URP 312 – HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

COURSE OUTLINE

1. Introduction to Highway Engineering

2. Road Design and Construction Methods

3. Road Geometry

4. Highway Construction Materials

5. Road Alignment Principles and Aesthetics Consideration

6. Road Furniture

7. Maintenance of Highway Infrastructure

8. E.I.A
 1.0 INTRODUCTION TO HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

On a general note, transportation can be seen as the circulation system of the

rural and urban setting. Any fault with the system readily transforms through the
whole setting. Hence without transportation, civilisation is hampered. Transportation
encourages interactions transfer of knowledge and unification. It allows for cross
fertilization of ideas, thus encouraging innovations. The primitive man wanted to
explore his environment, this he did until the trade by barter era, and went on until
the early days of motorised transport. Over time improvement came over vehicular
transport. Transportation becomes possible with water, rail, road and air transport.

Earlier on rail moves at the rate of 9km/h, but the Japanese train presently
moves at over 150mph. The early motor car i.e. Ford of 1910 moved at the rate of
18km/h. However, speed of more than 500km/h is possible in modern day
limousines. Improved transport technology helps to shrink the world through the
travel time and surmounting of distance barriers. An efficient transport system form a
dependable life wire of a country and it consumes about 1/5th of the country
economic allocation. Thus, port allows for importation while road transport re-
distribute the goods and the network is being constantly improved upon by design
standard and road expansion i.e. width & expansion. 90% of vehicular transport is
road based hence the importance attached to the design of roads and its
construction.

The strategies adopted in building the urban transport system inform the
design of transport facilities. In any highway planning survey planning studies, the
following surveys are important:

1. Economic studies

2. Financial studies

3. Road use studies

4. Technical/ Engineering studies

1) ECONOMICS STUDIES: This entails details analysis of the population dynamic

in the catchments area, trend of population growth, statistics of produce, from
industry and farm, agriculture and identical development practices, per capital

2
 income in the area, stock of the existing facilities such as education, place of
worship, recreation, commercial centre and other land uses.

2) FINANCIAL STUDIES: This analysed major sources of income in the area, living
standard of the people and sources from which could be generated such as tax,
tolls vehicle registration, local levies and so on. It also analyses the future trends
of financial prospects.

3) ROAD USE STUDIES: This analysed a detailed study of traffic flow on their past
pattern of the roads in the area. This is done through traffic counts such as traffic
volume. It can also be done through the traffic flow patterns, (O & D) origin and
destination surveys, accident and their causes and projected trend of traffic and
their volumes.

4) TECHNICAL / ENGINEERING STUDIES: This involves detailed inventories of

such phenomenal of as topography survey of the area and soil type survey for
the area. It involves also location and classification of the existing roads in the
area, road life study and the typical problem of the area, such as drainage,
construction and maintenance related problems.

From the above, a general area plan showing the topography, existing road
network, drainage structure, rivers, canals, villages with population, industrial,
commercial and agricultural information are given. The distributions of population
group are shown as well as location of places with their respective produce,
existing road and proposed alternatives all are shown.

CORDON: This phrase stands for origin and destination (O & D) survey.
Highway engineering could thus be seen as involving development stages or
phases such as planning development, alignment, road geometry, design and
location, materials, pavement characteristics and pavement maintenance.
Highway engineering talks of roads and hill side, landscaping as well as traffic
operation. Highway planning is a basic requirement for any new highway project,
just as planning is essential for every project. Highway planning has definite and
specific objectives.

3
 2.0 ROAD DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS

ROAD DESIGN: This is a feature influenced by so many factors. Different

design could be placed on an urban setting. However, this can be condensed into
four major types;

1) The type of town that is to be built i.e. the function it will serve will affect road
design because the function affects land use allocation.

2) The land use mix also influences design. This is because land use generate
traffic, in this regard the mix consider the composition of uses and their
proportions one to another.

3) The modal split envisaged also affects the design. This is allocation of
movement in a settlement to different mode of transport, e.g. pedestrian
walkways, cycle tracking, motorised way etc. The design will be influenced by
what uses for which the facility is provided. The modal split is to be affected
mainly by dominant trip type. This in most cases is the trip to work or school.
The modal split can also be influenced by the function of the city; be it
administrative, residential, military, recreational etc.

4) Para-transit facilities affect the road design as well.

STRATEGIES FOR ROAD DESIGNS

1) FULL MOTORIZATION STRATEGY: This strategy assumes that everybody in

every family owns or will own a car. The planning standards are thus geared
towards motorized transport. Pedestrianization is minimal. As Such, urban
centre will be full of road of different hierarchy. The dominant road design in
full motorization strategies is the grid-iron design. Most of the roads is for fast
moving vehicles and are essentially districts and primary roads. This design is
common in urban centres of the United States (U.S.A). it is a very expensive
strategy as every kilometre cost over three million and maintenance costs,
keep rising. It is not fair if used in the developing world where only elites’ own
cars. The environmental impact is also very great and adverse on the urban
environment. Environmental problems include:

i. Atmospheric pollution by particulates such as Lead (Pb), Carbon

Monoxide (Co), Sulphuric Oxide (So2) emissions.

4
 ii. Noise pollution

iii. Community severance

iv. Traffic accidents

v. Micro-climate changes

vi. Erosion

vii. Visual offences owing to natural sceneries being replaced by macadam

and too many cars in the neighbourhood

2) THE WEAK CENTRE STRATEGY: On this plan, the roads radiate from
city centre to sub-centres. Advantages of this includes;

i. A dilution of the impact at the city centre

ii. Provision of mobility for those not catered for in the full motorization
strategy as public motorization comes in.

iii. It cost less than the full motorization as less roads are involved per
unit area.

iv. It gives identity to the settlement as the city centre is the least of the
settlement.

v. Many focal points are available hence criss-crossing is permitted.

vi. Pollution is less compared with the full motorization above.

vii. Social interaction may also be enhanced.

On the other hand, the demerits of this strategy are;

i. There are still a lot of movement to the city centre.

ii. The CBD functions are replicated at the sub-centres hence optimal
return may not be got from investment.

3) STRONG CENTRE STRATEGY: Districts shopping centres are provided

to meet daily needs or frequent needs, while higher order needs are
confined on to the CBD. Here all facilities are of highest order, and traffic as
well as congestion is high. In the evening, ghost city exists. The skyline is
5
 represented here as land is limited and expensive while the need is highest
hence vertical expansion comes in to play. In developed countries (CBD)
operate on mixed usage of space. E.g. tall buildings have office on lower
floor, film houses on the third and fourth floor and residential on the fifth and
sixth floor and above. Public transportation is dominant as parking space is
limited. The highest of this is seen in area like skim in Singapore.
Pedestrianization also comes in, it could be full or partial pedestrianization.
By this strategy the high of the street is identified through traffic survey. This
is closed to traffic and landscape with chairs and benches, flashboard, loud
speaker etc. This treatment is to fully exclude

Vehicular movement, Car parks are provided at outer fringes

Major problem of the strategies is:

i. Congestion is localized endemic due to too many job opportunities and

too many vehicles. The city centre is also humanly congested and as
such.

ii. Waste management problem is common

iii. There is over utilization of facilities at the centre and less usage at the
periphery. This of is true of London, New York, Ibadan and Lagos.

4) LOW COST STRATEGY: This is the hybrid of all the three (3) strategies.
There are sub-centres that are not strong enough to weaken the centre.
There are outline or regional (commercial centre) sub-centres. The
regional shopping centres take the strains off the centre business district
(CBD) as they are almost as good as the CBDs.

3.0 CONSTRUCTION METHODS

There are many methods of constructing roads each has its peculiar
characteristics principles. The most popular construction method is that evolved
by macadam a surveyor general of roads in England. The construction process
or methods goes thus:

6
 1. Design width of about 9m, the sub grade that is well compacted with a
cross slope of 1:36 to aid sub grade-drainage.

1:36

2. The first foundation layer should be made of hard stone of 5cm size which
is compacted to a uniform 10cm thickness on prepared sub grade.

3. The second layer is that of hard and strong of 3.75cm mesh size which is
compacted to 10cm thickness

4. The top dressing consists of less than 2cm stone size thickness which is
compacted to 5cm thickness.

5. The finishing surface is giving a slope of 1:36.

The method is known as camber method. Other earlier methods include

Macadam method, Pierre Treasagucht method, Metcalf method and Trafford
method.

CONSIDERATION IN ROAD DESIGN AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Modern structural design of the road pavement is based on the Equivalent

Standard Axle load concept (ESA). This is directed at the design standard of 1
million ESA or more. It is also presuming that while overload may occur, it may
not cause outright failure from a single pass. Traffic load on existing proxy
facilities are studied to reflects anticipated traffic volume. The thickness arrived
at, is to be applied to both carriage way and shoulders.

The growth of a path to a road follows many stages:

 First the weak spots owing to high water or poor drainage table are
improved.
7
  Secondly the alignment of the road is improved to reduce sharp curves
and slopes.

 Thirdly pavement is improved by spreading gravel to resist the vehicular

traffic.

As traffic volume increases the required standard of excess increases until

conscious management and administration decision are needed and construction
and maintenance procedure to use. At the onset of vehicles on the road, all
weather roads can be achieved by hand spraying chip sills or by use of
penetration macadam. The provision of the highest compaction is desired to
obtain best performance. It should be bore in mind that construction and road
maintenance relied on the actual axel loading to be accommodated.

This goes beyond the theoretical (limit) setting as this limit may not be strictly
observed (enforced). Where excessive loading come in, the road deteriorates very
quickly. Axel load survey in the locality should be used to guide design parameter
more so as individual load is critical. Provision of routine maintenance is essential
to prolong road life. No maintenance should be expected within the first six years
of road construction.

Bitumen surface road should be constantly scaled and the drains cleared
regularly. It should be noted that low cost technology easily adapted to the
environment should be used. Axel load survey, soil-composition tests, shoulder
material sampling and pavement stiffness test using Benkelman Beam (BB) test.
The Benkelman Beam (BB) test is a cheap method of revealing comprehensive
situation of a road. It should be bored in mind that the sub-grade and the sub-base
need to be protected from rain, flood and flash floods, hence the essence of good
drainage.

ROAD PAVEMENT DESIGN

Various methods of pavement designs are in use based purely on empirical

assessment. Different countries adopt different methods. Basically, there are
two criteria applicable for pavement construction namely; quality of the sub
grade and the total number of commercial vehicles expected in the standard
axles in the road. In the rear side lane in one direction over the design life
8
ROAD PAVEMENTS

The road pavement is the total depth of the layers including all insitu,
stabilised materials made to support the traffic and supported by the sub
grade. A clay sub grade is to be removed totally before new laterite is put in
place and stabilised before the bitumen material is spread on it. There are two
types of pavement namely; flexible and rigid pavements.

FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

This is a tarred construction of low flexural stability which for design purpose
is assumed to have low tensile strength and relies for stability on the
interlocking of the particles constituting the various layers. In engineering
parlance, this is often referred to as pavement without reinforced concrete
layer in construction or one which is not completely rigid. It is commonly used
to describe bituminous road construction however thick the layer may be

RIGID PAVEMENT

This is the construction of high flexural stability which for design purposes,
the tensile strength is considered. It relies for stability on the ability of the
homogenous construction to adequately distribute traffic load on the
pavement. It therefore includes reinforce concrete roads. It is a term
commonly used to describe any concrete construction.

9
 The sub-grade: the natural foundation which directly receives the load
(weight from the pavement).

Formation; it is the layer (surface) of the sub grade prepared to receive the
pavement.

Sub-Base; this is the secondary layer of load carrying materials place directly
on the formation. In the rigid pavement it is commonly called the base.

The Base; This is the principal load carrying layer which supports the
surfacing in rigid pavement. This layer is called the slab.

Surfacing; The top layer or layer of the pavement comprising of the wearing
course I.e. layer which carry the traffic and the base course i.e. the layer
between the weaving course and the road course

4.0 HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

SOIL

Soil is a major material in highway engineering. This is so as it affects some

properties of the sub grade. This in turn affects wave formation and corrugation
in flexible pavement and cracking and blowing in concrete pavement in
advanced climate and harsh loading conditions. Soil characteristics vary with
soil types. What to look on soil type is the chemical composition of the grain,
size, shape and surface texture.

The moisture content, dry density and moisture retention properties of the soil
affect its engineering properties. Soil for road materials must possess good
drainage properties, stability, incompressibility, easy compatibility, Minimum
Volume Change (MVC) and constant strength among others. In road

10
 construction, the sub grade which is an integral part of the road pavement
should possess sufficient strength and stability under adverse climate and
loading conditions. The power of the sub grade depends on the shear strength,
the bearing power and the penetration resistance of the soil. The shear strength
can be determined using the coulombs empirical equation;

Sr= C+ Δtanθ where

Sr= shear strength

C= cohesion factor

Θ= angle of internal friction

Δ= normal stress.

The bearing power can be determined by the use of Plate Bearing Test (PBT)
using the modules of sub grade reaction test procedure.

The highway pavement is made up of components whose individual reliability

adds up to make for the strength of the road. The sub grade which is an integral part
of the road should possess sufficient strength and stability. Penetration test can be
done in-situ or in the laboratory.

The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and the core test are common in this regard.
The CBR is the ratio of a test load required to force a cylindrical plunger of
19.355cm2 cross sectional area into a soil mass at a rate of 0.125cm per minute to
the load required for a corresponding penetration of the plunger into a standard
sample of crush stone.

STONE AGGREGATES

This is a major portion of a road structure. They are used in cement concrete and
bituminous concrete as granular based course in pavement construction. The
aggregate must satisfy the road engineering in the following ways;

 It must be sufficiently strong to carry traffic volume

 Hardness; must be sufficiently strong to withstand attrition within and

among the grains, and abrasion due to moving vehicles.
11
 Toughness; this is required due to impact with moving wheel. An impact
test is done to determine toughness of aggregate.

 Durability; the aggregate must withstand weathering action, rain,

atmospheric conditions, etc.

 Shape of aggregate; rounded aggregate are preferred for cement

pavements. Aggregates with more than 45% of flaky or elongated particles
must be discarded. In water bound macadam construction and granular based
courses, angular or rough texture aggregates should be preferred to aid
interlocking.

 Adhesion with bitumen; there must be easy chemical and physical affinity
for binding with bitumen in bitumen construction. This prevents weathering
during rainfall by delusion.

 Cementation; properties that enhances binding or sticking in water

especially in water-based macadam should be used. The aggregate must fair
well with respect to crushing test, impact test, abrasion test, shape,
soundness, especially gravity, water absorption test and bitumen adhesion
test. Abrasion test not more than 16% for cement concrete construction up to
30% in the bitumen mixes and up to 50% for base courses.

BITUMEN

These are mixture of hydrocarbon of natural or hydrogenous origin. It is a

non-crystalline material which could be solid or viscous; adhesive in nature
and derive from petroleum distillation processes or existing in natural deposits.

TAR

This is obtained by destructive distillation of coal in the absence of air.

CUT BACK BITUMEN

This is bitumen whose viscosity has been cut back or reduced by the action of
diluents. The Cut Back Bitumen (CBB) could be Rapid Curing Cutback; it
could also be Medium Curing Cutback and could also be Slow Curing
Cutback.

BITUMEN EMULSION
12
 These are liquid product with an amount of bitumen with amount of
suspended aqueous medium solvent held in space by chemical stabilizers.
The quantity of bitumen varies from 40-60%. The remaining being water.

ROAD GEOMETRY DESIGN

The geometry of road is very important in road construction. The design should
guarantee maximum safety at (reasonable cost), efficiency in traffic operation with
maximum safety at low cost. In road designs, the following are very important;

1. The cross-section elements such as pavement, width of formation, width

surface characteristics and camber.

2. Sight distances, visibility distance.

3. Alignment details (horizontal and vertical curvature), super elevation and

gradient.

4. Intersection elements and layout of intersections.

The topography locality and traffic characteristics influences highway geometry,

speed and design traffic, traffic capacity, benefit cost analysis ratio and some
other factors affects (govern) the design of a road.

Cross Sectional Elements

i. The Carriage Way: this depends on lane width, numbers of lanes and type of
traffic. The lane width is often determined by vehicles, the width and side
clearance provided for safety. The carriage way intended for one lane of
traffic movement is called a traffic lane.

0.53m 2.44m 1.06m 2.44m 0.53m

7m

When side clearance is much, this enhances the capacity of the traffic lane
and hence the efficiency of the lane. Minimum width is 3.81m for

13
 conventional vehicles i.e. 2.44m for the vehicle and 0.53m on both sides for
side clearance.

A double lane with facilities requires 7.0m the traffic volume and the traffic
capacity for each lane determines the number of lanes the road carries.
Lane layouts on multiple lanes road are often fitted with traffic separation
which could be physical dividers, pavement marking or area separators of
between 6 0r 8 to 14 meters wide.

ii. Kerb: The boundary between the pavement and the shoulder formed the kerb.
It could be fitted with physical facilities that demarcates or mark them out.
Kerb could be below about 7.8cm high. This allow for vehicle to climb and
park. It also facilitates longitudinal drainage.

iii. Urban Parking Kerb: 15-20cm high with batter to prevent harm to tyres
(scrapping of tyre) and encroachment on pedestrian’s walkways.

iv. High Speed Kerb: These are 25-45cm high kerbs and they confine vehicles
to pavement area. They are common on bridges, slopes and hills side.

v. Road Margins: Shoulders are provided on either side of road pavement to aid
lateral support. They serve as emergency lane for parking. They have a
width of about 4.6m to allow wide trucks to park off the road conveniently.

vi. Parking Lanes: These are 3m wide and are common on urban city centre
roads and could be extensive in length.

vii. The Frontage: This gives access to properties along busy roads which may
however be separated from the main road by wide separators.

viii. Pedestrian Walkways: This is essential and necessary in urban centres

where traffic is high. It is usually 1.5m wide always on both side of the
pavement.

ix. Cycle Tracks: It is usually about 2-3m wide, provided where cycle traffic is
very high.

x. Width of Formation: This includes width of the crown plus the shoulders and
separators if any. Hence the width of formation varies with provision on the

14
 roads. The road lanes width (right of way – ROW) is the total land required
for road purposes.

xi. Camber: This is the slope fitted on the road to aid natural drainage of
waste water during rain or flood. This comes to place by virtue of higher
place sloping forward to the edges of road. It is often influenced by amount
of rainfall. The camber could be;

i. Barrel shaped camber i.e. slopes at the edges only and flat at the centre.

ii. Slope shaped camber i.e. straight slopes joined at the centre.

iii. Composite shaped camber i.e. two straight slopes at the edges and
parabolic materials or portion at the centre. Preferred for slow moving
vehicles.

xii. Sight Distance: Adequate visibility is important on the road. Safe and
efficient operation of fast vehicles depends on how far you can see at a
distance. This affects drivers’ sight of oncoming vehicles and obstructions by
fixed object on the road. The distance should be sufficiently long enough to
allow driver to react fully to what he see so as to stimulate him to avoid
accident. This is a height and distance of driver at the road surface which can
allow driver to see obstruction and moving objects on the road surface.

Intersection and road curves may reduce sight distances. Vertical summit and
curves may reduce it as well. Sight distances are dependent on:

 Height of the driver’s eye above pavement.

 Height of the object above the pavement.

 Features on the road.

15
xiii. Cross Sectional Layout: Basic types of layout includes two (2) lane
carriageway, three (3) lane carriageways, dual two (2) lane carriageway and
dual three (3) lane carriageway

xiv. Lane Width: The lane width has an important role to play in highway
capacity and efficiency. It is usual to prescribe 12feet i.e. 3.6m lane except on
a three lane single carriage ways where overall width of 33feet or about 11m
is prescribed. On sharp radius curves, extra width should be provided to allow
for increase in the effective width available to vehicles. On a 12feet lane, lane
should be widened by one foot for each lane on sharp curves of more than
500feet radius and 2feet where the radius of the curve is less than 500feet.

xv. Central Reserve: A median strip or wide central reserve is needed to

separate traffic on dual carriage way layout to separate the carriage way and
also to reduce the chances of skidding across the road. In theory the central
reserve need not assume a constant width. An aesthetic arrangement could
be achieved with carriageway set at different levels following unrelated
patterns. Topographic variations across the section and even including
changes of tree in the central reserve. The central reserve will have a
minimum width of 15ft or 10m where constrain prevent the normal.

xvi. Camber & Cross Fall: Provision must be made for run off surface water
from the carriage way. This is achieved by design or shaping the road cross
fall to allow for natural drainage into gutters, ditches and channels. The
carriageway mainly has a straight cross fall of 1 in 40.

Road camber has relatively flat portion at the crown but with the steep fall
near the fall. Excessive camber may force the driver to use the crown often.

xvii. Horizontal Alignment: The design speed of the road, the curves and
radius curve, super elevation are all important. The design speed is the
highest continuous speed at which individual vehicle can travel while
guarantee safety on the highway especially when weather condition are
16
 favourable, traffic density is low and the design features of the road allows for
such speed.

xviii. Super Elevation: This is an engineering component that consider angle

of banking of the road, the weight of travelling along horizontal curves radius
at a given travel speed. NOTE; The angle form while negotiating a bend is
known as banking. An outward centrifugal force is generated on the vehicle.
This should be considered for safety at the studio stage of road design.
Banking brings in the issue of self steering speed or hands off speed, issues
like minimum safety curve radius and the cornering factors should be left for
the engineers to decide. There is also the transition curves which is the
change in direction experienced when the vehicle moves from the straight line
on the tangent section of the alignment of the curves.

xix. Road Lay-bys: These are essential features used by vehicles willing to
stop along the road. They are fitted at area of scenic beauty, where travellers
are tempted to stop. They should be located along the two sides of the roads.
It should be 10-12 feet wide with absolute minimum of eight (8) feet length
and should not be less than 100feets excluding the tapering exist and entering
point. In some general cases, lay-bys are provided at 12miles interval.

xx. Road Landscaping: The road should be built to blend into the
environment on the landscape. The landscape should also consider the users
on straight stretches; the alignment should be such that will allow the driver to
easily appreciate his progress and engage mentally. Hill and other
topographical features can be used to achieve this. Local features such as tall
trees should be used. Various tree species could be planted for landscaping.

xxi. Verges, Footways and Cycle Tracks: Verges should be provided on all
roads with the verge visibility enhanced especially in horizontal curves. Where
practicable, footways, cycle track and like stands could be built in the verge.
Combined footway with cycle tracks should be discouraged. Cross verge
should separate cycle way from the footway and the cycle ways should be
uni-dimensional.

xxii. Kerb and Shoulder: Kerb is defined as the limit of the carriage way and
are useful in night driving. They should be vertically splayed or flush for
vehicle on thorough routes, conformity and uniformity is considered. A height
17
of 40cm above the carriage way surface is also recommended. The kerb
should have sufficient contrast in colour so as to define the edge of the
carriage way. Surface shoulder should be provided on motor ways to allow for
emergency pullout. The width is usually 10feets or 3meters.

5.0 ROAD ALIGNMENT AND AESTHETICS

The best road alignment is achieved when minimum overall transport cost
in term of cost and maintenance is guaranteed. It also minimises recurrent
cost of the vehicle operation and minimum ecological and environmental
damage. Alignment principles ensure that road fit well into the natural
landscape. It should satisfy the climatically and topographical dictates.
Alignment principles consider developmental administrative and strategic
needs of the areas being service. Roads are laid to take advantage of cols,
curves, saddles and passes. The alignment of the road depends on:

1). Reconnaissance survey

2). Preliminary survey

3). Determination of road centre line.

(Reconnaissance survey is done to examine the general characteristics of

the area for determining the most feasible routes for further details
investigation. The data collected should be adequate to examine the
feasibility of all the different routes)

4). Final location survey (preliminary survey is relatively large instrument

survey conducted for the purpose of collecting all physical information
which affects the proposed location of a new road) final location survey is
carried out to lay out the final centre line of the road in the field based on
the alignment selected in the design office and to collect necessary data
for the preparation of working drawings.

18
ROAD AESTHETIC

Road aesthetic talks about the beautification of road facilities and is enhanced
by planting of road furniture. Road planting are done to enhance

1) Constant and smooth alignment on both vertical and horizontal axis.

2) Wide right of way (ROW) and shoulders in rural road facilities.

3) To enhance save crossing for pedestrians

4) To enhance general aesthetic views and to demarcate parking lots

5) Stabilization of soil on areas where roads has cut into hillsides and
embankments

6) Road planting are done to provide attractive landscape to road users.

7) Shade and fruits for road users.

8) Timber or road materials.

9) To arrest desert encroachment in desert/arid region.

10) To break the monotony of road and country side.

11) Road planting absorbs wholesome vehicle noise, fume, pollution and
vibration.

12) The road uses micro-climatic influence of road macadam.

PRINCIPLE OF ROAD AESTHETIC

Road side planting in cities are mainly for beautification, hence ornamental
and flowering species are planted on roadside and shrubs on the medians.
The shrubs help reduce night glare. Though tree selection depends on quality,
type of soil and climate of the area and the following must be bear in mind.

1) The tree should have long life span.

2) The tree should yield good timber or fruits.

3) It should have thick shady crown.

4) They should be easy to grow and strong enough to resist wind storm.
19
 The planting should be located in such a way that will not interfere with traffic
or damage the road surface. The tree and centre point of the road should
maintain a gap of at least 12m on a dual carriage way facility. The trees are to
be sufficiently spread to avoid continuity of the crown, though within a space of
not less than 12m. Tree branching should not be allowed below 4.5m. Planting
operation of road side ornament includes

1) Excavation of the pit i.e. good soil with some manure is use to fill pit up to
a depth of 15cm below ground level after commencement of rain.

2) Preparation of seedling in the nursery.

3) Transplanting & caretaking

4) Watering and protection using iron guard, brick walk, drums, trench etc.

Chemicals could be done also. After tree planting the following could be
done.

i. Pruning: This help tree to grow straight .it is better done with a sharp
cutlass. Wound are painted or treated to prevent fungal or after infections.

ii. Looping: This helps the tree to conform to a particular shape. Branches
are (cutting of entire branches of tree) removed close to the steam of
wounds painted.

iii. Felling: this is done at maturity of trees on when they grow close to one
another.

6.0 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE

Highway maintenance can be defined as the preserving and keeping of

component of the highway e.g. such as the roadway, pavement, structure,
furniture etc as far as possible in condition similar to their original state. It
involves other rehabilitation works that keep traffic moving safely. Highway
maintenance therefore include

1. Maintenance of road surface

2. Maintenance of road shoulder

3. Maintenance of drainage facilities

20
 4. Maintenance of bridges and other structures

5. Maintenance of road sides etc

The maintenance of road is affected by its location, design and construction

standard. During road design and alignment, detail of stream crossing, soil
structure, drainage problem, land slide condition suitability of soil among others
must be investigated. Adequate pavement dimension & thickness must be
maintained during construction, as narrow lane force traffic into the shoulder.

Maintenance problem may therefore be generated. Therefore, proper quality

control at construction stage is necessary if maintenance is to be minimised.
Maintenance is generated by pavement failure and this is closely related to;

1. Failure in flexible pavement: it is localised depression or heave up

develops. This is a wavy surface developed as a result of heaving up into its
vicinity. Uneven settlement of any of the component layers may cause these
waves or longitudinal ruts on the pavement.

To avoid this, each layer of material must be fully stabilised at the

construction stage to withstand anticipated load and stress application.
Excessive stress application which is due to application of more load than
designed also causes this.

2. Failure of sub base or base course; this may occur due to;

 Inadequate strength of the layer resulting from improper mix of

proportions of components, inadequate thickness to carry anticipated load,
use of poor-quality stone aggregate and poor control and monitoring at
construction level.

 Failure of sub-base may be due to other causes such as construction of

materials, loss of cohesion under repeated stress internal movement occur
within the aggregate and this may breakdown the structure resulting in load
stability and poor load distribution for the pavement layer.

 Base course material may be lost due to suction caused by fast moving
tires. This is very common in water-based macadam bases. It leaves the
stone aggregate to further disintegrate. Pot holes are formed revelling and
removal of road materials continued.
21
  Inadequate thickness of wearing course exposes the base to weather
elements such as rain, frost, temperature and traffic action provide
commensurate thickness for the anticipated load.

 The use of inferior road materials also exposes the road pavement to
structural failure. Therefore, quality emphasis must be placed on quality
control of material at construction stage.

3. Failure of the bituminous weaving course; this may occur due to

improper mix, inadequate binder material, poor quality control during
construction, oxidation of bituminous binder material, volatilisation of binders.
This make the surface rattle resulting into cracking. This therefore allows for
seepage and damage to the underlying layer.

TYPICAL FAILURE OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

1. Map or Alligator Cracking; this occur due to fatigue and localised

weakness in the underlying base course. It could also occur due to low
temperature of the surrounding region, poor drainage, deformation of the
supporting layer, hardening of asphalt, lack of asphalt

2. Consolidation of Pavement Layers; this leads to ruts formation.

Application of excessive loads usually causes this.

22
 3. Shear Failure; this occur due to inherent weakness of pavement mixture.
This causes upheaval of pavement materials leading to cracks and failure.

4. Lack of Cohesion in the Layers; this may be due to failure of the binding
properties between the wearing course and the underlying layers. Pot holes
and revelling may occur (see figure below). (Revelling= removal of highway
materials).

5. Longitudinal Cracking; this may be due to differential load changes,

differential settlement of embankment, load, temperature condition, sliding of
side slope

TYPICAL FAILURE OF RIGID PAVEMENT

1. Scaling of Cement Concrete Owing to Chemical Impurities; in the

mixture or poor mixture composition with excessive vibration during
construction, the mortal comes to the surface and over time break down
exposing the aggregate.

2. Development of shrinkages crack; this may occur during the crowing

period along the longitudinal or transverse phase. The cracks form points of
weakness which allows seeping in of water.

3. Development of warping cracks; this occur where joints are not well
designed to accommodate warping of the slope at the edges. Cracks will
develop due to excessive stress at the slab edges.

23
 FACTORS AFFECTING ROAD MAINTAINANCE

1. Increase in traffic volume anticipated on the road.

2. Inadequate pavement thickness which may result in pavement failure.

3. Effect of number of lanes e.g. on single lane carrying up to four times the
load sphere between two lanes. A single lane load thus requires more
maintenance.

4. Increase in cost of labour, materials and inadequate funds have all

aggregated road maintenance problem.

TYPES OF MAINTENANCE

1. There could be routine or periodic; i.e. maintenance before

deterioration. This includes maintenance of shoulder and sub grades,
maintenance of drains and auxiliary works e.g. bridges, up keep of
carriage way and improvement of highway geometry and traffic control.

2. Special maintenance; these are carried out for problems when they
occur due to failure of pavement and its components.

3. Resurfacing; after useful life is expended or due to the surface being

badly damaged, resurfacing is done.

7.0 ROAD FURNITURE

The term street or road furniture refers to the various yet essential elements
on the urban street lane. They include electric pole, street light, telephone,
public transport stops, private beacon and pillars, street numbering, road
marks, etc.

In situations where these facilities are located in chaotic and unplanned

form, they tend to waste land. Therefore, where they are well planned and
located, they beautify the environment.

More often than not, those that are involved in the allocation of these
facilities do not include town planning, hence the haphazard nature of their
location.
24
 PROBLEMS IN PLANNING THESE ELEMENTS/ PROBLEMS OF R.F

1. The multitude of agency responsible has their individual concept as

where to put what, type of materials, appearance and sizes.

2. Co-ordination between agencies is not easily achieved. Essentially, street

furniture is not to be allowed to obstruct sight lines nor encroach on the
carriage ways. If too near to the carriage way, it may lead to accident by
obstructing sight lines. Facilities should be sighted beyond footways.

Other examples of street facilities include:

The Street Name Plate; This should be placed not more than 10 feet from
street corners or junctions and should be raised at about 6ft 6inches on busy
streets. It should be clearly lettered and reflective to low beams.

Street Bins; this should be placed in areas where loading will not obstruct
traffic. It should have attractive design and protected from rain and wind.
Variant of it could be attached to lamp post.

Aesthetic Seats; these are welcomed developments in urban centres. The

ground in front of such seats should be heaved and well drained and should be
rationally sited.

Phone booths, billboards for adverts, post boxes, etc, are other examples.

SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS OF STREET FURNITURE LOCATION

1. Standard should be set in terms of location of each element. There should

be standard in terms of size, height, distance from road, density control,
texture, print characteristics, etc.

2. Most of these elements should be mass produced to minimise variation in

their sign or texture standards

3. Road sign should be placed on wood, plastic, metal or stone or other

durable materials.

4. Lettering should be characteristically unique to make up for urban

aesthetics.

25
 5. There should be co-ordination board for all the agencies involved in road
furniture.

BRAIN STORMING QUESTIONS

1. Explain the terms ‘flexible’ and ‘rigid’ pavements. Mention salient points
on their differences.

2. Draw a neat sketch of a flexible pavement cross section and show its
different components, enumerate their functions also.

3. Enumerate the factors which influence the design of a flexible pavement.

4. Discuss the importance of highway maintenance in brief.

5. Write short notes on (a)alligator or map cracking (b) skidding of pavement

surface (c)scaling of joints at pot holes.

6. Explain the necessities of the objectives of highway planning.

7. Explain in brief the various types of survey carried out before planning
highway system.

8. What is the importance of highway economic studies? Explain briefly.

9. How is the cost of highway analysed?

10. Why is it essential to study the behaviour of soil for a highway engineer?

11. Explain the bearing test for calculating the modules of sub grade.

12. Enumerate the various tests for judging of stone aggregate

13. What are the different types of bitumen materials used for road
construction?

14. Compare and contrast bitumen and tar.

GEOMETRY

26
1. What are the objectives of geometric design of highway? What are
different elements which need to be considered while designing a
highway?

2. Explain what camber is. Why is it necessary to provide it? Discuss the
factors on which the amount of camber

REFERENCE

Gupta, B & Gupta, A: Roads, Railway, Bridges & Tunnels Engineering

T.E.145.G806.9

Khana, S.K & Justo, C.E.G: Highway Engineering Nem Chad and Bros

27