GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS

Road transportation is a necessary network for any country. The road is a paved way or a route or a
thoroughfare which brings a person or any freight to any destinations by vehicles. Roads are classified
depending on different criteria, each among them is further classified into different types of roads.

Roads are mainly classified by many factors such as the materials that are used, the location & function of
the road, the traffic volume of a road segment, the width of the road, the economy, the traffic type where the
road is constructed, the rigidity of the road, and the topography of the road segment.

TYPES OF ROADS

A. BASED ON MATERIALS

1. EARTHEN ROADS - roads are laid with soil. They are cheaper than all other types of roads. Earthen
roads are provided for fewer traffic areas or countryside areas. A good drainage system should be
provided, which reflects superior performance for a more extended period.

2. GRAVEL ROADS – are low-quality roads, but are better when we compared it with earthen roads. A
compacted mixture of gravel and earth is utilized as pavement material in this case.

3. MURRUM ROADS – roads that are built by utilizing a material called Murrum. Murrum is a matter
acquired from the disintegration of igneous rocks by weathering agencies.

4. KANKAR ROADS – are performing and low-quality type of road that uses an impure form of limestone
called Kankar.

5. WATER BOUND MACADAM ROADS (WBM ROADS) – roads that contains crushed stone
aggregate in its base course. The aggregates are dispersed on the surface and rolled after sprinkling
water. WBM roads provide better performance than earthen, gravel, murrum, and kankar roads.

6. BITUMINOUS ROADS – the most used and prevalent road type around the world. Its thickness
depends upon the subgrade soil conditions of the road or highway location. This road types are low in
cost and suitable for driving conditions.

7. CONCRETE ROADS - Cement concrete is utilized to construct the pavements in case of concrete
roads. These are very popular and costlier than other types of roads but are appropriate for high traffic
areas. They are rigid, so they need less maintenance, and are laid with joints which takes a longer
duration of construction.

B. BASED ON LOCATIONS AND FUNCTIONS

1. NATIONAL HIGHWAYS - the primary roads that connect all major cities to the capital of the country.
They run throughout the length and width of the country. At least a two-lane road is provided for national
highways.

2. STATE HIGHWAYS – roads that are provided within the cities and link markets and production places
to state and national highways, and are categorized into two kinds; the major district roads and the minor
district roads. Major district roads link headquarters of the neighboring district with important parts of the
area while minor district roads are laid within the region.

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3. DISTRICT ROADS – roads that are built by utilizing a material called Murrum. Murrum is a matter
acquired from the disintegration of igneous rocks by weathering agencies.

4. RURAL ROADS (VILLAGE ROADS) – roads that connects neighboring villages, nearby towns, or
district roads. This type is normally built as low-quality roads for low traffic.

C. BASED ON TRAFFIC

1. LIGHT TRAFFIC ROADS - roads that carries 400 vehicles daily on an average.

2. MEDIUM TRAFFIC ROADS – roads that carries 400 to 1000 vehicles per day.

3. HIGH TRAFFIC ROADS – roads that carries more than 1000 vehicles per day.

D. BASED ON ECONOMY

Economy built roads are roads that are constructed based on the economic status of the road and
highway location. Roads for this type are classified as Low-cost Roads, Medium Cost Roads, and
High-cost Roads.

E. BASED ON TRAFFIC TYPE

1. PEDESTRIAN WAYS - roads that are exclusively built for pedestrians. No vehicles are authorized in
this way.

2. CYCLE TRACKS (BICYCLE TRACKS) – roads that are provided on both sides of the pavement for
safe travel of cyclists.

3. MOTORWAYS (EXPRESSWAYS) – roads that makes faster travels and provides comfort for high-
speed vehicles.

F. BASED ON TOPOGRAPHY

1. PLAIN AREA ROADS - roads that are constructed on leveled surfaces.

2. HILLY AREA ROADS (GHAT ROADS) – roads that are constructed in hilly regions. Mostly these are
provided around the hill in a spiral shape.

G. BASED ON RIGIDITY

1. FLEXIBLE ROADS - roads that are also called as flexible pavements, roads that consist of a flexible
layer as a pavement surface, which needs proper maintenance; otherwise, it may be disintegrated easily
with heavy traffic. This form includes all types of roads except concrete roads.

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2. RIGID ROADS – roads that are also called as rigid pavements, are non-flexible and cement concrete
roads. They have high flexural rigidity and are able to transmit loads into a wide area.

MAIN FEATURES OF ROADWAY GEOMETRY

Highway geometries should be designed to provide efficiency in traffic operations with maximum safety at
reasonable cost. There are three main features that are decided to be part of the highway design. The
geometric design includes the principle elements of highway alignment, cross-sections and adjacent road
side environment or the profile of the highway environment.

I. CROSS-SECTION ELEMENTS
The principal elements of a highway cross section consist of the travel lanes, shoulders, and medians (for
some multilane highways). Marginal elements include median and roadside barriers, curbs, gutters, guard rails,
sidewalks, and side slopes. The cross section of a typical highway has latitude of variables to consider such
as:

1. The volume of traffic.

2. Character of the traffic.
3. Speed of the traffic.
4. Characteristics of motor vehicles and of the driver.
Highway design usually adopted cross section that is uniform in thickness from end to end of the
improvement. This is acceptable on high volume traffic road facilities. For a low volume traffic facility,
modification of the features. Like the shoulders width in rough areas are usually employed to reduce costs. A
cross section design generally offers the expected level of service for safety and a recent study showed that:

1. A 7.20 meters wide pavement has 18% less accident compared with pavement narrower than
5.50 m. wide.
2. A 7.20 meters wide pavement ha 4% fewer accidents than the 6.00 meters wide roadway.
3. Accident records showed no difference between the 6.60 meters and the 7.20 meters wide
pavement.
4. For the 6.00 m., 6.60 m. and 7.20 meters wide pavement with 2.70 to 3.00 m. wide shoulder,
recorded accident decreases by 30% compared to 0 to .60 m. wide shoulder. And 20%
compared with a .90 to 1.20 meters wide shoulder.

Originally, the total surface width of the roadway was only 4.50 meters, but due to the increased number of
vehicles using the roadway, the width was adjusted to 4.80 to 5.40 meters. Lately, the width of the road was
standardized to 3.00 m. for first class paved one lane highway, and now 3.60 meters wide surface was

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adopted standard for freeways and other major traffic roadways, although there is strong demand to increase
it further from 3.60 to 4.20 meters.

 For Two Lane Rural Highways, a 7.20 meters wide surface is required for safe clearance
between commercial vehicles and is recommended for main highways.
 For Collector Roadway, 6.00 meters wide surface is acceptable only for low volume traffic
including few trucks traveling thereon.
 For Local Rural Roadway, the minimum surface width is 4.80 meters for a 30 km / hr. design
speed.
 For Urban Roadway, the minimum design width is 3.60 meters although 3.00 meters is allowed
where space is limited.

Where there are heavy meetings or overtaking between cars and trucks, air disturbances sometimes
cause side collision between passing vehicles when swerved within or out of their lanes. Motorists are
requesting for wider lanes.

CROSS SECTION OF TYPICAL TWO-LANE HIGHWAYS

MULTI-LANE HIGHWAYS AND FREEWAYS (HALF SECTION)

A. TRAVEL LANES (NUMBER OF LANES)

The number of lanes in a segment of the highway is determined from the estimated traffic volume for
the design year (AADT) and highway lane capacity at expected level of service. AASHTO policies
accept a dually divided 16 lanes roadway with four lanes in each direction for an inner freeway and four
more lanes in each direction on the outside. There are some instances where a reversible lane is
located at the center of free ways with unbalanced heavy traffic flow.

B. ROAD SHOULDER
The road shoulder or verge is defined as that portion of the roadway between the edge of the traffic
lane and the edge of the ditch, gutter, curb or side slope. AASHTO requires that its usable pavement
width shall be strong enough to support vehicles.

 IMPORTANCE OF ROAD SHOULDER

1. Road shoulder serves as a place for vehicles to stop when disabled or for some other
purposes. Road shoulder considerably reduces road accidents.

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2. The road capacity is decreased and accident opportunity increases if the shoulder is too
narrow or omitted in the design.

3. Shoulder should be continuous along the full length of the roadway. It also adds structural
strength to the road pavement.
4. Shoulder increases the horizontal sight distance on curves. It reduces accident potential
when vehicle stop during emergencies.

Most of the road shoulders in rural areas are unpaved having a width of 60 to 120 centimeters wide
either earth filled or graveled surface that during rainy days, drivers are hesitant to occupy. A continuous
narrow white line strip at the edge of the roadway that separates the shoulder, serves as guide to drivers
during bad weather and poor visibility conditions. The white strips tend the driver to stay in the traffic
lane and the vehicles seldom infringe on the shoulder.

 RECOMMENDED POLICY ON GEOMETRIC DESIGN

1. Outside shoulder should be paved for at least 3.00 or 3.60 meters wide if truck volume is
more than 250 in the design hour (ADT).
2. The recommended width of left (median) shoulder is 1.20 to 2.40 meters with at least 1.20
meters paved.
3. If there are 6 or more lanes, the median shoulder should be 3.00 meters wide or 3.60
meters if truck volume in the design hour exceeds 250.
4. For arterials with ADT less than 400 the usable shoulder width is fixed at 1.20 meters
minimum, although 2.40 meters wide is much preferred.
5. When the design hour volume ADT exceeds 400, the usable minimum shoulder width is
2.40 meters although 3.60 meters is recommended.
6. For Urban Arterial Road, similar shoulder without curb is suggested unless needed for
proposed drainage.
7. The width of median shoulder on four lanes divided arterials is fixed at 90 centimeters as
minimum.
8. For six or more lanes, 2.40 to 3.00 meters shoulder width is recommended.
9. For Rural Collectors Roadway, 60 centimeters wide graded shoulder is required for ADT’s
less than 400.
10. For ADT’s over 2000, 2.40 meters wide shoulder is recommended.

TOTAL TRAVELWAY SHOULDER WIDTH ROADWAY WIDTH SPEED OF REFERENCE

14.00 m. 3.25 20.50 100-80-60-40
12.00 m. 3.25 18.50 60-40
7.00 m. 2.75 12.50 100-80-60-40
7.00 m. 2.00 11.00 80-60-40
6.70 m. 2.75 12.20 100-80-60-40
6.70 m. 2.00 10.70 80-60-40
6.00 m. 2.75 11.50 80-60-40
6.00 m. 1.50 9.00 80-60-40

ROADWAY WIDTH FOR UNDIVIDED HIGHWAY

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C. HIGHWAY MEDIAN
A median is the section of a divided highway that separates the lanes in opposing directions. The
width of a median is the distance between the edges of the inside lanes, including the median shoulders.
Recently, median in various forms, becomes absolute requirement for highways because, it offers the
following advantages:

1. It is an effective means of reducing headlight glares, conflicts, and accident between

opposing streams of traffic.
2. The Median offers refuge between opposing traffic stream of cross traffic, and pedestrian
could traverse each stream at separate maneuvers.
3. Median provides available space for left turn lanes.
4. It makes turning of vehicles smooth and safe operation.
5. Where space and cost permit, wide median is highly recommended. For rural sections of
freeway, the 18 to 27 meters wide median is being adopted.
6. The Policy on Geometric Design states that; 3.00 to 9.00 meters median width is
appropriate in suburban or mountainous situations.
7. For rural and urban arterials, 18.00 meters median or wider is preferred because it allows
the use of independent profiles and at the same time minimizes cross over accident.
8. Medians with 6 to 18 meters wide allow drivers to cross each roadway separately. A 4.20
to 6.60 meters median width provides protection for turning vehicles.
9. Curved median with 1.20 to 1.80 meters width serves as partition-separation of opposite
traffic control devices.
10. The width of a traversable median should be wide enough to prevent vehicles running out
of control from reaching the opposite traffic.
11. The 15 to 24 meters distance between landed edges is favored, but specific value is not-
stipulated.
12. Cross slope of the median should not be greater than 6:1 but preferably 10:1.
13. Dense planting of rose hedges serves as safety crash barriers.

For Narrow Median, there are four means of reducing cross median accidents:

1. Provide deterring devices.

2. Provide non-traversable energy absorbing barriers.
3. Provide non-traversable rigid barriers.
4. Provide G.M. barriers.

o Deterring Devices - two sets of double strips painted on the existing pavement, raised
diagonal bars, low curbing and shallow ditches.
o Non-Traversable Energy Absorbing Devices -the line chain link fence 1 meter high
supported by steel post augmented by cables at the bottom and midpoint. Non-traversable
rigid barriers are metal guard rail.
o G.M. Barriers - A high non-mountain sloped face concrete barriers called New Jersey. It is
cast or extruded in place or precast in section and set in position by crane.

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D. CURBS AND GUTTERS

Curbs are raised structures made of either Portland cement concrete or bituminous concrete (rolled
asphalt curbs) that are used mainly on urban highways to delineate pavement edges and pedestrian
walkways. Curbs are also used to control drainage, improve aesthetics, and reduce right of way.

 VERTICAL CURBS (BARRIER CURB) – curbs that may be vertical or nearly vertical, range in
height from 6 to 8” with steep sides, and are designed to prevent vehicles from leaving the
highway.

 SLOPING CURBS (MOUNTABLE CURB) – curbs that are designed so that vehicles can cross
them if necessary.

Gutters or drainage ditches are usually located on the pavement side of a curb to provide the
principal drainage facility for the highway. They are sloped to prevent any hazard to traffic, and they
usually have cross slopes of 5 to 8 percent and are 1 to 6 ft wide. Gutters can be designed as V-type
sections or as broad, flat, rounded sections.

E. GUARD RAILS
Curbs are raised structures made of either Portland cement concrete or bituminous concrete (rolled
asphalt curbs) that are used mainly on urban highways to delineate pavement edges and pedestrian
walkways. Curbs are also used to control drainage, improve aesthetics, and reduce right of way. Guard
rails are longitudinal barriers placed on the outside of sharp curves and at sections with high fills. Their
main function is to prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway. They are installed at embankments higher
than 8 ft and when shoulder slopes are greater than 4:1. Shapes commonly used include the W beam
and the box beam. The weak post system provides for the post to collapse on impact, with the rail
deflecting and absorbing the energy due to impact.

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F. SIDE WALKS
Sidewalks are usually provided on roads in urban areas, but are uncommon in rural areas.
Nevertheless, the provision of sidewalks in rural areas should be evaluated during the planning process
to determine sections of the road where they are required. Generally, sidewalks should be provided
when pedestrian traffic is high along main or high-speed roads in either rural or urban areas. When
shoulders are not provided on arterials, sidewalks are necessary even when pedestrian traffic is low. In
urban areas, sidewalks should also be provided along both sides of collector streets that serve as
pedestrian access to schools, parks, shopping centers, and transit stops, and along collector streets in
commercial areas. Sidewalks should have a minimum clear width of 4 ft in residential areas and a range
of 4 to 8 ft in commercial areas. To encourage pedestrians to use sidewalks, they should have all-
weather surfaces since pedestrians will tend to use traffic lanes rather than unpaved sidewalks.

G. CROSS SLOPES
Pavements on straight sections of two-lane and multilane highways without medians are sloped from
the middle downward to both sides of the highway, resulting in a transverse or cross slope, with a cross
section shape that can be curved, plane or a combination of the two. The cross slope is provided in all
tangent sections of the roadway. Slope usually falls in both directions from the center-line of the two-lane
highway except where super elevation of curves directs all water towards the inside.

A parabola is generally used for curved cross sections, and the highest point of the pavement (called
the crown) is slightly rounded, with the cross slope increasing toward the pavement edge. For high type
pavement, the crown or slope is often 1% to 2%. However, steeper slopes are strongly recommended
because rain water, flow away more rapidly reducing the water thickness on the road pavement. A cross
slope in one direction of multi lane highways makes driving comfortable, but with heavy rainfall, the
water depth increases on the roadway.

PAVED AND GRAVEL SHOULDER CROSS SLOPE

The paved shoulder cross slope ranges from 3% to 6% although 4% is the most common. For a
gravel shoulder, 4% to 6% slope is satisfactory and 7% slope is effective drainage for turf (grass)
surfaces. These types of cross sections allow the inner lane to accommodate high speed traffic because
it is flatter than the outer lanes.

On a very wide street, the parabolic crown surface makes the centerline almost flat unless gutters
are sufficiently deep enough to convey water. A combination of uniform slope with parabolic curve is
used instead of the parabolic sections.

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HIGH TYPE PAVEMENT CROSS SLOPE

PARABOLIC PAVEMENT SECTION

H. SIDE SLOPES
Side slopes are provided on embankments and fills to provide stability for earthworks. They also
serve as a safety feature by providing a recovery area for out-of-control vehicles. Earth fill of normal
height is safe on a slope of 1:2 ratios. Meaning, the first number represents the horizontal distance while
the second number is the vertical distance.

Slope of cuts through an ordinary undisturbed earthfill remain in place with a ratio of 1:1 slope. On
the other hand, rock cuts could be as steep as 1:2 and sometimes 1:4 proven to be stable. Recently,
slopes had been generally lowered for safer operations and to facilitate plant growth. Plants reduced
erosion and decreases maintenance costs.

 ADVANTAGES OF FLAT SIDE OR BACK SLOPE

1. With back slope of 3:1 or even flatter, cars could be directed to back into the road and will come
to stop or continue down the slope with no risk of overturning.
2. Flat fill slopes are visible from the vehicles at full extent giving the roadway safer appearance.
3. With visible slope for being low and flat, vehicles could be positioned or parked closer to the edge,
and on two lane roadway facilities parking would be farther from the opposing traffic.

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 RECOMMENDED POLICY ON GEOMETRIC DESIGN

1. The 6:1 slope ratio could be adopted on embankment less than 1.20 meters high, and 4:1 ratio on
a higher fill.
2. The 2:1 slope is allowed to heights greater than 6.00 m.
3. Cut slope should not be steeper than 2:1 ratio except on solid rock or special kind of soil.

The AASHTO policy stipulated that where cut of fill slopes intersect the original ground surface,
cross section must be rounded to blend the slope with the natural ground surface. When the side slope
requires embankment with suitable retaining wall, any of the following materials could be used
depending upon the natural conditions.

 Hand placed stones.  Precast concrete.

 Cement rubbles masonry.  Metal elements.
 Concrete blocks.  Tied back piling.
 Conventional reinforced concrete.  Earth reinforced with metal or
 T or counter forted designs. plastic bands.
 Cribs assembled from timber.

I. RIGHT-OF-WAY
Acquisition of land for the right of way is very costly. Based on experience from the past, highway
agency now considers it a good practice to acquire right of way wide enough to sufficiently provide for
the ultimate expected development.

A successful freeway and expressway operations, closes the roadway from direct access to
adjoining property and some local roads or streets. If local traffic and land use are to be opened, it must
be served by service roads originally planned as part of the main freeway. Frontage road shall be
permitted to enter connecting cross streets only at a distance of at least 100 meters for rural road and 50
meters for urban conditions.

CE 317: Highway and Railroad Engineering