CE 132 - HIGHWAY AND

RAILROAD ENGINEERING

Eric G. Awa-ao, CE
Faculty, Civil Engineering Program
Highway Development and Planning

Objective:
 To understand how planning plays a great part to
highway development.
HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING
-The development of the future highway
system should be planned in such a way
that it will support the general development
objectives of the country.

HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING

-Planning is a pre-requisite
for engineering activity or
project; this is particularly
true for the development of
a highway network or
system in a country.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION

 Assyrian empire
 constructed by about 1900 BC
 Roman roads
 Roads were built of stone blocks of considerable thickness.
Main features of Roman roads are:
(i) They were built straight regardless of
gradients
(ii) They were built after the soft soil was
removed and a hard stratum was reached
(iii) The total thickness of the construction
was as high as 0.75 to 1.2 meters.
 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION

 Tresaguet Construction
 Pierre Tresaguet (1716 -1796)
developed an improved method of
construction in France by the year
1964 A.D.
 The main feature of his proposal was
that the thickness of construction
need to be only in the order of 30 cm.
 Metcalf Construction
 John Metcalf (1757-1834) was
responsible for the construction of
about 290 km of road in the northern
region of England.
 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION

 Telford Construction
 Thomas Telford (1757-1834) was the
founder of the Institution of Civil
Engineers at London. He believed in
using heavy foundation stones above the
 Madacam Construction
soil subgrade in order to keep the road
 John Madacam (1756-1836) made the first
foundation firm.
attempt to improve the road condition. He
was the Surveyor General of Roads in
England and his new concept of Road
construction became known by the year
1827.
 It was realized that the stresses due to
wheel load of traffic gets decreased at the
lower layers of the pavement. And this
method became very popular far and wide.
 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION

 Further Development
 One of the most popular method which is even
now prevalent in many countries is the Water
bound Macadam (WBM) construction, known after
Macadam’s Technique.

 The next development of road was the penetration

and bituminous macadam roads and other types
of surface dressing methods using bituminous
materials. For better performance superior
bituminous mixes like the bituminous carpet and
bituminous concrete were also developed in a
scientific way.
Data to be Collected for Highway Development

Traffic data – includes traffic volumes survey, origin

destination survey, vehicles damage surveys, etc.
Social data – collects data about villagers and have
discussions about the project and ask for cooperation during
the years for construction.
Environment data - A report regarding affecting number
of trees, flora and fauna near construction sites.
Roads Inventory and Condition Surveys – Under this survey
condition of pavement and structures along the road are
taken.
 Objectives of Highway Planning

Planning a highway network for safe,

efficient and fast movement of people
and goods.
Keeping the overall cost of
construction and maintenance of the
roads in the network to a minimum.

Planning for future development and

anticipated traffic needs for a specific
design period.
The planning must have a forecast
for next several years in order plan
fix periods for maintenance, renewal
and widening as well.
  The land use transportation approach
the management of land use planning is seen as
the solution to controlling the demand for
transport
 The demand management approach
entails planning for the future by managing
demand more effectively on the existing road
Highway Planning network rather than constructing new road
Strategies links.
 The car-centred approach
It seeks to cater for future increases in traffic
demand through the construction of bigger and better
roads, be they inter-urban or intra-urban links

 The public transport-centred approach.

strategy that will emphasize the importance of bus
and rail-based improvements as the preferred way
of coping with increased transport demand
 Roads before Roads Today

Ancient Roman’s
road

Ancient Greek’s
road
References:

Gurele, A. (2016, March 23). Highway Planning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net

Indira, K., & Justo, L. (2011). Highway Engineering. In K. Indira, & L. Justo, Highway Engineering (pp.
9-15). India: Nem Chand &Bros.

Mugdha, P. (n.d.). Highway Planning: Intro, Objectives, Principle, Process, Necessity and Importance.
Retrieved from http;//engineeringenotes.com/transportation-engineering/highway-planning-intro-
objectives-principle-processnecessity- and-importance/48327

Rogers, M. (2003). Highway Engineering. In M. Rogers, Highway Engineering (pp. 6-7). Ireland:
Black

Thagesen, B. (1996). Highway and Traffic Engineering in Developing Countries. In B. Thagesen,

Highway and Traffic Engineering in Developing Countries (p. 24). Denmark: E & FN SPON.