HIGHWAY

DEVELOPMENT
AND PLANNING:
Importance, classification of roads, road patterns, planning
surveys; highway alignment and surveys

Arante, Tania Cate

Gadong, Pauline Faye
Gentizon, Michael
Jabonete, Jomari
Lacrite, Adrian John
Malcredo, Renaizel

BSCE 3 – EC3
INTRODUCTION

Highway engineering is a branch of civil engineering that deals with the planning,
designing, building, operating, and maintaining of highways, bridges, and tunnels to enable the
efficient and secure transportation of people and products. Estimating the volume of traffic on a
road network now and in the future is a part of highway planning. A prerequisite for the
construction of the highway is the planning of the highway.

OBJECTIVES

1. Planning a highway network for safe, efficient, and fast movement of people and
goods.
2. Keeping the overall cost of construction and maintenance of roads in the network to a
minimum.
3. Planning for future development and anticipated traffic needs for a specific design
period.
4. Phasing road development programs from considerations of utility and importance as
also of financial resource.
5. Evolving a financing system compatible with the cost and benefits.

In order to fulfill these objectives, first, the proposed road links should be a part of the
planned road network for the state/nation. The suggested road links must consider and dependent
on the current state of the area’s road plan. Second, the importance of the road shall be based on
the traffic demand, hence its type should fall under the standard classification. Third, the
maintenance needs of the roads should receive prompt attention by setting aside funds for this
purpose. And last principle that highway Engineers must have to borne in mind is that the
statutory provisions for traffic regulation should be in place.

IMPORTANCE OF HIGHWAY PLANNING

Highway planning is crucial for ensuring efficient transportation, reducing traffic

congestion, and promoting economic development. It involves analyzing traffic patterns,
determining the need for new highways, and identifying optimal routes.

1. To plan a road network for efficient and safe traffic operation, but a minimum cost. Here,
the cost of construction, maintenance, and renewal of pavement layers and the vehicle
operation costs are to be given due construction.
2. To arrive at the road system and lengths of different categories of road which could
provide maximum utility and could be constructed within the available resource during
the plan period under construction.
3. To fix up date wise priorities for development of each road link based on utility as the
main criterion for phasing the road development program.
 4. To plan for future requirements and improvement of roads in virw of anticipated
development.
5. To work out financing systems.

CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS

The roads are generally classified into two categories, depending on weather they can be
used during different seasons of the year:
1. All-weather Roads
All-weather roads are those which are negotiable during all seasons of the year,
except at major river crossing where some interruption to traffic is permissible up to a
certain extent, but the road pavement should be negotiable during all weathers.

2. Fair-weather Roads
On ‘fair-weather roads’ the traffic may be interrupted during moonson season at
causeways where streams may overflow across the road.

 Based on the type of the carriageway or the road pavement, the roads are
classified as ‘paved roads’ and ‘unpaved roads’.
 The roads with a hard pavement surface on the carriageway are called paved
roads.
 The roads without a hard pavement surface on the carriageway are called unpaved
roads.
 Earth roads and gravel roads may be called unpaved roads.
 Based on the type of pavement surfacing provided, the roads may be classified as
‘surfaced roads’ and ‘un-surfaced roads’.
 Road pavements with ny type o bituminous surface or cement concrete are called
surfaced roads.
 The roads which are not provided with a bitunimous or cement concrete surfacing
are called un-surfaced roads.

METHODS OF CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS

The roads are generally classified based on the following:

(a) Traffic volume
(b) Load transported or tonnage
(c) Location and function

 The classification based on location and function should therefore be a more acceptable
classification for a country as they may be defined clearly.
Urban roads are classified based on their function and location:
1. Expressways
The city roads which are reserved for motor traffic with full or partial control
access and are provided with grade separation at intersections are called expressways.
These are generally constructed to have direct connection between major points of traffic
generation in industrial or commercial or business districts. Along expressways, the
motor traffic attains very high speeds. Neither the loading nor unloading of the goods is
permitted on these expressways. Pedestrians too cannot cross the expressways.

2. Arterial Streets
The city roads which are meant for through traffic usually on a continuous route
are called arterial streets. Arterial streets are generally spaced at less than 15 km in
developed business centres whereas in less important areas, these may be 8 km apart.
Arterial roads are also divided highways with fully or partially controlled access. Parking,
loading and unloading are carefully regulated. Pedestrians are permitted to cross them at
intersection only.

3. Sub-Arterial Streets
The city roads which provided lower level of travel mobility than arterial streets,
are called sub-arterial streets. Their spacing may vary from 0.5 km in central business
districts to 3 to 5 km in sub-urban areas. Loading and unloading are usually restricted.
Pedestrians are allowed to cross these highways at intersections.

4. Collector Streets
The city roads which are constructed for collecting and distributing the traffic to
and from local streets, and also to provide an access to arterial and sub-arterial streets, are
called collector streets. These are located in residential, business and industrial areas.
These roads are accessible from the buildings along them. Parking restrictions are few
and that too during peak hours.

5. Local Streets
The city roads which provide an access to residence, business and other buildings,
are called local streets. The traffic carried either originates or terminates along the local
streets. Depending upon the important of the adjoining areas, a local street may be
residential, commercial or industrial. Along local streets pedestrians may move freely and
parking may be permitted without any restriction.

In this context, certain definitions are relevant:

1. Road- a convenient way over which vehicles may lawfully pass for going from one place to
another.
2. Service Road- used for servicing and as means of access to adjacent property, constructed
parallel to the main to the main road adjacent to roadside buildings.
3. Street- a road within a town or residential locality with buildings on one or both sides.
4. Country Road- road connection one place to another on the country-side.
5. Urban road- a road within a town or city
6. Bypass Road- a road constructed skirting a village or a small town, taking off through a
highway and joining it after bypassing the inhabited area. This helps through traffic to move fast
without having to enter the village or town,
7. Highway- any public road or street may be called a highway.
8. Arterial Road- road passing within the city and linking the state or national highway with
limited access.
9. Freeway- an arterial highway with controlled access crossing other roads at different levels.
10. Boulevard- very wide road with avenue on its either side.

ROAD PATTERNS

The main patterns in use in urban areas are:

1. 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.

2. 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.
The star and grid pattern, or the radial and block pattern has been the basis of
the Nagpur Road Plan, and it has been adopted in a number of Indian cities.
The star and circular pattern, also known as the radial and circular pattern, has
been adopted in certain cases, although in a limited way. A classic example is the
Connaught Place area of New Delhi.

3. 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.
PLANNING SURVEYS

For assessing the road length requirements, following studies are made:

1. 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.

2. Financial Studies
source of income; 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.

3. Traffic or 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.

4. Engineering Studies
These include study of the topography, soil, road life and special problems, if
any, relating to construction, drainage and maintenance.

These studies also help in fixing priorities of various routes or sectors based on their
utility per unit leangth. Based on the priorities and the maximum utility per unit length, the entire
development plan for the design period will be phased in 5-year intervals, depending upon the
availability of financial resources. This is known s phasing of the Master Plan for road
development.

Saturation system for calculating optimum road length

In this the option road length us calculated for area, based on the concept of obtaining
maximum utility per unit length of road. Hence, this system is called saturation systems of
maximum utility system.

Factors for obtaining the utility per length of road are:

1. Population served by the road
2. Productivity served by the road network
a). Agricultural product
b). Industrials products
Example:

Population Utility Unit

Less than 500 0.10
501-1,000 0.25
1,001-2,000 0.50
2,001-5,000 1.00
5,001-10,000 1.50
10,000 and above 2.50

The total utility units for all the villages served by a proposed road may be called, based
on this. Similarly the utility unit for 1000 tons of agricultural products may be tken as 1.0, and
that for 100 tons of industrial product as 10.0.

The total utility units may be got by summing up the values from both these criteriaa and
divided by the length of the roads, to obtain the total utility per unit length.

HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT SURVEYS

The laying out of the centre line of a proposed highway on the ground is called it's
"alignment". A new road should be aligned carefully since any change in alignment may not be
possible or may be expensive at a later stage, owing to increased land acquisition costs and
roadside structures constructed after the road has taken shapes.
Requirements of an Ideal Alignment:
1. Directness
-The aligned route between end points should be as direct as possible and result in the
minimum possible length under the circumstances.
2. Ease of construction, maintenance, and operation
-The alignment should be such that it is easy to construct, maintain and operate the
highway. The curves and gradients should be easy.
3. Safety
-Safety for the road-users should be the primary consideration; the stability of natural
slopes and man-made slopes for embankments and cuttings should be ensured to prevent
possible accidents.
4. Economy
-The overall cost of construction and maintenance of the road, as also the operation
cost of the vehicles should be as low as possible.
5. Special Considerations
-Depending upon the purpose of the highway and the characteristics of the terrain,
special considerations may be needed as in the case of hill roads or ghat roads.

HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL ALIGNMENTS

Horizontal Alignment
This is the alignment of the roadway in the horizontal plane; although it is ideal to have a
straight route between end points, it is practically impossible owing to several constraints. A
change in direction necessitates the use of horizontal curves for smooth flow of traffic.

Vertical Alignment
Although it is ideal to have a roadway at the same elevation throughout, this is almost
impractical and gradients or slopes along the length become mandatory. A change in gradient
calls for curves in the vertical plane; vertical curves should be designed and constructed for
smooth flow of traffic based on several criteria.
ENGINEERING SURVEYS

The stages of engineering surveys are:

1. Map Study. Topographic maps are available with 15 to 30 meters contour intervals. Valleys,
ponds or lakes etc. can be avoided and approximate position of bridges etc. can be planned.
2. Preliminary Survey. This is carried out to collect all the physical information which are
necessary in connection with the proposed highway alignment.
This works consist of:
a. Primary transverse
b. Topographical features
c. Leveling work
d. Drainage studies & hydrological data
e. Soil survey
f. Determinations of final centre line
g. Traffic Survey
3. Final location and detailed survey. The center line of road finalized is
translated on the ground during location survey. Detailed survey is done to fix temporary bench
mark and leveling work is used for drainage and earthwork calculations.