distance and gradient are directly related to the design speed. Economic and
environmental considerations should determine the selection of design speed, which is
influenced by the following factors;

a) Classification and function of the road

b) The nature of the terrain

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 c) The density and character of adjoining land use
d) The traffic volumes expected to use the road

As these factors usually vary along the route of some length, the design speed does not have to
be constant for the whole length of a road. On the contrary, changes in the design speed are
usually required in order to obtain proper correlation between the road layout and the above
factors, whilst maintaining construction costs at realistic levels. Guiding values for the selection
of design speed are given below:

Table 3.4 Guiding values for the selection of design speed

TERRAIN ROAD CLASSIFICATION

A&B C D&E
Level 100-120 90-100 80
Rolling 70-100 60-90 50-80
Mountainous 50-70 40-60 30-50
The following definitions apply to the different types of terrain referred to in the table

Level Terrain: Level or gently rolling country which offers few obstacles to the construction of a
road having continuously unrestricted horizontal and vertical alignment (transverse terrain slope
around 5%)

Rolling Terrain; Rolling, hilly or foot-hill country where the slopes generally rise and fall
moderately gently rise and fall moderately gently and where occasional steep slopes may be
encountered. It will offer some restrictions in horizontal and vertical alignment (transverse
terrain slope around 20%)

Mountainous terrain: Rugged, hilly and mountainous country and river gorges. This class of
terrain imposes definite restrictions on the standard of alignment obtainable and often involves
long steep grades and limited sight distances(transverse terrain slope up to 70%)

The following general guidelines should also be considered:

i) Drivers on long-distance journeys are apt to travel at higher speeds than local traffic.
This should be taken into account when selecting speed for major trunk roads.
ii) On local roads whose major function is to provide access, high speeds are
undesirable and the design speed should be selected accordingly.
iii) Drivers do not usually adjust their speeds to the importance of a road, but to
physical limitations and prevailing traffic conditions, where a difficult location is
obvious to the driver, he is more apt to accept a lower speed operation than where
there is no apparent reason for it. Allow design speed should not be assumed for a
road where the topography is such that drivers are apt to travel at high speeds
iv) Changes in design speed, if required, should not be effected abruptly, but over
sufficient distances to enable drivers to change speed gradually. The change in
design speed should not be greater than 25% and the section with the lower
geometric standards should be long enough to be clearly recognizable by drivers (
not, for example, just one single curve)

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Design Speed Notes

 The basic purpose in selection of a using the design speed concept is to achieve
consistency in the various design elements that influence vehicle operations
 The selection of an appropriate design speed is dependent on the predicted driver
behavior and is, therefore, rather complex. This selection of design speed should receive
considerable preliminary investigation and thought so safety will be realized from the
design.
 The primary basis for selecting the design speed should be a rational prediction of the
probable maximum operating speed (by approximately 90 percent of the vehicles) on the
street or highway. The "average running speed" is not acceptable as a design speed.
 The driver does not necessarily adjust speed to the classification of importance (or lack
of it) of the street or highway.
 The design speed shall not be less than the expected posted or legal speed limit.
 The design speed utilized should be consistent over a given section of highway.
 Required changes in design speed should be effected in a gradual fashion. When
isolated reductions in design speed cannot reasonably be avoided, appropriate speed
signs should be posted