Geometric Design Manual

Section 2

SECTION 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 2: ROUTE CORRIDOR SELECTION .................................................1 2.1 The Project Cycle...................................................................................................1 2.1.1General...........................................................................................................1 2.1.2Identification..................................................................................................1 2.1.3Feasibility and Preliminary Engineering Study..............................................1 2.1.4Detailed Design..............................................................................................2 2.1.5Procurement / Tendering................................................................................2 2.1.6Construction Supervision and Management...................................................2 2.1.7Operation........................................................................................................2 2.1.8Project Evaluation..........................................................................................2 2.2 Desk Study for identification and feasibility..........................................................3 2.3 Preliminary Identification of Potential Corridors and Comparison.......................4 2.4 Site Visit and Survey..............................................................................................5 2.5 Recommendations..................................................................................................6

Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications

Geometric Design Manual

Section 2

SECTION 2: ROUTE CORRIDOR SELECTION 2.1 THE PROJECT CYCLE 2.1.1 General
Projects are planned and carried out using a sequence of activities commonly referred to as the project cycle. There are many ways of defining the steps in the sequence but the following terminology in road projects is used by MOWHC: - identification, feasibility and preliminary engineering study, detailed design, procurement and funding, construction supervision and management, operation and project evaluation.

2.1.2 Identification
The first stage of the cycle is to find potential projects. This is sometimes known as the pre-feasibility stage. Projects are generally speaking identified by any of the following methods. i. ii. Suggestions from MOWHC technical staff and political leaders Proposals by MOWHC to extend existing programmes or projects.

Projects that are identified to support approved strategies and are financially, economically and environmentally sound will be selected for further development by the MOFED and included into PIP. This process usually involves consulting of donor agencies. Once a project has been accepted for further development a Project Concept Note (PCN) will be prepared, often in co-operation with the potential donor agency. The Project Concept Note outlines the basic elements of the project, its proposed objective, likely risks (environmental including), alternative scenarios to conducting the project and likely timeframe for the project approval process. Identification of projects is done very carefully to distinguish promising projects from dubious ones and also avoid halting of projects at a later stage after arousing the expectations of interested groups.

2.1.3

Feasibility and Preliminary Engineering Study.

Projects that have been identified and for which Project Concept Note has been prepared will have go through the next phase, the feasibility and preliminary engineering study as well as environmental and social impact assessment. The study and environmental/social assessment provides enough information for deciding whether to/not to proceed to a more advanced stage of planning. The level of detail of this study depends on the complexity of the project and how much is known already about the proposal. This study defines the objective of the project. It also considers alternative ways of achieving these objectives and eliminating poor alternatives. The study provides the opportunity to mould the project to fit its physical and social environment in such a way as to maximise the return on the investment. Once this study has indicated which project alternative is likely to be most worthwhile, detailed planning and analysis then begins. Project appraisal, performed by borrowing banks and/or donor agencies concludes this phase of the project implementation. Note: The study may also indicate that the project is not viable and thus, has to be abandoned.

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2.1.4

Detailed Design

Detailed design of the project usually is the responsibility of the MOWHC and follows governments provisional commitment to the project as a result of the outcome of the feasibility and preliminary engineering study. MOWHC usually employs a Consultant to conduct the detailed engineering study and to prepare consequent Tender Documentation. Financiers and/or donor agencies (if any involved) will supervise this process. Several decisions which affect economic performance are taken throughout the design; and economic appraisal often results in redesign.

2.1.5

Procurement / Tendering

This stage involves negotiations with potential financiers, invitations to tender and negotiations with Consultants, contractors and suppliers. Once financing arrangements have been finalised, the Employer, often in co-operation with the financiers, will prepare the tenders for consulting services, for construction of works and for supplies. Chosen Consultants will usually assist to review the tender documentation, prepare invitations for contractors to pre-qualify, invite tenders for construction and analyse the tenders received from contractors and prepare Contracts to be signed by the Employer.

2.1.6

Construction Supervision and Management

At the beginning of this stage the Employer will enter into contracts for the construction and supervision of the works. These contracts usually will have to be reviewed by the financier. Consultants are recruited to assist the Employer to ensure that procurement guidelines, contract drawings, specifications, schedules and other contract documents are followed in the execution of works. Contractors are employed to execute the works in accordance with Contract Documents.

2.1.7

Operation

Once a certificate of completion has been issued and works have been taken over by the Employer, the constructed road or bridge may be put into use. It is during this phase that benefits of the infrastructure are realised and its maintenance undertaken.

2.1.8

Project Evaluation

The final phase of the project cycle is evaluation. This consists of looking back systematically at the successful and unsuccessful elements of the project experienced during implementation and the lessons acquired can help to learn how planning can be improved in the future. For evaluation to be successful, it is important that data about the project is collected and recorded in a systematic way throughout all the stage of the project cycle. Project evaluation may be carried out using different methods. In the same cases when project evaluation has been carried out by MOWHC, but if each stage of the project, that need to be brought to the attention of the project management.

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Project evaluation should lead to specific recommendations about improving aspects of the project design which is then used to improve on-going and future planning.

2.2 DESK STUDY FOR IDENTIFICATION AND FEASIBILITY

Road Design, Construction and Maintenance is highly influenced by the terrain of the area through which the road traverses. The shortest road alignment is not necessarily the easiest, quickest, safe or most economical option for construction and maintenance. Frequently, topography, slope stability, flood hazard and erosion potential are likely to be the most significant controls in the choice of the most suitable alignment and design of cross-section. Variations in geology and slope greatly influence road design and hence the cost of construction and these variations can occur over very short lengths of alignment. Geology, geomorphology and hydrology, therefore, are key factors in the route corridor selection during the feasibility study, design, construction and maintenance of roads. Road geometry, earth works, retaining structures and drainage measures must be designed in such a manner as to cause the least impact on the stability of the surrounding slopes and natural drainage systems. Excessive blasting, cutting, side tipping of spoil and concentrated or uncontrolled surface water runoff negatively affect the environment and can lead to instability and erosion. Although many of these effects are often unavoidable, the design and the construction method adopted should aim to minimize them. This Section describes the methodology for analyzing possible corridors and selecting the optimum route from technical, economic, social and environmental considerations. Before commencing with selection of the route corridors, the controlling requirements of the route need to be defined. These may include the following: What are the constraints in regard to the beginning and ending points of the road? Must these be at existing junctions in villages or towns? Do economic considerations such as amount of earthworks limit the alternatives? Through which villages must the route pass? Must the route pass directly through these villages, or can linking roads connect the villages? If so, what are the implications to the villages in terms of lost trade? If major rivers are to be crossed, what are the possible crossing locations, given constraints of topography and geology? What are the economics of the alternative bridge sites with the corresponding road geometries? What is the desired design speed and design standard requirement based on, among other criteria, the traffic that would use the road? How does this standard fit the terrain in terms of geometric parameters such as gradients, and horizontal and vertical curves?

The desk study comprises a review of published and unpublished information concerning the physical, economic and environmental characteristics of the study area. Some of the data that may be required for the desk studies are the following sources: Published literature covering a range of topics including road construction and maintenance case histories and geological, economic and environmental reviews; Topographical maps; Geological maps, agricultural soil maps and other natural resource maps; and, Aerial photographs.

For studying and selecting suitable alignment corridors, a detailed analysis based on topographic maps, aerial photographs, geological maps, hydrological maps, land use and land cover maps and the like are required. 2.3 Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications

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2.3 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL CORRIDORS AND COMPARISON

The basic requirements of an ideal alignment between two terminal stations are that it should be short, easy to construct and maintain, safe in terms of stability of natural hill & embankment slope and economical in terms of initial cost, maintenance cost and operational cost. Using the 1:50,000 scale maps and with knowledge of the controlling requirements/constraints as listed in Section 2.2, it is possible to trace out some possible alternative alignments. This is readily accomplished by referring especially to the vertical geometric design criteria for maximum grade and plotting possibilities through correlation with the contour lines shown on the map. For instance, assume that the road classification and terrain are such that a 10% maximum grade is permissible. Assume also that the contour interval on the 1:50,000 maps are 20 meters. A preliminary alignment needs to be selected in such a way that a distance of no less than 200 meters (0.4 cm on the map) is used to achieve the 20meter interval, giving a 10% grade. For each of the possible alternative alignment corridors, the existing maps should be studied and aerial photographs examined with a stereoscope. From this study it will be possible to assess the positive or negative influence of the following local factors: Topographic, geologic, and physical characteristics; Number, type and characteristics of water courses; Potential risk of slides, slope instability or floods; Human settlements affected by the road; and, Environmental impact of the selected route.

The proposed corridors along the above mentioned alternative alignments are next studied, evaluated and compared based on the criteria below and best alternatives are to be selected for further studies and field assessment. The evaluation criteria could be the following: What are the relative lengths of the alternatives? Normally the shortest distance is preferable. What are the average and mean gradients of the alternatives? Normally the least severe grade alternative is preferred. However, the relation of minimum grade may be the inverse to the shortest length route. Which alternative more closely follows an existing road or track? This makes survey and construction easier and may indicate the route of least earthworks. Which alternative follows the least severe terrain type? An alignment through, for instance, rolling terrain should be less costly to construct, have lower vehicle operating costs and maintenance costs, and less severe horizontal curves than a route through mountainous terrain. Which route remains for a longer period on the crest of the terrain? Such an alignment minimizes the need for drainage structures. Which alignment minimizes the need for land acquisition? The amount of farm land to be taken by the road. Which alignment minimizes the need to demolish buildings and houses less resettlement? What is the total number of bridges and their respective estimated span required for each alternative? What is the total aggregate length of these bridges? Which route results in the least environmental disturbance to the surrounding area? Which route has the least overall project cost, including both design and construction? 2.4 Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications

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2.4 SITE VISIT AND SURVEY

After the preliminary office work, a site visit must be made to the road. Where terrain constraints made such a visit problematic, a flight can be made over the terrain and all potential routes can be directly examined from the air. When potential route corridors have been identified from the desk study analysis, then a reconnaissance survey is usually employed to verify, modify and update the desk study and interpretations, to further assess the selected corridors during the desk study, to help determine the preferred corridor, and to identify factors that will influence the feasibility design concept and cost comparisons. A team consisting of the following personnel should make a site inspection visit: Highway Engineer; Soils & Materials Engineer; Hydrologist; Surveyor; Bridge/Structures Engineer; Environmentalist/Sociologist, and, Local Administrative Personnel.

In most cases, the information obtained from the reconnaissance survey will require to significantly modify the desk study interpretations. During the reconnaissance survey, in addition to the data collected in respect of the evaluation criteria, the following information should be determined: Topographic and geomorphologic characteristics; The location of topographical constrains, such as cliffs, gorges, ravines, rock out crops, and any other features not identified by the desk study; Slope steepness and limiting slope angles identified from natural and artificial slopes (cutting for paths, agricultural terraces and existing roads in the region); Slope stability and the location of pre-existing land slides; Geology, tectonics, rock types, geological structures, rock outcrops, dip orientations, rock strength and rip-ability; Approximate percentage of rock in excavations; Availability of construction materials sources and their distribution; Soil types and depth (a simple classification between residual soil and colluvium is useful at this stage); Soil erosion and soil erodibility; Slope drainage and groundwater conditions; Hydrology, drainage stability and the location of shifting channels and bank erosion; Land use, land cover and their likely effect on drainage; Likely foundation conditions for major structures; Approximate bridge spans and the sizing and frequency of culverts; Flood levels and river training/protection requirements; Environmental considerations, including forest resources, land use impacts and socio-economic considerations; Verify the accuracy of the information collected during the desk study; The possibility of using any existing road alignments including local re-alignment improvements; and Information on the physical accessibility to bridge sites and the proposed corridors, including the geomorphology of drainage basins, soil characteristics, slopes, vegetation, erosion and scouring. 2.5 Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications

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During the site inspection the team should examine all alternatives. This information can be combined with the results of the desk study to determine the most appropriate alignment alternative. Appropriate field assessment report of each alternative by each discipline will have to be prepared.

2.5 RECOMMENDATIONS
The route corridor selection process will be ended at the selection and recommendation of the best and most viable route for detailed study and design taking due account of construction cost, benefits to the local population, and length of travel for each alternative. It also gives details as to why a certain alignment alternative was selected and why others were rejected or not considered. This will be concluded with a preparation and submission of route corridor selection report, which selects and gives recommendation on the best route alignment for detailed study and design.

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