Highway Alignment

and Survey
Highway Engineering
Highway Alignment
HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT
 The laying out of the centre line of a proposed highway on the ground is called its
‘alignment’.
 A new road should be aligned carefully since any change in alignment may not be
possible or may be expensive at a later stage, owing to increased land acquisition
costs and roadside structures constructed after the road has taken shape.
Requirements of an ideal highway
alignment
1. Directness:
 The aligned route between end points should be as direct as possible and result in the minimum possible
length under the circumstances.
2. Ease of Construction, Maintenance and Operation:
 The alignment should be such that it is easy to construct, maintain and operate the highway. The curves
and gradients should be easy.
3. Safety:
 Safety for the road-users should be the primary consideration; the stability of natural slopes and man-made
slopes for embankments and cuttings should be ensured to prevent possible accidents.
4. Economy:
 The overall cost of construction and maintenance of the road, as also the operation cost of the vehicles
should be as low as possible.
5. Special Considerations:
 Depending upon the purpose of the highway and the characteristics of the terrain, special considerations
may be needed as in the case of hill roads or gnat roads.
 Due to Improper alignment, the disadvantage
are:
 Increase in construction ‘
 Increase in maintenance cost
 Increase in vehicle operation cost
 Increase in accident cost

 Obligatory points
Factors controlling alignment
 Traffic
 Geometric design
 Economics
 Other consideration
Obligatory Points
These are the control points governing the highway alignment.

Obligatory Points through which alignment is to pass

HILL / MOUNTAIN LOCATION OF BRIDGE CONNECTING INTERMEDIATE

TOWN

Obligatory Points through which alignment should not pass

The obligatory points through which

alignment should not pas include
religious structures and costly structures
because destroying them would require a
lot of compensation.
Traffic
 Origin and destination survey should be carried
out in the area and lines be drawn showing the
trend of traffic flow.
 New road to be aligned should keep in view the
desire lines, traffic flow patterns and future
trends

Geometric design
 Design factors such as gradient, radius of curve
and sight distance also govern the final
alignment of the highway
Economics
 Alignment finalized based on
total cost.

Other consideration
 Drainage consideration, political consideration
 Surface water level
 Environmental consideration
 Additional care in hill roads
Stability
- the cutting and filling of the earth to construct the roads on hilly sides cause steepening of existing
slope and affect its stability.

Drainage
- the number of cross drainage structure should be minimum.
Geometric standards of hill roads
- gradient, curve and speed ; Sight distance, radius of curve
Resisting length
- the total work to be done to move the loads along the route taking horizontal length, the actual
difference in level between two stations and the sum of the ineffective rise and fall in excess of
floating gradient.
Survey
Engineering Surveys for Highway Location
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