Cross-section

Highway Geometric Design

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 Basic Geometric Design Elements

Basic geometric design elements include:

►Cross-section elements
►Sight Distance

►Horizontal Alignment details

►Vertical Alignment Details

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 Highway Cross-Section Elements
 Principal elements include:
 Carriageway (Travel way)
 Roadways (Lane +shoulder)
 Shoulders
 Medians
 Auxiliary Lanes
 Marginal elements include:
 Sidewalks
 Curbs
 Gutters
 Guard rails
 Side slopes and back slopes (Earth work profiles)
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Highway Cross-Section Elements

Fig. Undivided Highway 4

Highway Cross-Section Elements

Fig. Divided Highway 5

Highway Cross-Section Elements

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 Traffic Lane Width
 Have great influence on safety and comfort.
 Width of 3.65 is used for DC7 and DC8.
 Extra cost of using 3.65m is offset by
▪ Reduction in cost of shoulder maintenance
▪ Reduction in surface maintenance due to
lessened traffic wheel load concentration.
▪ Providing desired clearance b/n large commercial
vehicles.
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Lane Width

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 Shoulders

art of the road way contiguous with carriage way provided fo

▪ Accommodations of stopped vehicles
▪ Used for non motorized traffic
▪ Provide lateral support to the pavement structure
▪ Emergency use

▪ For Recovery of errant vehicles

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shoulders
 Where the carriageway is paved, the shoulder should
also be sealed with a single bituminous surface
treatment.
 The followings are advantages of sealed shoulder, it
would:
 i.Prevent edge raveling and maintenance problems
associated with parking on a gravel shoulder,
 ii.Provide paved space for vehicular parking outside of
the traffic flow,
 iii.Provide a better surface for vehicles experiencing
emergency repairs,
 Iv.Provide for the very heavy pedestrian traffic
observed in the villages, traffic that would otherwise,
especially during inclement weather, use the roadway.10
Shoulders

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 Normal Cross-fall

 Also called Camber/Crown/

 Purpose:

 To provide adequate surface drainage

 ERA recommendation:

 3% for paved roads

 4.5% for unpaved roads

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 Side Slopes and Back slopes

Provided to insure Stability of road way

Reasonable opportunity for recovery of out of control vehic
Selection of SS and BS depends on:
▪ Safety consideration
▪ Height of cut or fill
▪ Material type
▪ Economic considerations

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Side Slopes and Back slopes

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 Side Slopes and Back slopes

 Recoverable Slopes:
 Drivers can generally stop vehicles or slow down

and return to the roadway. (1:4 or flatter)

 Non Recoverable slopes:
 One w/c is traversable but drivers can’t return to

the roadway. (slopes between 1:3-1:4).

 Critical Slope:
 One on which a vehicle is likely overturn.
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Side Slopes and Back slopes

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cont’d
Major elements are defined here for clarity:
Carriageway- the part of the road
constructed for use by moving traffic,
including traffic lanes, auxiliary lanes
such as acceleration and deceleration
lanes, climbing lanes, and passing lanes,
and bus bays and lay-byes.
Roadway- consists of the carriageway
and the shoulders, parking lanes and
viewing areas. 17
Cont’
Earthwork profiles- include side slopes
and back slopes.
 Lane and shoulder widths should be
adjusted to traffic requirements and
characteristics of the terrain.
 In certain cases, however, it may be
necessary to accept isolated reductions in
cross-section standards, for example
when an existing narrow structure has to
be retained because it is not economically
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 ROAD WIDTH

 Road width should be minimized so as to

reduce the costs of construction and
maintenance, whilst being sufficient to carry
the traffic loading efficiently and safely.
 The following factors need to be taken into
account when selecting the width of a road:
 i. Classification of the road:
 ii.traffic
 iii. Vehicle dimension.
.
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 Cont’d
 iv. Vehicle speed: As speed increase,
drivers have less control of the lateral
position of vehicles, reducing clearances,
and so wider traffic lanes are needed.
 LANE WIDTHS
 A feature of a highway having great
influence on safety and comfort is the
width of the carriageway. The wider
3.65m lane provides desired clearances
between large commercial vehicles on
two-way rural highways. 20
 RIGHT-OF-WAY

 Right-of-ways, or road reserves, are

provided in order to accommodate road
width and to enhance the safety,
operation and appearance of the roads.
 The width of right-of-way depends on
i.cross section elements of the
highway,
ii.topography
iii.other physical controls
iv.economic considerations.
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 RIGHT-OF-WAY
 Right of ways will be equidistant from the
centerline of the road to the left and to the
right of the carriageway.  
 Road reserve widths applicable for the different
road classes are 50m,30m,and 20m for DS1-
DS5,DS6 & DS7, and DS8-DS10 respectively.
 In mountainous or escarpment terrain, a cut
section may be of such depth that the right-of-
way width is exceeded from the top of cut on
one side to the other top of cut.

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 median
 A road on which traffic in one direction of travel is
separated from that in the opposite direction is
called a divided highway and dividing a strip in the
middle of the road way is known as median strip.
 Wide median strips are to be preferred for the
following reasons:
  Chance of accidents resulting in head collusion
are reduced,
  Head light glare at night from opposite direction is
less troublesome,
  At intersections these provides a refuge for the
cross traffic.

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