Structural Components

of a Road

Transportation Engineering - I
Typical Road Structure
 Structural Components
• Subgrade
• Subbase
• Base
• Surfacing/Wearing Course
 Subgrade
• Subgrade consists of compacted
earthwork
• It is the soil foundation of the road
which receives traffic loads from
pavement and transfers to the natural
ground safely
• Entire road structure rests on
subgrade, therefore its failure affects
the performance of entire road
Subgrade
 Subbase Course
• It is normally a layer of stone
aggregates
• Its main function is to improve the
quality of subgrade
• Where subgrade has poor drainage
properties or low bearing capacity,
subbase is used to distribute the load
over a greater area of subgrade
Subbase Course
 Base Course
• It is a major structural component of
the road
• It is composed of stone aggregates
or stone metal and/or Asphaltic Conc.
• Its main function is to distribute the
traffic loads over the soil formation
(subgrade) sufficiently to prevent the
soil from being over-stressed
Aggregate Base Course
Asphalt Base Course
Surfacing/Wearing Course
• Surfacing Layer provides smooth riding
surface
• It protects the base, subbase and
subgrade from adverse weather conditions
• It minimizes the abrasion of road due to
traffic
• Presence of bitumen also protects any
seepage from the surface to underlying
layers
Surfacing/Wearing Course
Types of Cross sections
Cross section of Road in Fill
(Plain or Rural Area)
Road in Fill
Cross section of Road in
Cutting (Hilly Area)
Road in Cutting
Cross section of Road in
Urban Area
Cross section of a Divided
Dual Highway
 Camber
• Camber is the convexity of road
cross section and is defined as the
slope of the line joining edge of the
carriageway with the crown.
• The middle highest point of the road
cross section is Crown.
• Transverse slope given to the road is
called Cross fall.
 Function of Camber
• Camber is provided for drainage of road
surface.
 Types of Cambers
Sloping Camber
• Generally used for concrete roads as
camber to be provided is small.

Sloping Camber
 Types of Cambers
Composite Camber
• It is a combination of straight slope
and curve

Curve
Slope Slope

Composite Camber
 Height of Camber depends
upon
• Intensity and amount of Rainfall:
Camber should be just sufficient for
effective drainage
• Type of Road surface:
For permeable road surfacing
camber will be higher
• Normally camber is 2%
 Disadvantages of Providing
Excessive Camber
• Edges of the road surface will wear out
faster than the central part because of
more load transfer on outer wheels
• Due to high velocity of drainage water
shoulder may get eroded easily
• Heavily loaded vehicles may topple
over
• Tendency of side slippage is increased
especially when road is wet
 Gradient
• It is the longitudinal slope of the road, or
the rate of rise and fall of the road surface
in a given length
Factors Affecting Gradient
Nature of Topography
• Flat gradient in plain area and steep
gradient in mountainous area
Type of Traffic
• If traffic is light and fast (cars), steeper
gradients can be provided.
• Passenger cars speed is not much affected
by grades upto 6 or 7%, but trucks speed is
affected by even less grades
• As far as possible, easy gradient should be
provided.
 Types of Gradients
• Ruling Gradient
• Minimum Gradient
• Limiting Gradient
• Exceptional Gradient
 Types of Gradients
• Ruling Gradient
This is the maximum gradient
adopted under the normal site
conditions
In plain areas 1 in 30 (3.33%)
In hilly areas 1 in 20 (5%)
 Types of Gradients
• Minimum Gradient
Perfectly horizontal roads may give
rise to the problem of drainage. The
minimum gradient in plain areas is
recommended as:
1 in 250 for open earth drains
1 in 500 for pecca side drains
 Types of Gradients
• Limiting Gradient
It is provided where lots of saving in
earthwork is to be done
1 in 20 in plain areas
1 in 15 in hilly areas
 Types of Gradients
• Exceptional Gradient
In unavoidable circumstances,
exceptional gradient is provided but
only for a maximum road length of 50
to 60 meters
1 in 15 in plain areas
1 in 12 in hilly areas