1 Fundamentals of Highway Engineering

Chapter One:
INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORT SYSTEM AND
PLANNING

Instructor: Fasika Mekonnen

Fasomeku@gmail.com
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 INTRODUCTION
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 Transportation is simply a movement of person, goods or

information from place to place by different means like vehicles,
airplane etc for some particular purposes.
 Transportation is a service created to serve society by linking
locations where activity takes place such as markets, industries and
factories, offices, schools and etc.
 It penetrates into all phases of production and distribution of
goods.
 Transportation improvements: increase personal mobility, reduces
travel time.
 Permit greater freedom to people to choose, where to live or work
and in the case of goods they lower the cost of production and
distribution tending to national economic growth.
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 TRANSPORT SYSTEM
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 A system: a group or assemblage of parts or elements used for a

common purpose so interrelated that a change in one component
has an effect.
 A transport system: as consisting of the fixed facilities, the flow
entities, and the control system that permits people and goods to
overcome friction of geographical space efficiently in order to
participate in a timely manner in some desired activity.
 Fixed facilities: are the physical components of the system that are fixed
in space (e.g. Roadway segments, tracks, pipes, cableways,
intersections/interchanges, transit terminals, harbors and ports etc.)
 Flow entities: are the units that traverser the fixed facilities.
(e.g. vehicles, container units, railroads car, airplanes etc.)
 Control system: consists of vehicular control. (e.g. Traffic sign & Signals)
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 Objective of Transportation system
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 It helps in the movement of passengers and freight

from one location to another.
 It relates the population to the land use.
 It acts as an integrating and coordinating factor in
the highly complex and industrialized society.
 It provides the place utility and time utility to
product.

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Merits/Advantages of Transportation System

 Economic Front:
 It relates population to land use by moving them from one place to
another.
 It increases the production by creating demand, easily availability and
reducing prices.
 It has vast potential of generating employment.
 New markets get developed near production centers.
 Political Front:
 Different regions of the country are made interdependent.
 Transportation has developed a sense of national unity.
 Fulfills the defense and strategic needs of a country.
 Social Front:
 Life becomes more enjoyable and comfortable.
 It provides emergency services available at your door.
 It has helped in raising the standards of living of people.
 The settlement pattern in the country is controlled by it.
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 Demerits/Disadvantages of Transportation System:
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 With the development of large scale industries the

cottage industries have been eliminated.
 The area loses its distinguishing characteristics.
 The expansion of transportation system sometimes
affects the recreational activities provided in the area.
 The environmentalist pollutions related to air, water,
noise, aesthetics, vibrations get increased and create
health problems.
 It has changed the traditions and customs changed the
traditions and customs of families along with modes of
living.
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 Classification of Transportation System:
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 On the basis of ownership: i) Private

ii) Public
 On the basis of type of load: i) Passenger
ii) Freight
 On the basis of supporting systems:
 Road Transport: used automobiles, trucks, buses, tractor-trailers,
bicycles
 Rail Transport: used trains , railway wagon etc.
 Air Transport: used airplanes, helicopters, space crafts etc.
 Water transport: used ship, submarines, boat etc.
 Pipe Lines: used sewage, petroleum etc.
 Cable ways: ….
 Conveyors: ….
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 Table 1: Relative Merits and Demerits
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Factor Road Rail Air Water
Cost:
 Vehicle
Low Moderate High
 Terminal
Moderate ,, ,,
 Way Links
,, ,, Nil
 Maintenance
,, ,, High

Traffic type Fright & passenger Fright & passenger Fright & passenger Fright & passenger

Distance covered Small Moderate to Long Moderate to Long Moderate to Long

Speeds Low Medium V. High Low

Tonnage Low High Medium High

Fuel consumption (w.r.t. rail) 4.0 1.0 25.0 5.2

Flexibility Good Good Poor Fair

Employment potential High Low Low Low
Unit of Transport Single Assemblage Single Single
Personalized travel Possible Not Possible Possible Possible
Stationing problem Exist Not exist Not exist Not exist

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Suitability of Transportation Systems
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 The systems and modes of transport are generally

evaluated in terms of the basic attributes:
 Accessibility and utility: distance and flexibility.
 Mobility: handling capacity and speed.

 Efficiency: direct and indirect cost of transportation.

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Specialties in Transportation Engineering
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 Planning
 deals with selection of projects, defining the problem, gathering and analyzing data, and
evaluating various alternative solutions.
 forecast of future traffic; estimate of impact of the facility on land use, the environment, the
community; and determination of the benefits and cost that will result if the project is built.
 Design
 involves the specification of all features of the transportation system so that will function smoothly,
efficiently, and in accord with physical laws.
 used for estimating the facility costs and for carrying out its construction.
 Construction
 Generally the construction activities include any construction work of the project that has been
defined during the design stage.
 Traffic Operation
 the elements of the concern are traffic accident analysis, parking, loading, design of terminals
facilities, traffic signs, marking, signals, speed regulation and highway lighting.
 Maintenance
 involves all work necessary to ensure that the highway system is kept in proper working order.

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 TRANSPORT PLANNING
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 Transportation Planning:
 determination of future goals that is expected from the
transportation system that is expected to be built.
 Objectives: to build or improve various parts of transportation
system
 includes studies, planning and realization of strategies to supply
the requirement of transport services to meet transport demand.
 Transport projects are normally justified for improvement of
traffic flow and safety, saving the travel time and energy
consumption, economic growth and increased accessibility.

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
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 The transportation planning comprises seven basic

elements, which are interrelated and are not carried out
necessarily sequentially.
 Facility inventory
 Socio-economic and Land-use
 Goals and objectives
 Identify system deficiencies and opportunities
 Developing and analyze alternatives
 Evaluate alternatives
 Action plan and implementation
 Monitor System Performance

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
1. Facility inventory
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 inventory of the existing transport facilities, their condition and

performance.
 The most common transport system inventory involves:
 Travel time and delay studies
 Traffic flow surveys
 Maintenance and operation costs
 Describe of the existing transport services
 The available facility and their condition
 Example-For a highway planning the inventory may involve
 Function classification: Major/Minor arterial, Local or Collector road.
 Physical features of the road: No. of lane, Traffic control
devices/signals , pavement width.
 Traffic volume delay
 Travel time along the route
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
2. Socio-economic and Land-use
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 involves all the activities required to understand the situation that give
rise to the perceived need for a transportation improvement.
 considered which relates trip making to the type of activities that
occur in a region and also to the characteristics of the trip maker that
will influence the way this trips are made.
 The type of data on trip maker characteristics include:
 Level of income
 Number of members in house hold
 Number of vehicles in house hold
 Age composition of house hold
 Education level
 Employment etc.
 Examples of land use: shopping center, industrial areas, residential
areas, Offices etc…

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
3. Goals and objectives
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 Goals are generalized statements that indicate the desired achievement of

transportation plan.
 Objectives are more specific statements that indicate the means by which these
goals will be achieved.
 Examples
 Goals: “The transportation system should meet the mobility needs of the
population”
 Objectives: “Provide transit service to major markets in the region.”
 To identify objectives and related problems there are two types of approaches
 The problem oriented approach: : starts with defining problem
 The objective-led approach: starts with defining objectives and indicators
 Some of the possible set of objectives:
 Safety Accessibility: ease of reaching:
 Sustainability Environmental protection
 Economic efficiency Economic regeneration
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
4. Identify system deficiencies and opportunities
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 Transport planning identifies and prioritizes those

elements of transport systems where problems exist
today or where problems exist in further given
growth in travel.
 Also transport planning can also identify areas
where significant problem do not exist this time, but
system can provide opportunities for enhanced
efficiency of operation.

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
5. Developing and analyze alternatives
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 Consideration is given to a variety of ideas, designs,

locations, and system configurations that might provide
solutions to the problems.
 include preliminary feasibility studies, data gathering
field testing and cost estimating may be necessary at this
stage to determine the practicability and financial
feasibility of the alternative being proposed.
 Example- Improvement of highways
 New construction
 Adding new lanes
 Improving traffic controls through signals, signs etc.
 Improving traffic flow through canalization.
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
6. Evaluate alternatives
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 Determine how well each alternative achieve the

objectives of the project as defined by the criteria.
 Evaluation involves methods for comparing in an
analytic way relative value of the alternatives.
 Mostly used approaches is the benefit/cost ratio.
 The benefit cost ratio is the means of identifying the most
economical efficient alternative by defining benefits and
costs.

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.

 Basic Elements of Transportation Planning
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 7. Action plan and implementation

 Once the transport project has been selected, a detail design
phase begins, in which each of the components of the facility is
specified.
 this involves physical location, geometric dimension, and
structural configuration.
 Design plans are produced that can be used to estimate the
cost of building the project.
 Monitor System Performance
 Continually examines the performance and condition of the
transportation system to identify where improvements can be
made.
 necessary to systematically identify areas where improvements
might occur.
Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.
20
Thank You!

QUESTIONS?

Adama Science and Technology university/Civil Engineering Dept.