Chapter 1

Drainage Design Manual - 2002 Introduction

1 INTRODUCTION
Highway drainage structures are an essential component in the design development of a
highway. This ERA Drainage Design Manual - 2002 is prepared under the direction of
the Ethiopian Roads Authority to establish basic design techniques for economical design
of surface drainage structures including ditches, culverts, and bridges. It is intended for
use in the design of all roads in Ethiopia.

1.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE

PURPOSE

ERA has initiated a comprehensive program to rehabilitate and upgrade the highway
network in Ethiopia. To plan and implement the program in a coherent way, using
modern standards and technology, ERA decided to establish a uniform framework.
Developing the ERA Drainage Design Manual - 2002 was part of this framework.

The purpose of this design manual is to give guidance and recommendations to the
engineers responsible for the design of road drainage in Ethiopia.

SCOPE

The procedures for the design of road drainage presented in this manual are applicable to
trunk roads, link roads, main access roads, collector roads, feeder roads and unclassified
roads as defined by ERA in the ERA Geometric Design Manual - 2002 – Chapter 2.

The drainage design of roads is aimed at the protection of the road through the prevention
of damage due to water to achieve a chosen level of service, without major rehabilitation,
at the end of a selected design period, as economically as possible. The design
procedures take into account factors such as rainfall intensity, catchment areas, ground
cover, and run-off. The procedures cover a range of drainage design applications
currently used in Ethiopia.

The use of the procedures described in this manual should help in achieving reasonable
uniformity in drainage design for a given set of conditions.

No guidance is provided for complex hydrology and hydraulic problems that require the
specialized engineering knowledge and experience beyond the intent of this manual.

1.2 ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUAL

DESIGN GOALS

Drainage structures are intended to allow the run-off of any flow of water with limited
damages and disturbances to the road and to the surrounding areas.

Two main types of water flows can be considered: the flows usually crossing the area
which could be diverted by the presence of the road, and the flows generated by the run-
off of the rainwater falling on the carriage way and its surroundings.

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Chapter 1
Introduction Drainage Design Manual - 2002

Thus goals for the drainage systems design are subjected to two main points: first, the
level of changes acceptable in the hydrology of the area, which depends on human and
environmental concerns; second, the level of damage acceptable for the road, considering
the possibility of traffic interruption and the cost of repairs.

Generally, drainage systems will be designed to prevent road damage during the most
usual floods (annual, 10-year, 50-year, or 100-year flood, depending on the importance
of the road and the type of structures) and to minimize the modifications in the hydrology
of the area.

To reach these goals, different types of structures are employed in the drainage systems,
which types are examined in the sections of this manual:

• Open channels, whether artificial or natural conveyances of the flows of water.

• Culvert and bridges, used when open channels cross embankments.
• Energy dissipaters, used to control the velocities of flows, especially at culvert
outlets.
• Storm drainage facilities, used to collect the runoff of the carriageway and
surrounding areas and direct it to the channels.

DESIGN PROCESS

For the design of any part of a drainage system, the same process framework can be
employed, including the following steps:

• Definition of the specifications of the item, in terms of capacity, properties of the

flow, influence on the upstream areas, durability, access for maintenance.
• Collection of hydrographic and hydrologic data
• Identification of alternatives
• Preliminary design and final selection
• Detailed design of the structure
• Control of the impact of the structure on the environment and on the surrounding
structure, including adjacent, downstream, and upstream impacts.

In the different sections of this manual, detailed procedures are given to guide the
designer either in the collection of data or in the design process of the features commonly
found in drainage systems.

Selected data, much of which is time-sensitive and subject to revision, such as rainfall
intensity-duration-frequency curves, are included in the appendices for easy updating.

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