1.3.

Route Curves for Horizontal and Vertical Alignments

In highway, railway, canal, and pipeline location, the horizontal curves
employed at points of change in direction are arcs of circles. The straight
lines connecting these circular curves are tangent to them and are
therefore called tangents. For the completed line, the transitions from
tangent to circular curve and from circular curve to tangent may be
accomplished gradually by means of a segment in the form of a spiral.
Vertical curves are usually arcs of parabolas. Horizontal parabolic
curves are occasionally employed in route surveying and in landscaping.
1.4. Circular Curves
The stationing of a route progresses around a curve in the same
manner as along a tangent as indicated in the figure below.

In the field the distances from station to station on a curve are

necessarily measured in straight lines, so that essentially the curve
consists of a succession of chords. One full station is equivalent 100 feet
in the English system or 20 m in the metric system. Where the curve is of
long radius, as in railroad practice, the distances along the arc of the
curve are considered to be the same as along the chords. In highway
practice and along curved property boundaries, the distances are usually
considered to be along the arcs, and the corresponding chord lengths are
computed for measurement in the field.
1.5. Sharpness of Curvature
The sharpness of curvature may be expressed in any of three ways:
a. Radius
The curvature is defined by stating the length of radius. This
method is often employed in subdivision surveys and sometimes in
highway work. The radius is usually taken as a multiple of 100 ft. or
20 m.
b. Arc basis

The curvature is expressed by stating the degree of curve, D

which is defined as the angle subtended at the center of the curve
by an arc 100 ft. in the English System or 20 m in the metric
system.