The Pennsylvania State University

Department of Civil Engineering

CE 321: Highway Engineering

Dr. Eric Donnell, Professor
Jung Yeol Hong, TA.
Preliminary Rural Collector Design,
Connecting PA SR 1025 and North Road

Fall 2014
Section 001
Zahin Chowdhury

Due Date: November 21, 2014

Table of Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------3
Digital Terrain Modeling-------------------------------------------------------3
Horizontal Alignment-----------------------------------------------------------3
Vertical Alignment--------------------------------------------------------------4
Cross Section and Earth Work-------------------------------------------------5
Comparison of Alignments-----------------------------------------------------6
Conclusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------7
Appendix A----------------------------------------------------------------------8
Appendix B----------------------------------------------------------------------10
Appendix C----------------------------------------------------------------------15

1 Introduction
A need is expressed for a 2-lane rural collector to connect PA SR 1025 near
Tobymines with North Road near Centerville. The objective of the project is to design
two alternatives for this collector. One road is to pass between the state forest and
historic property to the East, while the other alternative is to go around the state
forest to the west. Both alternatives are designed for an average daily traffic of 1500
vehicles per day and a design speed of 45 mph. The designs are to be in
accordance with the AASHTO Green Book. Other objectives of the designs are to
minimize impact on the state forest, existing communities, and historic property.
2 Digital Terrain Modeling
The objective of the Digital Terrain Modeling (DTM) section of the project was to
import a contour layer with existing features containing information regarding the
landscape surrounding the two roads to be connected. AutoCAD Civil 3D easily
imported these files to provide a map on which to work. Existing features included
local roads, homes, rivers, forests, historical areas, and contour lines.
The objective was met by opening a given layout of contours and landscape
features. The imported file was saved as a surface. The contours were then labeled
and the rest of the existing features were inserted as a block. No major difficulties
were encountered with the design or software.
3 Horizontal Alignment
The purpose of the Horizontal Alignment section was to lay out the two proposed
alternatives for collector roads while keeping costs to a minimum and safety to a
maximum. Centerlines for the two roads were created to define the main pathway.
Existing terrain conditions dictated the preliminary design criteria. The alignments
were designed around contours to avoid unnecessary excavation and filling as much
as possible. The historical district, community areas, and state forest were also
avoided as much as possible.
Design criteria from the Green Book are listed in Tables 1 and 2 below. All of the
mentioned criteria were met by laying out a preliminary design and adjusting as
necessary.
Design Criteria

emax

8% Clear zone width

Traveled way width
24' Maximum grade
Shoulder width
8'
Minimum grade
Table 1. Green Book Design Criteria
Safety Criteria

10'
8%
0.50%

Max. Grade within 200' of

an intersection
3%
Minimum tangent length
200'
Minimum curve length
100'
Table 2. Safety and Operations
Criteria

The process of creating a horizontal alignment involves 4 steps as follows.

1)
2)
3)
4)

Setting the minimum radius for curves.

Drawing the alignment using the Tangent-Tangent (with curves) command.
Labeling the alignment stations.
Reworking the alignment to fit the design criteria.

The East alternative includes 3 curves and 4 tangents that all meet the minimum
length requirements set by the design criteria. The East alignment does not impact any
state forest or historical district. The West alternative includes 5 curves and 6 tangents
that all meet the minimum length requirements set by the design criteria. The West
alternative does not impact any historical districts, and impact on the state forest is
minimal. The West alignment is significantly shorter and straighter than the East
alignment.
4 Vertical Alignment
The purpose of this section is to create a vertical profile of the horizontal alignments.
The profile clearly shows the variations in elevation along the alignment as well as how
the road will intersect the existing ground, laying the foundation for the earthwork
calculations to come. The topographic map used earlier was used in this section.
Design criteria can be found in tables 3 and 4. Steps for completing this section were as
follows.
1) Creating an existing ground profile.
2) Drawing in tangents with curves to minimize earthwork.
3) Reworking the alignment to meet design criteria
Design Criteria
Minimum curve length
Maximum grade
Minimum grade
Maximum grade within
200' of an intersection

100'
8%
0.5%
3%

Minimum clearance over

streams
5'
Table 3. Vertical alignment design
criteria
Curve K Values
Crest
61
Sag
79
Table 4. Curve K Values

One of the objectives of this step was to minimize the volume of cut and fill
needed. This was done by contouring curves and tangents as close to the existing
ground line as possible. Due to design constraints and mountainous terrain, however,
several massive cuts and fills were necessary at points.
The East alignment for the most part falls within the design criteria, most of the
land is flat and there is smaller incremental changes in elevation compared to the west
alignment.
The West alignment however requires massive cuts and fills to meet the design
criteria set up by Table 3. The terrain has more mountainous terrain and at some points
in the see great elevation changes between stations.

Cross Section and Earth Work

The following steps were taken to create a sampling of cross sections from the
proposed alignments. Design criteria for these steps is listed in Table 5 below.
1)
2)
3)
4)

Cross section dimensions were established.

A template assembly was created for a corridor.
A corridor was created from the assembly.
Cross sections were taken at the beginning stations, end stations, and at every
2000 interval.
5) Cut and fill areas were calculated from the sample cross sections.
6) Total alignment area was calculated.

Cross Section
Dimensions
Width
12' lanes
Normal Crown
2%
Width
8'
Shoulder
Slope
4%
Width
10'
Slope
4%
Clear Zone
Ditch foreslope
and backslope
2:1
(x:y)
Table 5. Cross section dimensions

Traveled Way

The footprint of each alternative was able to be seen through the creation of the
corridor. This step was essential in earthwork and cost estimations. It also displayed
possible unforeseen impacts on state forest and historic districts. AutoCADs area
command was used to calculate the exact footprints and earthwork of each alignment.
Results can be found in Table 6 below.
Land Feature
Forest
Undeveloped
Historic
Total

Impact of East Alternative

Impact of West Alternative
(Acres)
(Acres)
6.01
58.2
31.66
148.1
0
1.38
37.66
207.68
Table 6. Impact of East and West alternatives

Comparison of Alignments
4 main criteria were used in the cost estimation. These included severity of
crashes, earthwork requirements, pavement cost, and right of way acquisition costs. A
breakdown of each of these costs can be seen calculated in table 7 below. The East
alignment proved to be the far superior option considering the cost breakdowns by a
factor of 10. The East alignment is also less curvy, both horizontally and vertically,
making it the safer option.

Severity
Earthwork
Pavement
Right of Way
Acquisition
Total

Cost Estimations
East Alignment
$ 2,183,482.76
$ 49,565,824.40
$2,127,073.63

West Alignment
$2,216,656.93
$2,518,278,463.8
6
$1,943,576.25

$1,290,111.60

$12,738,631.80
$2,535,177,328.8
$55,166,492.40
4
Table 7. Alignment cost estimations

Conclusion
Taking all factors into consideration primarily Earthwork cost the East alignment
should be chosen. Earthwork for the East alignment will cost upwards of $2.5 billion, an
absurd amount to spend. The East Alignment is a fifth of the cost of the West Alignment
and therefore should be chosen.

Appendix A
(Horizontal Curve Reports)
The horizontal curve report generation function in Civil 3D does not work in this version. Instead
of generating a report like you do for the Vertical Curves, copy the information from the grid
view under Edit Alignment Geometry.
Select the alignment you want to generate a report for
Right click and select Edit Alignment Geometry
Click the Alignment Grid View icon as shown below

Right click in any cell and select Copy All

Paste table to a new Excel file
You can delete the following columns
o Start Point
o End Point
o Center Point
o Pass Through Point
o Direction at Through Point1
o Direction at Through Point2
o Attainment Method
o Curve Group Index
o Curve Group Sub-Entity Index
o Pi Point
Use the remaining table as your Horizontal Curve Report
Do this for East and West, make sure they are labeled and include them in this appendix

Appendix B
Vertical Alignment: East Profile
Description:
Station Range: Start: 10+00.00, End: 170+61.83
Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)
PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:
Grade in:
Change:

11+98.39
13+60.49
15+22.58
14+46.24

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,327.522'
1,330.259'
1,329.416'
1,329.614'

1.69% Grade out:

2.21% K:

-0.52%
146.803'

Curve Length:

324.184' Curve Radius

Passing Distance:

862.345' Stopping Distance:

14,680.294'
463.037'

Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:
Grade in:
Change:
Curve Length:
Passing Distance:

25+29.40
25+84.42
26+39.44
25+29.40

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,324.180'
1,323.894'
1,322.815'
1,324.180'

-0.52% Grade out:

1.44% K:

-1.96%
76.383'

110.045' Curve Radius

1,128.357' Stopping Distance:

7,638.280'
516.306'

Vertical Curve Information:(sag curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
Low Point:

37+72.59
38+21.20
38+69.82
38+69.82

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,300.597'
1,299.644'
1,299.054'
1,299.054'

Grade in:
Change:

-1.96% Grade out:

0.75% K:

-1.21%
129.948'

Curve Length:
Headlight Distance:

97.236' Curve Radius

12,994.785'

Vertical Curve Information:(sag curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
Low Point:

48+25.89
49+00.89
49+75.89
49+32.96

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,287.462'
1,286.553'
1,286.917'
1,286.813'

Grade in:
Change:

-1.21% Grade out:

1.70% K:

Curve Length:
Headlight Distance:

150.000' Curve Radius

0.49%
88.311'
8,831.120'

Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:
Grade in:
Change:

75+40.29
76+15.29
76+90.29
75+78.14

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,299.382'
1,299.747'
1,298.667'
1,299.474'

0.49% Grade out:

1.93% K:

-1.44%
77.878'

Curve Length:

150.000' Curve Radius

Passing Distance:

877.849' Stopping Distance:

7,787.779'
420.038'

Vertical Curve Information:(sag curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
Low Point:

92+08.08
93+33.08
94+58.08
93+32.12

Grade in:
Change:
Curve Length:
Headlight Distance:

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,276.810'
1,275.010'
1,276.838'
1,275.917'

-1.44% Grade out:

2.90% K:

1.46%
86.134'

250.000' Curve Radius

486.462'

8,613.436'

Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:

110+00.51
110+31.47
110+62.42
110+62.42

Grade in:
Change:
Curve Length:
Passing Distance:

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,299.394'
1,299.847'
1,300.021'
1,300.021'

1.46% Grade out:

0.90% K:

0.56%
68.679'

61.913' Curve Radius

1,746.329' Stopping Distance:

6,867.948'
768.166'

Vertical Curve Information:(sag curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
Low Point:

133+96.05
134+01.06
134+06.08
133+96.05

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,313.111'
1,313.139'
1,313.172'
1,313.111'

Grade in:
Change:

0.56% Grade out:

0.09% K:

Curve Length:
Headlight Distance:

10.036' Curve Radius

0.65%
117.216'
11,721.553'

Vertical Curve Information:(sag curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
Low Point:

152+96.99
155+99.01
159+01.03
152+96.99

Grade in:
Change:
Curve Length:
Headlight Distance:

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,325.397'
1,327.350'
1,350.892'
1,325.397'

0.65% Grade out:

7.15% K:

7.79%
84.503'

604.040' Curve Radius

383.208'

8,450.334'

Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:
Grade in:
Change:

159+97.41
161+80.90
163+64.40
163+64.40

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,358.404'
1,372.707'
1,377.646'
1,377.646'

7.79% Grade out:

5.10% K:

2.69%
71.918'

Curve Length:

366.997' Curve Radius

Passing Distance:

486.529' Stopping Distance:

7,191.800'
309.176'

Vertical Alignment: West Profile

Description:
Station Range: Start: 10+00.00, End: 156+68.26
Vertical Curve Information:(sag curve)
PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
Low Point:

16+47.38
18+38.86
20+30.34
16+47.38

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,343.568'
1,349.305'
1,364.244'
1,343.568'

Grade in:
Change:

3.00% Grade out:

4.81% K:

Curve Length:
Headlight Distance:

382.964' Curve Radius

365.420'

7.80%
79.688'
7,968.791'

Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,589.658'
1,589.925'
1,590.189'
1,590.189'

Grade in:
Change:

7.80% Grade out:

0.09% K:

7.71%
73.930'

Curve Length:

6.855' Curve Radius

7,393.022'

16,681.595' Stopping Distance:

7,171.149'

Passing Distance:

49+19.59
49+23.01
49+26.44
49+26.44

Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:
Grade in:
Change:

76+03.07
79+82.69
83+62.30
80+84.71

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,796.533'
1,825.798'
1,808.931'
1,815.098'

7.71% Grade out:

12.15% K:

-4.44%
62.476'

Curve Length:

759.230' Curve Radius

Passing Distance:

439.569' Stopping Distance:

6,247.607'
288.167'

Vertical Curve Information:(crest curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:
High Point:
Grade in:
Change:

96+85.35
97+88.56
98+91.77
96+85.35

Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:
Elevation:

1,750.145'
1,745.559'
1,737.564'
1,750.145'

-4.44% Grade out:

3.30% K:

-7.75%
62.500'

Curve Length:

206.421' Curve Radius

Passing Distance:

571.417' Stopping Distance:

6,250.000'
304.430'

Vertical Curve Information:(sag curve)

PVC Station:
PVI Station:
PVT Station:

131+02.92 Elevation:
132+72.10 Elevation:
134+41.27 Elevation:

1,488.829'
1,475.725'
1,471.155'

Low Point:
Grade in:
Change:
Curve Length:
Headlight Distance:

134+41.27 Elevation:

1,471.155'

-7.75% Grade out:

5.04% K:

-2.70%
67.072'

338.349' Curve Radius

318.407'

6,707.157'

Appendix C
Spreadsheets for cost estimation and earthwork:
Safety Function
Safety Cost
Pavement Cost
Right of Way Cost
Earthwork Table
(You will have a set of these for the EAST and another set for the WEST, make sure all are
labeled clearly)

List of Drawing
East Alternative Horizontal Alignment -------------------------------------------1 of 7
West Alternative Horizontal Alignment ------------------------------------------2 of 7
Typical Cross Section --------------------------------------------------------------3 of 7
Plan/Profile East Alternative ------------------------------------------------------4 of 7
East Alternative Cross Section-----------------------------------------------------5 of 7
Plan/Profile West Alternative------------------------------------------------------6 of 7
West Alternative Cross Section ---------------------------------------------------7 of 7