What is Transportation??

 Transportation is the movement of

people and goods over time and
space...
 Transportation should be…

- Safe
- Environmentally Friendly

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Source:
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http://inventorspot.com/what_is_the_future_of_transportation
Source: 3
http://inventorspot.com/what_is_the_future_of_transportation
 Emissions from Vehicles

Emissions

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Transportation Modes

Motorized Non-Motorized
• Automobile •Biking

•Transit •Walking

-Bus
-Rail
- Rapid Transit
(subway)
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 Development of
Transportation Modes
Ridership
Automobile

Bus

Electric
Tramway

Cable car

Horse-drawn
Omni bus

Time
1860 1893 1923 1948 6
 Life Cycle of a
Transportation Mode
Ridership
Growth to
Maturity
Decline

Decline

Innovation Nostalgia
Period
Nostalgia

Time

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History of Transportation

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Hybrid
Cars

Environmentally
Friendly 9
Hybrid Cars
Gasoline power + Electric power

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History of Transportation

Year: 1804 Year: 2008

Speed: 8 km/h Speed: ~ 500 km/h
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 Railway In Japan nearly 40
years, In Europe nearly
25 years
Long distance

Locomotives Very High speed

High speed

Interurban
Regional

Tram Metro

Speed

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 320 km/h 300 km/h 230 km/h

TGV Duplex (France) AVE (Spain) New Pendolino (Italy)

200 km/h 300 km/h

Virgin West Coast Pendolino (UK) KTX (South Korea)

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3 ways we transport on
planet earth:
1) Land
-Railway

-Highway

-Pipeline

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2) Sea

3) Air

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Which mode has the most
problems??

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Why people like cars?

 We like the cars

 It often (but not always) is the fastest
mode, depending on levels of congestion,
time of day and the available alternatives
 Privacy
 Automobiles suggest that you are at a
higher level of society
 People simply enjoy the sensation of driving

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Importance of
Transportation
 Necessary for economic growth, but not
sufficient
- The speed, cost, and capabilities of
available transportation have a significant
economic impact on an area
- Countries with better/advanced
transportation networks and services are
leaders in industry and commerce
USA, Japan, Germany, ...

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Importance of
Transportation
 Determines the location and character
of cities and regions by interacting
with land use (e.g. silk road)
 National security

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Components of the
Transportation System
 Infrastructure (supply):
-Physical facilities: highways, railroads, ports
-Transfer points: parking areas, driveways
-Supporting elements: signals, signs, safety
hardware, etc.
 Vehicles (demand): Planes, trains, autos,
buses, ships, trucks
 Operators/users: Drivers, pilots, freight,
passengers
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What is Transportation
Engineering
 The engineering profession is involved
in all aspects of
-Aeronautical (aircraft)
-Chemical (fuel)
-Mechanical (vehicles)
-Electrical (communications, control system)
-Civil (development of facilities and manage
demand)
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Transportation
Engineering
 One of the specialty areas of civil
engineering
- Development of facilities for the
movement of goods and people
- Planning, design, operation and
maintenance
 People oriented

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 Multi-disciplinary
-Economic
-Environmental
-Planning
-Statistics
-Law
-Psychology & human factors
-Public administration
 Problems ==> solutions 25
Areas of Transportation
Engineering
 Transportation Planning
 Traffic Operations (signs, signals,..)
 Roadway Geometric Design
 Pavement Engineering
 Railway Engineering
 Design and Planning of Airports

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Development of
Transportation Network
 Planning
 Design
 Construction

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What is transportation
planning?
Activities that:
1. Identify problems, gather and analyze
data
2. Forecast future traffic demands and
estimate the environmental and social
impacts
3. Evaluate alternatives and determine the
alternative that meet the requirements
and constraints of the problem at the
lowest cost
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 The 4 step transport
planning process
Demographic Step 1: Trip
Data Generation OUTPUT
•Estimated trips
Transportatio Step 2: Trip •Estimated modal
n Network Distribution shares
•Estimated travel
Step 3: Mode
Choice
speeds
•Estimated travel
Step 4: Trip/ Traffic
delays
Assignment

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 Trip Generation

 Decision to travel for a specific purpose Trip generation

(e.g. eat lunch)

-How much do people use the transport
system?
-Why do people use the transport
system?
-Where can different types of activities
be satisfied?
Potential

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Trip Distribution

 Choice of destination Trip distribution

(a particular
restaurant? The nearest
restaurant?)
-Given a location, where
do people go to satisfy
demand for an activity
type?
-Determine origin and
destination of trips Travel demand
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 Mode Choice

 How do people use the transport Mode choice

system?
– What modes do they choose
(transit, walk, carpool, drive alone,…)?
– How do they react to varying
transport service quality?

Transport demand

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 Trip / Traffic Assignment

 How do people use the Route choice

transport system?
– Given a mode, which route do
they choose (e.g. E-5..)?
– Which parts of the transport
system do they use?

Assigned flows

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Demographic Data
 Household size

 Income level

Autos per
household

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 Network Data

 Highway network
 Transit network

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Capacity Restraint for
Highways
 A qualitative measure describing
operational conditions within a traffic
stream and their perception by drivers
and/or passengers
 Different for different facilities
(freeway, multilane, 2-lane rural,
signals)

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Ideal Capacity
 Freeways: Capacity  Multilane
(Free-Flow Speed) Suburban/Rural
2,400 pcphpl (70 mph) 2,200 pcphpl (60 mph)
2,350 pcphpl (65 mph) 2,100 (55 mph)
2,300 pcphpl (60 mph) 2,000 (50 mph)
2,250 pcphpl (55 mph) 1,900 (45 mph)

pcphpl=passenger cars  2-lane rural – 2,800

per hour per lane pcph
 Signal – 1,900 pcphgpl

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Level of Service (LOS)

 Chief measure of “quality of service”

– Describes operational conditions within a
traffic stream
– Does not include safety
– Different measures for different facilities
– 6 measures A through F

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Definition- Free Flow
Speed
 Free-Flow Speed (FFS)
– The mean speed of passenger cars that
can be accommodated under low to
moderate flow rates on a uniform
freeway segment under prevailing
roadway and traffic conditions

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LOS A

 Free flow
conditions
 Vehicles are
unimpeded in their
ability to
maneuver within
the traffic stream

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LOS B
 Flow reasonably free
 Ability to maneuver is
slightly restricted
 General level of
physical and
psychological comfort
provided to drivers is
high

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LOS C
 Flow at or near FFS
 Freedom to
maneuver is
noticeably restricted
 Lane changes more
difficult
 Queues may form
behind significant
blockage

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LOS D
 Speeds begin to
decline with increasing
flow
 Freedom to maneuver
is noticeably limited
 Drivers experience
physical and
psychological
discomfort
 Even minor incidents
cause queuing

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LOS E

 Capacity
 Vehicles are closely
spaced
 Disruptions such as
lane changes can
cause a disruption
wave that propagates
throughout the
upstream traffic flow

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LOS F
 Breakdown or forced flow
 Occurs when:
– Traffic incidents cause a
temporary reduction in
capacity
– At points of recurring
congestion, such as
merge or weaving
segments
– In forecast situations,
projected flow
(demand) exceeds
estimated capacity

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Design Level of Service
 This is the desired quality of traffic conditions from
a driver’s perspective (used to determine number of
lanes)
– Design LOS is higher for rural areas
– LOS is higher for level/rolling than mountainous
terrain
– Other factors include: adjacent land use type
and development intensity, environmental
factors, and aesthetic and historic values

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Design Decision
What can we change in a design to provide an
acceptable LOS?
 Lateral clearance :Distance to fixed objects
Assumes
– >= 6 feet (1.8 m) from right edge of travel lanes
to obstruction
– >= 6 feet (1.8 m) from left edge of travel lane
to object in median
 Lane width
 Number of lanes

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Highway Design

 Problem Statement
 Objective and Constraints
 Horizontal Alignment
 Vertical Alignment
 Mass Diagram
 Final Report - Blueprint for
construction
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Problem

Lombard Street, San

Highway in west China 49
Francisco, CA
Constraints
 Environmental
-Wetland, ponds and creeks.
 Geometric
- 90m flat grade for starting and ending points.
- Simple horizontal and vertical curve
 Safety
- Maximum grade
- Minimum radius
- Enough stopping sight distance
 Budget
- Maximum cut-and-fill depth
- Mass balance

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Alignment

 Alignment is a 3D
problem broken
down into two 2D
problems
– Horizontal
Alignment (plan
view)
– Vertical Alignment
(profile view)

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 Vertical Horizontal
Alignment Alignment 52
Vertical Alignment
 Objective:
– Determine elevation to ensure
 Proper drainage
 Acceptable level of safety

 Primary challenge
– Transition between two grades
– Vertical curves Sag Vertical Curve
G1 G2
G1 G2
Crest Vertical Curve 53
Horizontal Alignment
 Objective:
– Geometry of directional transition to ensure:
 Safety
 Comfort
 Primary challenge
– Transition between two directions
– Horizontal curves
 Fundamentals
– Circular curves
– Superelevation
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 Mass Fill areas Cut areas
Indicate grade points
Diagram Indicate points where  cuts =  fills
Ground
Profile
Elevation

Grade

Mass
diagram
Volume

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Pavement Design

Flexible
(WsDOT, u.d.)
Rigid

Pavements Pavements
Surface layer is asphalt Surface layer is portland 56
concrete cement concrete
Questions and Discussion

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