THE 2001 GREEN BOOK

Changes - Additions

Prepared by:
FHWA – Office of Program Administration
1950 1952
1954 1965

1957 1973

1984 1990 1994

Developed by the AASHTO Task Force
on Geometric Design
18 Departments of Transportation
National Association of County Engineers
National League of Cities
American Public Works Association
Port Authority of NY, NJ
Federal Highway Administration
 Format

Dual units – Metric [US Customary]

8 ½ x 11 page size
Bound Volume
Exhibits
References Updated
Speed Range 20 to 130 km/h
[15 to 80 mph]
Ten Chapters
 UNITS

• Not exact (soft) conversion

• Not completely rationalized (hard)
conversion
• Units developed independently
• Work in one system only
• Do not convert from one to other
Research – National Cooperative
Highway Research Program
375 – Median Intersection Design
383 – Intersection Sight Distance
400 – Stopping Sight Distance
420 – Access Management
439 – Superelevation and Transitions
HCM 2000 – Highway Capacity Manual
 Other Research/Publications
241 – Truck Operating Characteristics
264 – Roundabouts
Transportation Research Circular 430
– Interchange Operations
FHWA-RD-97-135 Older Driver Handbook
FHWA-RD-00-067 Roundabouts:
An Informational Guide
 Chapter 1
Highway Functions

No significant changes
 Chapter 2
Design Controls and Criteria
Design Vehicles
Older Drivers
Design Speed Definition
Highway Capacity
Access Control and Access Management
The Pedestrian
Safety
 Design Vehicles

Four classes of design vehicles:

• Passenger cars, include:
 Cars, SUV’s, Minivans, Vans, Pick-

up trucks
• Buses (Separate category)
• Trucks
• Recreation vehicles
 Design Vehicle

• Consider bicycles in selecting design

vehicle when appropriate
• Added – Considerations in selecting
design vehicle provided
 Buses Added

Added:
 Two school bus configurations
 Intercity bus
City transit bus
 Trucks

•Turning templates
revised
•Autoturn
•Centerline turning
radius added
•Revised symbols
•Typical dimensions
•Turning characteristics
defined
•Truck tractors added
 Older Drivers
“ . . . should be aware of the capabilities
and needs of older road users and
consider appropriate measures to aid their
performance.”
Expanded observations
Expanded countermeasures which may
help alleviate potential problems

Older Driver Highway Design

Handbook
 Speed

• Definitions revised
• Running speed discussion condensed
• two figures deleted
• Exhibit – corresponding design
speeds in both systems of
measurement
 Operating Speed

OLD: highest overall speed at which a driver

can travel on a given highway under favorable
weather conditions and under prevailing traffic
conditions without at any time exceeding the
safe speed as determined by the design speed
on a section – by – section basis

NEW: the speed at which drivers are

observed operating their vehicles
during free - flow conditions
 Design Speed

OLD: maximum safe speed that can

be maintained over a specific
section of highway when conditions
are so favorable that the design
features of the highway govern.

NEW: a selected speed used to

determine the various geometric
design features of the roadway.
 Speed

• Definitions revised
• Running speed discussion condensed
• two figures deleted
• Exhibit 2 - 29 – corresponding design
speeds in both systems of
measurement
 Speed

• Establishes:

• Low - speed design: 70 km/h [45

mph] or less

• High - speed design: 80 km/h [50

mph] or more
 Traffic Flow Relationships

• Updated – consistent with 2000 HCM

• Exhibit 2 - 30 - Generalized speed –

volume - density curve replaces two
figures
 Highway Capacity

• Updated based on HCM 2000

• Rewritten to eliminate duplication
of material

• Exhibit 2 – 31 Generalized
definitions of Level of Service
replaces Level of Service
Characteristics

• Refers user to HCM for details

 Access Control
Access Management
• Rewritten and expanded to incorporate
material from NCHRP 420
• Includes discussions on:
• Basic principles
• Classifications
• Methods
• Benefits
• 3 Exhibits on crash rates added
 The Pedestrian

• Sidewalk – part of any street improvement

• Physical characteristics section replaced with
Characteristics of Persons with Disabilities
• Mobility, Visual, and Developmental
• Added 600 mm [2 ft] detectable warning
strips at bottom of sidewalk ramps
• Listed 7 measures to reduce pedestrian -
vehicle conflicts
• Eliminates HCM duplication
• Level of service generalized
 Safety

• Deleted tables and figure with accident data

• Emphasizes access control in reducing
crashes
• Include adequate shoulders in narrow medians
for:
• Emergency stops
• Use of emergency vehicles
• Added to list of factors to be considered in
rural intersection design:
• Crossroad sight distance
• Type of highway
 Chapter 3
Elements of Design
Sight Distances
Transition Designs
Urban Street Design
Offtracking
Horizontal Alignment
Turning Roadway Design
Grades
Vertical Alignment
 Stopping Sight Distance
Revised braking distance portion of
equation – now based on deceleration ( a )
rather than friction factor ( f )
2
0 . 039 V
New d = 0 .278 V t + Metric
a 254 f
Old
1. 075 V 2
d = 1 .47 V t + U.S.
a 30 f
Adopted a – 3.4 m / sec2
[ 11.2 ft / sec2 ]
 A single value for each design speed
replaces the range of values used
previously.
300
Stopping Sight Distance
Stopping Sight Distance, m

250
1994 Lower Values
1994 Upper Values
200 2001 Values

150

100

50

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Initial Speed, km/h
 Stopping Sight Distance on
Grades
• Brakingdistance equation for grades
modified to use deceleration rate (a)
2
V
d Metric
 a  
254    G
  9.81  

• Reaction time must be added to

braking distance from equation
• Exhibit 3 - 2 incorporates
adjusted values
 Other Sight Distances

• Decision Sight Distance

• Equations added to discussion

• Exhibit 3-3 modified –

reaction times added

• Passing Sight Distance

• Exhibit 3-7 expanded to
130 km/h [ 80
mph ]
 Criteria for Measuring

SSD Eye Height -- 1080 mm [ 3.5 ft ]

Object Height -- 600 mm [ 2.0 ft]

PSD Eye Height -- 1080 mm [ 3.5 ft ]

Object Height -- 1080 mm [3.5 ft ]

Trucks Eye Height– 2330 mm [ 7.6 ft ]

 Superelevation

• Unchanged except for minor editing

• NCHRP 439 Superelevation

Distribution Methods and
Transition Designs -
under consideration for
next edition of Green Book
 Transition Design Controls
• 3 transition methods discussed
• Tangent to curve
• Spiral to curve
• Compound curve
• Eliminated 2 - second rule
• Equation for minimum length of
runoff provided
• Exhibit 3 – 27 Maximum Relative
Gradients refined
 Superelevation Runoff

• Exhibit 3 - 28 provides adjustments for

runoff for number of lanes rotated
• Lengths vary proportionally to 3.6 m
[ 12 ft ] lane width
• Exhibit 3 - 29 based on 3.6 m [ 12 ft ]
width
• Discussion on the Location of Runoff
revised
• Exhibit 3 - 30 added providing
allocations
 Tangent Runout

• Added section on runout

• Equation provided to determine
minimum length
• Lengths listed in Exhibit 3 - 29
 Spiral Curve Transitions

• Corrected metric equation for

minimum length
• Added two exhibits
• Exhibit 3 - 33 Maximum radius for
use of spiral
• Exhibit 3 - 34 Desirable length of
spiral
• Added equations for minimum and
maximum length of spiral
 Transitions - Miscellaneous

• Exhibit 3 – 31 and discussion added

on limitations to the use of
superelevation rates
• Axis of Rotation with Medians replaces
Runoff with Medians
• Section added on minimum transition
grades
• Section added on Turning Roadway
Design
 Urban Street Design

• Upper limit for low-speed urban

design now 70 km/h [ 45 mph ]
rather than 60 km/h [ 40 mph ]
• Exhibits 3 - 40 and 3 – 41 expanded
to include 20 km/h [ 15 mph ] and
70 km/h [ 45 mph]
 Offtracking
• Widths of turning roadways and
widening of traveled way combined
into section on Offtracking
• Exhibit 3 - 51 based on WB - 15 [
WB - 50 ]
• Exhibit 3 - 52 added to provide
adjustment factors for other design
vehicles
• Tabular values based on
dimensions in Chapter 2
 Horizontal Alignment

• New height of eye and object

incorporated into discussion.
• Exhibit 3 - 57 redone based on single
stopping sight distance value.
• Passing sight distance discussion uses
new height of eye and object
 Horizontal Alignment

M M
Speed
94 GB [90 GB] 2001 GB
80 km/h 7.9 – 12.0 m 10.5 m
[50 mph] [30.3 – 42.5 ft] [ 34.1 ft ]

M = middle ordinate, centerline

inside lane to sight obstruction
M shown is for horizontal curve
with radius of 200 m [ 656 ft ]
 Grades

Speed – Distance Curves:

•Developed for 120 Kg/kW [ 200 lb/hp ]
•Critical length of grade adjusted to
reflect design vehicle
 Grades
• Climbing lanes – capacity discussion
edited to eliminate duplicating HCM
• Passing Opportunities on 2 - lane
Roads
• Passing lanes and 3 - lane sections
combined
• Exhibit 3 - 68 Lengths of Turnouts
revised
 Vertical Alignment
• Length of vertical curve equations
revised to incorporate new height of
eye and height of object.
• Exhibits 3 - 75 and 3 – 76, K values
• Recalculated using new eye and

object height
• Based on single value of stopping

sight distance
 2001 values are lower due to changes in height of
eye ( 1070 mm to 1080 mm ) and height of object
( 150 mm to 600 mm ). Since L = K x A, length of
vertical curves will be shorter.
250
Crest Vertical Curves
Rate of Vertical Curvature, K
( length (m) per % of A)

200
1994 Lower Values
1994 Upper Values
2001 Values
150

100

50

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Initial Speed, km/h

 Vertical Alignment

94 GB [90 GB] 2001 GB

Speed
SSD K SSD K
80 km/h 112.8 - 139.4 m 32 - 49 130 m 26
[50 mph] [400 - 475 ft] [110 - 160] [425 ft] [84]
K = rate of vertical curvature
( length ( m ) per % of A ) or [ length ( ft )
per % of A ]
K shown is for crest vertical curves
Since L = K x A, length of
vertical curves will be shorter.
 Vertical Alignment

• Equations for passing sight distance

revised to incorporate new eye
and object heights
• Exhibit 3 - 77 passing sight distance
revised to reflect changes
• Exhibits 3 – 78 and 3 - 79 length of
sag vertical curves recalculated using
single value for stopping sight
distance
 Miscellaneous

• Emergency Escape Ramp bed depth

increased to 1 m [3 ft]
• Sight distance at undercrossings added

• Discussion on fencing added

• Combined traffic control devices under
one heading
 Chapter 4
Cross Section Elements

Surface type
Curbs
Medians
Pedestrians
Bicycles
 Curbs

• Section rewritten
• Visibility stressed
• Terminology
• Barrier replaced by vertical

• Mountable replaced by sloping

 Miscellaneous

• Intermediate surface type deleted

• Discussion on medians updated
• Paragraph on grades of parking areas
in Park - and - Ride Facilities revised
 Pedestrians

• Separate topic on Sidewalks

consolidated with Pedestrian Facilities

• Madecompatible with proposed

ADAAG standards and guidelines

• Sidewalk curb ramps

• Terminology changed
• Basic dimensions
 Pedestrian References
AASHTO – Guide for the
Planning, Design, and
Operation of Pedestrian
Facilities (forthcoming )
FHWA - Designing Sidewalks and Trails
(2 parts)

PROWAAC – Building A True Community

Access Board – Accessible Rights-of-Way:

A Design Guide
 Bicycles

Added emphasis throughout

AASHTO – Guide for the

Development of Bicycle
Facilities 1999
 Chapter 5
Local Roads and Streets

• Exhibits updated to reflect changes

in Chapter 3 and 9
• Superelevation
• Structures
• Clear zone
• Sight distance
• Parking lanes
• Intersections
 Note

AASHTO is currently evaluating

alternative criteria for local and
collector roads with volumes < 400
vehicles per day

Guidelines for Geometric Design

of Very Low – Volume Local Roads
(< 400 ADT ) (Forthcoming )
 Exhibits

Four Exhibits revised to be consistent with

Chapter 3 revisions:
 Exhibit 5 - 2 Stopping Sight Distance
 Exhibit 5 - 3 Passing Sight Distance
 Exhibit 5 - 13 Stopping Sight Distance
Recreational Roads
 Exhibit 5 - 14 Passing Sight Distance
Recreational Roads
 Miscellaneous
• Maximum superelevation allowed for
rural roads changed from 10 % to 12
%
• Exhibit 5 - 6 Footnotes added for
surfaced approaches and long bridges
( 30 m [ 100 ft ])
• Clear zone width now 2 - 3 m
[ 7 – 10 ft ]
• Corner sight distance criteria deleted
– See Chapter 9
• Parking lanes added
 Intersection Design

Intersection design section reworded

• Exhibit 5 – 10 added
• Discusses two distinct radii to
consider
• Effective turning radius
• Curb return radius
 Chapter 6
Collector Roads and Streets

• Exhibits
• Design speed for horizontal clearance
• Medians
• Parking lanes
 Collector Exhibits

Two exhibits updated to be consistent

with Chapter 3 revisions:
 Exhibit 6 - 2 Stopping Sight Distance

 Exhibit 6 - 3 Passing Sight Distance

Table for maximum grades in previous

editions replaced by two exhibits:
 Exhibit 6 - 4 Maximum grades for

rural
 Exhibit 6 - 8 Maximum grades for

urban
 Miscellaneous

• Design speed revised to upper limit of

70 km/h [ 45 mph ] for low-speed
design
• Minimum clear zone of 3 m [ 10 ft ]

on rural collectors
• Median discussion and widths on urban
collectors modified slightly
 Parking Lanes

• Revisions:
• Residential areas – 2.1 to 2.4 m [
7 to 8 ft ] parking lane width
• Commercial areas – 2.4 to 3.0 m
[ 8 to 11 ft ] parking lane width
• Industrial areas – 2.4 to 3.0 m
[ 8 to 11 f t ] parking lane width
 Chapter 7
Rural and Urban Arterials

• Sight distance exhibit

• Widths
• Medians
• Curbs and shoulders
• Access management
• Turning radius for dual left turns
 Exhibits

• Exhibit 7 - 1 Sight distance values

moved from Provisions for Passing to
Sight Distance in the chapter
• Exhibit 7 – 3:
• adjusted lane width from 6.6 m
[ 22 ft ] to 7.2 m [ 24 ft ] for 80
km/h [ 50 mph ] and ADT of 1500
to 2000
• column heading changed from
DHV over 200 to ADT over 2000
 Widths

• A minimum of 0.6 m [2 ft ] paved

shoulder width should be provided
for pavement support, wide vehicles,
collision avoidance and bicycles
• Section on Bridges to Remain added
to provide minimum widths for existing
bridges that will be retained
 Medians

• Advises against using 4 - lane

undivided facilities
• Median discussion expanded and
updated for both rural and urban
• Curb and Shoulders relocated to
follow Lane Widths
 Access Management
Access Management replaces Access
Control
• Refers to Chapter 2 discussion

• Discussion on left turns into and

out of adjacent properties added

 Miscellaneous

• Pedestrian Facilities updated

• Refers to Chapter 4
• Operation and Control Measures for
Left - Turns
• Desirable turning radius 27 m
[ 90 ft ]
 Chapter 8
Freeways

• Updated to be consistent with other

chapters
• Rural freeway discussion now
precedes urban
• Allowance for height of resurfacing
no longer specified
• Vertical clearance over railroads
• 6.6 m [21.5 ft] minimum increased
to 7.0 m [23 ft]
 Chapter 9
Intersections
Types
Functional area defined
Discussion of roundabouts
Turning roadways
Islands
Intersection sight distance
Offset left turn lanes
 Types

3 general types of intersections

defined:
• At-grade

• Grade separations without ramps

• Interchanges
 Functional Area Defined

• Perception - reaction time

• Maneuver distance ( braking & lane
changing )
• Queue - storage distance ( accommodate
longest queue expected )

Defined by physical area

Defined by functional area
 Roundabouts

• Yield at entry
• Deflection of entering
traffic
• Discussion only

FHWA-RD-00-067 Roundabouts:
An Informational Guide
 Turning Roadways

• Discussion reorganized
• All exhibits updated to be consistent
with Chapter 2 design vehicles
• Maximum superelevation rate
increased to 12 % where climate is
favorable
 Islands
• Minimum Design for Turning Roadways
now part of General Characteristics
• Reversals in curvature for divisional
islands reduced:
• Minimum of 1165 m [ 3825 ft ] for
rural areas
• Minimum 620 m [ 2035 ft ] for
speeds up to 70 km/h [ 45 mph ]
• Free - flowTurning Roadways
replaces Application at Terminals
 Intersection Sight Distance

Six cases
No control
Stop control
Yield control
Signal control
All-way stop control
Left turn from major road
 Gap Acceptance
Sight Triangles

Clear Sight Triangle Clear Sight Triangle

A – Approach Sight Triangles

Clear Sight Triangle Clear Sight Triangle

B – Departure Sight Triangles

 Intersection Sight Distance

94 GB [90 GB] 2001 GB

Speed
ISD ISD
80 km/h 250 m 170 m
[50 mph] [840 ft] [555 ft]

ISD = intersection sight distance

for turning left from stop onto
major highway
 Offset Left - Turn Lanes

Advantages:

Better visibility
Parallel
Reduced conflict
More vehicles served

Tapered
 Miscellaneous

• Horizontal control see Chapter 3

• Deceleration length:
• Discussion revised
• Additional design speeds and

values included
• Discussion on driveways expanded
 Chapter 10
Grade Separations and Interchanges

Access separations and control on

crossroad at interchanges
Turning roadway widths
Single - point urban interchanges
Superelevation and cross slopes
Two lane entrance ramps
 Miscellaneous

• Recommends separation of
bicycle/pedestrian movement from
vehicle movement through
interchanges
• Single Point Urban Interchange
discussed as separate type
• Exhibit 10-67 made consistent with
Exhibit 3-55
Access Control at Interchanges

Minimizes spillback on ramp & crossroad

Distance for crossroad weaves
Distance for merging maneuvers
Provides storage for turning vehicles
 Miscellaneous

• Cautions against the use of minimum

values for taper type entrances
• Exhibit 10-70 Acceleration lengths have
been recomputed
• Adds a caution concerning volumes
exceeding lane capacity on 2-lane
ramps
 Technical Corrections
 Exhibit 3 - 55 and Exhibit 10 - 67 -
In metric side, under Case I column,
replace “with” with “no” so it is
identical with US Customary.
 Exhibit 3 - 76 - Delete “and Sag” from
title.
 Exhibit 5 – 11 - Replace “5.5” under
residential in the metric side with
“2.2”.
 Technical Corrections

 Exhibit 10 - 60 is incorrect. It should

be similar to Figure X-66 in 94 GB.
 Exhibit 10-71 - In the metric side,
under the column “All speeds” in
Acceleration lanes, change the second
occurrence of “3 to 4 % Downgrade”
to “5 to 6 % Downgrade”
 Future Research

Truck impacts on criteria ( underway )

Improved design for freeway speed
change lanes ( proposed )
Design criteria and warrants for right
turn deceleration ( proposed )
Auxiliary through lanes and lane drops
( proposed )
Passing sight distance ( proposed )