9-Geometric Design

VDB3054
Highway & Traffic Engineering
Lecture 9 : 1
Highway Geometric Design

9/28/23 04:21:09 AM
VDB3054 Highway & Traffic Engineering
• Geometric Design Guidelines

• Horizontal Alignment
• Vertical Alignment
2
Lecture 9 :
CLO4 Able to execute highway geometric

and thickness design that suitable
for a complex traffic loading and
conditions
3
Geometric Design Guidelines
Outcomes:
• Able to identify and explain factors affecting geometric
design of roads
• Able to use appropriate tables and figures as in design
manuals with respect to design controls and criteria
Topics:
• Design controls and criteria
• Elements of design
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Design Controls & Criteria
1. Topography & Physical Features (p25)
• Flat Terrain Natural ground cross slope below 3%

• Rolling Terrain Natural ground cross slope 3 – 25%
• Mountainous Terrain Natural ground slope above 25%
20
2. Traffic (p26-28)
• Average Daily Traffic (ADT) Table 2-3
• Design Hourly Volume (DHV) 30th highest hourly volume (30 HV)
• Design Hourly Volume Ratio (k) k = DHV/ADT (7 – 20%)
• Directional Distribution Ratio (D) Urban (60%) Rural (65%)
• Traffic Composition 6 categories (National census)
• Projection of Traffic 20 years after completion
21
3. Design Vehicles & Characteristics (p29-

33)
• Design Vehicles AASHTO
Passenger Car PU (Fig.3-1)
Single Unit Truck SU (Fig.3-2) Table 3-1
Truck Combination WB-50 (Fig.3-3)
22
4. Speed (p34-36)
Highest overall speed under favorable weather
• Operating Speed condition and prevailing traffic condition
without exceeding the design speed
Maximum safe speed
As high as practical (topography, land use, type
• Design Speed of road)
Maintain the desired degree of safety
Table 3-2A (rural) Table 3-2B (urban)
Ideally constant speed
• Design Section
Transition if not constant
23
5. Capacity (p36-40)
• Capacity Under Ideal 2-lane 2-way (total)2,800 pcu/hr
Conditions (8 criteria) Multilane (per lane) 2,000 pcu/hr
Volume of traffic estimated to use the road
• Design Volume
during the design year
Maximum volume of traffic the road would be
• Service Volume able to service without worsen LOS (Table 3-4)
• Design LOS and V/C Tables 3-5A & 3-5B

Ratio
24
Elements of Design
1. Sight Distance (p41-46)

PRT distance
• Stopping Sight Braking distance
Distance (SSD)
Table 4-1
• Passing Sight
Table 4-2
Distance (PSD)
Height of driver’s eyes 0.92m (3.5ft)
• Criteria for
Measuring Sight Height of object 150mm (6in) SSD
Distance 1.32m (4.25ft) PSD
25
Elements of Design
2. Horizontal Alignment (p46-58)

• Design Speed vs. Curvature
• Superelevation vs. Side Friction
• Superelevation Rate
• Minimum Radius (Table 4-3)
• Transition (Spiral) Curves
• Methods of Attaining Superelevation (Figure 4-1)
• Superelevation Runoff with Median
• Pavement Widening of Curves (Table 4-5)
• Sight Distance on Horizontal Curves
• General Controls for Horizontal Alignment
26
Elements of Design
3. Vertical Alignment (p58-67)
• Maximum Grades (Table 4-6)
• Minimum Grades
• Critical Grade Length (Table 4-7 & Figure 4-2)
• Climbing Lanes for 2-Lane Roads
• Passing Lane Sections & Laybyes on 2-Lane Roads
• Climbing Lanes on Multilane Roads
• Vertical Curve
 Crest Vertical Curve (Table 4-8)
 Sag Vertical Curve (Table 4-9)
• General Controls for Vertical Alignment
• Combination of Horizontal and Vertical Alignment
27
Elements of Design
4. Cross Section Elements (p70-109)

• Pavement
• Lane Widths & Marginal Strips
• Shoulders
• Kerbs
• Sidewalks
• Medians
• Service Roads
• Pedestrian Crossings
• U-Turns
• Bridge & Structure Cross Section
• Bus Laybyes
• Minimum Reserve Width
• Exclusive Cycle Lanes
28
Cross Section Elements
29
30
31
Horizontal Alignment
Outcomes:
• Able to propose horizontal alignment of a road project
manuals to design a horizontal alignment of a roadway
Topics:
• Simple Circular curves
• Transition (Spiral) curves
32
• Simple curve
• A segment of circle
with radius R
• Spiral curve
• Curves placed between
tangents & circular
curves to provide
smooth transition
between tangent &
circle
• Compound curve
• Reversed curve
33
Horizontal Alignment (Circular
Curve)
34
(Circular Curve)
V2
R
127(e  f s )
Lc  R  R / 180

ITc  R tan
2
  
P  2 R sin E  R[sec( )  1] M  R[1  cos( )]
2 2 2
35
(Spiral Curve)
36
(Spiral Curve)
 2
ITs  ( Ls / 2)  [( R  S ) tan ] S  L / 24 R
s
2
Lc  R(  2 s )  s  Ls / 2 R
Ls  Ls (comfort )
Ls  Ls ( Applicatio n of SE )
Ls  Ls ( JKR)
37
Horizontal Alignment (Spiral
Curve)
• Comfort
• Application of Superelevation
• Appearance (JKR)
38
(Spiral Curve)
3
Ls  V /( 46.6cR ) Comfort
Ls  100 B(e  b) / a Rotation @ Centerline
Ls  200 Be / a Rotation @ Edge
Ls  Ls (JKR) Table 4.4A, 4.4B & 4.4C
39
40
Who want to be a Professional

Engineer
41
Horizontal Alignment - Example
A horizontal curve on a single-lane highway

has its PC at chainage 3780 and its PI at
chainage 4100. The curve has a
superelevation of 0.07 and is designed for 120
km/h. What is the chainage of the PT?
42
A horizontal curve is being designed through

mountainous terrain for a four-lane road with
lanes that are 3.65 m wide. The central angle ()
is known to be 30 degrees, the tangent distance is
155 m, and the chainage of the tangent
intersection (PI) is 82300. Under specific
conditions and vehicle speed, the roadway surface
is determine to have a coefficient of side friction
of 0.08, and the curve’s superelevation is 0.09.
What is the chainage of the PC and PT and what
is the safe vehicle speed?
43
The allowable side friction factor for horizontal curves with a

design speed of 110 km/h is 0.12
(a) What superelevation rate would you use for a curve with a
design speed of 110 km/h and a radius of 450 m? Round
to the nearest whole percent.
(b) A spiral transition curve is used to go from a normal
crown slope of 2% cross-slope to full superelevation for
the curve describe above. If the maximum difference in
grade between the centerline and the edge is 0.5% and the
roadway consists of two 3.5 m lanes, what is the
minimum length of spiral? Assume the rate of gain in
radial acceleration (C) is 0.30 m/s3.
(c) The deflection angle of tangents for the above curve is
30o. The chainage of PI is 15000 m. Determine all
chainage for TS, SC, CS, and ST.
44
A transition-circular-transition
curve having a minimum radius
of 650 meters is to be
constructed to link two tangents
shown. The road is 8.3 m wide.
If the rate of gain in radial
acceleration (C) of 0.3 m/m3 is
25o
to be used, and maximum
relative gradient of outer
(a) Calculate the length of transition curve
channel to inner channel is
required for a design speed of 100 km/h. 0.5%.
Assume normal cross fall of 2.5% and
55% of the centrifugal force is balanced (b) Determine the chainage of
by friction between tires and pavement. the beginning and end of
the transition and circular
curves above. 45
Vertical Alignment
Outcomes:
• Able to determine limiting vertical curve length as
specify by the standards
manuals to design a vertical alignment of a roadway
Topics:
• Crest vertical curves
• Sag vertical curves
46
Crest Vertical Curves
PVI
A +g2
PVC
+g1 PVT
-g2
L/2
L
+g1
g1 = initial roadway grade (%)

-g1
g2 = final roadway grade (%)
A = absolute value of the differences in grades
PVC = point of the vertical curve (initial)
PVI = point of vertical intersection
PVT = point of vertical tangent
-g2
L = length of curve 47
Sag Vertical Curves
-g1
L
+g2
L/2
-g1
PVT
PVC
A -g2
PVI
g1 = initial roadway grade (%)

g2
g2 = final roadway grade (%)
A = absolute value of the differences in grades
PVC = point of the vertical curve (initial)
PVI = point of vertical intersection
PVT = point of vertical tangent
+g1
L = length of curve 48
Crest Vertical Curves
• Sight Distance
• JKR Table 4-8
49
Sight Distance on Crest
(SSD>L)
X1 X3=L/2 X2
PVI
P
h1 N
PVC
C PVT h2
L D
+g1 S -g2
L = length of vertical curve

S = sight distance
Lmin  2S 

200 h1  h2 2
h1 = height of eye above roadway surface

A
h2 = height of object above roadway surface
50
(SSD<L)
PVI
P
h1 N
h2
PVC C S2
S1 D
PVT
+g1 S
L -g2
AS 2
Lmin 

200 h1  h2 
2
51
(SSD<L) (SSD>L)
Lmin 
AS 2
Lmin  2S 

200 h1  h2 2

200 h1  h2 2
A
• h1 = 0.92m (JKR) h1 = 1.08m (AASHTO) or 3.5ft

• h2 = 0.15m (JKR) h2 = 0.6m (AASHTO) or 2ft
AS 2 363
Lmin  JKR Lmin  2S 
363 A
AS 2 AASHTO (m) 658

Lmin  Lmin  2 S 
658 A
AS 2 2158
Lmin  AASHTO (ft) Lmin  2S 
A 52
2158 VDB3054 Highway & Traffic Engineering

(SSD<L) (SSD>L)
Lmin 
AS 2
Lmin  2S 

200 h1  h2 2

200 h1  h2 2
A
• h1 = 1.07m (JKR) h1 = 1.08m (AASHTO) or 3.5ft

• h2 = 0.15m (JKR) h2 = 0.6m (AASHTO) or 2ft
AS 2 405
Lmin  JKR Lmin  2S 
405 A
AS 2 AASHTO (m) 658

Lmin  Lmin  2 S 
658 A
AS 2 2158
Lmin  AASHTO (ft) Lmin  2S 
A 53
2158 VDB3054 Highway & Traffic Engineering

Crest Vertical Curve
(JKR Table 4-8)
Lmin  kA
Design Speed (kph) 120 100 80 60 50 40 30 20

Minimum k value 120 60 30 15 10 10 5 5
54
Sag Vertical Curves
• Sight Distance (min)

• Rider Comfort (min)
• General Appearance (min)
• Control of Drainage (max)
55
Sag Vertical Curves (SSD>L)
Headlight beam
D
200( h  S tan  )
Lmin  2S 
A
56
Sag Vertical Curves (SSD<L)
Headlight beam
D

2
h AS
Lmin 
200( h  S tan  )
S
57
Sag Vertical Curves
(Rider Comfort)
 Comfort criteria (min. length), usually 75% of the
SSD requirement.
Av 2
Lmin 
c
AVMetric
2
Lmin 
1300c
AUUS
2 Customary
Lmin 
46.5
58
Sag Vertical Curves
(General Appearance)
 General appearance (min. length) – JKR Table 4-9.
Lmin  kA
Design Speed (kph) 120 100 80 60 50 40 30 20

Minimum k value 60 40 28 15 12 10 8 8
59
Sag Vertical Curves
(Drainage)
 Drainage criteria (max. length within which a grade must be
established) when curbs are used.
Al
Lmax 
2g
 l = distance between two points on minimum slope (30m)

 g = minimum slope for drainage (0.35%)
60
Elevations on Vertical Curve
A g1 L
Y x2 x h, l 
200 L ( g1  g 2 )
PVI Yf
Ym
Y
PVC
PVT
g2
g1 x
L/2
L
61
Elevations on Vertical Curve
Step 1 Determine the minimum length of curve to satisfy SSD

Step 2 Determine from the layout plans the station and elevation of
the PVI
Step 3 Compute the elevations of the PVC and PVT
Step 4 Compute offsets Y from the tangent to the curve at equal
distances beginning with the first whole station after the PVC
Step 5 Compute elevations on curve
62
Vertical Curve - Example
1. A 500-m long sag vertical curve (equal

tangent) has a PVC at chainage 3750 and
elevation 460m. The initial grade is -3.0% and
the final grade is +6.5%. Determine the
elevation and chainage of the lowest point,
PVI, and PVT.
63
2. A 150-m-long equal-tangent crest vertical

curve connects tangents that intersect at
chainage 12360 and elevation 420.00 m. The
initial grade is +4.0% and the final grade is -
2.0%. Determine the elevation and chainage
of the high point, PVC, and PVT.
64
3. Two level sections of an east-west highway (G=0) are

to be connected. Currently, the two sections of
highway are separated by a 1200 m (horizontal
distance), 2% grade. The westernmost section of
highway is the higher of the two and is at elevation
35.00 m. If the highway has a 100 km/h design speed,
determine, for the crest and sag vertical curves
required, the chainage and elevation of the PVCs and
PVTs given that the PVC of the crest (on the
westernmost level highway section) is at chainage 00
and elevation 35.00 m. In solving this problem,
assume that the curve PVIs are at the intersection of
G=0 and the 2% grade, that is, A=2.
65
4. A vertical curve is designed for 100 km/h, and

it has an initial grade of +2.5% and a final
grade of -1.5%. The PVT is at chainage 3480.
It is known that a point on the curve at
chainage 3440 is at elevation 75.00 m. What is
the chainage and elevation of the PVC? What
is the chainage and elevation of the high point
on the curve?
66
5. A 400 m vertical curve connects a -2% grade to

a +4% grade. The PI is located at chainage
15000 m and elevation 60.00 m above sea
level. A pipe is to be located at the lowest point
of the vertical curve. The roadway at this point
consists of two 3.6 m lanes with a normal
crown slope of 2%. If the lowest point on the
surface of the roadway must clear the pipe by
0.75 m, what is the chainage and maximum
elevation of the pipe?
67
6. Given the profile, determine…

The length of vertical curve needed to make the highest
point on the vertical curve come out exactly over the
centerline of the cross road at chainage 15070 m.
PI Chainage 15000 m
Ele. 48.00 m
+6%
-3%
Cross Road
Ele. 37.50 m CL at 15070 m
68
Questions?
69

9-Geometric Design

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

9-Geometric Design

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

VDB3054

Highway & Traffic Engineering

Highway Geometric Design

• Geometric Design Guidelines

CLO4 Able to execute highway geometric

1. Topography & Physical Features (p25)

• Flat Terrain Natural ground cross slope below 3%

3. Design Vehicles & Characteristics (p29-

• Design LOS and V/C Tables 3-5A & 3-5B

1. Sight Distance (p41-46)

2. Horizontal Alignment (p46-58)

4. Cross Section Elements (p70-109)

Ls  100 B(e  b) / a Rotation @ Centerline

Ls  200 Be / a Rotation @ Edge

Ls  Ls (JKR) Table 4.4A, 4.4B & 4.4C

Who want to be a Professional

A horizontal curve on a single-lane highway

A horizontal curve is being designed through

The allowable side friction factor for horizontal curves with a

g1 = initial roadway grade (%)

g1 = initial roadway grade (%)

L = length of vertical curve

h1 = height of eye above roadway surface

• h1 = 0.92m (JKR) h1 = 1.08m (AASHTO) or 3.5ft

AS 2 AASHTO (m) 658

2158 VDB3054 Highway & Traffic Engineering

• h1 = 1.07m (JKR) h1 = 1.08m (AASHTO) or 3.5ft

AS 2 AASHTO (m) 658

2158 VDB3054 Highway & Traffic Engineering

Design Speed (kph) 120 100 80 60 50 40 30 20

• Sight Distance (min)

Design Speed (kph) 120 100 80 60 50 40 30 20

 l = distance between two points on minimum slope (30m)

Step 1 Determine the minimum length of curve to satisfy SSD

1. A 500-m long sag vertical curve (equal

2. A 150-m-long equal-tangent crest vertical

3. Two level sections of an east-west highway (G=0) are

4. A vertical curve is designed for 100 km/h, and

5. A 400 m vertical curve connects a -2% grade to

6. Given the profile, determine…

You might also like