Romblon State University
Department of Civil Engineering
Highway and Railway Through Street or Through Highway - a
Engineering – CE 2204 highway or part of a highway on which vehicular
Instructor: Engr. Mary Joy M. Fruelda traffic is given preferential right of way, and
every vehicle at the entrance of intersecting
Module 3 highways are required by law to yield right of
way.
Design Criteria for Highways Parkway - an arterial highway for non-
commercial traffic. The term is particularly used
Consistency – important single rule in highway for a roadway in a park or connecting to a park
design. Drivers expect the highway agency to which heavy vehicles are excluded.
provide them with: Arterial Street - a high-capacity road that often
serves as the most advantageous routes for
1. Clear information and guidance through relatively long-distance travel.
variety of road signs. Collector Street - a low-to-moderate capacity
2. Avoiding abrupt changes in traffic and road road which serves to move traffic from local
standards. streets to arterial roads.
Local Road - street or road primarily for access
Note: The road will be considered satisfactory of to residence, business, or other adjoining
guides and directions are planned properly and property.
will follow smoothly and easily without undue Highway Capacity - the maximum number of
haste or change in speed. vehicles that are reasonably expected to pass a
given point over a period of time. It is usually
Definition of Terms expressed as vehicle per hour.
AASHTO (American Association of State Average Daily Traffic (ADT) - the average
Highway Transportation Officials) - is a standard number of vehicles passing through a specified
setting body which publishes specifications, test point during a 24 period.
protocols, and guidelines that are used in Annual Average Daily Traffic - the average
highway design and construction throughout the number of vehicles passing through a specified
United States. point in one calendar year.
Roads and Highways – strips of land that have
been cleared and further improved for the
movement of people and goods. 1. DESIGN HOURLY VOLUME
Road – Also refers to railways that is a broader
application in usage while generally used to The design hourly volume (DHV) is the
describe a public thorough fare. projected hourly volume that is used for design.
Highway - a higher state of development than This volume is usually taken as a percentage of
road. the expected ADT on the highway. This
Expressway - a highway designed for fast relationship was computed from the analysis of
traffic, with controlled entrance and exit, a traffic count data over a wide range of volumes
dividing strip between the traffic in opposite and geographic conditions.
directions, and typically two or more lanes in
each direction. 2. DESIGN SPEED
Freeway - an expressway with full control of Design speed is defined as a selected speed to
access. determine the various geometric features of the
Control of Access - a condition where the roadway. Design speed depends on the
rights of owners or occupants of adjoining land functional classification of the highway, the
or other persons access to light, air, or view in topography of the area in which the highway is
connection with a highway is fully or partially located, and the land use of the adjacent area.
controlled authority. by public
Full Control of Access - is exercised to give -It is the maximum speed that can be
preference to through traffic by providing access maintained over a specified section of the
connections to selected public roads only. highway when weather and traffic conditions are
Partial Control of Access - is exercised to give so favorable that the design features of the
preference to through traffic. In this condition highway govern.
there may be some private driveway -Design speed and speed limit are two different
connections allowed. measures that are not always compatible.
Design speed is used by highway designers to 3. DESIGN VEHICLE A design vehicle is
establish design features, while speed limits are selected to represent all vehicles on the
set by operators to ensure safety. highway. Its weight, dimensions, and operating
characteristics are used to establish the design
• The AASHTO practice is to classify first the standards of the highway. The vehicle type
highway as Rural or Urban, then as Freeways, selected as the design vehicle is the largest that
Arterials, Collectors and Local. Rural collectors is likely to use the highway with considerable
and local facilities are classified as flat, rolling, frequency. The selected design vehicle is used
or mountainous. to determine critical design features such as
radii at intersections and turning roadways as
For highway design, topography is generally well as highway grades. The following
classified into three groups: level, rolling, and guidelines apply when selecting a design
mountainous terrain. vehicle:
Level terrain is relatively flat. Horizontal and
vertical sight distances are generally long or can • When a parking lot or a series of parking lots
be achieved without much construction difficulty are the main traffic generators, the passenger
or major expense. car may be used.
Rolling terrain has natural slopes that often
rise above and fall below the highway grade with • For the design of intersections at local streets
occasional steep slopes that restrict the normal and park roads, a single-unit truck may be used.
vertical and horizontal alignments.
Mountainous terrain has sudden changes in • At intersections of state highways and city
ground elevation in both the longitudinal and streets that serve buses with relatively few large
transverse directions, thereby requiring frequent trucks, a city transit bus may be used.
hillside excavations to achieve acceptable
horizontal and vertical alignments. • At intersections of highways and low-volume
county highways or township/local roads with
The design speed selected should be consistent less than 400 ADT, either an 84-passenger
with the speed that motorists will expect to drive. large school bus 40 ft long or a 65-passenger
For example, a low design speed should not be conventional bus 36 ft long may be used. The
selected for a rural collector road solely because selection of either of these will depend on the
the road is located in an area of flat topography, expected usage of the facility.
since motorists will tend to drive at higher
speeds. The average trip length on the highway • At intersections of freeway ramp terminals and
is another factor that should be considered in arterial crossroads, and at intersections of state
selecting the design speed. In general, highways and industrialized streets that carry
highways with longer average trips should be high volumes of traffic, the minimum size of the
designed for higher speeds. design vehicle should be WB-20.
4. Cross Section of Typical Highway
The cross section of a typical highway has
latitude of variables to consider such as:
a. The volume of traffic
b. Character of the traffic
c. Speed of the traffic
d. Characteristics of motor vehicles and of
driver
CROSS-SECTION OF THE TYPICAL
HIGHWAY:
• The roadway's initial surface width was 4.50
meters, but was adjusted to 5.40 meters due to
increased traffic. It was later standardized to
3.00 meters for first-class paved highways and
3.60 meters for freeways and major traffic
roadways, with strong demand for further
increase.
For Two Lane Rural Highways, a 7.20-meter-
wide surface is required for safe clearance
between commercial vehicles and is
recommended for main highways.
CROSS SLOPE
Also known as Cross Fall or Camber. It is the
slope provided to the road surface in the
transverse direction to drain off the rainwater
from the road surface
CUT OR FILL SLOPE - Normal-height earth fills
are safe on slopes with a 1:2 ratio. Cuts into
regular earth fills can have a 1:1 slope and stay
stable. Rocks can have steeper slopes, like 1:2
For Collector Roadway, 6.00 meters wide or even 1:4, and still be safe. Lately, slopes are
surface is acceptable only for low volume traffic made lower for safety and to help plants grow.
including few trucks traveling thereon. Plants prevent erosion and reduce maintenance
costs.
For Local Rural Roadway, the minimum
surface width is 4.80 meters for a 30 km/hr.
design speed.
For Urban Roadway, the minimum design
width is 3.60 meters although 3.00 meters is
allowed where space is limited.
ROAD SHOULDERS LANES
Road shoulder or verge is defined as that The number of lanes in a segment of the
portion of the roadway between the edge of the highway is determined from the estimated traffic
traffic lane and the edge of the ditch, gutter, curb volume for the design year (AADT) and highway
or side slope. AASHTO requires that its usable lane capacity at expected level of service.
pavement width shall be strong enough to AASHTO policies accept a dually divided 16
support vehicles. lanes roadway with four lanes in each direction
for an inner freeway and four more lanes in each
Function of Road Shoulders direction on the outside. There are some
instances where a reversible lane is located at
• Stopping lane Emergency the center of freeways with unbalanced heavy
• Lateral support for pavement traffic flow.
• Space for bicycles and pedestrians
• Space for roadside facilities MEDIANS.
improvement of sight distance A median is the section of a divided highway that
separates the lanes in opposing directions. The
Importance of Road Shoulders width of a median is the distance between the
1. Road shoulder serves as a place for vehicles edges of the inside lanes, including the median
to stop when disabled for some other purposes. shoulders. The functions of a median include:
Road Shoulders considerably reduces road • Providing a recovery area for out-of-
accidents. control vehicles
2. The road capacity is decreased and accident • Separating opposing traffic
opportunity increases if the shoulder is too • Providing stopping areas during
narrow or omitted in the design. emergencies
3. Shoulder should be continuous along the full • Providing storage areas for left-turning
length of the roadway. It also adds structural and U-turning vehicles
strength to the road pavement • Providing refuge for pedestrians
4. Shoulder increases the horizontal sight • Reducing the effect of headlight glare
distance on curves. It reduces accident potential • Providing temporary lanes and cross-
when vehicle stop during emergencies. overs during maintenance operation
higher than 8 ft and when shoulder slopes are
Roadside and Median Barriers. greater than 4:1. Shapes commonly used
A median barrier is defined as a include the W beam and the box beam. The
longitudinal system used to prevent an errant weak post system provides for the post to
vehicle from crossing the portion of a divided collapse on impact, with the rail deflecting and
highway separating the traveled ways for traffic absorbing the energy due to impact.
in opposite directions. Roadside barriers, on the
other hand, protect vehicles from obstacles or
slopes on the roadside. They also may be used
to shield pedestrians and property from the
traffic stream. The provision of median barriers
must be considered when traffic volumes are
high and when access to multilane highways
and other highways is only partially controlled.
However, when the median of a divided highway
has physical characteristics that may create
unsafe conditions, such as a sudden lateral
drop-off or obstacles, the provision of a median
barrier should be considered regardless of the
traffic volume or the median width.
Roadside barriers should be provided RIGHT OF WAY
whenever conditions exist requiring the Acquisition of land for the right of way is very
protection for vehicles along the side of the costly. Based on experience from the past,
road. For example, when the slope of an highway agency now considers it a good
embankment is high or when traveling under an practice to acquire right of way wide enough to
overhead bridge, the provision of roadside sufficiently provide for the ultimate expected
barrier is warranted. development. A successful freeway and
expressway operations, closes the roadway
from direct access to adjoining property and
some local roads or streets. If local traffic and
land use are to be opened, it must be served by
service roads originally planned as part of the
main freeway. Frontage road shall be permitted
to enter connecting cross streets only at a
distance of at least 100 meters for rural road and
50 meters for urban conditions.
The Right of Way - is the total land area
acquired for the construction of the roadway.
RIGHT OF WAY AS RECOMMENDED:
• Expressway = R.O.W for Expressway is
CURBS AND GUTTERS. Curbs are raised 120 meter is recommended for 6 Lane
structures made of either Portland cement highway
concrete or bituminous concrete (rolled asphalt • National Highway = Right of way for
curbs) that are used mainly on urban highways National highway is 60 meters for 4 lane
to delineate pavement edges and pedestrian highway.
walkways. Curbs are also used to control • State Highway = For state highway 30
drainage, improve aesthetics, and reduce right meter should be ROW.
of way. Curbs can be generally classified as • Major district road/other district road
either vertical or sloping. Vertical curbs, (which should be 25-30 meter ROW.
may be vertical or nearly vertical), range in • Village Road the Right of way should be
height from 6 to 8_ with steep sides, and are acquired is 15 meters.
designed to prevent vehicles from leaving the
highway. Sloping curbs are designed so that FACTORS AFFECTING THE RIGHT OF WAY:
vehicles can cross them if necessary. 1. Future extension
2. Drainage systems
GUARD RAILS. Guard rails are longitudinal 3. Width of formation
barriers placed on the outside of sharp curves 4. Side slopes
and at sections with high fills. Their main 5. Height of embankment
function is to prevent vehicles from leaving the
roadway. They are installed at embankments
ISLAND
An island is a defined area between traffic lanes INTERCHANGE
for control of vehicle movement and for The types and form of freeway interchange
pedestrian refuge. Within an intersection, requires selection of the conformation that is
median is considered an island. This definition best suited to a particular situation and demand.
makes evident that an island is no single The functions of freeway interchanges are:
physical type. It may range from an area 1. To provide separation between two or more
delineated by barrier curb to a pavement area traffic arteries.
marked by paint. On at grade intersection in 2. To facilities the easy transfer of vehicles from
which traffic is directed into definite paths by one entry to the other or between local roadway
island is termed as Channelized Intersections. and the freeway.
Island is included in the design of intersections
for the following purposes:
The simplest and low-cost form of interchange
• Separation of vehicular flows is the diamond type. It is recommended where
• Separation of conflicts. the freeway crosses nonfreeway arterial. The
cloverleaf type interchange is recommended for
• Reduction in excessive pavement areas. freeway and arterial intersections. Roundabouts
• Reduction of traffic and indications of
are the safest type of interchange. Intersecting
arteries
proper use of intersections.
• Arrangement to favor a prominent turning
movement.
• Location of traffic control devices
All highways except freeways have
intersections at grade. Intersection area is
considered part of every connecting roads. In
this area all crossing and turning movement
occur.
1. For right angle intersections with little
traffic, the use of street signs is more
than sufficient.
2. For Y intersection or other related
conformation where vehicles meet at
unfavorable angles may require
channelization.
3. The flared design will involve the
following:
A. Widening the entering traffic lane to
allow deceleration of the car and clear of
through traffic.
B. Widening the leaving lanes to provide
acceleration and merging from the traffic
streams.
4. Intersections must accommodate large
trucks, and the radius of all curves must
be sufficient enough to accommodate
them. A careful traffic count and projected
future improvement must precede the
design of all critical sections. Based from
the data gathered on traffic count, the lane
capacity could be determined including
the number of lanes to be constructed.
The Grade Line - is a line or slope used as a
longitudinal reference for railroad or highway.
Gradeability - The highest grade a vehicle can
ascend while maintaining a particular speed.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRADES:
• Positive Grade: When the road surface rises in
the direction of travel, it's known as a positive
grade. This is commonly seen on uphill sections
of highways.
• Negative Grade: When the road surface
descends in the direction of travel, it's a negative
FREEWAY ENTRANCE & EXIT grade. This is typical on downhill sections.
-It is characterized by controlled access through
the use of ramps and separation of traffic • Zero Grade or Level Grade: When the road
traveling in opposite directions. surface is relatively flat with no significant slope,
-Freeways are designed to allow for high-speed it's a zero grade.
travel and are typically separated from other
roads by barriers or a wide median.
-Freeways are distinct from highways in that
they do not have intersections at grade level or
signs and signals to control traffic. They also
have gore which is v shaped area that separates
through traffic from exiting or entering traffic on
freeways and highways.
The overall effectiveness of the individual
freeway systems is governed by the flow
characteristics of vehicles, and the driver’s
behavior near on or off the channel.
5. MAXIMUM HIGHWAY GRADES
The grade is steep and/or long. Steep grades
affect not only the performance of heavy
vehicles but also the performance of passenger
cars. In order to limit the effect of grades on
vehicular operation, the maximum grade on any
highway should be selected judiciously. The
selection of maximum grades for a highway
depends on the design speed and the design
vehicle. Grade has a greater impact on trucks
than on passenger cars.
