Highway

and Traffic
Engineering
 Outline
̶ Introduction to Road Systems ̶ Highway Materials, Types &
Characteristics, Specifications &
̶ Location Survey in Rural and Urban tests,
Areas;
̶ Urban Location Controls;
̶ Introduction to resilient behavior.
̶ Highway Planning.
̶ Geometric Design
̶ Highway Engineering
̶ Design controls and criteria;

̶ Highway Components,
̶ Sight Distance requirements;

̶ Elements of a typical cross section

̶ Horizontal curves; Super Elevation;
of road. ̶ Transition curve;
̶ Types of cross-section; ̶ Curve Widening;
̶ Highway location; ̶ Grade line;
̶ Classification of Highways; ̶ Vertical curves.
̶ Pavement Design ̶ Construction and Maintenance and
rehabilitation.
̶ Types of pavements.
̶ Wheel loads.
̶ Traffic Engineering
̶ Equivalent single axle load. ̶ Operating and Design speeds;
̶ Repetition and impact factors. ̶ Traffic Survey;
̶ Load distribution characteristics; ̶ Traffic Safety;
̶ Design of flexible and rigid pavements, ̶ At-grade and grade-separated
intersections;
̶ Highway Drainage, ̶ Traffic Control Devices;
̶ Pavement Failures, ̶ Capacity analysis;
̶ Introduction to non-destructive ̶ Traffic Management.
testing,
̶ Pavement evaluation;
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
̶ Jason C. Yu, Transportation Engineering Introduction to
Planning, Design and Operations, Elsevier Science Ltd (June
1982)
̶ Croney D., The Design and Performance of Road Pavements,
3rd Edition McGraw-Hill Professional (September 4, 2008)
̶ Salter R. J., Highway Traffic Analysis and Design, Palgrave
Macmillan; 3rd Edition (September 1996).
̶ Fred L. Mannering, Scott S. Washburn, Walter P. Kilareski
Principles of Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis,
Wiley; 4th Edition (September 9, 2008).
 PLO-3: Design /development of solutions: An
ability to design solutions for complex
engineering problems and design systems,
components or processes that meet specified
needs with appropriate consideration for
Program public health and safety, cultural, societal, and
environmental considerations.
Learning PLO 4 Investigation: An ability to investigate
Outcome complex engineering problems in a
methodical way including literature survey,
design and conduct of experiments, analysis
and interpretation of experimental data, and
synthesis of information to derive valid
conclusions.
Course Learning Outcomes
CLO 1: To design pavements (flexible/rigid) for structural and geometric
parameters.
CLO 2: To investigate different properties related to highway and traffic
engineering.
Course Program Learning Domain
Learning Learning
Outcome Outcome

CLO-1 PLO-3 Cognitive 5

CLO-2 PLO-4 Cognitive 5

 Highway
Engineering
̶ Highway engineering is an engineering discipline
branching from civil engineering that involves the
̶ planning,
̶ design,
̶ construction,
̶ operation, and
̶ Maintenance
̶ of roads, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and
effective transportation of people and goods
Why are highways so important?
̶ Highways
are vitally important to a country’s economic
development.
̶ Theconstruction of a high quality road network directly
increases a nation’s economic output by reducing journey
times and costs, making a region more attractive
economically.
̶ The actual construction process will have the added effect
of stimulating the construction market.
̶ Highway construction and improvements to the highway
network can positively influence economic development.
Such improvements can increase accessibility and thus
attract new industries and spur local economies.
 Traffic Engineering
̶ Traffic engineering is a branch of civil
engineering that uses engineering techniques
to achieve the safe and efficient movement of
people and goods on roadways.
̶ It focuses mainly on research for safe and
efficient traffic flow, such as road geometry,
sidewalks, segregated cycle facilities, shared
lane marking, traffic signs, road surface
markings and traffic lights.
̶ Traffic engineering deals with the functional
part of transportation system, except the
infrastructures provided.
Elements of
Transportation
There are three main elements of automobile
transportation:
➢The road users (Drivers and pedestrians)
➢The vehicle
➢The road way and geometric design of
roads
Classification of Highways
̶ The classification of highways into different operational systems, functional
classes, or geometric types is necessary for communication among
engineers, administrators, and the general public.
̶ Classification of highways by design types based on the major geometric
features (e.g., freeways and conventional streets and highways) is the most
helpful one for highway location and design procedures.
̶ Classification by route numbering (e.g., U.S., State, County) is the most
helpful for traffic operations.
̶ Administrative classification (e.g., National Highway System or Non-National
Highway System) is used to denote the levels of government responsible for,
and the method of financing, highway facilities.
̶ Functional classification, the grouping of highways by the character of
service they provide, was developed for transportation planning purposes.
Hierarchies of
Movements and
Components
̶ A complete functional design
system provides a series of distinct
travel movements.
̶ The six stages in most trips include
main movement, transition,
distribution, collection, access, and
termination.
Classification of Highways
Depending on weather
• All weather roads
• Fair weather roads

Depending the type of highway

National Carriage
actway
( 1956 )
• Paved roads
• Unpaved roads

Based on the Traffic Volume

• Heavy
• Medium
• Light
 Based on modified system of
Highways classification
̶ Primary
➢Expressways
➢National Highways

̶ Secondary
➢State Highway
➢ Major District Roads

̶ Tertiary
➢Ordinary district Roads
➢ Village Roads
Expressways
̶ Heavy traffic at high speed (120km/hr)
̶ Land Width (90m)
̶ Connects major points of traffic generation
̶ No slow moving traffic allowed
̶ No loading, unloading, parking.
 National Highways
̶ The National Highways of Pakistan consists of all public highways
maintained by National Highways Authority under the Ministry of
Transport.
̶ It maintains over 12,000 kilometers (7,500 mi) of roadways organized
into various classifications which crisscross the country and provide
access to major population centers..
̶ All national highways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'N' (for
"National") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific
highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "N-5". Each numerical
designation is separated by five numerals, i.e. N-5, N-10, N-15, etc.
State Highways
̶ They are the arterial roads of a state, connecting up
with the national highways of adjacent states, district
head quarters and important cities within the state.
̶ Example:
via Charsadda – Mardan – Swabi –
S-1 Peshawar – Taxila 194 km Topi – Ghazi – Sirikot – Panian –
Haripur – Hattar

Larkana - Qubo
S09 70 km via Shahdadkot
Saeed Khan
Major District Roads
̶ Important roads with in a district serving areas of
production and markets , connecting those with each
other or with the major highways.
Other district roads
̶ Roads serving rural areas of production and providing them with outlet
to market centers or other important roads like MDR or SH.
Village roads
̶ They are roads connecting villages or group of villages
with each other or to the nearest road of a higher
category like ODR or MDR.
Urban Road Patterns
̶ Historically inherited
̶ Later additions can be planned
̶ The choice of a road pattern depends upon the extent
of land use or the distribution of residential, industrial
and business areas in a city, the nature of the terrain,
and the planner’s preferences
 Grid Iron Pattern
̶ This is also known as rectangular or block pattern and is
perhaps the simplest.
̶ The Romans preferred it, as have the Americans who
adopted it in many of their cities.
̶ This is easy to set out in straight lines and rectangular co-
ordinates and is suitable for flat terrain.
̶ The disadvantages of this pattern are monotonously long
streets and the inconvenience in traffic operation.
̶ There are also certain advantages such as bypassing any
road with traffic congestion and the convenience of
imposing one-way traffic, if necessary, making alternate
streets with one- way traffic in opposite directions.
Radial Pattern
̶ In this pattern, roads emanate from a central
focal area, which may be a business centre or
an important public building.
̶ In order to ease the congestion in the focal
area, ring roads are provided; there can be
several such roads—inner, intermediate and
outer—depending on the requirements of the
traffic.
̶ The shape of a ring road may be round, square,
or elongated. Based on this, the pattern may be
star and grid, or star and circular.
Hexagonal Pattern
̶ The hexagonal pattern can be modified by
dividing the hexagon into six triangle units by
link roads; this facilitates travel from one
place to any other place in the area in the
minimum possible time, compared to any
other pattern.
̶ This, in fact, is known as a ‘minimum travel
pattern’ and was used in certain cities to
great advantage.
Urban Road Classification
̶ ARTERIAL ROADS
̶ SUB ARTERIAL
̶ COLLECTOR
̶ LOCAL STREET
̶ PATHWAY
̶ DRIVEWAY
ARTERIAL
̶ Arterials primarily serve long-distance travel and are
typically designed as either access controlled or
partially access controlled facilities with limited
locations at which vehicles can enter or exit the
roadway (typically via on- or off-ramps).
̶ Design Speed : 80km/hr
̶ Land width : 50 – 60m
̶ Divided roads with full or partial parking
̶ Pedestrian allowed to walk only at intersection
SUB ARTERIAL
̶ Less mobility than arterial.
̶ Design speed : 60 km/hr
̶ Land width : 30 – 40 m
 Collector Street
̶ As their name implies, Collectors “collect” traffic from Local Roads and
connect traffic to Arterial roadways.
̶ Collector routes are typically shorter than Arterial routes but longer
than Local Roads.
̶ Collects and distributes traffic from local streets
̶ Provides access to arterial roads
̶ Located in residential, business and industrial areas.
̶ Full access allowed.
̶ Parking permitted.
̶ Design speed : 50km/hr
̶ Land Width : 20-30m
Local Street
̶ Design Speed : 30km/hr.
̶ Land Width : 10 – 20m.
̶ Primary access to residence, business or other abutting
property
̶ Less volume of traffic at slow speed
̶ Origin and termination of trips.
̶ Unrestricted parking, pedestrian movements. (with
frontage access, parked vehicle, bus stops and no
waiting restrictions)
Highway Planning Studies
Assessment of the length of road required for a given area
The preparation of a master plan for the area taking into consideration
future needs, and phasing the programme in annual or five-year plans,
based on the priorities and utility
These are:
➢Economic Studies
➢Road Use Studies
➢Engineering Studies
➢Financial Studies
Economic Studies
̶ Details of the existing facilities, their
utility, distribution of the existing
population in the area, population
growth trends, existing products in
the agricultural and industrial
sectors, future trends of
development in these sectors,
existing communication and
education facilities, and the per
capita income are to be collected.
 Road Use Studies
̶ Details of the existing road facilities, traffic
volume in vehicles per day, traffic flow
patterns, classes of traffic such as passenger
cars, busses and trucks, loads carried,
average speeds, anticipated future trends of
traffic growth, and other traffic-related
studies are to be conducted
Engineering
Studies
̶ These include study of the topography, soil,
road life and special problems, if any, relating
to construction, drainage and maintenance
Financial Studies
̶ Various financial aspects such as the sources
of funding, estimated revenue from taxes on
vehicles, toll tax, and indirect benefits of
raising the living standards of the people due
to the proposed road network are
considered
 Sustainability
̶ In a broad sense, the “sustainability” of a
human-devised system refers to its ability to
̶ (1) exist and function within a larger system
without degrading it, and
̶ (2) provide for and meet the human needs for
which the system was developed.

̶ Sustainable development is development that

meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
̶
Cont’d.
̶ Generally, “sustainable” in the context of pavements refers to system
characteristics that encompasses a pavement’s ability to
̶ (1) achieve the engineering goals for which it was constructed,
̶ (2) preserve and (ideally) restore surrounding ecosystems,
̶ (3) use financial, human, and environmental resources economically,
and
̶ (4) meet basic human needs such as health, safety, equity, employment,
comfort, and happiness

̶ Sustainability is Context Sensitive→ Surrounding systems and a

pavement’s influence on them is necessary
 Importance of a Sustainability
Definition
̶ It typically addresses what should be considered but does not give direction on
how those considerations are to be prioritized or implemented.
̶ Especially relevant because sustainability often requires the consideration of
trade-offs in the decision-making process.
̶ Question!
̶ Should a pavement use locally available extracted materials or make use of
recycled materials that require long distance hauling?
̶ Should the benefit of a quieter surface course be selected over a pavement
with a longer service life?
̶ Often, both alternatives have legitimate sustainability arguments, but the
option that is ultimately selected (in other words, how sustainability is actually
implemented) reflects agency, stakeholder, and project priorities and
limitations.
̶ These priorities and limitations are the appropriate focal point in approaching
sustainability
 Why?
̶ environment (e.g.,
climate change,
ecosystem changes, non-
renewable resource
depletion)
̶ societal factors (e.g., land
use, access, aesthetics)
̶ economic considerations
GHG emissions by economic sector in the U.S.
(net benefits, lifecycle
(EPA 2013) costs)
Importance of Sustainability in
Pavement Engineering
̶ Environmental component: energy consumption; GHG emissions;
noise; air quality; stormwater treatment.
̶ Social component: safety (fatalities, injuries, property damage);
smoothness; vehicle operating costs; GHG emissions; access, mobility;
aesthetics.
̶ Economic: construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation costs; vehicle
operating costs; crash costs.
 Beyond GHGs
̶ Energy consumption. Roads take energy to construct, maintain, rehabilitate,
and recycle. Roads affect the energy consumption of the vehicles using them
through their interaction with those vehicles to include such properties as
geometric design, surface roughness, and rolling resistance.
̶ Habitat loss, fragmentation, and change. Roads cause direct habitat loss over
their footprint and diminish adjacent habitat, impede wildlife movement, and
can change wildlife distribution in an area based on their barrier effects,
roadkill, and dispersal function.
̶ Water quality. Pavement surfaces generally collect significant pollutants from
the vehicles that use the facility, and rainwater can carry those pollutants into
nearby bodies of water unless properly managed. Runoff from pavements is
also often warmed, thereby affecting the temperature of streams and
potentially the suitability of the habitat for some species.
Cont’d.
̶ Air quality. Vehicles that use a pavement facility, as well as the
equipment used to process the necessary raw materials and construct
the roads, degrade overall air quality. This degradation includes not only
emission from the combustion of fuel but also fine airborne particulate
(less than 0.01 mm [10 micron or < PM10] in size).
̶ Depletion of non-renewable resources. Roads, in their current state,
require the use of a significant amount of nonrenewable natural
resources (e.g., aggregate, petroleum, limestone) to construct,
maintain, and rehabilitate.
̶ Economic development. Road construction and maintenance can create
local employment opportunities and contribute to the ability of other
businesses to function (e.g., freight transport, workers getting to/from
work).
Cont’d.
̶ Mobility. Roads can contribute to a population’s mobility by providing
greater capacity and desirability of all transportation modes: pedestrian,
bicycle, car, and transit.
̶ Access. Roads can provide greater modal access to locations. This could be
vehicular access to a rural area, or it could be pedestrian, bicycle, or transit
access in urban areas.
̶ Freight. Roads carry a significant amount of commercial freight across the
U.S. In fact, trucking constitutes the largest share of the U.S. commercial
freight industry based on value (71.3 percent) and weight (70.0 percent). In
2007, over $8.3 trillion worth of freight was moved via the trucking
industry.
̶ Community. Roads are long, linear forms of infrastructure exhibiting many
access points and providing access and mobility. As such, they can have
large community impact both positive (e.g., gathering area, sense of place,
modal access, mobility) and negative (e.g., fragmentation, health issues,
safety)
Pavement
Life Cycle
Materials Production
̶ Pavement materials production refers to all processes involved in
pavement materials acquisition (e.g., mining, crude oil extraction) and
processing (e.g., refining, manufacturing, mixing).
̶ This document includes plant processes (e.g., production of AC by
mixing aggregate, asphalt cement and additives; production of concrete
by mixing aggregate, cementitious materials and additives) used in the
materials production phase.
̶ Materials production affects such sustainability factors as air/water
quality, ecosystem health, human health and safety, depletion of non-
renewable resources, and life-cycle costs.
Pavement Design
̶ Pavement design refers to the process of identifying the structural and
functional requirements of a pavement for given site conditions
(subgrade, climate, existing pavement structure, traffic loadings) and
then determining the pavement structural composition and
accompanying materials.
̶ Included in this phase are the design processes for not only new
pavement design, but also those processes associated with pavement
rehabilitation (e.g., structural overlays, bonded/unbonded concrete
overlays).
̶ Structural design affects such sustainability factors as performance life,
durability, life-cycle costs, construction (e.g., constructability,
sequencing, schedule), and materials use.
Construction
̶ Pavement construction refers to all processes and equipment associated
with the construction of pavement systems.
̶ Generally, construction activities are associated with initial construction
as well as subsequent maintenance and rehabilitation efforts.
̶ Production of mixtures is addressed in the materials production phase.
̶ Construction activities affect such sustainability factors as air and water
quality, human health and safety, durability, and work zone traffic delay,
as well as project costs and time.
Use
̶ Pavement use refers to interactions with vehicle operations and the
environment.
̶ A number of key pavement factors (e.g., roughness, viscoelastic energy
dissipation, deflection, macrotexture) can have large effects on most
sustainability metrics, including fuel economy, vehicle operating
costs, and associated GHG emissions and energy use.
̶ Environmental interactions (e.g., stormwater disposition, heat
capacity/conductivity, and reflectivity) can also impact other
sustainability factors such as human health and safety, the urban heat
island effect, and radiative forcing on a global scale.
Maintenance and Preservation
̶ Pavement maintenance and preservation refer to actions that help slow
the rate of deterioration of a pavement by identifying and addressing
specific pavement deficiencies that contribute to overall deterioration.
̶ The following are classified as maintenance and preservation:
̶ sealing, patching, seal coats, chip seals, thin overlays, in-place recycling
of pavement surfaces, diamond grinding, load transfer restoration, and
concrete pavement repairs.
̶ Maintenance and preservation impacts sustainability factors such as
performance life, durability, life-cycle costs, construction (e.g.,
constructability, sequencing, schedule), and materials use.
End-of-Life
̶ Pavement end-of-life refers to the final disposition and subsequent
reuse, processing, or recycling of any portion of a pavement system that
has reached the end of its useful life.
̶ The following are generally classified as end-of-life considerations:
̶ full-depth reclamation, recycled materials including reclaimed asphalt
pavement (RAP) and recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), and landfilling.
̶ End-of-life considerations impact sustainability factors such as waste
generation and disposition, air and water quality, and materials use.
Assignment
Write a paper (no more than 4 pages) on the influence of
pavements on heavy metal deposition in stormwater.