Transportation Engineering

Instructor- Prem N Bastola

August 2020
Lecture 4 – Highway Location
Highway- Survey and location
 Terrain types
Location requires

acquisition of data concerning the terrain

Major factors

Earthwork
geologic conditions

and land use

 Basic principle

roadway elements -curvature and grade must blend with

each other to produce a system
That--

Meets design criteria and safety standards

easy flow of traffic
Environmental impact- low
location process involves four phases

Office study of existing information

• Reconnaissance survey
• Preliminary location survey
• Final location survey
 Office study

prior to any field or photogrammetric investigation

examination of all available data of the area

Data source
existing engineering reports, maps, aerial photographs, and charts
 What to study?

1. Engineering, including topography, geology, climate, and

traffic volumes

2. Social and demographic, including land use and zoning

patterns
3. Environmental, including types of wildlife; location of
recreational, historic, and archeological sites; and the
possible effects of air, noise, and water pollution

4. Economic, including unit costs for construction and the

trend of agricultural, commercial, and industrial activities
 Reconnaissance Survey

to identify several feasible routes,

each within a band of a limited width of a few hundred
meter
 Feasible routes
Feasible routes by considering

Terrain and soil conditions

• Serviceability of route to industrial and population areas
• Crossing of other transportation facilities, such as rivers,
railroads, and highways
• Directness of route
 Preliminary Location Survey

Location of positions of the feasible routes

establishing all the control points

and determining preliminary vertical and horizontal alignments for

each
Uses of preliminary -
evaluate the economic and environmental feasibility of alternative
routes

Economic
road user costs, construction costs, maintenance costs, road user
benefits, and any disbenefits, which may include adverse impacts
due to dislocation of families, businesses
Environmental

plant, animal, and human communities

encompasses social, physical, natural, and man-made

 EIA- see
environmental impact statements

A detailed description of alternatives

The probable environmental impact, including the assessment of
positive and negative effects

Probable adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided

 Final Location Survey

detailed layout of the selected route

Detailed design of the vertical and horizontal alignments

points of intersections (PI)

computer-based techniques
 Location of Recreational and Scenic Routes

Same as above
+
a circuitous alignment may be desirable

For example
Design speeds are usually low
 See [ guidelines are found in .]

A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets

 Location of Highways in Urban Areas

As before +

Connection to local streets

• Right-of-way acquisition
• Coordination of the highway system with other
transportation systems
• Adequate provisions for pedestrians
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 Highway surveys methods

measuring and computing

horizontal and vertical angles, [see

vertical heights (elevations), and surveying]
horizontal distances
Methods

Ground surveys
Remote sensing
computer
Most basic- ground survey

The Total Station

Level
Measuring Tapes

Electronic Distance-Measuring Devices (EDM)

Remote sensing

measurement of distances and elevations by using devices located

above the earth,

airplanes or orbiting satellites using Global Positioning Satellite

systems (GPS).
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Requirements of highway [ideal case]

Short [ between two points]

Easy
Economical
safe
 Factors controlling alignment

Obligatory points

into two categories.

Points through which it should pass and points through

which it should not pass.
Examples
Bridge site

Mountain [ tunnel? Or go round]

Intermediate town
Religious places
Lakes/ponds
Traffic:--suit the traffic requirements

Geometric design

Drainage:
Political

Monotony
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 Route location -Steps

1. fix end termini

2. define region A
3. broad bands, B and C,--8–16 km wide
4. corridors D, E and F, each perhaps 3–8 km wide
5. route could be 1–1.5 km wide
6. feasible alignments, each perhaps 30 m wide
End of lecture 4- Alignment

Next lecture- not finalized yet

Thank you

Any queries???