A Complete Manual of Transportation Engineering

Far Western University

Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)
Prepared by: Er. Mahendra Singh/ Assistant Professor
Department of Engineering Farwestern University
Master’s Degree in Construction Management- Pokhara University
Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering – T.U.
Diploma in Civil Engineering – T.U.

ii
 Table of Content

Title Page
ii
Table of Content iii
Unit 1 (4 Hrs) 1
INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING AND HIGHWAY
ALIGNMENT 1
1.1 Introduction to Transportation System 1
1.1.1 Components of Transportation System 1
1.1.2 Characteristics of Transportation System 2
1.1.3 Scope of Transportation Engineering 2
1.2 Transportation System Classification 3
1.3 History and Development of Road Transportation 6
1.4 Transportation Planning 9
1.4.1 Types of Planning 9
1.4.2 The System Approach 10
1.4.3 Objectives of Planning 10
1.4.4 Hierarchy Structure of Road Transportation Planning 10
1.4.5 Road Planning in Nepalese Context 11
1.5 Road Classification in Nepal (NRS, NRRS) 14
1.5.1 Administrative Classification 14
1.5.2 Technical/Functional Classification 14
1.6 Road in Nepal 15
1.7 Advantages of Highway Over Other Modes of Transportation 16
1.8 Highway Alignment and Its Requirement 16
1.8.1 Highway Alignment 16
1.8.2 Requirements of Highway Alignment 17
1.8.3 Factors Controlling Highway Alignment 17
1.9 Engineering Survey for Highway Alignment 20
Unit 2 (12 Hrs) 24
GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAY 24
2.1 Introduction and Scope 24
2.2 Basic Design Control and Criteria 24
2.2.1 Design Speed 24
2.2.2 Design Vehicle 25
2.2.3 Topography 25
2.2.4 Traffic Factors 26
2.2.5 Design Hourly Volume and Capacity 26
2.2.6 Road User Behavior 26
2.2.7 Environmental and Other Factors 26
2.3 Cross Sectional Elements of Highway 28
2.3.1 Traffic Lane 29
2.3.2 Width of Carriageway or Pavement Width 30
2.3.3 Shoulders 32

iii
 2.3.4 Roadway Width 33
2.3.5 Formation width 34
2.3.6 Side Slope of Fill or Cut 34
2.3.7 Lay-bys 34
2.3.8 Right of Way or Land Width 35
2.3.9 Kerbs 38
2.3.10 Sidewalk (Foot path) 38
2.3.11 Median Strip 39
2.3.12 Camber 40
2.4 Elements of Horizontal Alignment 43
2.4.1 Tangents 43
2.4.2 Horizontal curves 43
2.4.2.1 Types of Horizontal curves 44
2.4.2.2 Design of Horizontal curves 44
2.5 Superelevation (Cant or Banking) 47
2.5.1 Minimum and Maximum Superelevation 49
2.5.2 Practical Considerations in Superelevation Design 50
2.5.3 Methods of Providing Superelevation (Attainment of super-elevation) 51
2.6 Extra Widening 54
2.6.1 Mechanical Widening 55
2.6.2 Psychological Widening 55
2.6.3 Methods of introducing extra widening 56
2.7 Transition Curves 58
2.7.1 Types of Transition Curve 59
2.7.2 Determination of Length of Transition Curve 59
2.7.3 Calculation of Lateral shift 62
2.8 Sight Distances 62
2.8.1 Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) 64
2.8.2 Intermediate Sight Distance (ISD) 68
2.8.3 Overtaking Sight Distance (OSD) 68
2.8.4 Sight Distance at Intersections 72
2.9 Setback Distance on Horizontal Curves 73
2.10 Design of Vertical Alignment 74
2.10.1 Gradient and its Types 74
2.10.2 Curve Resistance and Grade Compensation 76
2.10.3 Vertical Curve 77
Unit 3 (2 Hrs) 84
HIGHWAY DRAINAGE 84
3.1 Introduction and Importance 84
3.2 Causes of Moisture Variation in Subgrade Soil 84
3.3 Surface Drainage System Including Design of Side Drains 85
3.3.2 Cross Drainage System 89
3.3.3 Erosion Control and Energy Dissipating Structures 95
3.3.3.1 Lining of Drain and Ditch Checks 96
3.3.3.2 Road Rapids 96
3.3.3.3 Fall or Drop Structures 96

iv
 3.3.3.4 Miscellaneous Erosion Control Measures 97
3.4 Sub-Surface Drainage System 101
3.4.1 Control of Subsoil Water 101
3.4.1.1 Lowering of Water Table 101
3.4.1.2 Control of Seepage Flow 102
3.4.1.3 Control of Capillary Rise 103
Unit 4 (4 Hrs) 105
HIGHWAY MATERIALS 105
4.1 Introduction and Classification of Highway Materials 105
4.1.1 Mineral materials such as subgrade soil105
4.1.2 Binding materials include 105
4.1.3 Other common building materials such as reinforcing steel, timber, stone, bricks,
boulders, cobbles and gabion wires. 105
4.2 Subgrade Soil 105
4.2.1 Characteristics of Soil 106
4.2.2 Desirable Properties of Soil 106
4.2.3 CBR (California Bearing Ratio) Test 106
4.3 Road Aggregates 110
4.3.1 Definition and Types of Road Aggregates 110
4.3.2 Desirable Properties of Aggregates 110
4.3.3 Tests on Road Aggregates and their Significance 111
4.3.3.1 Descriptive Tests 111
4.3.3.2 Non-Destructive Quality Test 112
4.3.3.3 Destructive Test 115
4.4.1 Bitumen 123
4.4.2 Tar 125
4.4.3 Tests on bituminous binders 126
4.4.3.1 Penetration Test (please refer a video presented in your class) 126
4.4.3.2 Ductility Test (please refer a video presented in your class) 128
4.4.3.3 Viscosity Test (please refer a video presented in your class) 129
4.4.3.4 Float Test (please refer a video presented in your class) 130
4.4.3.5 Softening point Test (please refer a video presented in your class) 130
4.4.3.6 Flash and fire point Test (please refer a video presented in your clas131
4.4.3.7 Loss on heating Test (please refer a video presented in your class) 133
4.4.4 Bituminous Mixes 133
Unit 5 (6 Hrs) 138
ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE 138
5.1 Activities and Techniques used in Road Construction 138
5.2 Tools, Equipment and Plants used in Road Construction 139
5.3 Preparation of Road Bed 145
5.4 Mass Haul Diagram 148
5.5 Construction of Low-Costs Roads 151
5.6 Construction of Bituminous Pavements 156
5.7 Construction of Cement Concrete Pavement 171
5.7.1 Construction of Concrete Slab 172
5.7.2 Construction of Joints 174

v
 5.8 Highway Maintenance and Repair 177
5.8.1 Classification of Road Maintenance, Activities for Road Pavement & Road
Facilities 177
5.8.2 Difference between Maintenance, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction 179
5.8.3 Inspection, Prioritization and Planning of Maintenance Operations 179
5.8.4 Types of Failures and Causes 180
5.8.5 Types and Methods of Pavement Repair 186
Unit 6 (2 Hrs) 196
HILL ROADS 196
6.1 Introduction 196
6.2 Design and Construction Problem 196
6.3 Alignment of Hill Roads 197
6.4 Route Location 200
6.5 Gradient 201
6.6 Design of Hair Pin Bends 202
6.7 Types of Hill Road Cross-sections/Typical Cross sections 204
6.8 Special Structures in Hill Roads 207
Unit 8 (6 Hrs) 220
ROAD PAVEMENT 220
8.1 Definition and types of pavement 220
8.2 Differences between Flexible and Rigid Pavement structures 222
8.3 Loads and Other Factors Controlling Pavement Design 225
8.3.1 Traffic and loading factors 225
8.3.2 Environmental Factors 229
8.3.3 Materials 229
8.3.4 Failure Criteria 229
8.4 Design Methods for Flexible Pavement 230
8.4.1 Empirical Method 231
REFERENCES 260

vi
 Unit 1 (4 Hrs)

INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING AND HIGHWAY

ALIGNMENT

1.1 Introduction to Transportation System

Transportation is responsible for the development of civilizations from the very ancient times
by meeting travel requirement of people and transport requirement of goods. For instance, there
is very strong correlation between the evolution of human settlement and the proximity of
transport facilities. Another need is the transport of raw materials to a manufacturing unit or
finished goods for consumption. Transportation fulfills these basic needs of humanity.
Therefore, transportation system is often described as veins and arteries for the flow of economy
of the nation. There is a strong correlation between the quality of transport facilities and
standard of living, because of which society places a great expectation from transportation
facilities. The adequacy of transportation system of a country indicates its economic and social
development.
Transportation system as defined by Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) can be summed
up as the application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional design,
operation and management of facilities for any mode of transportation to provide the safe, rapid,
comfortable, convenient, economical and environmentally compatible movement of people and
goods.

1.1.1 Components of Transportation System

A transportation system consists of fixed facilities, flow entities and control system which in
together permits people and goods to overcome the friction of geographical space efficiently in
order to participate in a timely manner in some desired activity. There are five components of
transportation system are as follows:

a) Modes: They represent the conveyances, mostly taking the form of vehicles that are used to
support the mobility of passengers or freight. Some modes are designed to carry only passengers
or freight, while other can carry both.
b) Infrastructures: The physical support of transport modes, where routes (e.g.: rail tracks,
canals or highways) and terminals (eg. parts or airports, bus stop) are the most significant
components.
c) Networks: A system of linked location that are used to represent the functional and spatial
organization of transportation. This system indicates which locations are connected and how
they are serviced. Within a network some locations are more accessible (more connections)
than others (less connections).
d) Flows: Movements of people, freight and information over their respective networks. Flows
have origin, intermediately location and destination. An intermediately location is often
required to go from an origin to a destination. For instance. flying from one airport to another
may require a transit at hub airport.
e) Control system: It consist vehicle control and flow control. Vehicle control refers to the
technological way in which individual vehicle are guided on the fixed facilities and that can
either manual or automatic, where flow control consists of the means that permits the efficient

1
and smooth operation of streams of vehicles and the reduction of conflicts between them. For
e.g. traffic light, road sign & marking, air traffic control etc.
1.1.2 Characteristics of Transportation System
Transportation systems analysis has now emerged as a recognized profession. More and more
government organizations, universities, researchers, consultants, and private industrial groups
around the world are becoming truly multi-modal in their orientation and are choosing a
systematic approach to transportation problems. The characteristics of transportation system
that makes it diverse and complex are summarized as:

• Multi-modal: Covering all modes of transport; air, land, and sea for both passenger and
freight.
• Multi-sector: Encompassing (about/around) the problems and viewpoints of
government, private industry and public.
• Multi-problem: Ranging across a spectrum (variety) of issues that includes national
and international policy, planning of regional system, the location and design of specific
facilities, carrier management issues, regulatory, institutional and financial policies.
• Multi-objective: Aiming at national and regional economic development, urban
development, environment quality, and social quality, as well as service to users and
financial and economic feasibility.
• Multi-disciplinary: Drawing on the theories and methods of engineering, economics,
operations research, political science, psychology, other natural, and social sciences,
management and law.

1.1.3 Scope of Transportation Engineering

Transportation engineering in the context of this book can be broadly categorized consisting of
the four major parts, a brief overview of the topics is given below:

• Transportation planning: It deals with the development of a comprehensive set of

action plan for the design, construction and operation of transportation facilities.
Transportation planning essentially involves the development of a transport model
which will accurately represent both the current as well as future transportation system.
• Geometric design: It deals with physical proportioning transportation facilities, in
contrast with the structural design of the facilities. The topics include the cross-sectional
features, horizontal alignment, vertical alignment and intersections. Although there are
several modes of travel like road, rail, air, etc. the underlying principles are common to
a great extent. Therefore, emphasis will be normally given for the geometric design of
roads.
• Pavement design: It deals with the structural design of roads both bituminous and
concrete commonly known as flexible pavements and rigid pavements respectively. It
deals with the design of paving materials, determination of the layer thickness, and
construction and maintenance procedures. The design mainly covers structural aspects,
functional aspects and drainage. Structural design ensures the pavement has enough
strength to withstand the impact of loads, functional design emphasizes on the riding
quality, and the drainage design protects the pavement from damage due to water
infiltration.

2
 • Traffic engineering: It covers a broad range of engineering applications with a focus
on the safety of the public, the efficient use of transportation resources, and the mobility
of people and goods. Traffic engineering involves a variety of engineering and
management skills, including design, operation and system optimization. In order to
address these requirements, the traffic engineer must understand the traffic flow
behavior and characteristics by extensive collection of traffic flow data and analysis.
Based on this analysis, traffic flow is controlled so that the transport infrastructure is
used optimally as well as with good service quality. In short, the role of traffic engineer
is to protect the environment while providing mobility, to preserve scarce resources
while assuring economic activity, and to assure safety and security to people and
vehicles, through both acceptable practices and high-tech communications.
• Others: There are other minor scopes of transportation as:
o Public transportation (mass transit system)
o Economic Analysis Environment impact assessment (EIA)
o Accident analysis
o Parking study
o Intelligent transportation system

1.2 Transportation System Classification

The transportation system is often
analyzed in terms of the various
modes of transportation. There are
several possible ways to categorize
transportation system based on the
types of technology employed, the
function or type of service
provided, who owns or is
responsible for implementation
and operation and so forth. The
classification scheme may also be
based on whether they carry
primarily freight or passengers,
and whether they serve urban,
intercity or special-purpose
markets. The transportation system
is further categorized into four
major subsystems according to the
medium on which the flow entities
are supported. Although very
commonly used, the term mode
does not have a very clear
definition. In general, it means a
"kind of transportation", in most
cases, the modes are distinguished
in terms of their physical characteristics, for instance, as highway, rail, air and water
transportation. The transportation system as a whole may be classified as depicted in the figure.

3
Highway: The major service characteristics of the highway system include very high
accessibility to almost all potential destinations, direct service with very low door-to-door travel
times, moderate speeds and moderate capacities. Capital costs of physical facilities vary
depending on the type and capacity of roadway, but on the whole are moderate. Vehicles are
relatively small and hence individual vehicles tend to be cheaper and more readily available
than for most other modes. The total investment in vehicles and facilities is quite high.
Operating costs tend to be relatively high; however, the cost of the labor involved in operating
private vehicles is rarely recognized and if this is omitted, the cost of operating a private
passenger vehicle is often lower than that of competing public passenger modes. Environmental
impacts of the system as a whole are high and are a major social concern, particularly in the
case of air pollution.

Railway: The railway system provides moderate speeds and levels of accessibility, but
traditional operating practices lead to high and unreliable door-to-door travel times. But
recently the overall speed and reliability of service has been improved through innovations such
as unit trains, which run direct from point to point, and piggyback (truck trailer on flatcar) or
containerized freight services which reduce loading and unloading times. Physical facilities for
railways represent quite a heavy investment. Capital costs of locomotives and railcars are also
relatively high and productivity is often low. Environmental impacts are comparatively low and
the energy efficiency of rail per ton-km is comparatively high. At present NJJR (Nepal
Janakpur–Jaynagar Railway) railway linking Janakpur to Jaynagar is the only railway system
in Nepal. Being a Himalayan country, it is quite difficult to provide rail services throughout the
country as its geometric requirements are quite high such as large radii at horizontal curves,
small gradients etc. But recently Government of Nepal has established Department of Railway
giving more priority on the development of railway network in Nepal as per the National
Transport Policy for the development of multimodal transport infrastructure. Many studies are
being conducted in railway development possibilities in Nepal for example east west electric
railway, Kathmandu-Pokhara electric railway, Metro-train within Kathmandu valley.

Airway: The primary service characteristic of air transportation is high speed. Accessibility is
limited, but this is of relatively little importance because of the great length of the trips made
by air. Capacities of individual aircraft are moderate but productivity is high due to very high
speeds. Capital and operating costs are both quite high for the commercial air system but high
productivity results in moderate costs per passenger carried. Costs of general aviation airports
and aircraft are moderate and usually in the same range as (although somewhat higher than)
those of highway facilities and vehicles of comparable capacity. Environmental impacts are
significant, especially the noise impacts of commercial aviation but are of much less concern
than those of the highway system. Nepal being landlocked mountainous country, airway has
very high potential to serve the rural community. Air transportation in Nepal was developed
since 1953 first by the Indian Airlines and subsequently in 1959 by the then Royal Nepal
Airlines Corporation (RNAC, now NAC) with internal services starting with Kathmandu as the
hub linking with many towns and cities within Nepal. Gradually, it spreads to India and other
international destinations. But considering the present socio-economic condition, the
affordability of this mode by normal citizen is highly questionable. Nepal airlines and other
private sectors airlines are operating both in national and international level but their service is
still limited to some major cities of the country.

4
Waterway: The water transportation system provides low speed and relatively low
accessibility, but extremely high capacities. The capital cost of vessels is high, but operating
costs per ton km are extremely low. Environmental impacts are relatively low, but water
pollution from routine discharges of oil and other pollutants, as well as from major oil spills
involving tankers, is a significant problem. Nepal being high hill country, the velocity of water
current is high which makes difficult to use waterway for transportation purpose. There is not
any possibility of coastal and ocean transportation in Nepal and inland water transportation is
also limited to cross the river channel where other river crossing option is limited. Rivers are
being used for water sports like rafting at some places.

Pipeline: Pipelines constitute a highly specialized freight transportation system. Their market
is almost entyrely crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas. They provide very low speed,
high capacity continuous flow transportation and involve a large amount of working storage.
Costs are low. Typically, capital costs for the pipeline, pumping stations and the like account
for 70 to 80 percent of total costs. Operating costs are very low and depend mostly on pumping
costs. The environmental impact of pipelines is normally quite low once they are built, but
construction impacts have sometimes been of major concern. Pipelines are used for water
supply, sewer system purposes in Nepal. There are many plans for the construction of pipeline
for the supply of petroleum products from neighboring countries. A variety of other modes
exist, although none of them plays a major role in the overall transportation system at present.
Cable and belt systems are used extensively for transportation of freight within industrial
complexes. In addition, these are used for specialized passenger transportation systems such as
ski lift’s and moving belts in airports.

Ropeway: Ropeways are another important transportation means in hilly terrain. A ropeway
operated between Kathmandu and Hetauda over a length of 43 km which could carry 25 tons
of goods per hour. It has since been discontinued due to poor carrying capacity and maintenance
issues. During the Rana period, ropeway was constructed between (Matatirtha) Dhorsing
(Makawanpur) over 22 km length which could carry cargo of 8 tons per hour. Now a modern
cable car ropeway 3.1 km long has been built linking Kurintar (on the Prithvi Highway, near
Kathmandu) with Manakamana, a famous temple in the Gorkha district. Many more cable cars
are being built in different parts of the country. Gravity goods ropeways are now increasingly
being popular to transport goods from top hill villages to the roadside access points and there
are already 23 of such ropeways in the country.

1.2.1 Comparison Between Modes of Transportation

Characteristics/Modes Roadway Railway Airway Waterway Pipeline
Accessibility High Moderate Low Low Low
Speed Moderate Moderate High Low Very Low
Higher than
Capacity Moderate Limited High High
road
Initial Capital Cost Moderate High High High Moderate to high
Moderate
Operating Cost High High Low Low
to high
Efficiency Moderate High Low Very high High
Bus, Truck,
Example Rail Airplane Boat, Ship Water, Oil
Car

5
1.3 History and Development of Road Transportation
The history of highway engineering gives us an idea about the roads of ancient times. Roads in
Rome were constructed in a large scale and it radiated in many directions helping them in
military operations. Thus, Romans are considered to be pioneers in road construction.
The first mode of transport was by foot. These human pathways would have been developed
for specific purposes leading to camp sites, food, streams for drinking water etc. These have
led to the development of foot-paths. The next major mode of transport was the use of animals
for transporting both men and materials. Since these loaded animals required more horizontal
and vertical clearances than the walking man, track ways emerged. The invention of wheel in
Mesopotamian civilization led to the development of animal drawn vehicles. Then it became
necessary that the road surface should be capable of carrying greater loads. Thus, roads with
harder surfaces emerged. To provide adequate strength to carry the wheels, the new ways tended
to follow the sunny drier side of a path. Traces of such hard roads were obtained from various
ancient civilization dated as old as 3500 BC. The earliest authentic record of road was found
from Assyrian empire constructed about 1900 BC.

1.3.1 Roman Roads

The earliest large-scale road construction is attributed to Romans who constructed an extensive
system of roads radiating in many directions from Rome. These were a remarkable achievement
and provided travel times across
Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Romans recognized that the
fundamentals of good road
construction were to provide good
drainage, good material and good
workmanship. Their roads were
very durable and some are still
existing. Roman roads were always
constructed on a firm formed
subgrade strengthened where
necessary with wooden piles. The
roads were bordered on both sides
by longitudinal drains. The next
step was the construction of the
agger. This was a raised formation
up to a 1 m high and 15 m wide and
was constructed with materials
excavated during the side drain
construction. This was then topped
with a sand leveling course. The
agger contributed greatly to
moisture control in the pavement.
The pavement structure on the top
of the agger varied greatly. In the
case of heavy traffic, a surface course of large 250 mm thick hexagonal flag stones were
provided. A typical cross section of roman road is given in figure below. The main features of

6
the Roman roads are that they were built straight regardless of gradient and used heavy
foundation stones at the bottom. They mixed lime and volcanic pozzolana to make mortar and
they added gravel to this mortar to make concrete. Thus, concrete was a major Roman road
making innovation.
* An agger is an ancient Roman embankment or rampart, or any artificial elevation. It is
a Latin word. The agger was an embankment that gave Roman roads the proper draining
base. Basically, the agger is a ridge that supports the road surface. The agger was constructed
by excavating the line of the road, building a firm foundation, refilling and compressing the
soil, adding more soil from digging drainage ditches or fosses on one or both sides of the
road, then surfacing with graded layers of stone and cobbles. The material used to build the
aggers was dug from lateral ditches. Once the material was dug out of the ditches that were
known as " scoop ditches," they were used as the storm drain for that road. These ditches
could also be used for soldiers to hide in if they ever were under attack from enemies. On the
most important road routes, the agger could be 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m) high and 45 to 50
feet (14 to 15 m) wide.

1.3.2 Tresaguet Roads

The next major development in the road construction occurred during the regime of Napoleon.
The significant contributions were given by Tresaguet in 1764 and a typical cross section of
this road is given in figure below. He developed a cheaper method of construction than the
lavish and locally unsuccessful revival of Roman practice. The pavement used 200 mm pieces
of quarried stone of a more compact form and shaped such that they had at least one at side
which was placed on a compact
formation. Smaller pieces of
broken stones were then
compacted into the spaces between
larger stones to provide a level
surface. Finally, the running layer
was made with a layer of 25 mm
sized broken stone. All this
structure was placed in a trench in
order to keep the running surface
level with the surrounding country
side. This created major drainage problems which were counteracted by making the surface as
impervious as possible, cambering the surface and providing deep side ditches. He gave much
importance for drainage. He also enunciated the necessity for continuous organized
maintenance, instead of intermittent repairs if the roads were to be kept usable all times. For
this he divided the roads between villages into sections of such length that an entire road could
be covered by maintenance men living nearby.

1.3.3 Telford Roads

While Tresaguet developed his typical pavement detail in France in 1764 and implemented in
1775, Telford in England (1757-1834) started his work independently and proposed similar
type of construction. Subgrade was however kept horizontal and sloping surface on the top was
achieved by providing varying size of stones in foundation. As the lateral confinement Telford

7
used a block made of broken stones in lime mortar. A typical cross section of Telford
construction is shown in figure. In constructing the road, a level sub grade in required width is
prepared and large foundation stones of thickness 17-22 cm were laid with their largest face
down. By using smaller size stone near the edges and larger size near centre, a cross slope of 1
in 45 in the road surface was developed. The gaps between the foundation stones were filled
with smaller stones and chippings and properly compacted. The central portion of about 5.5m
width was covered with two layers of angular broken stones. These layers were initially rammed
and later allowed to be compacted under the traffic and get consolidated by the rains. A certain
width of the pavement towards the
edges was constructed by
compacted broken stones 15cm
thick, sometimes in lime mortar
instead of using the kerbstones so
as to provide lateral stability. A
gravel layer was used to act as
binding and wearing layer. The
finished surface had a cross-slope
of 1 in 45. Cross drainage were
usually laid below the foundation
level as the gaps were large enough to allow the water to percolate from top to the bottom of
the construction and thus often soften the level surface.

1.3.4 Macadam Roads

The British government also gave importance to road construction. The British engineer John
Macadam introduced what can be considered as the first scientific road construction method.
Stone size was an important element of Macadam recipe. By empirical observation of many
roads, he came to realize that 250
mm layers of well compacted
broken angular stone would
provide the same strength and
stiffness and a better running
surface than an expensive
pavement founded on large stone
blocks. Thus, he introduced an
economical method of road
construction. The mechanical
interlock between the individual
stone pieces provided strength and
stiffness to the course. But the inter particle friction abraded (roughened/ground) the sharp
interlocking faces and partly destroy the effectiveness of the course. This effect was overcome
by introducing good quality interstitial finer material to produce a well-graded mix. Such mixes
also proved less permeable and easier to compact. A typical cross section of British roads is
given in figure.

8
1.3.5 Modern Roads
The modern roads by and large follow Macadam's construction method. Use of bituminous
concrete and cement concrete are the most important developments. Various advanced and cost-
effective construction technologies are used. Development of new equipment helps in the faster
construction of roads. Many easily and locally available materials are tested in the laboratories
and then implemented on roads for making economical and durable pavements. Scope of
transportation system has developed very largely. Population of the country is increasing day
by day. The life style of people began to change. The need for travel to various places at faster
speeds also increased. This increasing demand led to the emergence of other modes of
transportation like railways and travel by air. While the above development in public transport
sector was taking place, the development in private transport was at a much faster rate mainly
because of its advantages like accessibility, privacy, flexibility, convenience and comfort. This
led to the increase in vehicular traffic especially in private transport network. Thus, road space
available was becoming insufficient to meet the growing demand of traffic and congestion
started. In addition, chances for crashes also increased. This has led to the increased attention
towards control of vehicles so that the transport infrastructure was optimally used. Various
control measures like traffic signals, providing roundabouts and medians, limiting the speed of
vehicle at specific zones etc. were implemented. With the advancement of better roads and
efficient control, more and more investments were made in the road sector especially after the
world wars. These were large projects requiring large investment. For optimal utilization of
funds, one should know the travel pattern and travel behavior. This has led to the emergence of
transportation planning and demand management.

1.4 Transportation Planning

Transportation system requires a continuous planning to optimally satisfy the mobility
requirement of the society. Urban transportation system is a part of overall regional and national
transportation infrastructure and proper planning requires a thorough understanding of the
problems at all levels as the policy decision at one level may have severe effects on proposed
plans. Transportation plan affect its own environment when implemented. This change of
environment will modify the demand, invalidates the criteria and input used in the initial
formulation of the plan.
Planning is necessary to establish project priority for a country, region or locality and this
becomes more significant when the resources available are limited and requirements are higher.
The main objective of planning is to utilize the available resources in the best possible way and
in a very systematic manner including project identification and decision of national priority
area.

1.4.1 Types of Planning

Transportation planning can be divided into short term, medium term and long-term planning.

Short/medium term planning is less complex and puts no great demand on construction
activities and hence requires no large-scale capital expenditure. It is mainly concerned with
obtaining maximum capacity or optimal operation from existing facilities and comes into the
scope of transportation system management (TSM). In summary,
• Short Term Planning (1-3 years): Less complex, less construction demand and less
capital expenditure

9
 • Medium Term Planning (3-5 years): Less complex, less construction demand and less
capital expenditure
Long term comprehensive and strategic transportation planning is very complex. It requires
huge financial expenditure and involves large and extensive construction programs which affect
the economic, social and natural environments.
• Long Term Planning (More than 5 years): Complex, high capital expenditure and
solved by system approach

The desired solution can only be achieved through carefully constructed policy making at the
multi levels of government and administration involved and this could be solved best through
systems approach.

1.4.2 The System Approach

The system approach is a decision-making process for complex problem solving composed of
• System analysis: Clear evaluation of the combinations of all the elements of problem
and those forces and strategies needed for the achievement of an objective.
• System engineering: Organizing and scheduling the complex strategies from problem
solution and development of procedures and mainly includes the followings:
o Tackling the problem considering all facets.
o Use of scientific methods.
o Working as per predetermined sequence.
o Scientific decision.

1.4.3 Objectives of Planning

• To establish an integrated network of road
• To fulfill the needs of the society
• To workout financial planning and management system
• To forecast the future requirements of the roads needed
• To plan road network for efficient and safe traffic operation at minimum cost
• To increase quality of service

1.4.4 Hierarchy Structure of Road Transportation Planning

10
1.4.5 Road Planning in Nepalese Context

a) National Road Network (NRN) Planning:

National road planning is the planning of main highways running through the length and breadth
of the country (Nepal), connecting major parts of the country, headquarters of regions and large
industrial and tourist centers including roads required for strategic movements for the defense
of country. It also includes feeder roads. It creates a national skeleton network on which long
distance traffic particularly commercial vehicles could be concentrated. It is necessary for the
interest of national economy, sovereignty (सार्वभौमिकता) and integrity, social justice as well as
political balance. Therefore, it should be based on careful study and thorough knowledge of
traffic engineering.
Nepal's NRN plan is in the form of linear pattern with the dead ends on hill district headquarters.
National highway running east to west and north to south to which feeder roads or district roads
are connected to serve a given terminus such as regional headquarters, zonal headquarters,
district headquarters, town villages, industrial estate etc.

b) Urban Road Network (URN) Planning:

Urban areas are communication centers for the exchange of goods, services and ideas and
higher the level of these activities, greater the city or town. Therefore, urban road network
planning should consider the extent of the town, future expansion possibilities etc. there are no
plans in old towns/cities and the roads are developed along a well-used track way thus forming
a linear pattern; but these are no more in use in modern towns. The major road patterns
developed in modern urban areas are as follows:

i) Grid Iron Pattern

• Rectangular or block
• Hexagonal

ii) Radial Pattern

• Star and block
• Star and circular
• Star and grid.

i) Grid Iron Pattern

Rectangular or Block Pattern
This is also known as rectangular or block
pattern and is perhaps the simplest. The
Romans preferred it, as have the
Americans who adopted it in many of their
cities. This is easy to set out in straight
lines and rectangular co-ordinates, and is
suitable for flat terrain.
The grid iron pattern can produce monotonously long streets flanked (lined/bordered) by dull
blocks of building. The built-up area is obtained in a rectangular shape which is easy to
develop. It encourages even spread of traffic over the grid and as a consequence the impact at
a particular location is reduced. It facilitates the imposition of extensive one-way street system

11
since alternate streets of the grid can be made one-way in opposite direction. If there is a central
business area in the middle of the grid, it is relatively easy for through traffic to bypass it. One
disadvantage of the grid iron pattern is that extra distance must be travelled when going in
diagonal direction. This drawback can be eliminated by providing major diagonal routes upon
the grid.

Hexagonal Pattern
The hexagonal pattern can be modified by dividing the hexagon into six
triangle units by link roads; this facilitates travel from one place to any
other place in the area in the minimum possible time, compared to any
other pattern. This, in fact, is known as a ‘minimum travel pattern’ and
was used in certain cities to great advantage.

Advantages of Grid Iron Pattern:

• It results even spread of traffic volume over the grid that can reduce the impact at
particular point or location.
• It facilitates imposition of extensive one-way street system.

Disadvantages of Grid Iron Pattern:

• Extra distance must be travelled when -going in diagonal direction which increases fuel
cost.

ii) Radial Pattern

This pattern is being developed to connect town centre to town centre. In this pattern town has
several radiating roads from it's centre to other town or nearby village. As the town grow up,
they turned first to develop along the radials and then fill the space between them. In this system
of road main traffic is generated within the central area and all the radiating roads converge on
the main business area of fixed point. In this pattern, roads emanate from a central focal area,
which may be a business centre or an important public building. In order to ease the congestion
in the focal area, ring roads are provided; there can be several such roads-inner, intermediate
and outer depending on the requirements of the traffic. The shape of a ring road may be round,
square, or elongated. Based on this, the pattern may be star and grid, or star and circular.

The star and grid pattern, or the radial and block pattern has been the basis of the Nagpur Road
Plan, and it has been adopted in a number of Indian cities.

12
The star and circular pattern, also known as the radial and circular pattern, has been adopted in
certain cases, although in a
limited way. A classic example is
the Connaught place area of New
Delhi.

Grid Iron Pattern New York Grid of Street

Unlocking the Grid

New Delhi Star and Grid

Grid circuit board suburban sprawl in Eden Prairie, Florida

13
1.5 Road Classification in Nepal (NRS, NRRS)
According to Nepal Road Standard (NRS) 2070, roads in Nepal are broadly classified as
administrative classification and technical/functional classification.

1.5.1 Administrative Classification

Administrative classification of roads is intended for assigning national importance and level
of government responsible for overall management and methods of financing. According to this
classification roads are classified into:

a) National Highways are main roads connecting east to west and north to south of the nation.
These serve directly the greater portion of the longer distance travel, provide consistently higher
level of service in terms of travel, speeds and bear the inter community mobility. These roads
shall be the main arterial routes passing through the length and breadth of the country as a
whole. They are designated by letter ‘H’ followed by a two-digit number.

b) Feeder Roads are important to travel of a localized nature. These serve the community's
wide interest and connect district headquarters, major economic centers, tourism centers to
National Highways or other feeder roads. They are designated by letter ‘F’ followed by three-
digit number.

c) District Roads are important roads within a district, serving areas of production and markets
and connecting with each other or with the main highways.

d) Urban Roads are the roads serving within the urban municipalities, which has the provision
of sidewall (foot path) for pedestrian, kerb and drainage facility normally below road level. In
Nepal the overall management of National Highways and Feeder Roads comes within the
responsibility of the Department of Roads (DOR). These roads are collectively called Strategic
Roads Network (SRN) roads. District Roads and Urban Roads are managed by Department of
Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads (DOLIDAR). These roads are
collectively called Local Roads Network (LRN) roads. But Nepal will soon have new type of
road classification based on the changed governance system. Nepal now has central, provincial
and local government and hence the roads will also be classified and managed accordingly.

1.5.2 Technical/Functional Classification

For assigning various geometric and technical parameters for design, roads are categorized into
classes as follows:

a) Class I Roads are the highest standard roads with divided carriageway and access control
(Expressways) with ADT of 20,000 PCU or more in 20 years perspective period. Design speed
adopted for design of this class of roads in plain terrain is 120 kmph.

b) Class II Roads are those with ADT of 5000-20000 PCU in 20 years perspective period.
Design speed adopted for design of this class of roads in plain terrain is 100 kmph.

c) Class III Roads are those with ADT of 2000-5000 PCU in 20 years perspective period.
Design speed adopted for design of this class of roads in plain terrain is 80 kmph.

14
d) Class IV Roads are those with ADT of less
than 2000 PCU in 20 years perspective
period. Design speed adopted for design of
this class of roads in plain terrain is 60 kmph.
For the design of roads the class of road is
taken as the basic deciding factor which is
ascertained based on the traffic volume on
the road. But an approximate correlation can
be established between the administrative
and functional classifications of the roads as
follows in the table.

1.6 Road in Nepal

Road development in Nepal has been rather haphazard. The main reason for this is probably
that the responsibility of planning, construction and maintenance has been shared by more than
one agency. Construction and maintenance of major and important roads- national highways
and feeder roads (further referred as strategic road network) are carried out by Department of
Roads. Other roads which include village roads, district level roads and urban roads fall under
the jurisdiction of village development committees, district development committees and
municipalities respectively. But these responsibilities of different governing agencies are yet to
rearranged as per the new three tier government system of Nepal.
Many wide trails hard surface in Nepal (particularly in Kathmandu valley) may have been
developed during Malla's period, when a large number of temples were constructed. These
roads were basically intended for horse driven carts. These roads consisted of hard broken brick
over which flat stone slab were laid over a base of lime concrete. Through process of five-year
plan developments, the first transmountain highway later named Tribhuvan Highway, linking
with Bhaise, a distance of 126 km was built and further extended via Hetauda through Birganj
to Raxaul in India. a distance of 64 km built by Government of India in 1956. Another trans-
himalayan highway that was built in 1963 connects Kathmandu with Kodari, a distance of 114
km built by Chinese government and links to Tibet. Another highway called Prithvi Highway
within a country connects Kathmandu with Pokhara valley over a distance of 200 km built by
Chinese government. Historically, modern road development progressed firstly with the
completion by the mid 1970's with the completion of eastern section of the East West Highway
and link to Pokhara from both south and from Kathmandu.
As expressed in the National Transport Policy 2058, Government o Nepal has put emphasis in
the development of road and air transportation for the social and economic development of the
country as development of railways, water ways and rope ways is negligible and feasibility of
its expansion in a mentionable manner has been also found negligible. But recently,
Government of Nepal is also exploring the possibility of constructing railway network both
within the country and also connecting the two neighboring countries. For this, separate railway
department has been established which is at present conducting the feasibility study of east west
electric railway and Kathmandu-Pokhara electric railway.
The present average road density in Nepal (as per SSRN 2015/16) equals 8.76 kms/100 sq. kms.
In terms of density-per population, this translates as an average across the country of 2063.92
persons\km. These densities are very low in comparison with other countries. In the present

15
situation by expanding the road transportation infrastructure to increase the road networking
density of roads, reasonable upgrading of road networking and repairing and maintaining it,
complete the under-construction roads as well as to reach the roads access up to the headquarters
of all 75 districts are seen as a clear challenge of the moment. (still two district headquarters
are to be connected).
The principal objective of the National Transport Policy (as explained in the policy document)
is to develop a reliable, cost effective, safe facility oriented and sustainable transport system
that promotes and sustains the economic, social, cultural and tourism development of Nepal as
a whole.

1.7 Advantages of Highway Over Other Modes of Transportation

• Highway has very high accessibility to almost all potential destination. It can lead to
any remote place.
• Have wide geographical coverage.
• Large influential area.
• Low capital investment required.
• Door to door service
• Flexibility in service, road users has freedom to transfer the vehicles from one lane to
another or from one road to another as per requirement.
• Economic modes of transportation and are also essential for economic development of
a country.
• It can serves as feeder line for other modes of transport
• Have a very high potential for employment & help to solve unemployment problem.
• Safety is high as road accident has less disastrous effect than that of railway or airways
accident.
• Movements on roads are not time bound, as in case of railways or airways.

Disadvantages of Highway Over Other Modes of Transportation

• Safety: It has poor record of safety.
• More land coverage, destroy forest and agricultural land.
• Environmental pollution
• Energy consumption: It consumes a large fuel which needs to be imported.
• Parking: In road transport parking is already big problem.

1.8 Highway Alignment and Its Requirement

1.8.1 Highway Alignment
The position or the layout of the central line of highway on the ground is called highway
alignment. Highway alignment includes two parts: horizontal alignment and vertical alignment.
Horizontal alignment is the projection of highway alignment in the horizontal plane and
includes straight and curved paths. Vertical alignment is the projection of highway alignment
in the vertical plane and includes gradients and vertical curves. Alignment decision is important
because a bad alignment will increase the construction, maintenance and vehicle operating
costs. Once an alignment is fixed and constructed, it is not easy to change it due to increase in
cost of adjoining land and construction of costly structures by the roadside. Road design outputs
are in the form of three types of drawings namely;

16
 • Plan of a road
o drawing showing horizontal alignment along with the road width and other
cross-sectional elements.
• Longitudinal profile
o longitudinal section of a road cut along the center line of road.
• Cross section
o section cut perpendicular to the axis of the road centerline.

1.8.2 Requirements of Highway Alignment

The requirements of an ideal alignment are:
• Short: The alignment between two terminal stations should be short and as far as
possible be straight, but due to some practical considerations deviations may be needed.
• Easy: The alignment should be easy to construct and maintain. It should be easy for the
operation of vehicles. So, to the maximum extent easy gradients and curves should be
provided.
• Safe: It should be safe both from the construction and operating of view especially at
slopes, embankments, and cutting. It should have safe geometric features.
• Economical: The alignment should be economical and it can be considered so only
when the initial cost, maintenance cost, and operating cost are minimum.
• Comfort: Apart from the above requirements, the road alignment should provide
maximum comfort to the users.

The alignment should be such that it would offer maximum utility by serving maximum
population and products.

1.8.3 Factors Controlling Highway Alignment

The requirements of ideal highway alignment are described earlier but it is not always possible
to satisfy all these requirements. Hence it is necessary to make a judicial choice considering all
the factors. The various factors that control the alignment are as follows:
a) Government Requirements: As road project involves heavy investment, government
(local, regional or national) should be clear about the road requirement (when to construct, what
to construct, how to construct, why to construct).

b) Obligatory Points: These are the control points governing the highway alignment. These
points are classified into two categories.
i) Points through which the alignment should pass are called positive obligatory points.
These are some of the obligatory points
through which the alignment should pass.
▪ Bridge site: The bridge can be
located only where the river has
straight and permanent path and also
where the abutment and pier can be
strongly founded. The road approach
to the bridge should not be curved
and skew crossing should be avoided

17
 as far as possible. Thus, to locate a bridge the highway alignment may be
changed.
▪ Mountain passes: While the
alignment passes through a
mountain, the various
alternatives are to either
construct a tunnel or to go
around the hills. The suitability
of the alternative depends on
factors like topography, site
conditions, construction and
operation cost.
▪ Intermediate town: The alignment may be slightly deviated to connect an
intermediate town or village nearby.

▪ Existing Road: The alignment of newly constructed road should link to the
existing road to reduce construction cost

ii) Points through which the alignment should not pass are called negative obligatory
points. Coming to the second category that is the points through which the alignment
should not pass are:
▪ Religious places: These have been protected by the law from being acquired
for any purpose. Therefore, these points should be avoided while aligning.
▪ Very costly structures: Acquiring such structures means heavy compensation
which would result in an increase in initial cost. So the alignment may be
deviated not to pass through that point.
▪ Lakes/ponds: The presence of a lake or pond on the alignment path would also
necessitate deviation of the alignment.
▪ Marshy place, waterlogged area etc.
▪ Historically and archeologically important property.
▪ Restricted zone for defense, national security.
▪ Densely populated area.

c) Traffic (Type, amount and now pattern): The alignment should suit the traffic
requirements. Based on the origin-destination data of the area, the desire lines should be drawn.
The new alignment should be drawn keeping in view the desire lines, traffic flow pattern etc.

18
d) Geological condition: The alignment should pass only through the geologically stable hill
slopes.

e) Geometric Design: Geometric design factors such as gradient: radius of curve, sight distance
etc. also governs the alignment of the highway. To keep the number of curve minimum, it may
be required to change the alignment. The alignments should be finalized such that the
obstructions to visibility do not restrict the minimum requirements of sight distance. The design
standards vary with the class of road and the terrain and accordingly the highway should be
aligned.

f) Availability of construction materials and labors: The alignment should pass through the
area where local materials labors are available. This provision makes roads more economical.

g) Economic: The alignment finalized should be economical. All the three costs i.e.
construction, maintenance, and operating cost should be minimum. The construction cost can
be decreased much if it is possible to maintain a balance between cutting and filling. Also try
to avoid very high embankments and very deep cuttings as the construction cost will be very
higher in these cases.

h) Other considerations: Various other factors that govern the alignment are drainage
considerations, political factors and monotony.
▪ Drainage: It may be necessary to deviate the highway alignment so as to
minimize the number of cross drainage structures.
▪ Political: If foreign territory comes across a straight alignment, we will have
to deviate the alignment around the foreign land.
▪ Monotony: For a flat terrain it is possible to provide a straight alignment, but
it will be monotonous for driving. Hence a slight bend may be provided after a
few kilometers of straight road to keep the driver alert by breaking the
monotony.

i) Special considerations in Hill Roads: Alignment through hilly areas is slightly different
from aligning through a flat terrain. For the purpose of efficient and safe operation of vehicles
through a hilly terrain special care should be taken while aligning the highway. Some of the
special considerations for highway alignment through a hilly terrain is discussed below:
▪ Stability: For hilly areas, the road should be aligned through the side of the hill
that is stable. The common problem with hilly areas is that of landslides.
Excessive cutting and filling for road constructions give way to steepening of
slopes which in turn will affect the stability.
▪ Drainage: Adequate drainage facility should be provided across the road.
Attempts should be made to align the roads in such a way where the number of
cross drainage structures required are minimum. This will reduce the
construction cost.
▪ Geometric standards: The geometric standards followed in hilly areas are
different from those in at terrain. The alignment chosen should enable the ruling
gradient to be attained in minimum of the length, minimizing steep gradient,
hairpin bends and needless rise and fall.

19
 ▪ Resisting length: Efforts should be made to keep the ineffective rise and
excessive fall minimum.

1.9 Engineering Survey for Highway Alignment

Engineering survey for highway alignment can be broadly divided into the following four steps:
• Map study
• Reconnaissance
• Preliminary survey
• Final location and detailed survey.

The route selection process for a highway can be

described as a hierarchically structured decision-
making process and can be described by referring to
the figure. The first step in route location process
requires fixing the end termini and then defining a
region. Therefore, region should include terminal
points and all possible feasible routes between them. This region is then thoroughly studied in
search of number of broad bands. These bands may be 8-16 km wide depending upon the nature
of the road and terrain. These bands are further searched to select corridors usually extending
3-10 km wide. Comparison between these corridors is made and some are omitted. The most
viable corridors, usually not more than two are selected within which further study is carried
out and the best route is decided. This route could be 1-1.5 km wide. The next step is to search
these routes and locate within them one or more different alignments having about 30-50 m
width. All these alignments are compared and a final selection is made which is ultimately used
for design purpose.
Therefore, the process of locating a highway alignment involves continuous searching and
selecting using increasingly more detailed information and knowledge at each decision-making
stage. Factors influencing the selection of route at any instance include not only such tangibles
as topography, soil, geology, land use, population distribution, travel demand, user's cost,
structure and maintenance costs, safety etc. but also intangibles such as political, social,
environmental factors.

a) Map study
If the topographic map of the area is available, it is possible to suggest the likely routes of the
road. The main features like rivers, hills, valley etc. are also shown on these maps. By study of
such maps it is possible to have an idea of several possible alternate routes so that further details
of these may be studied later on site. The probable alignment can be located on the map from
the following details available on the map.
• Alignment avoiding valleys, ponds or lake.
• When the road has to cross a row of hills, possibility of crossing through a mountain
pass.
• Approximate location of bridge site for crossing rivers, avoiding bend of river if any.

Thus, from the map study alternate routes can be suggested. It gives a rough guidance of the
routes to be further surveyed in the field.

20
b) Reconnaissance survey
The second stage of surveys for highway location is reconnaissance. A field survey team may
inspect a fairly broad stretch of land along the proposed alternative routes of the map in the
field. All relevant details not available in the map are collected and noted down. Details
collected in reconnaissance survey are as follows:
• Valley, ponds, lakes, marshy land, ridge hills, permanent structures and other
obstruction along the route which are not available in the map.
• Approximate values of gradient, length of gradients and radius of curves of alternate
alignments.
• Number and type of cross drainage structures, maximum flood level and natural ground
water level along probable routes.
• Soil type along the routes from field identification tests and observation of geological
features.
• Sources of construction materials, water and location of stone quarries.
• When the road passes through hilly or mountainous terrain, additional data regarding
the geological formation, types of rocks, dip of strata, seepage flow etc. may be observed
so as to decide the stable and unstable sides of the hill for highway alignment.

As the result of reconnaissance a few alternate alignments may be chosen for further study.

c) Preliminary survey
The main objectives of the preliminary survey are:
• To collect all the necessary physical information and details of topography, drainage
and soil of various alternate alignments proposed after reconnaissance.
• To compare different proposals in view of the requirement of a good alignment.
• To estimate quantity of earth work, materials and other construction aspects and to work
out the cost of alternate proposals.
• To finalize the best alignment from all considerations.

The preliminary survey is carried out to collect all the physical information which is necessary
in connection with the proposed highway alignment. The survey is carried out by any one of
the following methods:
i) Conventional approach, in which survey team carries out surveys using the required
field equipment, taking measurement, collecting topographical and other data and
carrying out soil survey. The procedure of the conventional methods of preliminary
survey given in the following steps:
o Primary traverse: The first step is to establish primary traverse. For alternate
alignments either secondary traverse or independent primary traverses may be
necessary. The length of the centre line should be measured by using very good
and accurate chaining method or by tacheometry.
o Topographical features: All geographical and other man-made features along
the traverses and for a certain width on either side are surveyed and plotted.
o Leveling Work: This is carried out side by side to give the centre line profiles
and typical cross-sections.

21
 o Drainage studies and hydrological data: Drainage investigations and
hydrological data are collected so as to estimate the type, number and
approximate size of cross drainage structures.
o Soil survey: The soil survey is conducted in working out details of earth work,
slope, stability of materials, subsoil and surface drainage requirements and
pavement type and approximate thickness requirements. All these details are
required to make comparative study of alternate proposals.
o Material survey: The survey for naturally occurring materials like stone
aggregates and identification of suitable quarries should be made. Also,
availability of manufactured materials like cement, lime, brick etc. and their
location may be ascertained.
o Traffic survey: Traffic survey is conducted for deciding the number of traffic
lanes and roadway width, pavement design and economic analysis of highway
project.
o Determination of final centre line: After completing the preliminary survey
and conducting the comparative studies of alternative alignments the final centre
line of the road is to be decided in the office before final location survey. For
this the preliminary survey maps consisting of contour plan, longitudinal profile
and cross sections of the alternate alignments should be prepared and carefully
studied to decide the best alignment satisfying engineering and economic
requirements.

ii) Modern rapid approach, by aerial photographs and photogramatic methods and photo-
interpretation techniques for obtaining the necessary topographic and other maps
including details of soil and geology. Aerial photographic surveys are suited for
preliminary surveys, especially when the distance and area to be covered are vast. The
survey divided into following steps:
o Taking aerial photographs or various strips of land to be surveyed with required
longitudinal and lateral overlaps.
o The photographs are examined under stereoscopes and control points are
selected for establishing the traverses of the alternate proposals.
o Using stereo-pair observations, the spot levels and subsequently contour lines
may be obtained.
o The photo interpretation methods are used to assess the geological features, soil
conditions, drainage requirement etc.

d) Final location and detailed survey

The alignment finalized at the design office after preliminary survey is to be first located on the
field by establishing centre line. Next detailed survey should be carried out for collecting the
information necessary for the preparation of plans and construction details for the highway
project.
• Location: The centre line of the road finalized in the drawing is to be translated on the
ground during location survey. Major and minor control points are established on the
ground and central pegs are driven, checking the geometric design requirements.
However, modification in the final location may be made in the field if found essential.

22
 • Detailed Survey: Temporary bench marks are fixed at all drainage and under pass
structures. Levels along the final centre line should be taken. Leveling work is of great
importance as the vertical alignment, earth work calculation and drainage details are to
be worked out from the level noted. The cross-section levels are taken upto the desired
width. The river crossing valley etc. should be surveyed in detail upto considerably
distances on either side.

All topographical details are noted down and also plotted using conventional signs. Adequate
hydrological details are also collected and recorded.
A detailed soil survey is carried out to enable drawing the soil profile depth upto 1.5 to 3 meters
below the ground line or finished grade line of the road whichever is lower. However, in case
of high embankments, the depth should be upto twice the height of the finished embankment.
The data during the detailed survey should be elaborate and complete for preparing detailed
plans, design and estimates of the project.
The whole sequence of engineering survey for highway alignment is depicted in the figure
below:

23
 Unit 2 (12 Hrs)

GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAY

2.1 Introduction and Scope

The geometric design of highways deals with the dimensions and layout of visible features of
the highway. The emphasis of the geometric design lies on addressing the requirement of the
driver and the vehicle such as safety, comfort, efficiency, etc. The features normally considered
under geometric design of roads can be grouped as
• Cross sectional elements
o Camber, superelevation, traffic lane, carriageway, shoulder, median strips, right
of way, side slopes, extra widening of pavement, noise barriers etc.
• Sight distance characteristics
o Stopping sight distance, overtaking sight distance etc.
• Horizontal and vertical alignments
o Radius of curves, curve lengths, transition curve, grades etc.
• Road intersection

The design of these features is greatly influenced by driver behavior and psychology, vehicle
characteristics, traffic characteristics such as speed and volume. Proper geometric design will
help in the reduction of crashes and their severity. Therefore, the objective of geometric design
is to provide optimum efficiency in traffic operation and maximum safety at reasonable cost.

2.2 Basic Design Control and Criteria

A number of factors affect the geometric design and they are discussed in detail in the following
sections:

2.2.1 Design Speed

Design speed is the single most important factor that affects the geometric design. It directly
affects sight distance, horizontal curve and the length of vertical curves. Design speed is defined
as the highest continuous speed at which individual vehicle can travel with safety on the
highway when weather conditions are favorable. Design speed is different from the legal speed
limit which is the speed limit imposed to curb a common tendency of drivers to travel beyond
an accepted safe speed. Design speed is also different from the desired speed which is the
maximum speed at which a driver would travel when unconstrained (free- स्वैच्छिक) by either
traffic or local geometry. Since there are wide variations in the speed adopted by different
drivers and by different types of vehicles, design speed should be selected such that it satisfies
nearly all drivers. At the same time, a higher design speed has cascading (dropping) effect in
other geometric designs and thereby cost escalation. Therefore 85th percentile design speed is
normally adopted. This speed is defined as that speed which is greater than the speed of 85%
of drivers. In some countries this is as high as 95 to 98 percentile speed. Therefore, it is decided
taking into account the overall requirements of the highway. There are different speed standards
for different class of road and the same is also influenced by terrain and topography.

24
NRS-2070 Recommended following values of design speed under different topographical
conditions. As can be seen from the table, the design speed expected from a class I road will be
much higher than a class IV road and hence the curve geometry will vary significantly. The
design speed also depends
on the type of terrain. A
plain terrain can afford to
have any geometry, but for
the same standard in a hilly
terrain requires substantial
cutting and filling implying
excessive costs as well as safety concern due to unstable slopes. Therefore, the design speed is
normally reduced for terrains with steep slopes.

The table gives the design

speed for different classes
of road based on Nepal
Rural Road Standard
(2055), 2nd revision 2071.
Normally ruling design
speed should be the guiding criterion for the purpose of geometric design. Minimum design
speed may be adopted where the site condition and cost does not permit a design based on
‘Ruling Design Speed’.

2.2.2 Design Vehicle

The dimensions, weight of the axle and operating characteristics of a vehicle influence the
design aspects such as width of the pavement, radii of the curve, clearances, parking geometrics
etc. A design vehicle which has standard weight, dimensions and operating characteristics are
used to establish highway design controls to accommodate vehicles of a designated type.

Vehicle dimensions: The maximum dimensions of vehicles considered for design of roads in
Nepal are as follows (NRS-2070):
• Maximum width (m): 2.50 m
• Maximum height (m): 4.75 m
• Maximum length (m): 18.0 m
• Maximum single axle load (KN): 100

According to NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071, the adopted design vehicles are with two axles
with maximum axle load of 10.2 tonnes for rear axle with the following dimensions.
• Width - overall width 2.5 m
• Height - 3.8 m for normal application
• Length of wheel base - 6.1 m
• Length - maximum overall length excluding front and rear bumpers, 11 m.

2.2.3 Topography
The next important factor that affects the geometric design is the topography. It is easier to
construct roads with required standards in plain terrain. However, for a given design speed, the

25
construction cost increases multifold with the gradient and the terrain. Therefore, geometric
design standards are different for different terrain to keep the cost of construction and time of
construction under control. This is characterized by sharper curves and steeper gradients in
mountainous and steep terrain
conditions. Topography of an
area can be plain, rolling,
mountainous and steep
depending upon the average
cross slope of the area under
consideration as given in the
table. The design standards specified for different classes of roads are different depending on
the terrain classification. According to NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071, terrain is classified as
‘Terai’ and ‘Hill’ based on the topography of country. While classifying terrain, short isolated
stretches of varying terrain should not be taken into consideration. Generally, ‘Terai’ covers the
plain and rolling terrain and varies from 0 to 25 percent cross slope, ‘Hills’ covers mountainous
and steep terrain and varies from 25 to 60 percent and more.

2.2.4 Traffic Factors

Traffic factors that affect the design of geometric elements of highway are vehicular
characteristics and human characteristics. The roadway facility under consideration for design
should accommodate different types of vehicles having different speed and
acceleration/deceleration characteristics apart from having different dimensions and weights.
The important human factors that influence geometric design are the physical, mental and
psychological characteristics of the driver and pedestrians like reaction time.

2.2.5 Design Hourly Volume and Capacity

It will be uneconomical to design the road for peak traffic flow. Therefore, a reasonable value
of traffic volume is selected as the design hourly volume which is determined from the various
traffic data collected. The geometric design is thus based on this design volume, capacity etc.
The of volume to capacity affects the level of service of the road. Generally, 30th highest hourly
traffic volume is used for the design purpose. Traffic capacity is needed to be estimated to
determine the number of lanes required which then determines the total width of the road.

2.2.6 Road User Behavior

Design of roads cannot only be done with the rules laid out by mathematical models but road
users behavior plays an important role in determining the different parameters of road design.
The extent of influence of road user behavior in determining the geometric elements of road
cannot be quantified but their effect cannot be ignored.

2.2.7 Environmental and Other Factors

Factors like landscaping, air pollution, noise pollution, aesthetic conditions etc. should be given
due consideration in the geometric design of roads.

Criteria for geometric design

The geometric features of a highway with the consideration of above-mentioned governing
factors are designed to meet the following four major objectives:

26
 • speed
• safety
• comfort
• economy

Some important roads such as express ways are designed for higher speed standards and
uninterrupted flow of vehicles by providing grade separated intersections and controlled access.

Introduction to Basic Road Terms

a) Traffic Volume
Traffic volume is defined as the number of vehicles that pass a point on a highway or a given
lane or direction of a highway during a specific time interval. The measurement is carried out
by counting the number of vehicles, nt, passing a particular point in one lane in a defined period
t. Then the flow q expressed in vehicles/hour is given by:
𝑛
q= 𝑡
t
Flow is expressed in planning and design field taking a day as the measurement of time. Since
there is considerable variation in the volume of traffic, several types of measurements of volume
are commonly adopted which will average these variations into a single volume count to be
used in many design purposes.
• Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT): The average 24-hour traffic volume at a given
location over a full 365-day year, i.e. the total number of vehicles passing the site in a
year divided by 365.
• Average Annual Weekday Traffic (AAWT): The average 24-hour traffic volume
occurring on weekdays over a full year. It is computed by dividing the total weekday
traffic volume for the year by the number of workdays in that year.
• Average Daily Traffic (ADT): An average 24-hour traffic volume at a given location
for some period of time less than a year. It may be measured for six months, a season, a
month, a week, or as little as two days. An ADT is a valid number only for the period
over which it was measured.
• Average Weekday Traffic (AWT): An average 24-hour traffic volume occurring on
weekdays for some period of time less than one year, such as for a month or a season.
The relationship between AAWT and AWT is analogous to that between AADT and
ADT.

Volume in general is measured using different ways like manual counting, detector/sensor
counting, moving-car observer method etc. Mainly the volume study establishes the importance
of a particular route with respect to the other routes, the distribution of traffic on road and the
fluctuations in flow. All of which eventually determine the design of a highway and the related
facilities. Thus, volume is treated as the most important of all the parameters of traffic stream.

Traffic Capacity
Traffic capacity is the ability of a roadway to accommodate traffic volume and is generally
expressed as the maximum number of vehicles in a lane or a roadway that can pass a given
point in unit time usually an hour i.e. vehicles per hour per lane or roadway. Traffic capacity
can again be classified into the following three types namely basic capacity, possible capacity
and practical (design) capacity.

27
Design capacity of various types of roads as per Nepal Road Standard (NRS) 2070 is given in
the table below:

Nepal Rural Road Standard (NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071) has suggested to design the width
of a road pavement for a given traffic volume so that it meets the Level of Service B, defined
as a stable flow zone which affords reasonable freedom to drivers in terms of speed selection
and manoeuvres within the traffic stream. At this level, the volume of traffic will be around 0.5
times the maximum capacity. This is the ‘design service volume’ for the purpose of adopting
design values. The following table gives the design capacity of different kinds of roads.

District Road (Core Network) Village Road

Design parameters
Hill Terai Hill Terai

Design capacity- in both directions 200 400 100 200

(vehicle per day/pcu per day) (400) (800) (200) (400)

2.3 Cross Sectional Elements of Highway

The features of the cross-section of the pavement influence the life of the pavement as well as
the riding comfort and safety. Camber, kerhs and geometry of various cross-sectional elements
are important aspects to be considered in this regard. The cross-sectional elements of a road are
• Traffic lane
• Carriage way

28
 • Shoulder
• Roadway
• Formation width
• Side slope of fill or cut
• Lay-bys
• Right of way or land width
• Super elevation/Cant/Banking
• Camber/Cross slope
• Extra widening

In urban area; additional elements are;

• Side walk (footpath)
• Kerb (physical barrier between shoulder and footpath)
• Median strip

The cross section of a road

• Is the section along the width of the road and perpendicular to the centre line of the road.
• Consists of many parts like: carriage way, shoulder, median strips or traffic separators,
side drain, side slope, catch drain etc. for expressways, there may also be many features
like emergency lane, speed changing lane, low speed lane and other roadway facilities.

Fig. 2.1 Road Cross-section

2.3.1 Traffic Lane

The strip of a carriage way occupied by vehicle moving in a single stream along the road is
called traffic lane. The width of traffic lane is a function of width of design vehicles and safety
clearance on either side as necessary for safe driving. Higher the speed, higher clearance is

29
required. The minimum width of traffic is 3.75 m for single lane and road and 3.5 m for each
lane is multilane roads.
Where;
b = width of vehicle measured out to out
c = width of wheel base
x = side clearance required for safety
between the vehicle and adjacent lane
y = side clearance between vehicle and edge
of carriage way
Now,
Width of each lane;
𝑏+𝑐
Te = 2 + 𝑥 + 𝑦
Width of intermediate lane;
Ti = 𝑏 + 𝑥1 + 𝑥2
Now, Incase of two adjacent lanes with opposing traffic;
x = y = 0.5+0.005V
and, Incase of two adjacent lanes with traffic in same direction;
𝑥1 = 𝑥2 = 3.35 + 0.005V
where,
V = Design speed in kmph
x, y = Distance in meter

2.3.2 Width of Carriageway or Pavement Width

A carriage way may be defined as that strip of road which is constructed for the movement of
vehicular traffic. It is also called pavement width. Metalled strip of road meant for vehicular
traffic movement is
known as carriageway.
Width of carriageway or
width of pavement
depends on the width of
the traffic lane and
number of lanes. Width of
carriageway on which a
standard vehicle can move
safely in one direction
with some minimum side
clearance (function of
speed of vehicle) is called
a traffic lane. Therefore,
width of a traffic lane
depends on the width of
the vehicle and the
clearance. Side clearance improves operating speed and safety. The maximum permissible
Width of a vehicle is 2.50 m and desirable side clearance for Single lane traffic is 0.625m. This
require minimum lane width of 3.75 m for a single lane road. However, the side clearance

30
required is about 0.5m on either side and 1m in the centre for two lane road. Therefore, a two
lane requires minimum of 3.5 m for each lane.

The desirable carriage way width recommended by NRS 2070 is given in table below:

Table 2.1 Width of Carriageway

Single lane 3.75 m (upto 3 m in difficult terrain)
Intermediate lane 5.5 m
Multi lane pavement width per lane 3.5 m

The width of carriageway for various classes of roads standardized by Indian Roads Congress
are given in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 Width of Carriageway
Class of road Width of carriageway
Single lane 3.75 m
Two lanes, without raised kerbs 7.0 m
Two lanes, with raised kerbs 7.5 m
Intermediate carriageway (except on important roads) 5.5 m
Multi-lane pavements 3.5 m per lane

In case of single lane roads, it is recommended to have two treated shoulders on either side to
make a total width of 5.5m of treated surface. The number of lanes required in a highway
depends on the predicted traffic volume and the design traffic volume of each lane. The width
of pavement is increased on horizontal curves. In some highways, traffic separators or medians
are provided between two sets of traffic lanes intended to divide the traffic moving in opposite
directions. In such highways the road width depends on the pavement width (or the lane widths
and number of lanes) and the width of traffic separators.

31
Width of the pavement or carriageway is the sum of the width of traffic lane.
Width of carriage way (Cw) = Tw × n
Where, Tw = Width of lane
n = No. of lanes
Cw = Width of carriage way
The width of the carriageway depends on the dimensions of vehicles using the road, speed of
travel, traffic volume, width of shoulder etc. For District Road (core network) with low volume
of traffic < 100 vpd (vehicles per day), single lane operation is adequate as there will be only a
small probability of vehicles meeting. The low number of passing manoeuvres can be
undertaken at reduced speeds using either passing place (in Hill) and shoulders (in Terai),
providing sight distance are adequate for safe stopping. These manoeuvres can be performed
without hazards and overall loss in efficiency brought about by the reduced speeds will be small
as only a few such manoeuvres will be involved. It is not cost effective to widen the running
surface in such circumstances and a basic width of 3.0 m will normally sufficient.

Carriageway width of District Road (core network) is 3.75 m but can be reduced to 3 m where
traffic volume is less than 100 motorized vehicles per day and where the traffic is not likely to
increase. If a Village Road carries a traffic volume of more than 100 motorized vehicles per
day, the carriageway width will be 3.75 m and affect other design parameters accordingly. In
the case of built up/market area, extra width of pavement for pedestrians and lay-bys can be
considered with covered drains, which will be sufficient for parking other motorized and non-
motorized vehicles. For district roads (core network) with a volume of traffic > 400 vpd
(vehicles per day), single lane width may not be adequate for operation, therefore, should go
for higher lane width of 5.5 m. The desirable road surface for District Road (Core Network) is
gravel or paved, whereas, for village road is unpaved or gravel.

2.3.3 Shoulders
Shoulders are strips provided along the road edge and are intended for accommodation of
stopped vehicles, serve as an emergency lane for vehicles and provide lateral support for base
and surface courses. The shoulder should be strong enough to bear the weight of a fully loaded
truck even in wet conditions. The shoulder width should be adequate for giving working space
around a stopped vehicle. Shoulder width requirement as per Nepal Road Standard 2070 is
given in table below.
Table 2.3 Shoulder width
Road Class I II III IV
Minimum shoulder width, m 3.75 m 2.5 m 2m 1.5 m

According to NRS 2070

• The width of shoulders on either side of the carriageway shall be at least 0.75m.
• For protection of pavement from water percolating under it from shoulder it is
recommended to treat at least a 0.50-0.75m wide strip of shoulder near the edge of the
pavement with impervious to water surfacing.
• If a small gap (< 1m) of untreated shoulder is formed between the edge of the pavement
and edge of the side drain in hill roads it is recommended to treat this gap with
appropriate surface treatment.

32
 • For mountainous and steep terrains, the above values can be reduced to a minimum
value for a lower class of the road
but not less than 0.75m.
• It is desirable that the color and
texture of shoulders be different
from those of the carriageway.
• This contrast serves to clearly
define the carriage way at all
times, particularly at night and
during inclement (bad) weather,
while discouraging the use of
shoulders as additional through
lanes.
• Very wide shoulders (more than 3.75m wide) are also not desirable due to tendency of
vehicles misusing it as a carriageway.

As per NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071, non-motorized vehicles in hills are smaller than Terai,
hence shoulder width in hills are relatively smaller. The road construction in Nepal uses
shoulder of varying width such as 0.5 m, 0.75 m, 1.0 m and 1.5 m.

Advantages of shoulder
• Provides space for parking vehicles.
• Provides space for fixing up traffic signs/signals.
• Increases the capacity of road by providing frequent opportunities for overtaking.
• Increases the effective width of carriageway.
• Improves sight distance with increased lateral clearance.

2.3.4 Roadway Width

Width of formation or roadway width is the sum of the widths of pavements or carriageway
including separators and shoulders. This does not include the extra land in formation/cutting.
Roadway width is the top width of the highway embankment or the bottom width of highway
cutting excluding the side drains. The roadway width for different classes of roads is different.
i.e. Roadway width = carriageway + 2 × shoulder width.
The table below shows the recommended values of carriageway width, shoulder width and
roadway width based on NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071.

33
2.3.5 Formation width
It is the width of road embankment or bottom width of road cut measured at the finished sub-
grade level over which carriageway is constructed.

2.3.6 Side Slope of Fill or Cut

From the traffic safety aspect, the
horizontal sight distance problem at
curves in cutting zones is considerably
eased by the use of flatter side slopes. In
case of fill also the flatter the side slope is
the better.

According to NRS 2070

• Side slopes of embankment and cuttings
depend on the type of fill/cut materials
and height/depth of filling/cutting.
• Recommended side slopes for
embankments are given below. But
wherever possible flatter slopes are
recommended for aesthetic reason and
traffic safety.
• If natural cross slope of the ground is
more than 1:5 then the ground should be
cut with more than 2m wide horizontal
steps.
• Recommended values of side slopes in
cutting are given in the table.

2.3.7 Lay-bys
Lay-bys are intermittent shoulders sufficiently wide and long provided to meet the important
function of shoulder where the continuous shoulder on either side cannot be provided from
economic considerations. The provision of properly designed lay-bys for hill roads in Nepal
could be an economical solution but has not been in practice.

34
According to NRRS 2055, 2nd
revision 2071, the increased
width at passing zones should
allow two trucks (2 axles) to pass.
The width of carriage way should
be 5.5 m and length about 12 m
along the outside edge and 30 m along inside. This means that passing zones and lay-bys should
be tapered gradually towards the carriageway so that vehicles can leave or join the traffic stream
safely. At passing places, vehicles would be expected to stop or slow to a very low speed.

Normally, passing place should be located every 300 m for Hill and 500 m for Terai. The
location of passing place depends on the sight distance and should be provided at or near blind
and sharp summit curves; where the likelihood of vehicles meeting between passing places is
high; and where reversing would be difficult. In general passing places should be constructed
at the most economic location as determined by the terrain and ground condition, such as at
transitions from cut to fill, rather than at precise intervals.

Lay-bys may be provided for parking or for bus stops to allow vehicles to stop safely without
impeding passing traffic. The minimum bus lay-by width shall be 3 m (i.e. minimum 6 m
carriageway widths) and the length 12 m along the outside edge and 30 m along the inside edge.

2.3.8 Right of Way or Land Width

Right of way or land width is the width of land to be acquired for the road along its alignment.
It should be adequate to accommodate all the cross-sectional elements of the highway and may
reasonably provide for future development.

The right of way width is governed by:

• Width of formation: It depends on the category of the highway and width of roadway
and road margins.
• Height of embankment or depth of cutting: It is governed by the topography and the
vertical alignment.
• Side slopes of embankment or cutting: It depends on the height of the slope, soil type
etc.
• Drainage system and their size which depends on rainfall, topography etc.
• Sight distance considerations: On curves etc., there is restriction to the visibility on the
inner side of the curve due to the presence of some obstructions like building structures
etc.
• Reserve land for future widening: Some land has to be acquired in advance anticipating
future developments like widening of the road.

To prevent ribbon (decoration/band) development along highways, control lines and building
lines may be provided.

35
Building Line: Building line represents a line on either side of the road between which no
building activity is permitted at all. It is mainly provided to reserve sufficient space for future
improvement of roads. It is a line up to which the plinth of a building adjoining from the center
of the street or an extension of a street in future may lawfully extend. It is also called as set back
or front building line.

Control line:
In public buildings such as cinema halls, factories, commercial buildings, which are generally
overcrowded attracts large number of vehicles should be set back a further distance apart from
the building line. The line up to which such buildings are constructed is known as control line.

Control line is a line which represents the nearest limits of future uncontrolled building activity
in relation to a road and is mainly provided to exercise control of the nature of building up to
set back distance up to the control lines.

The overall width requirements between the building lines and between the control lines for
different classes of roads at different terrain conditions are recommended in the standards. The
table below shows the right of way requirements for different classes of road as per Nepal Road
Standard 2070.

National highways 50 m (25 m on either side of the road center line)

Feeder roads 30 m (15 m on either side of the road center line)
District roads 20 m (10 m on either side of the road center line)

Notes: In case of special circumstances, greater right of way shall be required on technical
reasons. In case of urban and sub urban roads, the right of way shall be 50 m for 4 lane roads

36
and 30 meters for 2 lane roads. This may not be strictly applicable in downtown (center/inner
cities) areas where roads have already been constructed. The importance of reserved land is
emphasized because extra width of land is available for the construction of roadside facilities,
land acquisition is not possible later, because the land may be occupied for various other
purposes (buildings, business etc.) A typical cross section of a right of way is given in the figure
below:
The followings are the
purpose of right of way:
• To accommodate
drainage facilities.
• To provide *frontage
roads/driveway in
roads.
• To open side borrow
pit.
• To improve visibility
in curves.
• To accommodate various road ancillaries.
• To widen the road where required in future with no compensation for property.
• For the construction of Bus shade station.

*A frontage road (also access road, service road, parallel road, etc.) is a minor road running
parallel to a higher-speed more major road, often in an urban setting. The frontage road is
connected at some points with the major road. A frontage road is often used to provide access
to private driveways, shops, houses, industries or farms. A frontage road if often, but not
always a one-way road.

As per NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071 recommended total right of way (ROW) and Building
line for different types of road are given in the table below:

Setback distance from road

Total right of
land boundary/(ROW) to
Type of Road way (ROW) Comment
building line on either side
(m)
(m)
District road
10 m ROW on either side
(core 20 6
from road centre line
network)
7.5 m ROW on either
Village road 15 3
side from road centre line

As per NRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071 recommended total right of way (ROW) and Building line
for different types of road are given in the table below:

Type of Road ROW width (m) Width of building line (m)

37
 Trunk road 50 62
Feeder road 30 42
District road 20 32
City roads
• 4
50 -
lanes
• 2
30 -
lanes

Elements of cross section for urban roads:

2.3.9 Kerbs
Kerbs indicate the boundary between the carriage way and the
shoulder in rural roads or islands or footpaths or parking places in
urban roads. It is that element of urban road which separates vehicular
traffic from pedestrian traffic by providing physical barrier between
them. The face of kerb may be vertical or stopping and height varies
from 10-20 cm.

The function of kerb may be summarized as:

• to facilitate and control drainage.
• to strengthen and protect the pavement
edge.
• to present a more finished appearance.
• to assist in the orderly development of
the road side.
• to segregate the traffic lane.

2.3.10 Sidewalk (Foot path)

It is that portion of the urban road which is provided for the movement of pedestrian traffic.
Sidewalks are raised to about 15-30 cm high from carriageway or separated by laying stone or
concrete block to provide safety to pedestrian against fast moving traffic.
• Provision of footpaths should be made on all roads passing through populated areas.
• On high traffic non-urban roads footpaths should be constructed outside of the roadway
on separate formation or buffer areas should be established so as to separate them from
the carriage way.

38
 • Width of the footpath depends on the volume of anticipated pedestrian traffic. But a
minimum width of 1.5 m is required.
• In case of narrow footpaths (<l.8m wide) a passing zone of a minimum width of 1.8 m
and length of 2.0 m is to be
provided at every 50 m or less
for passing of two
wheelchairs.
• The minimum width of
footpaths for various volumes
of pedestrian traffic should be
as shown in table.

2.3.11 Median Strip

It is central raised strip within
the roadways constructed to Divided median strip on a highway
in Huizhou, China
separate the traffic flowing in
one direction from the traffic in
opposite direction.
The functions of median strip
are:
• to separate the opposite
stream of traffic. A grass median strip on Interstate 80 in
• To segregate slow- and Pennsylvania, United States

fast-moving traffic in
same direction.
• to minimize head-on
collision between
vehicles moving in
opposite directions.
• to minimize head light
glare.
• to include space for safe
operation of crossing
and turning vehicles at
intersection at grade.
• to segregate the traffic
lane.
• to provide aesthetic
beauty.

According to NRS 2070

• For roads with 4 or
more lanes, it is
recommended to
provide medians or
traffic separators. Medians should be as wide as possible.

39
 • A minimum median width of 5m is recommended. But a width of 3m can be adopted in
areas where land is restricted.
• In mountainous and steep terrains maximum possible width' of median dictated by the
topography should be provided. In such situations simple barriers may be provided to
function as a median or individual carriageway could be designed at different levels.
• On long bridges and viaducts, the width of the median may be reduced to 1.5m, but in
no case this should be less than 1.2m.
• The median should be of uniform width in a particular section of the highway. However,
where changes are unavoidable, a transition of 1 in 20 must be provided.

2.3.12 Camber
Camber or cant is the cross slope provided to raise middle of the road surface in the transverse
direction to drain off rain water from road surface. The central raised part of the road is called
crown. The objectives of providing camber are:
• surface protection especially for gravel and bituminous roads
• sub-grade protection by proper drainage.
• quick drying of pavement which in turn increases safety.

Too steep slope is undesirable as it will erode the surface. Camber is measured in 1 in n or n%
(eg. 1 in 50 or 2%) and the value depends on the type of pavement surface and the amount of
rainfall. The values suggested by NRS 2070 for various categories of pavement are given in
table below but the values of camber to be provided should be just
sufficient to drain off the rain water.
• All straight sections of
roads shall have a
camber or crossfall as
given on the table.
• On roads with undivided carriageways the camber shall be on both directions from the
centre line of the road. On roads with divided carriageway unidirectional camber can be
provided.
• However, on some sections of hill roads with undivided carriageway a unidirectional
camber can be adopted. In this case the adverse effect of negative camber on movement
of vehicles on curves should be properly checked.
• On Straight sections of roads, shoulders should have a higher crossfall than that of the
carriageway by 0.5%.

NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071 suggested the following values of camber for different kinds of
roads.

The minimum acceptable value of cross fall should be related to carrying surface water away
from the pavement in an effective manner. Considering possible changes in rainfall patterns

40
due to the climate change, cross slopes are 0.5 to 1 per cent steeper than that required where
annual rainfall is less than 1000 mm. Shoulders having the same surface as the carriageway
should have the same cross slope. Unpaved shoulders on paved carriageway should be at least
0.5 per cent steeper than the cross fall of the carriageway. However, 1 per cent more slope than
the carriageway is desirable.

Excessive camber should not be provided unnecessarily because:

• Most of the vehicles will tend to move along the centre line of the road and thus road
capacity is affected.
• Edges of the road surfacing wear out faster than the central
• Tilt problems which causes toppling over of high loaded vehicles.
• Formation of cross-ruts.
• During overtaking operation, vehicles tend to drag causing uncomfortable conditions.

Types of Camber
The common types of camber are parabolic, straight and composite type (Figure below):

41
 • In parabolic relationship, y α x2.
• The value of the dependent variable is proportional to
the square of the independent variable.

Design of camber depends on

• Amount of rain
• Types of road surface
• Nature of soil
• Hydrological analysis

42
Disadvantages of heavy camber
• Low quality (earthen and WBM) road erode easily during rainy season.
• Chances of skidding and overturning of vehicle.
• Most of the vehicle use center part of road, so chances of damage in the center part of
the road easily and also the road capacity is affected.

2.4 Elements of Horizontal Alignment

Horizontal alignment is one of the most important features influencing the efficiency and safety
of a highway. A poor design will result in lower speeds and resultant reduction in highway
performance in terms of safety and comfort. In addition, it may increase the cost of vehicle
operations and lower the highway capacity. Horizontal alignment design involves the
understanding on the design aspects such as design speed and the effect of horizontal curve on
the vehicles. Horizontal alignment includes straight portions known as tangents and horizontal
curves (may be of different types). The horizontal curve design elements include design of super
elevation, extra widening at horizontal curves, design of transition curve and set back distance.

2.4.1 Tangents
Tangents are the straight lines obtained by joining the two successive points of intersections of
the two straight traverse lines along the route.

2.4.2 Horizontal curves

Horizontal curves are provided to change
the direction at the intersection of straight
alignments either in horizontal plane. This
change in direction should be gradual to
secure safety together with comfort to the
passengers. The necessity of curves arises
due to any of the following reasons:
• topography of the country.
• providing access to a particular
locality.
• restriction by some unavoidable
reasons of land.
• preservation of existing amenities.
• avoidance of certain religious,
monumental or some other structures.
• making use of existing right of ways.
• minimizing quantity of earthwork.
• for the speed control and make drivers alert along the straight route.
When highway changes its direction in horizontal plane, a horizontal curve has to provide to
bring about that change. For certain speed of the vehicle the centrifugal force is dependent on
the radius of horizontal curve. Provision of horizontal curve enhances comfort to the passengers
and also helps to reduce mental strain by travelling monotonously along the straight route as
drivers become more alert. This also plays an important role in speed control.

43
2.4.2.1 Types of Horizontal curves

2.4.2.2 Design of Horizontal curves

The presence of horizontal curve imparts centrifugal force which is a reactive force acting
outward on a vehicle negotiating it. Centrifugal force depends on speed of vehicle and radius
of the horizontal curve and is counteracted to a certain extent by transverse friction between the
tyres and pavement surface. On a curved road, this force tends to cause the vehicle to overturn
or to slide outward from the centre of road curvature. For proper design of the curve, an

44
understanding of the forces acting
on a vehicle taking a horizontal
curve is necessary. Various forces
acting on the vehicle are illustrated-
in the figure. The forces acting on
the vehicles are: the centrifugal
force (P) acting outward, weight of
the vehicle (W) acting downward
and the normal reactions of the
pavement on the wheels (RA and
RB). The centrifugal force and the weight are assumed to be acting from the centre of gravity
which is at h units above the pavement surface. Let the wheel base be assumed as b units. The
centrifugal force P in kg is given by
𝑊𝑣 2
𝑃=
𝑔𝑅
Where W is the weight of the vehicle in kg, v is the speed of the vehicle in m/sec, g is the
acceleration due to gravity in m/sec2 and R is the radius of the curve in m. The ratio of the
𝑃
centrifugal force to the weight of vehicle 𝑊 is known as the centrifugal ratio or impact factor.
Thus, the centrifugal ratio
𝑃 𝑣2
=
𝑊 𝑔𝑅

The centrifugal force has following effects:

45
(1) Comfort to the passenger
The lateral force acting upon the vehicle entered into the curved path affects the passenger, who
feels a shock tending to fling (throw) him sideway. Therefore, it is desirable that the magnitude
of the lateral force should not exceed a limiting value at which a passenger feels discomfort
while traveling along a curve.

(2) Economy in travel

The lateral force acting on the wheel causes
yawing (a yaw motion is a side to
side movement), i.e. partial side slipping causing
it to roll skew to its wheel plane which involves
extensive tyre deformation. Experimental
investigations have shown that the increase in slip
angle results in a sharp rise in engine horsepower
consumption for wheel rotation and in the wear
and tear of tyres. *Slip angle should be minimum,
to decrease horsepower consumption for wheel
rotation which decreases the wear and tear of
tyres.

* In vehicle dynamics, slip angle or sideslip angle

is the angle between the direction in which a wheel is pointing and the direction in which it is
actually traveling.

46
2.5 Superelevation (Cant or Banking)
Superelevation or banking is the transverse slope provided at horizontal Curve to counteract the
centrifugal force by raising the outer edge of the pavement with respect to the inner edge,
throughout the length of the horizontal curve. In passing from straight to a curved path, a vehicle
is under the influence of two forces, the weight of the vehicle and the centrifugal force. Both of
them act through its centre of gravity. The centrifugal force always acts in horizontal direction
and its effect is to push the vehicle off the track. So, in order to counteract the effect of
centrifugal force and reduce the tendency of vehicle to overturn or skid in the horizontal curve,
outer edge of the pavement is raised with respect to the inner edge. Superelevation is expressed
as the ratio of the height of outer edge with respect to the horizontal width.

Analysis of Superelevation

47
48
 The value of coefficient of lateral friction, ‘f’ is taken as 0.15 for design purpose.
The value of tanɵ or transverse slope due to superelevation seldom exceeds
0.07 or about 1/15. Where, (1-0.15×tan0.07) = 0.99 ≈ 1.
P P v2 v2
Therefore,
𝑊
= tanɵ + f = e + f, But
𝑊
= gR Therefore, e + f = gR

v2 V2
=
gR 127R

2.5.1 Minimum and Maximum Superelevation

It depends on (a) slow moving vehicle and (b) heavy loaded trucks with high center of gravity.
The recommended maximum value of superelevation of 7 percent for plain and rolling terrain,
while that of hilly terrain is 10 percent and urban road is 4 percent. If the calculated value of
superelevation is equal to or less than the camber value, minimum superelevation to be provided
should be equal to the camber slope. The minimum superelevation is 2-4 percent for drainage
purpose, especially for large radius horizontal curve. There is different recommendation of radii
for different classes of roads beyond which no super elevation is provided.

49
According to NRS 2070
a. Maximum superelevation to be provided is limited to:
• In plain and rolling terrain 7%
• In snow bound areas 7%
• In hilly areas not bound by snows 10%
b. Minimum value of superelevation should be equal to the rate of camber of the pavement.

Maximum superelevation value according to NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071 is as below:
In plain terrain, non-motorized vehicles travel with high centre of gravity, so the maximum
value of super elevation shall be limited to the 7% and 10 % for terai and hilly terrain
respectively. The designer should aim to provide flatter superelevation but it should not be less
than the camber.

2.5.2 Practical Considerations in Superelevation Design

While designing the various elements of road like superelevation, we design it for a particular
vehicle called design vehicle which has some standard weight and dimensions. But in the actual
case, the road has to cater mixed traffic. Different vehicles with different dimensions and
varying speeds ply on the road. For example, in the case of a heavily loaded truck with high
centre of gravity and low speed, superelevation should be less, otherwise chances of toppling
are more. Taking into practical considerations of all such situations, NRS 2070 has given some
guidelines about the maximum and minimum superelevation as mentioned earlier.

For fast moving vehicles, providing higher superelevation without considering coefficient of
friction is safe, i.e. centrifugal force is fully counteracted by the weight of the vehicle or
superelevation. For slow moving vehicles, providing lower superelevation considering
coefficient of friction is safe, i.e. centrifugal force is counteracted by superelevation and
coefficient of friction.

IRC suggests following design procedure:

Step: 1 Find e for 75 percent of design speed, neglecting coefficient of lateral friction f.
(0.75v)2
i. e. e1 =
gR

(0.75v)2
Step: 2 If e1 ≤ 0.07, then e = e1 = , else e1 > 0.07 go to step 3.
gR

Step: 3 Find f1 for the design speed and max e.

v2
i.e. f1= −e
gR
v2
= gR − 0.07.
If f1 ≤ 0.15, then the maximum e = 0.07 is safe for the design speed, else f > 0.15 and
go to step 4.

50
If the allowable speed, as calculated above is higher than the design speed, then the design is
adequate and provides a superelevation of ‘e’ equal to 0.07, if the allowable speed is less than
the design speed, the speed is limited to the allowable speed. Appropriate warning sign and
speed limit regulation sign are installed to restrict and regulate the speed at such curves when
the safe speed Va is less than V.
v2 V2
Where, e + f = 0.07 + 0.15 = gR = 127R
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑣 = √0.22𝑔𝑅 𝑖𝑛 m/s
‘or’ , 𝑣 = √(27.94𝑅) in kmph

2.5.3 Methods of Providing Superelevation (Attainment of super-elevation)

1. Elimination of the crown of the cambered section

a. Rotating the outer edge about the crown: The outer half of the cross-slope is rotated
about the crown at a desired rate such that this surface falls on the same plane as the
inner half.

b. Shifting the position of the crown: This method is also called diagonal crown method.
The crown is shifted slowly outwards thus increasing the width of the inner half of cross-
section progressively. The disadvantages are large negative superelevation on outer half
and drivers have the tendency to run the vehicle along the shifted curve.

51
2. Rotation of the pavement cross section to attain full super-elevation
a. Rotation about the center line: The pavement is
rotated such that the inner edge is depressed & the
outer edge is raised both by half the full amount of
super-elevation, i.e. E/2 with respect to the center.
The advantages are earthwork is balanced and
vertical profile of the center line remains
unchanged. The disadvantages are drainage
problem as inner edge shall be depressed in
position.

b. Rotation about the inner edge: The pavement is rotated raising the outer edge as well
as the center such that the outer edge is raised by
the full amount of super-elevation with respect to
the inner edge. In one hand there is no drainage
problem but, in another hand, additional
earthwork involved.

52
c. Rotation about the outer edge: The pavement is rotated depressing the inner edge as
well as the center such that the inner edge is depressed by the full amount of super-
elevation with respect to the outer edge.

53
2.6 Extra Widening
On horizontal curves of small radius, it is common to widen the pavement slightly more than
the normal width, this increased width of pavement is
called extrawidening. Extrawidening is required for
less than 300 m radius of horizontal curve. This
widening is done due to two reasons: the first and most
important is the additional width required for a vehicle
taking a horizontal curve and the second is due to
tendency of the drivers to ply away from the edge of
the carriageway as they drive on a curve. The first is
referred as the mechanical widening and the second is
called the psychological widening.

Following are the reasons of providing extra width of pavement at horizontal curves:
• Drivers have a tendency to keep away from the edge of carriageway, while driving on
curves.
• The clearance between the vehicles, crossing or passing each other over horizontal
curves is kept more than that on a straight road due to psychological effect.
• While negotiating a horizontal curve the front steering wheels are turned and thus more
space is occupied by the vehicles.
• While traveling on a horizontal curve, rear wheels do not trace the same path as front
steering wheels do. This is called off tracking. In this position more width of road is
occupied by the wheels.
• At more than designed speed if superelevation and lateral friction jointly cannot
counteract the centrifugal force fully, outward slipping of rear wheel may occur and
thus more width of road is covered. This condition may occur at very high speed.
• At beginning of the curves, drivers have a tendency to follow outer edge of the pavement
to have better visibility and large radius curved path.
• Trailer units required even larger extra width at curves.

The amount of extra width to be provided depends on the following factors:

• Length of wheel base of the vehicle l
• Radius of the curve negotiated R
• Psychological factor

Analysis of extra widening can be conducted by dividing it into two parts namely; mechanical
widening and psychological widening.

54
2.6.1 Mechanical Widening
When a vehicle negotiates a horizontal curve, the rear wheels follow a path of shorter radius
than the front wheels as shown in figure below. This phenomenon is called off tracking, and
has the effect of increasing the effective width of a road space required by the vehicle.
Therefore, to provide the
same clearance between
vehicles traveling in opposite
direction on curved roads as is
provided on straight sections,
there must be extra width of
carriageway available. This is
an important factor when high
proportions of vehicles are
using the road. Trailer trucks
also need extra carriageway,
depending on the type of joint.
In addition, speeds higher
than the design speed cause transverse skidding which requires additional width for safety
purpose.
The expression for extra width can be derived from the simple geometry of a vehicle at a
horizontal curve as shown in figure above. Let R1 is the radius of the outer track line of the rear
wheel, R2 is the radius of the outer track line of the front wheel l is the distance between the
front and rear wheel, n is the number of lanes, then the mechanical widening Wm (refer figure
above) is derived below:
We know that,
Wm = OC – OA = OB – OA = R2 - R1
From Δ OAB, OA2 = OB2 – BA2
R12 = R22 - l2
But, R1 = R2 - Wm
(R2 – Wm)2 = R22 - l2
i.e. R22 − 2R 2 Wm + Wm 2
= R22 - l2
2
l = Wm ( 2R 2 − Wm )
l2 l2
Wm = 2R = 2𝑅 (approximately)
2 −Wm
Here R is the mean radius of the curve. The mechanical widening calculated above is required
for one vehicle negotiating a horizontal curve along one traffic. For large radius of horizontal
curve R1 ≈ R 2 ≈ R and WM is very small in comparison of R then for n lane road
nl2
Mechanical widening (Wm ) =
2R
Where; n = no. of traffic lanes
l = length of wheel base = the value of l may normally be taken as 6.1 m or 6 m for
commercial vehicles, if not known
R = mean radius of curve

2.6.2 Psychological Widening

Widening of pavements has to be done for some psychological reasons also. There is a tendency
of the drivers to drive close to the edges of the pavement on curves. Some extra space is to be

55
provided for more clearance for the crossing and overtaking operations on curves. It is
important in pavements with more than one lane. It is required to provide greater
maneuverability of steering at higher speeds and to provide greater clearance for crossing on
the curve. IRC proposed an empirical relation for the psychological widening at horizontal
curves Wpsy:
V
Psychological widening (WPsy ) =
2.64√R
Therefore, the total widening needed at a horizontal curve We is:
(We ) = Wm + WPsy
nl2 V
= + 2.64√R , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑣 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐
2R

nl2 V
(We ) = Wm + WPsy = + (m), where V is in kmph
2R 9.5√R

According to NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071 only mechanical widening is required for single
lane low traffic volume road. The minimum recommended value of widening on single lane
road is tabulated as below:

Radius of Curve (m) Upto 20 m 21 to 60 m Above 60 m

Increase in width for 3 m
1.5 m 0.6 m Nil
carriageway
Increase in width for 3.75 m
0.9 m 0.6 m Nil
carriageway

The table below gives the widening values to be provided on curves as specified in Nepal Road
Standard 2070. The criteria on which the additional width have been calculated are for two-way
traffic, normal 2- axle trucks passing with standard clearance and semi-trailer trucks passing
with standard clearance and semi-trailer trucks passing with reduced clearance.

20 to 40 40 to 60 60 to 100
Radius of Curve (m) 20 m 100 to 300 m > 300
m m m
Single lane
0.9 0.6 0.6 Nil Nil Nil
road
Extra Double lane
1.5 1.5 1.2 0.9 0.6 Nil
width, road
m Multi lane
(n-lane 0.75n 0.75n 0.6n 0.45n 0.3n Nil
road)

2.6.3 Methods of introducing extra widening

• The widening is introduced gradually, starting from the beginning of the transition curve
or the tangent point (T.P.) and progressively increased at uniform rate, till the full value
of designed widening 'We' is reached at the end of transition curve where full values of
superelevation is also provided, as shown in Fig. a. The full value of extra width We is
continued throughout the length of the circular curve and then decreased gradually along
the length of transition curve.

56
• Usually the widening is equally distributed i.e., We/2 each on inner and outer sides of
the curve when (300 >R 60m).

• But on sharp curves (R-30 ⁓ 60m) of hill roads the extra widening We may be provided
in full on inside of the curves. Center line marking shall be placed halfway between the
edges of the widened carriageway.

• On mountainous roads (R= 20 ⁓ 30m) extra width should be provided fully on the outer
side.

• On horizontal circular curves without transition curves, two-thirds of the widening is

provided at the end of the straight section, i.e., before the start of the circular curve and
the remaining one-third widening is provided on the circular curve beyond the tangent
point as in the case of superelevation. In such cases, the widening is provided on the
inside of the curve. Refer Fig. b.

57
2.7 Transition Curves
Transition curve is provided to change the horizontal alignment from straight to circular curve
gradually and has a radius which decreases from infinity at the straight end (tangent point) to
the desired radius of the circular curve at the other end (curve point). This curve is also known
as easement curve.
The objectives of providing transition curve are given below:
• to introduce gradually the centrifugal force between the tangent point and the beginning
of the circular curve, avoiding sudden jerk on the vehicle. This increases the comfort of
passengers.
• to enable the driver, turn the steering gradually for his own comfort and security.
• to introduce gradually the designed
superelevation.
• to introduce gradually the designed extra
widening.
• to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the
road.
Development of centrifugal force at horizontal
curves causes discomfort to the passengers and
also makes it difficult to steer the vehicle safely
causing sudden jerk. Therefore, the ideal
(perfect) shape of transition curve should be
consistent with the travelled path where the rate
of introduction of centrifugal force or the rate of
change of centrifugal acceleration is consistent.

58
2.7.1 Types of Transition Curve
Different types of transition curves are
spiral or clothoid, cubic parabola, and
lemniscate. The use of spiral as the
transition curve in the horizontal alignment
of highway is due to following reasons:
• Rate of change of centrifugal
acceleration is consistent (smooth)
and
• Radius of the transition curve is ∞
at the straight edge and changes to
1
R at the curve point (Ls α 𝑟 ) and
calculation along with field implementation is very easy.

a) Spiral or Clothoid
Out of the three types of transition curve the use of the spiral curve in the horizontal alignment
of highways is commonly recommended because;
• Spiral curve satisfies the requirements of an ideal transition curve.
• Geometric property of spiral curve is such that the calculations and setting out the curve
in the field is simple and easy.
This is a curve at which radius of the curve is inversely proportional to its length. The equation
of spiral may be written as:
L × R = Ls × Rc = constant
Where, Ls = Length of transition curve
R = Radius of transition curve
Therefore, L = 𝑚√𝜃
Here, m is a constant equal to √2𝑅𝐿𝑠 and 𝜃 is the tangent deflection angle in radius.

b) Bernoulli’s Lemniscate
This is the curve at which radius is inversely proportional to the length of chord.
1
Therefore, 𝑅 =
𝐿𝑐
or, R × Lc = constant
⸫ Rc × Lc = constant
Where, Lc = Chord length

c) Cubic Parabola
This is a curve, the radius of which varies inversely as its abscissa X.
1
Therefore, 𝑅 =
𝑋
or, R × X = constant
⸫ Rc × X = constant

2.7.2 Determination of Length of Transition Curve

The length of transition curve is designed to fulfil three conditions, viz;

59
a) Rate of change of centrifugal acceleration to be developed gradually
At the tangent point the centrifugal acceleration (v2/R) is zero at the radius R is infinity. At the
end of the transition the radius R has the minimum value Rm. Hence the centrifugal acceleration
is distributed over a length Ls of the transition curve. The centrifugal acceleration should be
developed at such a low rate that it will not cause discomfort for the passengers of a vehicle
traveling at the design speed (v m/sec). It is evident that larger the length of transition, lower
will be the rate at which the centrifugal acceleration is introduced.

Let the length of transition curve be Ls meter. If 't' is the time taken in seconds to traverse this
transition length at uniform design speed of v m/sec, t = Ls/v. The maximum centrifugal
acceleration of v2/R is introduced in time 't' through the transition length Ls and hence the rate
of change of centrifugal acceleration 'C' is given by:
V2 V2 V3
𝐶= = l = (m/sec3)
R×t R× s R × lS
V
The maximum allowable value of the rate of change of centrifugal acceleration without
producing discomfort or undesirable oscillation, is dependent on the speed and varies inversely
with the radius. The IRC has recommended the following equation for finding the value of C
for the design speed V kmph:
80
C= m/sec3, [0.5 < C < 0.8]
(75+V)
i.e., the minimum and maximum values of ‘C’ are limited to 0.5 and 0.8 respectively. Once the
value of 'C' is decided based on the design speed as given above the length of transition curve
Ls can be calculated which may be rewritten as:
V3
Ls = , where v is in m/sec
C×R
If the design speed is V kmph;
V3 0.0215 × V3
Ls = =
46.5 × C ×R C×R

According to NRS 2070

V3
Ls =
46.5 × C × R

Here,
Ls = length of transition curve, m
C = allowable rate of change of centrifugal acceleration, m/sec3
radius of the circular curve, m.

b) Rate of introduction of superelevation

Raise (E) of the outer edge with respect to inner edge is given by ‘E’. The rate of change of this
raise from zero to value ‘E’ is achieved gradually with a gradient of 1 in N over the length of
the transition curve (typical range of N is 60-150). If the pavement is rotated about the inner
edge then the total lifting of outer edge with respect to inner edge is considered in calculating
the length of transition curve required. Let the rate of introduction of superelevation be 1 in N.
From triangle ABC

60
 E
tanɵ = =e
W
⸫E=e×W
From triangle BCD
E 1
tanα = =
Ls N
Ls
⸫E=
N
Therefore,
Ls
=e×W
N
Hence,
Ls = N × e × W
If extra widening of pavement is considered
Ls = N × e × (W + We)
When the pavement of the road surface is rotated about the center line, the equation for
calculating the transition curve length becomes
N × e × (W+We)
Ls =
2
Where, N = rate of introduction of superelevation
Its value is 1 in (120 – 150) – Plain Terrain
Its value is 1 in 100 – Built up area
Its value is 1 in 60 – Hilly area

c) By empirical formula
IRC suggests the minimum length of the transition curve depending upon the terrain
classification as below:
For a plain and rolling terrain:
2.7 × V2
Ls = , where V is in Kmph,
R
For steep and hilly terrain:
V2
Ls = , where V is in Kmph
R

Note: - Length of transition curve (Ls) for design should be highest of three values.

Design steps
• Find the length of transition curve based on allowable rate of change of the centrifugal
acceleration.
• Find the length of transition curve based on the rate of introduction of super elevation.

61
 • Check for the minimum required value from empirical formula and adopt the highest
value as the designed length of transition curve.

2.7.3 Calculation of Lateral shift

The transition curves are provided
on a both the ends of the circular
curve. After providing the transition
curve, the circular curve gets shifted
towards inner side and this shift (S)
of curve can be calculated by:
𝐿𝑠 2
S= , where R is the
24 R
radius of the circular curve
When the shift value (S) of
transition curve is less than 0.25 m
no transition curve need to be
provided. The length of transition
curve is required on a horizontal curve depends upon the following factors.
• Radius of circular curve, R
• Design speed, V
• Allowable rate of change of centrifugal acceleration C (which also depends on design
speed V).
• Maximum amount of super elevation E which depends on the maximum rate of super
elevation (e) and the total width of pavement (B) at the horizontal curve.
• Whether the pavement cross section is rotated about the inner edge or the center line,
after the elimination of the camber.
• Allowable rate of introduction of super elevation which depends on the terrain.

2.8 Sight Distances

Visibility is an important requirement for the safety
of travel on highways. For safety, it is necessary that
sight distance of adequate length should be available
to permit drivers enough time and distance to control
their vehicles. Thus, the geometric design of the road
should be done such that any obstruction on the road
length could be visible to the driver from some
distance ahead. This distance is said to be the sight
distance. This is necessary to reduce the possibilities
of accidents as the number of accidents was double
when visibility is less than 250 m as compared with
visibility greater than 750m. Sight distance is the
actual distance along the road surface which a driver
from a specified height above the carriageway can see
objects either moving or stationary on the road
surface ahead. Sight distance on tangent section or
downgrade is higher and lower over crest vertical

62
curves on sharp turns. But sight distance at every point should be as long as possible but never
less than the minimum stopping sight distance. Restrictions to sight distance may be due to
many causes which can be briefly summarized due to sharpness of horizontal curves.
• objects obstructing vision (building, trees, cut slope or due to inability of head light to
throw its beam along the curved alignment) at the inner side of the road curve.
• due to vertical summit curves.
• at road intersections.

63
The standards for sight distance should satisfy the following three conditions:
• Driver travelling at the design speed has sufficient sight distance or length of road
visible ahead to stop the vehicle (SSD), in case of any obstruction on the road ahead,
without collision.
• Driver traveling at the design speed should be able to safely overtake (OSD), at
reasonable intervals, the slower vehicles without causing obstruction or hazard to traffic
of opposite direction.
• Driver entering an uncontrolled intersection (particularly unsignalized intersection) has
sufficient visibility to enable him to take control of his vehicle and to avoid collision
with another vehicle.

Apart from the three situations mentioned above, the following sight distances are considered
by the IRC in highway design:
• Intermediate sight distance: This is defined as twice the stopping sight distance. When
overtaking sight distance cannot be provided, intermediate sight distance is provided to
give limited overtaking opportunities to fast vehicles.
• Head light sight distance: This is the distance visible to a driver during night driving
under the illumination of the vehicle head lights. This sight distance is critical at up-
gradients and at the ascending stretch of the valley curves.

2.8.1 Stopping Sight Distance (SSD)

Stopping sight distance (SSD) is the minimum sight distance available on a highway at any spot
having sufficient length to enable the driver to stop a vehicle traveling at design speed, safely
without collision with any other obstruction. Stopping sight distance is also known as non-
passing or non-overtaking sight distance. Stopping distance is one of the important measures in
traffic engineering. It is the distance a vehicle travels from the point at which a situation is first
perceived to the time the deceleration (slowing down) is complete. Drivers must have adequate
time if they are to suddenly respond to a situation. Thus, in highway design, sight distance at
least equal to the safe stopping distance should be provided. The sight distance available on a
road to a driver at any instant depends on:
• Feature of the road ahead.
• Height of the driver's eye above the road surface.
• Height of the object above the road surface.
The feature of the road ahead which affects the sight distance are horizontal alignment and
vertical profile of road; the traffic condition and the position of obstructions. At vertical summit
curves, the height of the driver's eye and the objects above road surface level are more important
factors affecting the visibility. NRS 2070 has suggested the height of eye level of driver as 1.2
m and height of object as 0.15 m above the road surface. Following are the factors which govern
the stopping sight distance:

a) Total Reaction time of the driver

Reaction time of a driver is the time taken from the instant the object is visible to the driver to
the instant when the brakes are applied. The stopping sight distance increases with increase in
reaction time of the driver. The total reaction time is splitted into (i) perception time (ii) brake

64
reaction time. The perception time
is the time required for the driver
to realize that brake must be
applied. The perception varies
from driver to driver and also
depends upon speed of the
vehicle, distance of object and
other environmental conditions.
The brake reaction time depends
on skill of the driver. It is the time that elapses between the moment the foot is removed from
the accelerator paddle and placed on the brake paddle and time to actuate brake action. The
total reaction time may be split up into four
components based on PIEV theory. In
practice, all these times are usually
combined into a total perception-reaction
time suitable for design as well as for easy
measurement. Many of the studies show
that drivers require about 1 .5 to 2 secs
under normal conditions. However, taking
into consideration the variability of driver
characteristics, a higher value is normally
used in design. The reaction time of 2.5
seconds is considered in the design of
stopping sight distance.

As per PIEV (perception, intellection,

emotion and volition) theory, reaction time
of driver can be further classified as:
• Perception (धारणा): is the time
required for the sensations received
by the eyes or ears to be transmitted to the brain through the nervous system and spinal
cord. In other words, it is the time required to perceive an object or situation.
• Intellection (बुद्दिमत्ता): an interpretation/identification of the stimulus or it is the time
required for understanding the situation.
• Emotion (भावना): is the time elapsed during emotional sensations and disturbance such
as fear, anger or any other emotional feelings such as superstition etc. with reference to
the situation. Therefore, the emotion time of a driver is likely to vary considerably
depending upon the problems involved.
• Volition (time taken for the final action): the physical response resulting from the
decision or the time taken for the final decision.
Consider a driver approaching a STOP sign:
• The driver first sees the sign (perception)
• Then recognizes it as a STOP sign (intellection)
• Then decides to STOP (emotion)
• Finally puts his or her foot on the brake (Volition)

65
b) Speed or the vehicle
The speed of the vehicle very much affects sight distance. Higher the speed more will be the
distance required to stop the vehicle. Hence it is an evident that, as the speed increases, sight
distance also increases.
c) Efficiency of brakes
The efficiency of the brakes depends upon the age of the vehicle, vehicle characteristics etc. If
the brake efficiency is 100%, the vehicle will stop at the moment the brakes are applied. But
practically, it is not possible to achieve 100%. brake efficiency. Therefore, the sight distance
required will be more when the efficiency of brakes is less.

d) Frictional resistance between tyre and the road

The frictional resistance between tyre and road plays an important role to bring the vehicle to
stop. When the frictional resistance is more, the vehicles stop immediately. Thus, sight distance
required will be less. No separate provision for brake efficiency is provided while computing
the sight distance. This is taken into account along with the factor of longitudinal friction. NRS
2070 has specified the value of longitudinal friction in between 0.34 to 0.4.

e) Gradient of the road

Gradient of the road also affects the sight distance. While climbing up a gradient, the vehicle
can stop immediately. Therefore, sight distance required is less. While descending a gradient,
gravity also comes into action and more time will be required to stop the vehicle. Sight distance
required will be more in this case.

Analysis of stopping sight distance

The stopping sight distance of a vehicle is the sum of:
• The distance travelled by the vehicle during the total reaction time known as lag
distance.
• The distance travelled by the vehicle after the application of the brakes to a dead stop
position which is known as braking distance.

Lag distance: If v is the design speed in m/sec and t is the total reaction time of the driver in
secs, then the lag distance will be vt meters.
If the design speed is V kmph, then the lag distance
1000
= V× × t = 0.278Vt meters. The total reaction time is considered 2.5 secs for the
3600
calculation of stopping sight distance.

Braking distance: The coefficient of friction f depends on type and condition of the pavement
surface and tyres. Value of coefficient of friction f decreases with increase in speed. The braking
distance may be obtained by equating the work done in stopping the vehicle and the kinetic
energy.
If F is the maximum frictional force developed and the braking distance is l, then work done
against friction force in stopping the vehicle is F × l = f × W × l, where, W is the total weight
of the vehicle.
The kinetic energy at the design speed of v m/sec;

66
 1 1 𝑊 𝑊v2
= × mv 2 = × × v2 =
2 2 g 2g
Equating work done and change in kinetic energy
𝑊v2
f×W ×𝑙 = 2g
v2
or, 𝑙=
2gf
Therefore, the SSD = lag distance + braking distance and given by:
v2
SSD, m = vt +
2gf
Where v is the design speed in m/sec, t is the reaction time in sec, g is the acceleration due to
gravity = 9.8 m/sec2 and f is the coefficient of friction.
If speed is V kmph, stopping distance
V2
SSD, m = [0.278 Vt + ]
254 f
The coefficient of friction f is given below for various design speed.
Speed, kmph 20 30 40 60 80 100 120
Coefficient of friction, f 0.40 0.39 0.39 0.38 0.36 0.35 0.34

According to IRC
Speed, kmph 20 to 30 40 50 60 65 80 100
Coefficient of friction, f 0.40 0.38 0.37 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.35

When there is an ascending gradient of say +n%, the component of gravity adds to braking
action and hence braking distance is decreased.
V2
SSD = vt + , where v is in m/sec, n = gradient and η = brake efficiency
2g(f±n%)η
𝑉2
SSD = 0.278 × V × t + 254(f±n%)η , where V is in kmph, n = gradient and η = brake efficiency
But practically, the sight distance provided on the road should satisfy the following rules:
• S.S.D. = S.D. (one way or two-way movements in same number of lanes).
• S.S.D. = 2 x S.D. (for two-way traffic movements in a single lane).

67
As per Nepal Road standard 2070 the minimum stopping sight distance shall be as follows:
Speed, kmph 20 30 40 60 80 100 120
Stopping distance, m 20 30 50 80 130 190 260

According to NRRS 2055, 2nd revision 2071, total reaction time of drivers depends on a
variety of factors and a value of
2.5 seconds and coefficient of
longitudinal friction varying
from 0.40 for 20 km/hr. to 0.35
for 100 km/hr. is used for
design purpose. This has
resulted the calculated safe
stopping distance as tabulated.

As per IRC stopping sight distance values for different speeds:

Speed, kmph 20 25 30 40 50 60 65 80 100
Stopping distance, m 20 25 30 45 60 80 90 120 180

2.8.2 Intermediate Sight Distance (ISD)

A distance equivalent to twice the stopping sight distance, a distance where overtaking could
be attempted with reasonable safety is called ISD. It is experienced that intermediate sight
distance permits reasonably safe overtaking. Single lane roads should be designed for
intermediate sight distance standard because opposing vehicles occupy the same lane. In
mountainous and steep terrain, it might be difficult to design the horizontal alignment with
intermediate sight distance values.

2.8.3 Overtaking Sight Distance (OSD)

The overtaking sight distance is the minimum distance open to the vision of the driver of a
vehicle intending to overtake the slow vehicle ahead safely against the traffic in the opposite
direction. In another language, the minimum distance required for overtaking another vehicle
safely and comfortably without interfering the speed of an oncoming vehicle travelling at the
design speed is called overtaking sight distance (OSD). The minimum OSD depends upon:
• Velocity of the overtaking vehicle.
• Velocity of overtaken vehicle.
• Velocity of the vehicle coming from the opposite direction.
• Spacing between overtaking and overtaken vehicles.
• Skill and reaction time of the driver.
• Rate of acceleration of overtaking vehicle.
• Gradient of the road, if any
There are various overtaking maneuver models but the values obtained from actual observations
and obtained from mathematical models are found to be not very reliable. One such model has
following simplifying assumptions
• slow vehicle travels at uniform speed.
• fast vehicle reduces its speed and follows the slow vehicle as it prepares for overtaking.

68
 • drivers require short time (2 secs in average) to perceive the situation, react and start
acceleration.
• overtaking is accomplished under a delayed start and early return and travel during
actual overtaking operation is a uniformly accelerated travel.

Analysis of OSD

The dynamics of the overtaking operation is given in the figure above which is a time-space
diagram. The x-axis denotes the time and y-axis shows the distance traveled by the vehicles.
The trajectory of the slow-moving vehicle (B) is shown as a straight line which indicates that it
is traveling at a constant speed. A fast-moving vehicle (A) is traveling behind the vehicle B.
The trajectory of the vehicle is shown initially with a steeper slope. The vehicle A slows down
to follow the vehicle B as shown in the figure with same slope from t0 to t1. Then it overtakes
the vehicle B and occupies the left lane at time t3. The time duration T = t3 – t1 is the actual
duration of the overtaking operation. The snapshots of the road at time t0, t1 and t3 are shown
on the left side of the figure. From the figure, the overtaking sight distance consists of three
parts.
• d1 is the distance traveled by overtaking vehicle A during the reaction time t sec of the
driver from position A1 to A2, i.e. t = t1 – t0
• d2 is the distance traveled by the vehicle A from A2 to A3 during the actual overtaking
operation, in time T sec, i.e. T = t3 – t1

69
 • d3 is the distance traveled by on-coming vehicle C from C1 to C2 during the overtaking
operation of A, i.e. T secs.

Figure below shows the overtaking manoeuvre of vehicle A traveling at design speed, and
another slow vehicle B on a two-lane road with two-way traffic. Third vehicle C comes from
the opposite direction. The overtaking manoeuvre may be split up into three operations, thus
dividing the overtaking sight distance into three parts, d1, d2 and d3.

Certain assumptions are made in order to calculate the values of d1, d2 and d3. In Fig. below, A
is the overtaking vehicle originally traveling at design speed v m/sec, or V kmph; B is the
overtaken or slow-moving vehicle moving with uniform speed vb m/sec or Vb kmph; C is a
vehicle coming from opposite direction at the design speed v m/sec or V kmph. In a two-lane
road the opportunity to overtake depends on the frequency of vehicles from the direction and
the overtaking sight distance available at any instant.
Therefore:
OSD = d1 + d2 + d3

(i) It is assumed that the vehicle A is forced to reduce its speed to the speed vb, the speed of the
slow-moving vehicle B and moves behind it allowing a space s, till there is an opportunity for
safe overtaking operation. The distance travelled by the vehicle A during this reaction time is
d1 and is between the positions A1 and A2. This distance will be equal to (vb x t meter) where 't'
is the reaction time of the driver in second. This reaction time 't' of the driver may be taken as
two seconds as an average value, as the aim of the driver is only to find an opportunity to
overtake. Thus, travels behind it during the reaction time t of the driver. So, d1 is given by:
d1 = vb t
(ii) From the position A2, the vehicle A starts to accelerate, shifts to the adjoining lane, overtakes
the vehicle B, and shifts back to its original lane ahead of B in position A3 in time T sec. The
straight distance between position A2 and A3 is taken as d2. The minimum distance between
position A2 and B1 may be taken as the minimum spacing 's' of the two vehicles while moving
with the speed vb m/sec. The minimum spacing between vehicles depends on their speed and is
given by empirical formula:
s = (0.7 vb + 6)
The minimum distance between B2 and A3 may also be assumed equal to s as mentioned above.
If the time taken by vehicle A for the overtaking operation from position A2 to A3 is T second,
the distance covered by the slow vehicle B traveling at a speed of vb m/sec. = b = (vb T), m.

70
Thus, the distance d2 = (b + 2s), m
Now the time T (duration of actual overtaking) depends on speed of overtaken vehicle B and
the acceleration of overtaking vehicle A. This time T may be calculated by equating the distance
1
d2 to (vb T + 2 𝑎𝑇 2), using the general formula for the distance travelled by a uniformly
accelerating body with initial speed vb m/sec and 'a' is the acceleration in m/sec2.
1
d2 = (b + 2s) = ut + 2 at 2
1
or, b + 2s = vb T + 2 aT 2
1
or, vb T + 2s = vb T + 2 aT 2
1
or, 2s = aT 2
2
4s
Therefore, T = √ a sec, where s = (0.7 vb + 6)
Hence, d2 = (vb T + 2s), m

(iii) The distance travelled by vehicle C moving at design speed v m/sec during the overtaking
operation of vehicle A i.e. during time T is the distance d2 between positions C1 to C2.
Hence, d3 = v x T
Thus, the overtaking sight distance
OSD = (d1 + d2 + d3 ) = (𝑣b t + 𝑣b T + 2s + vT)
In kmph units, equations
OSD = 0.278 Vb t + 0.278 Vb T + 2s + 0.278 V T
Here Vb = speed of overtaking vehicle, kmph
t = reaction time of the driver in sec
V = speed of overtaking vehicle or design speed, kmph
4 x 3.6 s 14.4 s
T =√ =√
A A
s = spacing of vehicles = (0.7 Vb + 6) in m/sec and
= (0.2 Vb + 6) in kmph
A = acceleration, kmph/sec

In case the speed of overtaken vehicle Vb is not given, it can be assumed that it moves 16 kmph
slower than design speed i.e. (V-16, in kmph), where here V is the design speed in kmph. The
acceleration values of the fast vehicle depend on its speed and given in table below.

Note that:
• At overtaking sections, the minimum overtaking distance should be (d1+d2 + d3) when
two-way traffic exists.

71
 • On divide highways and on roads with one-way traffic regulation, the overtaking
distance need be only (d1+d2) as no vehicle is expected from the opposite direction.
• On divided highways with four or more lanes, IRC/NRS 2070 suggests that it is not
necessary to provide the usual OSD.

Overtaking Zones
Overtaking zones are provided when OSD cannot be provided throughout the length of the
highway. These are zones dedicated for overtaking operation, marked with wide roads. The
desirable length of overtaking zones is 5 times OSD and the minimum is three times OSD.

• In stretches of roads where sufficient overtaking sight distance cannot be provided or

on single lane roads where overtaking or crossing opportunity is not available,
overtaking or passing zones shall be provided.
• The width of the overtaking zone shall be the same as that of a minimum for two lane
road.
• Length of the overtaking zone shall be at least 3 times the overtaking distance on two
and more lane roads.
• On single lane roads length of passing zones shall be at least 2 times the overtaking sight
distance.
• On single lane roads overtaking/passing lanes should be provided at not more than 1km
interval.
• The start and end of overtaking zone shall be well informed by placing appropriate signs
at least at the distance of OSD before start and end of the zone.

2.8.4 Sight Distance at Intersections

At intersections where two or more roads meet, visibility should be provided for the drivers
approaching the intersection
from either side. They should be
able to perceive a hazard and stop
the vehicle if required. Stopping
sight distance for each road can
be computed from the design
speed. The sight distance should
be provided such that the drivers
on either side should be able to
see each other. This is illustrated
in the figure. Design of sight
distance at intersections may be
used on three possible
conditions: Enabling
approaching vehicle to change
the speed. Enabling approaching
vehicle to Stop. Enabling stopped
vehicle to cross a main road.

72
2.9 Setback Distance on Horizontal Curves
In the design of horizontal alignment, the sight distance
along the inner side of the curves should be considered.
Where there is sight obstruction like buildings, cut slopes,
or tree on the inner side of the curves, either the obstruction
should be removed or the alignment should be changed in
order to provide adequate sight distance. It may sometimes
be possible to make some adjustments in the normal
highway cross section to make up small deficiencies in sight
distance. If it is not possible to provide the adequate sight
distance on curves on existing roads, regulatory and cautionary signs should be installed to
control the traffic suitably. In case of new highways for the design speed and distance
requirements, the actual condition in the alignment should be checked and necessary
adjustments be made in a manner most fitting to provide adequate sight distance. Specific study
is usually necessary for each site condition.

Setback distance or the clearance distance is the distance required from the centerline of a
horizontal curve to an obstruction on the inner side of the curve to provide adequate sight
distance at a horizontal curve. The setback distance depends on:
• Sight distance (SSD, ISD and OSD),
• Radius of the curve R
• Length of the curve which may be greater or less than S (SD).

Let C be the obstruction to vision on the inner side of a horizontal highway curve of radius R,
ABC the line of sight and arc AB be the sight distance S.

a) Lc > S
Let the length of curve Lc
be greater than the sight
distance S. The angle
subtended by the arc
length S at the centre be
α. On narrow roads such
as single lane roads, the
sight distance is
measured long the centre
line of the road and the
angle subtended at centre, α is equal to S/R radians
𝑆
i.e. α = 𝑅
α S 180 S
Therefore, half center angle is given by ( 2 ) = radians = degrees
2𝑅 2π𝑅

α
The distance from the obstruction to the centre = OC = R cos ( 2 )
Therefore, the set-back distance, m (CD) required from the centre line is given by
m = OD - OC

73
 α
m = R - R cos( 2 )
For multi lane roads, if d is the distance between centerline of the road and the centerline of the
inside lane in meter, the sight distance is measured along the middle of the inner side lane and
the setback distance m’ is given by:
α′
m' = R – (R - d) cos( )
2
α′ 180 S
( ) = 2π(𝑅−𝑑) degrees
2

b) Lc < S
If the sight distance required is greater than the
length of curve Lc, then the angle α at the centre
is determined with reference to the length of
circular curve, Lc the set-back distance is
worked out in two parts as given below.
Set-back distance,
m’ = CF
= CG + GF
α′ S−Lc α′
= [R – (R - d) cos( )] + [( ) sin( )]
2 2 2
α′ 180
For multilane road ( ) = 2π(𝑅−𝑑) degrees
2

2.10 Design of Vertical Alignment

The vertical alignment is the elevation or
profile of the centre of the road. The vertical alignment consists of grades and vertical curves,
and it influences the vehicle speed, acceleration, stopping distance, sight distance and comfort
in vehicle movements at high speeds etc.

2.10.1 Gradient and its Types

Gradient is the rate of rise or fall along the length of the road with respect to the horizontal. It
is expressed as a ratio of 1 vertical unit to n horizontal units. For small angle, it is general
represented as n%.

Factor affecting gradient

• Topography of the country
• Characteristics of vehicle - Less gradient for high loaded vehicle
• Design Speed
• Physical factors such as drainage, access to property, appearance, safety
• Road, railway intersections, approaches to bridge

74
Types of Gradient (RuLEM)
a) Ruling gradient
The slope of the road which is adopted in
road design and calculations of cuts and
fills, is called “Ruling gradient”. It is also
known as design gradients. This gradient
is decided in such a way that slow moving
and fast moving, both types of traffic can
easily negotiate over this slope. In another
words, it is the maximum gradient within
which the designer attempts to design the
vertical profile of a road. It is adopted as a
normal course in design and accordingly
the quantities of cut and fill are balanced.
Vehicles can overcome long stretches of
the road with this gradient with an economical consumption of fuel.

b) Limiting Gradients
These types of gradients are
usually steeper than ruling
gradients. Where topography of a
place compels (requires) adopting
steeper gradients than ruling
gradients, limiting gradients are
used in view of enormous increase
in cost in constructing roads with
gentle gradients.

c) Exceptional Gradients
In some extra ordinary situation, it
may be unavoidable to provide
still steeper gradients at least for
short stretches and in such cases
the steeper gradient upto
exceptional gradients may be
provided. It is limited not
exceeding about 100m at a stretch.
The maximum length of an
exceptional gradient should not exceed 60 m in one-kilometer road length. This type of gradient
is provided only in exceptional cases like on approaches to cause ways, near hair pin bends. At
hairpin bends, the gradient is restricted to 2.5%.

As per NRS 2070 the recommendations for maximum gradients are as:
• Vehicle operation cost is directly related with the longitudinal gradients, and so it is
recommended to adopt their values as small as possible.

75
 • Right from the early stage of alignment fixing, it should be born in mind that it becomes
very difficult to flatten the gradient at later stage.
• Maximum gradient depends on the dynamic characteristics of commercial trucks,
design speed and maximum allowable reduction in speed during climbing up the
gradient.
• Considering these factors (weight to power ratio of trucks - 120kg/kW, with a maximum
reduction of speed by 25 kmph below the design speed) maximum gradients for various
design speeds shall be as follows:

d) Minimum gradient
This is important only at locations where surface drainage is important. Camber will take care
of the lateral drainage. But the longitudinal drainage along the side drains requires some slope
for smooth flow of water. It would depend on rainfall, run off, type of soil topography and other
site conditions. Generally, 0.5% to 1% provided for drainage. A minimum of 1 in 500 may be
sufficient for concrete drain and 1 in 200 for open soil drains are found to give satisfactory
performance. As per NRS 2070 minimum longitudinal gradients for longitudinal drainage
purpose is 0.5%.

2.10.2 Curve Resistance and Grade Compensation

While a vehicle is negotiating a horizontal curve, and there is a gradient also, then there will be
increased resistance to traction due to both curve and the gradient. In
such cases, the total resistance should not exceed the resistance due to
gradient specified. For the design, in some cases this maximum value
is limited to the ruling gradient and in some cases as limiting gradient.
So, if a curve needs to be introduced in a portion which has got the
maximum permissible gradient, then some compensation should be
provided so as to decrease the gradient for overcoming the tractive loss
due to curve. Thus, grade compensation can be defined as the reduction
in gradient at the horizontal curve because of the additional tractive
force required due to curve resistance (T-T cosα), which is intended to
offset the extra tractive force involved at the curve. Loss of tractive
effort (an effort required for the vehicle to overcome the traffic

76
resistance and is the sum of Rolling Resistance, Air Resistance, Grade Resistance & Inertia
Resistance) is due to various reasons like:
• Increased rolling resistance.
• Increased grade resistance.
• Increased air resistance.
The automobiles are steered by turning the front wheels but the rear wheels do not turn. When
a vehicle driven by rear wheels moves on a horizontal curve, the direction of rotation of rear
and front wheels are different and so there exist some loss in the tractive force. In the figure, A
and B are the rear driving wheels which gives a tractive force T in direction PQ. The front
wheels C and D are turned as to steer the vehicle along a horizontal curve, the tangential
direction of which is RS. The tractive force available in this direction is equal to T cosα which
is lesser than actual tractive force. When the turning radius is sharp, the turning angle will be
high and value of T cosα would decrease.
Thus, the loss of tractive force due to turning angle of a vehicle on horizontal curve is termed
as curve resistance which will be equal to (T-T cosα) and depends upon the turning angle α.

According to Nepal Road Standard 2070 grade compensation at horizontal curve:

• Maximum value of longitudinal gradient shall be eased by 0.5% for each rise of 500 m
above.
• Due to loss of tractive efforts of the vehicle on curves it is recommended to ease the
30+R
gradient by amount calculated as grade compensation (%) = R Subject to maximum
75
of R where R is radius in m.
• It is not necessary to compensate grade below 4%.

2.10.3 Vertical Curve

Due to changes in grade in the vertical alignment of highway, it is necessary to introduce
vertical curve at the intersections of different grades to smoothen out the vertical profile and
thus ease off the changes in gradients for the fast-moving vehicles. The vertical curves used in
highway may be classified into two categories:
• Summit curves or crest curves with convexity upwards.
• Valley or sag curves with concavity upwards.

2.10.3.1 Summit curves

Summit curves with convexity upwards are formed in any one of the cases illustrated in figure
below. The deviation angle between the two
interacting gradients is equal to the algebraic
difference between them. They are formed
when two gradients meet as illustrated in
figure below in any of the following four
ways:
• When an ascending gradient meets
another ascending gradient.
• When an ascending gradient meets a
level gradient.

77
 • When an ascending gradient meets a descending gradient.
• When a descending gradient meets another descending gradient.

Of all the cases, the deviation angle will be maximum when an ascending gradient meets with
a descending gradient i.e., N = n1 - (-n2) = n1 + n2.

When a fast-moving vehicle travels along a summit curve, the centrifugal force will act
upwards, against gravity and hence a part of the pressure on the tyres and spring of vehicle
suspensions is relieved (comforted). So, there is no problem of discomfort to passengers on
summit curves, particularly because the deviation angles on roads are quite small and if the
summit curve is designed to have adequate sight distance, the length of the curve would be long
enough to ease the shock due to change in gradients. The only problem in designing summit
curves is to provide adequate sight distances. The stopping sight distance or the absolute
minimum sight distance should invariably be provided at all sections of the road system and so
also on summit curves. As far as possible safe overtaking sight distance or at least intermediate
sight distance, equal to twice the stopping sight distance should also be available on these curves
for important highways, except when restrictions to overtaking have been strictly imposed at
the sections concerned.

Length of Summit Curve

Generally, the parabolic summit curves are adopted, the equation which is given by:
N
y = ax 2 , with value of a = 2L
where, N = Deviation angle and
L = Length of curve
While designing the length of the parabolic summit curves, it is necessary to consider the
stopping sight distance (SSD) and overtaking sight distance (OSD) separately. As mentioned
earlier, it is essential to provide sight distance at least equal to the stopping distance at all points
on a highway so as to avoid accidents due to inadequate sight distance.

1) Length of summit curve for stopping sight distance (SSD)

Two cases are to be considered in deciding the length

(i) When the length of the curve is greater than the sight distance (L > SSD)
The general equation for length L of the parabolic curve is given by: y = ax 2 ,
h
Similarly, h1 = aS12 ⇨ S1 = √ a1 ,
h
and h2 = aS22 ⇨ S2 = √ 2 ,
a
1 2
∴ S 2 = (S1 + S2 )2 = a (√h1 + √h2 ) ,
2 𝐍
or, aS 2 = (√h1 + √h2 ) , (where a = 𝟐𝐋 )
N 2
Now, 2L S 2 = (√h1 + √h2 )
𝐍𝐒𝟐
∴𝐋= 𝟐 … … . . (𝒊)
(√𝟐𝐇+√𝟐𝐡)

78
Here, L = length of summit curve, m
S = stopping sight distance, (SSD), m
N = deviation angle, equal to algebraic difference in grades, radians or tangent
of the deviation angle.
H = height of eye level of driver above roadway surface, m
h = height of subject above the pavement surface, m
Since, by IRC; H = 1.2 m and, h = 0.15 m
Substituting these values in above equation the length of summit curve is obtained as:
NS2
L= ……(ii)
4.4
(ii) When the length of the curve is less than the sight distance (L < SSD)
The general equation for the length of the parabolic summit curve, when it is less than the sight
distance is given by:
𝟐
(√𝟐𝐇 + √𝟐𝐡)
∴ 𝐋 = 𝟐𝐒 − … … . . (𝒊𝒊𝒊)
𝐍
Here the description for L, S, N, H and h are the
same as in above equation. By substituting the
values of H = 1.2 and h = 0.15 m the length of the
curve is obtained as:
𝟒.𝟒
𝐋 = 𝟐𝐒 − 𝐍 …….(iv)
The minimum radius of the parabolic summit curve
may be calculated from the relation,
𝐋
𝐑=𝐍

2) Length of summit curve for safe overtaking sight distance (OSD) or Intermediate Sight
Distance (ISD)
Two cases are to be considered in deciding the length

(i) When the length of curve is greater than the overtaking or Intermediate sight distance
(L > S)
The same general of above is applicable in this case also. But in this case, the values of H and
'h' both are taken equal to 1.2 m. Substituting h = H in the equation (i)
NS2 NS2
i.e. L = 2 and simplifying we get, L =
(√2H+√2h) 8H
As discussed, the height of the eye level of the driver as well as the height of the approaching
object are taken as 1.2 m. Substituting the value of H, the height of eye level of driver above
NS2 𝐍𝐒 𝟐
the pavement surface equal to 1 .2 m. 𝐋 = =
8∗1.2 𝟗.𝟔

Here, L = the length of parabolic summit curve,

N = deviation angle, radians or tangent of the deviation angle,
S = over-taking or intermediate sight distance, (OSD/ISD)

79
(ii) When the length of the Curve is less than the overtaking or Intermediate sight distance
(L < S)
The same general equation (iii) may be used.

2
(√2H+√2h)
i.e. L = 2S − N

By substituting H = h in above equation and simplifying, when L is less than OSD/ISD, we get
8H
L = 2S − ,
N

Here again substituting the value of H as 1 .2 m, the equation reduces to:

𝟗. 𝟔
𝐋 = 𝟐𝐒 − ,
𝐍

Here, L = the length of parabolic summit curve,

N = deviation angle, radians or tangent of the deviation angle,
S = over-taking or intermediate sight distance, (OSD/ISD)
By using any of the two conditions the required length of the summit curve is then calculated.
The minimum radius of the curve R is calculated from the relation
𝐋
𝐑=𝐍
2.10.3.2 Valley curves
Valley curve or sag curves are vertical curves with convexity downwards. They are formed
when two gradients meet as illustrated in figure below in any of the following four ways:

• when a descending gradient meets

another descending gradient.
• when a descending gradient meets a
level gradient.
• when a descending gradient meets
an ascending gradient.
• when an ascending gradient meets
another ascending gradient.

Valley curves are generally made cubic

parabola. There is no restriction to sight
distance at valley curves during day time. But visibility is reduced during night. In the absence
of inadequacy of street light, the only source for visibility is with the help of headlights. Hence
valley curves are designed taking into account of headlight distance. Thus, the headlight sight
distance should be at least equal to the stopping sight distance. There is no problem of
overtaking sight distance at valley curves during nights as other vehicles with headlights can be
seen from a considerable distance. In valley curves, the centrifugal force will be acting
downwards along with the weight of the vehicle and hence impact to the vehicle will be more.
This will result in jerking of the vehicle and cause discomfort to the passengers.

80
Length of Valley Curve
The length of valley transition curve is designed based on the two criteria: (i) allowable rate of
change of centrifugal acceleration of 0.6 m/sec3 and (ii) the head light sight distance, and the
higher of the two values is adopted. Usually the second criterion of head light sight distance is
higher and therefore governs the design. The valley curve is made fully transitional by
providing two similar transition curves of equal length (without a circular curve in between).
Refer the figure given below, where ABC is the valley curve of total length L and AB and BC
are two equal transition curves each of length Ls = L/2,
having the minimum radius R at the common point B.

1) (Comfort Condition) The length of transition curve

Ls, comfort condition is given by equation
𝑣3
Ls =
CR

For a cubic parabola, value of R for length Ls is given by:

Ls
R=
N
𝑣3 𝑣 3× 𝑁
Therefore, Ls = =
CR C × Ls
𝑁 × 𝑣3
or, Ls 2 =
C
N × 𝑣3
or, Ls = √
C

where N is the deviation angle, v is speed in m/sec and C is the allowable rate of change of
centrifugal acceleration which may be taken as 0.6m/sec 3 .
v
V kmph = m/sec,
3.6
𝑁 × 𝑉3
or, Ls 2 = = 0.035 × N × 𝑉 3
0.6 × 3.63

or, Ls = √0.035 × N × 𝑉 3 = 0.187 × (𝑁 × 𝑉 3 )1/2 = 0.19 × (𝑁 × 𝑉 3 )1/2

or, 2 × Ls = 2 × [ 0.19 × (𝑁 × 𝑉 3 )1/2]
or, L = 0.38 × (𝑁 × 𝑉 3 )1/2

where, L = total length of valley curve,

N = deviation angle in radius or tangent of the deviation angle or the algebraic
difference in grades.
V = design speed, kmph

The minimum radius (R meter) of the valley curve for cubic parabola is given by:
Ls L L
R= = (where, Ls = )
N 2N 2

81
2) (Safety Criteria) The length of valley curve for head light sight distance may be
determined for the two conditions:

(i) when the total length of valley curve L is greater than the stopping sight distance, i.e.
(L>SSD)
The length of valley curve L (ABF) is assumed to be greater than the head light sight distance
(S) which should be at least equal to SSD, as shown in figure. Let the height of the head light
be h1 (EB) and the focused portion of the beam of light be inclined at an angle α upwards. The
sight distance available will be minimum when the vehicle is at the lowest point (B) on the sag
curve. This is because the beginning of the curve (point A) will have infinite radius and the
bottom of the curve (point B) will have minimum radius which is a property of the transition
curve. The case is shown in figure. If the valley
curve is assumed to be of parabolic shape, with
equation y = ax2, where a = N/2L.
N
or, h + Stanα = ( )S 2
2L
NS2 NS2
or, L = =
2h+2Stanα 2×0.75 +2 ×𝑆 ×tan 1

Let N = deviation angle = (n1+ n2), with slopes - n1 and + n2 similarly, height of the headlight
beam from road surface h = 0.75m, head beam dispersion angle in vertical plane in degree α =
10 and S is equal to SSD is the sight distance required.
NS2 𝐍𝐒 𝟐
Then, L = =
2×0.75 +2 ×𝑆 ×tan 1 𝟏.𝟓+𝟎.𝟎𝟑𝟓𝐒

(ii) when the total length of valley curve L is less than the stopping sight distance, i.e.
(L<SSD)
In this case the minimum sight distance is from the
beginning of the curve (A). The important points are
the beginning of the curve and the bottom most part
of the curve. If the vehicle is at the bottom of the
curve, then its headlight beam will reach far beyond
the endpoint of the curve whereas, if the vehicle is
at the beginning of the curve, then the headlight
beam will hit just outside the curve. Therefore, the
length of the curve is derived by assuming the
vehicle at the beginning of the curve.
From the figure,
h+Stanα
N= L
(S−2)
L
or, h + Stanα = (S − 2) N

2h+2Stanα 𝟏.𝟓+𝟎.𝟎𝟑𝟓𝐒
∴ L = 2S − = 𝟐𝐒 −
N 𝐍
Let deviation angle N, height of headlight beam from road surface h = 0.75m, head beam
dispersion angle in vertical plane in degree α = 10 and sight distance S.

82
Elements of Vertical Curve
RN L
• Tangent Length(T) = 2 = 2
• Length of the Curve(L) = 2T
T2
• Apex Distance = 2R

2.10.3.3 Lowest and Highest Point of Vertical Curve

• highest point on summit curve and lowest point on valley curve
• lowest/highest point lies in flatter slope

i.e. if n1 % > n2 %, here n2 % is flatter it means highest point lies on n2 % side, if not it lies on
n1 % side.

Distance of the highest point of curve from BVC (Beginning point of Vertical Curve) i.e.
point A and EVC (End point of Vertical Curve) i.e. point B are given
L1 = n1 × (L/N) and
L2 = n2 × (L/N)

R.L. of the corresponding point on tangent line of Summit Curve

From BVC = R.L. of BVC + n1 % × L1 and
From EVC = R.L. of EVC + n2 % × L2

R.L. of the corresponding point on tangent line of Valley Curve

From BVC = R.L. of BVC - n1 % × L1 and
From EVC = R.L. of EVC - n2 % × L2

L2
y = 2R where, L = L1 or L2

For Summit Curve, R.L. of highest point on curve = R.L. of the corresponding point on tangent
line - y

For Valley Curve, R.L. of highest point on curve = R.L. of the corresponding point on tangent
line + y

83
 Unit 3 (2 Hrs)

HIGHWAY DRAINAGE

3.1 Introduction and Importance

Highway drainage is the collection and disposal of water from road surface, road underneath
and vicinity of road. Collection and disposal of water from road surface and adjoining land is
termed as surface drainage. Collection and disposal of excess soil-water from the sub grade is
termed as sub-surface drainage. Some water, which cannot be drained off by normal
gravitational methods is termed as held water.

Importance of Highway Drainage

• Increase in moisture content causes decrease in strength and stability of many pavement
materials like stabilized soil and WBM (water bound macadam).
• Variation in volume of sub grade clayey soils due to variation of moisture content.
• Pavement failure by the formation of waves and corrugations in flexible pavements is
due to poor drainage.
• Sustained contact of water with bituminous pavement causes failures due to stripping
of bitumen from aggregates and formation of pot holes.
• Mud pumping in rigid pavement is due to presence of water in fine sub grade soil.
• Excess moisture causes increase in weight and thus increase in stress, which leads the
earth slopes and embankment foundation failure.
• Pavement failure due to frost action in freezing temperature.
• Erosion of soil from top pavement and slopes.
• Causes damage on shoulders and pavement edge due to excess of water.

Requirements of Highway Drainage System

• Surface should impervious as far as possible.
• Side drain should be a sufficient capacity.
• Suitable measure of sub-surface drainage.
• Least amount of water from road side should be directed towards
road.
• Highest level of ground water table should be kept well below the level of subgrade,
preferably by at least 1.2m.

3.2 Causes of Moisture Variation in Subgrade Soil

The main causes of moisture variation in subgrade soil can be grouped as:

3.2.1 Surface water (By free water)

• Seepage of water from adjacent higher ground level to the road.
• Penetration of free water through the pavement.
• Transfer of moisture from the shoulders and pavement edges.

3.2.2 Sub-surface water (By ground water)

• Rise and Fall of water table.

84
 • Capillary rise from lower soil level.
• Transfer of water vapour through soil.

Estimation of Water Quantity

The amount of water in the subgrade soil at any point of time can be viewed as given by the
equation, W=A+B+C-D-E-F
Where,
W = amount of water contained in subgrade soil at any time of the layer.
A = amount of water infiltrated into the subgrade soil during rainfall.
B = amount of water seeping towards the subgrade from the adjacent higher ground.
C = amount of water coming to the sub grade due to any other reason.
D = loss of water from sub grade due to flow away towards lower adjacent ground.
E = loss of water due to evaporation, transpiration etc.
F = loss of water due to percolation downward.

3.3 Surface Drainage System Including Design of Side Drains

The surface water is to be collected and then disposed off. The water is first collected in
longitudinal drains and then water is disposal off at the nearest stream, valley or water course.

3.3.1 Different Types of Road Side Drain

It can be divided into three categories

a) Rural Highway Drainage

The water which is drained
from the pavement surface has
also to drain across the
shoulders before it is lead to
the side drains. Thus, slope of
shoulders is more than that of
camber. The side drains of
rural roads are generally open,
kutcha (unlined) and
trapezoidal shape. Side drains
may be provided on one or
both sides of road depending
upon situation. In
embankments, side drains may
or may not be provided on both
sides but in road cuttings,
drains are provided along both
sides of the road just adjacent
to shoulder. In case where
space is restricted in cutting,
open drains are dangerous to
be provided and hence covered drains or drainage trenches, properly filled with layers of coarse
sand gravel may be constructed.

85
b) Urban Highway Drainage
In urban roads because of the
limitation of land width and also
due to the presence of foot path,
dividing island and other road
facilities it is necessary to provide
underground longitudinal drains.
Water drained from the pavement surface can be carried forward in the longitudinal direction
between the kerb and the pavement for short distance. This water may be collected in catch pits
at suitable intervals and lead through underground drainage pipes.

c) Drainage in Hill Roads

In hill road, drainage problems are more
complex. Apart from the drainage from
road formation, water flowing down the
hill also has to be efficiently intercepted
and disposed off downhill side by
constructing suitable cross-drainage work

in the form of culverts and bridges. If hill roads are not properly drained, slips and rock slides
may take place and block the road during monsoons. Therefore, there should be provision of
catch water drains at the upper hill side whereas the side drains are provided only on the hill
sides of the roads. The shape of these side drains should be such that at emergency the vehicles
could utilize this space for crossing or for parking. Drainage of surface water is more important
in hill roads. For efficient diversion and disposal of water flowing down the hill slope, the shape
is carefully chosen and numerous intercepting catch water drains should be provided. If the
drainage system in hill road is not adequate and efficient, it will result in complex maintenance
problems.

Design of Surface Drainage

It may be divided into two phases

a) Hydrological Analysis
The main objective of hydrological analysis is to estimate the maximum quantity of water
expected to reach the element of the drainage system under consideration. A portion of the
precipitation during the rainfall infiltrates into the ground as ground water and a small portion
get evaporated. The remaining portion of water which flows over the surface is termed as run-
off. Various factors affecting the run-off are rate of rain fall, type of soil and moisture condition,
topography of area, type of ground cover like vegetation etc.
The surface drainage system is to designed to drain away the surface run-off water. The details
of rain fall in the area including intensity, duration and frequency of occurrence of storm are to

86
collected. Next the run-off and maximum rate of run-off for the area under consideration is
determined using any of the accepted approaches. It is also necessary to find the drainage area
from where water is likely to flow in.
Rational formula is used to estimate run-off water for highway drainage.
Q = C×i×Ad
Where. Q = Run-off, m3/sec.
C = Run-off coefficient, expressed as a ratio of run-off to rate of
rain fall.
i = Rain fall intensity, mm/sec.
Ad = Drainage area in 1000m2.

The value of run-off coefficient ‘C’ depends mainly on the type of surface and its slope. The
drainage area ‘Ad’ consists of several types of surface with run-off coefficients C1, C2, C3 with
their respective areas A1, A2, A3. The weighted value of run-off coefficient ‘C’ is determined
as:
𝐂𝟏 𝐀𝟏 + 𝐂𝟐 𝐀𝟐 + 𝐂𝟑 𝐀𝟑 +. . .
𝐂=
𝐀𝟏 + 𝐀𝟐 + 𝐀𝟑 +. . .

The design value of the rain fall intensity ‘i’ is to be determined for the expected duration of
storm and frequency of occurrence. Therefore, the inlet time for the storm water to flow from
the remotest point in drainage area to the drain inlet is estimated using chart. The time for water
to flow through the drain between the inlet and outlet points is determined based on the
allowable velocity of flow in the drain, generally ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 m/sec depending upon
soil type. The frequency of occurrence of the storm or the return period (may be 5, 10, 25 or 50
yrs). The drainage area from which the surface water is expected to flow to a side drain is
determined with the aid of contour map or by studying the topography of the drainage area.

b) Hydraulic Design
Once the design run-off 'Q' is determined the next step is the hydraulic design of drains. The
side drains and partially filled culverts are designed based on the principles of flow through
open channels. If 'Q' is the quantity of surface water (m3/sec) to be removed by drain on the
basis of principle of flow through open channel.
Q =A×V
Assuming uniform and steady flow through channel of uniform cross section and slope,
Manning's formula is used for determining the velocity of flow or the longitudinal slope which
is given by:
2 1
1
𝑉 = n × R3 × S 2
Where, V = Average velocity in m/sec.
n = Manning's roughness coefficient.
R = Hydraulic radius, m.
S = Longitudinal slope of channel.
The roughness coefficient value depends on the type of soil in unlined channel.

Design principle of open channel

1. Determine hydraulic mean radius (For the given bed slope, permissible non scouring
velocity and roughness coefficient).

87
 𝐧 × 𝐕 𝟑/𝟐
𝐑=[ ]
𝐒 𝟏/𝟐
2. Determine minimum cross-sectional area (For the given quantity of flow Q and
permissible non scouring velocity).
𝐐
𝐀=
𝐕
3. Determine wetted perimeter.
𝐀
𝐏=
𝐑
4. Determine the dimension of width and height by relating A and P with b and h.

5. Depth of flow should be greater than V2/g (critical depth).

If the depth of now is less than V2/g erosion at downstream side may occur and therefore special
measures should be provided at downstream.

Nepal Road Standard (NRS) 2070 has made following provisions for surface drainage design.
• Road side drains are provided in all cut sections to remove water in the longitudinal
direction.
• Toe-of-slope road side drains are constructed in low fill (< 0.8m filling height) sections
to convey water away to water courses.
• Intercepting or catch water drains are placed on back of the top of cut slopes to intercept
surface water. Distance of these drains from the edge of the cutting should not be less
than 5m.
• Flumes are provided to carry collected water down deep cuts or high fill slopes.
• Drains should be provided with minimum 0.5% longitudinal grade.
• Trapezoidal shape of drains is preferred.
• For calculating design discharge on roadside & drains following return periods should
be taken.

Road Class I and II III IV

Return period in years 50 33 25

• Outlets from the side drains should be provided at no more than 500m intervals.
• Sides and bottoms of the drains should be lined according to the longitudinal slope of
the drain as shown in table below. Size of the drain should be worked out based on the
discharge, longitudinal slope and type of lining.
Longitudinal slopes in, %
Type of lining
Sandy soil Clayey soil
No lining required <1 <2
Grass turfing 1 to 3 2 to 3
Stone riprap, masonry, concrete 3 to 5 3 to 5
Stepping >5 >5

88
3.3.2 Cross Drainage System
Whenever streams have to cross the roadway, cross drainage facilities are to be provided. Also,
often the water from the side drain is taken across by these cross drain in order to divert the
water away from the road to a water course or valley.

Different types of cross drainage structures are:

• Culverts - waterway upto 6m.
• Bridges - when the linear waterway is more than 6 m.
• Causeways - allow the water to flow over the roadway.
Thus, when a small stream crosses a road with a linear waterway less than about six meter the
cross-drainage structure provided is called culvert, for higher values of linear waterway the
structure is called bridge.

3.3.2.1 Culverts
A culvert is a closed conduit placed under the embankment to carry water cross the roadway.
Culverts are preferred than the minor bridges, since culvert is always beneath the carriageway
whereas bridge surface form a part of carriageway. Culverts are designed to flow full under
certain conditions and bridges are designed to pass floating debris or vessels.

Functions of Culvert
• Collecting and leading the water across the road, so as not to cause damage to road bank
or the stream bed by scour.
• Allowing sufficient waterway to prevent heading up of water above the road surface.

Design of Culverts
Culvert design requires broad knowledge of hydrology, hydraulics and structural mechanics.
Culverts may be of different types in terms of shape, hydraulic characteristics (pressure or non-
pressure flow), construction material. The selection of culvert type and material is the subject
of engineering judgement based on comparative cost, suitability for particular location,
availability of materials, labour etc. Culvert mainly consists of three parts namely; culvert
barrel, inlet structure and outlet structure. Culvert bedding may be of sand, PCC or RCC
depending upon the soil foundation. The alignment of culvert should confirm closely to that of
natural waterway in respect of plan and profile. Therefore, the culvert may be skew and right
angled in respect of highway alignment. But culvert slope should confirm to the natural bed
slope of the waterways.

Types of Culvert
The selection of culvert types depends on nature of water way, cost, importance of roads,
availability of construction technology, soil foundation etc.

a) Pipe Culvert
When stream carries low discharge and alignment has high embankment, pipe culverts are
considered more suitable. Pipe is laid slightly inclined. There should be at least 50cm cover of
soil so that traffic load transmitted on pipe is of small intensity and without vibrations. Single
or double barrel precast concrete culverts are commonly used for small openings upto 2 sq.m.
Minimum diameter of the pipe culvert is limited to 600 mm to facilitate cleaning and avoid

89
blocking. The standard length of RCC pipe is fixed at 2.5 m, jointed by collar or tongue and
groove. Pipes may be made of stone ware, concrete, R.C.C. etc. The standard size of pipe

culverts are 0.5m, 0.75m, 1m, 1.25m and 2.0m in diameter.

b) Box Culvert
These culverts are constructed where the
nature of the soil below the foundation
is not suitable for individual footing
under piers and abutments. The size of
the rectangular passage should not be
less than 60cm × 60cm for easy cleaning
of debris. RCC
rigid frame box
for square or
rectangular
opening span
upto 3.0m is
used as box
culvert whose
height rarely
exceeds 3m.
These culverts
have superior durability for worst environmental conditions, greater resistance to damage due
to debris, greater hydraulic efficiency and larger life spans.

90
c) Slab Culvert
These culverts have masonry abutments with stone slab over them. In localities where stone is
easily available these culverts are mostly used. Where stone patties are not available R.C.C.
slabs are used. R.C.C. slabs are designed as simply supported slabs and span of R.C.C. slab
may be
about 3m.
Where the
water
opening is
less than
15 sq.m.,
and road
crosses the
waterway on a relatively high embankment, slab culverts are used. Multiple slab culverts may
be used for large waterway. These culverts should be located where the road crosses a valley,
where there is stream, water course should not move. Minimum free board of 0.5m is required
in this type of culvert.

d) Arch Culvert
This type of culvert is preferred under the conditions where high fillings are involved and there
are heavier loadings on the culvert. Arches may be built from brick or stone masonry or plain
cement concrete. Span of each arch should be kept less than 3m. Selection of culvert to be used

91
is done on the basis of availability of construction materials and economic considerations. These
types of culverts are used when there is a high discharge and little debris flow.
3.3.2.2 Bridge
A bridge is a structure constructed over water course to carry traffic over it. When the clear
span is greater than 6m the cross-drainage structures are known as bridges. Bridges may be
classified as according to the
a) Consideration of the construction materials
• Steel bridges
• Concrete bridges
• Timber bridges
b) Structural point of view
• Cantilever/Arch/Girder/Truss/Cable stayed
• Suspension and Suspended
• Movable/Boat/Ferry
c) Span length
• Minor bridge (upto 30m)
• Major bridge (above 30m)
• Long bridge (above 120m).
d) Load carrying capacity
• Class 70 (Corresponding to class AA).
• Class 40 (Corresponding to class A).
• Class 30 (Corresponding to class B).
• Class 9, Class 3, Class 1

Parts of Bridge
Structurally bridge may be divided into following major parts:

Foundation: The foundations for bridges require very careful attention in view of the heavy
loading coming upon them. The problem is comparatively simple if rocky strata is available for
abutments and piers. If however, such a hard strata is not available, well sinking may have to
be done or caisson type piers or abutments may have to be constructed.

Substructure: The portion of the bridge between the decking and foundation is termed as
substructure. The various components of the bridge which form the substructure are abutments,
piers, wing walls. The abutments may be of brick or stone masonry, plain or reinforced concrete
cement. The choice of a particular type of abutment depends upon the site condition including
the soil classification.

Superstructure: The portion of the bridge above the decking is termed as superstructure. It
may be made up of one of the followings
• Timber
• Steel
• RCC
• Prestressed cement concrete.

92
3.3.2.3 Causeway
Causeways are provided instead of culverts on less important road which saves the construction
cost. These are provided where the maximum depth of flow does not exceed 1.5m. During
flood, the water flows over the road and traffic on both sides is stopped. But as soon as the flood
recedes the traffic flow will be resumed. Causeway may be high level or low level.

93
Low level causeway (Irish
bridge) is at the bed level of the
stream which remains dry for
most whereas high level
causeway (submersible
bridge) is quite above the
stream bed and is provided
with vents to allow normal
floods to pass through them.
During heavy floods,
causeways may be under
water. Bed slope of the
causeway in estimating the
span should not generally
exceed 4% in order to prevent
the vehicles from sliding
/overturning downstream.

3.3.2.4 Aqueduct
Aqueduct is an open or closed conduit sufficiently above the roadway to drain water across the
road. Such overhead structures with the provision of pillar supports on either side of the road
can be advantageously used in hill roads where culverts are not feasible.

94
3.3.2.5 Inverted siphon
A structure with lowering an invert level of conduit
across the road to desired level and both inlet and outlet
pits are provided to receive flow from and discharge
water to the downstream drain respectively. This type
of structures is widely used in irrigation system and is
provided when overhead aqueduct and culvert is
impossible.

Pipelines called inverted siphons are used to carry

sewage or stormwater under streams, highway cuts, or
other depressions in the ground. In an inverted siphon
the liquid completely fills the pipe and flows
under pressure, as opposed to the open-channel gravity
flow that occurs in most sanitary or storm sewers.

3.3.3 Erosion Control and Energy Dissipating

Structures
At outlet of cross drainage structures there is always higher velocity than non-scouring velocity
which should be adequately controlled and the cost of the same might go up to 25% of the cost
of total drainage structures. There can be many measures suitable at different locations and
conditions for controlling energy and erosion and some of them are described below.

95
3.3.3.1 Lining of Drain and Ditch Checks
The slope covered with turf and bottom covered by
cobbles and gravels of the desired size will reduce
the velocity of flowing water. The turf may be
replaced by stone masonry riprap lining (about 20-
30 cm thick) or pre-cast concrete block lining or
brick masonry lining where brick is cheaply
available or continuous lining with stone masonry in
cement sand mortar. These all lining types depend
on the cost analysis, materials availability, energy to
be dissipated etc. Lining is not required at the initial
section but the end of drain should be lined. There
may be situations where a drop in the side drains is
required when the grade line of bottom of the side
drain is too high and this is known as ditch checks.

Riprap, also known as shot rock, rock armor, or rubble, is man-placed rock or other
material used to armor shorelines (beaches), streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and
other shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. Common rock
types used include granite and modular concrete blocks. Rubble from building and paving
demolition is sometimes used.

3.3.3.2 Road Rapids

These are the
channels having bed
slope higher than the
critical slope and are
provided on short
length at inlet and
outlet of cross
drainage structures. It
mainly consists of inlet, main conduit, stilling basin and outlet and is usually designed with
rectangular section.

3.3.3.3 Fall or Drop Structures

These energy dissipating structures are provided in
hill roads where the bed slope of existing drainage
way is very high and are provided both upstream
and downstream of the cross-drainage structure.
The main hydraulic design problem is to determine
the minimum permissible length of step. The bed
of step is kept horizontal and the height and number
of drop structures is site dependent.

96
3.3.3.4 Miscellaneous Erosion Control Measures
Drainage of slopes of embankment, cutting and hill side are of utmost importance to prevent
instability of slopes and slides. Slope causes increase in stress and reduction in strength. An
efficient network of surface drainage system consisting of intercepting drains and sloping drains
to keep the slope properly drained for stability. The sloping drains may be provided with lining
or pitching or may be filled with gravel. The water from the sloping drains is collected in catch
pits and diverted across through the culverts at suitable intervals. The flow of surface water
frequently causes erosion of soil. This may occur on earth roads if the cross slope is too steep
and also on earth shoulders. Surface treatment and stabilization of these surfaces are useful for
control of erosion.
Increased soil erosion problem is mainly attributed to:
• formation of new fill slopes and cut slopes.
• excavation of drainage way.
• diversion of water ways along new channels.
• embankment construction.
• removal of top soil.
• increased human activities on construction site.
• deforestation around the roadways and right of ways.

Control measures that are usually taken for mitigating soil erosion problem are:

a) Vegetation: It has both technical and aesthetical functions and elaborately dealt in road
landscaping, road arboriculture (growing of trees along road side) or bio-engineering.
Vegetative turfing (चाप्रो) is most economical on embankment slope (seeding). Transportation of
readymade turfs or grass is generally known as sodding which is the bodily transportation of
blocks of turf or grass. Pegs or nails could be used to hold down the grass sods in the initial
stage.

b) Slope Pitching, Lining and Protection Walls: Various types of slope protection works are:
• dry stone pitching.
• gabion crates filled pitching.
• stone masonry riprap protection.
• stone masonry retaining wall.
• concrete block lining.
• retaining wall with gabion crates.

97
98
c) Bank Protection Spur and Check Dams:
These structures are especially used in river routes. Spur is a
structure constructed transverse to the flow and extended from
bank to the river channel and are generally built from stone filled
gabion crate boxes. The objectives of providing spurs are to:
• protect the river bank by deflecting, repelling or
attracting the flow of the river.
• create a spill pond or slack flow along a particular bank
to silt up the neighborhood.
• train the river to flow along a specified course by
attracting, deflecting or repelling the flow of the river.
• contract the wide shallow river channel to improve navigation.

Check dams are constructed across the stream having higher bed slope to reduce the slope in a
particular section and to retain the boulders or bed material on bed. These structures help to
prevent further deepening of the bed.

99
100
3.4 Sub-Surface Drainage System
Stability and strength of the road surface depends upon the strength of the subgrade. Subgrade
is the foundation layer of the road whose strength largely depends upon its moisture content.
With increase in moisture content the strength of the subgrade decreases. Variation in moisture
content of subgrade is caused by:
• seepage of water from higher adjoining land.
• penetration of moisture through the pavement.
• percolation of water from shoulders, pavement edge and soil formation slopes.
• rise and fall of underground water table.
• capillary rise of moisture.
• transfer of moisture vapor through soil.

The first three causes of moisture variations are concerned with free water and last three causes
are connected with ground water. In the case of subsurface drainage of roads, every effort
should be made to reduce the change or variation in moisture content to minimum. By provision
of Subsoil drainage only gravitational water can be drained from usual drainage system.

3.4.1 Control of Subsoil Water

Control of subsoil water can be broadly discussed in the following three headings:

3.4.1.1 Lowering of Water Table

If underground water table is more than 1.2 m below the subgrade of the road, it does not require
any subsoil drainage. But if it is closer than this, the best remedy is to raise the road formation
to such a height that subgrade remains at least 1.2m above the highest water table.
If the soil is relatively permeable, it may be possible to lower the high-water table by merely
construction of longitudinal drainage trenches with drain pipes and filter sand. The depth of the

101
trench depends upon amount of lowering of water table, lateral distance between the trenches
and type of subgrade soil.

If the soil is relatively less permeable, the lowering of the ground water level may not be
adequate at the centre of the pavement or in between the two longitudinal drainage trenches.
Hence in addition, transverse drains may have to be provided in order to effectively drain off
the water and thus to lower the water table upto the level of transverse drains.

3.4.1.2 Control of Seepage Flow

Where surface of ground and impervious layer embedded below it are sloping towards the road,
the seepage flow is likely to reach road subgrade and affect its strength characteristics. If the
seepage level reaches a depth less than 60cm to 90cm from the road subgrade it should be
intercepted to keep seepage line at a safe depth below road subgrade.

102
3.4.1.3 Control of Capillary Rise
If capillary rising water is very near to subgrade of the road and is likely to affect the strength,
steps should be taken to arrest the capillary rise of water. In fact, lowering of underground water
table is only economical method when subgrade soil is of permeable type. In case of subgrade
having retentive type of soil, drainage is very difficult and costly and checking its rise by
capillary cut-offs proves more economical.

Capillary cut-offs can be of two types:

a) A layer of granular material of suitable thickness is provided during the construction of
embankment, between the subgrade and the highest level of subsurface water table. The
thickness of the granular capillary cut-off layer should be sufficiently higher than the
anticipated capillary rise within the granular layer so that the capillary water cannot rise above
the cut off layer.
b) By inserting an impermeable or a bituminous layer in the place of granular blanket.

103
Design of Sub-Surface Drain
In the design of subsurface drains followings are the main issues to be
• Depth of trench: This depth is determined based on the depth at which the sub surface
flow has to intercepted and is the function of soil type, impervious stratum level.
• Selection of backfill material
o Improve the interception ability of the drain and to provide effective water
collecting space.
• Holes in the perforated drain pipe: The number of perforated holes per meter length of
pipe and the size of holes are two important factors regarding holes in the perforated
pipe. The holes should be sufficiently small to prevent the filter material from being
washed into the pipe and plug the holes. And there is no single recommendation for the
number of perforations.
o Maximum size of circular holes = D85 (filter).
o Maximum width of slotted holes = 0.83D85 (filter).
(Note: - d85 is the particle size (diameter) for the finer material at which 85
percent of the material is finer)
• Diameter of pipe: No single recommendation with regard to the diameter of pipe and
length of section between the outlets. But this is dependent on the amount of water to
be drained off.

Nepal Road Standard 2070 has made following provisions for subsurface drainage facilities.
• Subsurface water table should always be kept 1.0 to 1.20 m below the subgrade level to
protect pavement layers from excessive moisture.
• If it is difficult to achieve the above difference in levels, subsurface drains need to be
provided.
• To save road subgrade from detrimental effects of moisture from the capillary rise of
water a layer of granular materials is provided between the subgrade and the highest
level of subsurface water.
• Sometimes geotextiles are laid over the subgrade soil to stop the migration of small clay
particles upwards that increase the capillary rise of water to the pavement.

Subsurface drains are constructed with 150mm to 200mm dia perforated pipes with well-
designed filter material around them and subsequently wrapped by geotextile with adequate
longitudinal slopes. Numbers and spacing of subsurface drains should be decided by the
design.

104
 Unit 4 (4 Hrs)

HIGHWAY MATERIALS

4.1 Introduction and Classification of Highway Materials

Most common materials used in road construction can be classified into three groups:

4.1.1 Mineral materials such as subgrade soil, sand (fine aggregates), stone chips, gravel
(coarse aggregates), pit-run sand or river sand, screened materials, blast furnace slag, brick
pebbles. Soils are used extensively for embankment construction, in the construction of soil
stabilized layer. Stone aggregates are used in pavement construction and off-road structures.
These are also used as filter materials as the back fill behind retaining walls and in subsurface
drainage.

4.1.2 Binding materials include

a) Stone dust or cohesive soil.
b) Cement, lime and other inorganic binding materials.
c) Bitumen, tar and other organic materials.
The first group of binding materials results in semi-rigid and semi-flexible bond between the
mineral particles. Inorganic binding materials form rigid, irreversible bonds whereas all organic
binding materials provide thin film of binding action which is flexible and reversible in nature.

4.1.3 Other common building materials such as reinforcing steel, timber, stone, bricks,
boulders, cobbles and gabion wires.

When mineral materials are mixed with binding materials it produces several new forms of
materials. These include water bound macadam, cement concrete, stabilized soil, cement soil,
bitumen soil, lean concrete, lime concrete, cement mortar, cut back bitumen, bituminous
(asphalt) concrete, grouted or penetration macadam, seal coat, tack coat, prime coat.

4.2 Subgrade Soil

Subgrade soil is an integral part of road
pavement structure as it provides support to
the pavement from beneath. The main
function of the subgrade is to give adequate
support to the pavement and for this the
subgrade should possess sufficient stability
under adverse climatic and loading
conditions. The formation of waves,
corrugations, rutting and shoving in black
top pavements and the phenomena of pumping, blowing and consequent cracking of cement
concrete pavements are generally attributed to poor subgrade conditions.
When soil is used in embankment construction, in addition to stability incompressibility
(compressible – clay is known to swell when overburden pressure is removed or say the
decrease in volume per unit increase of pressure & gravels, sands and silts are incompressible,
i.e., if a moist mass of these materials is subjected to compression, they suffer no significant

105
volume change) is also important as differential settlement may cause failures. Compacted soil
and stabilized soil are often used in sub-base or base course of highway pavement. Therefore,
soil is one of the principal highway materials.

4.2.1 Characteristics of Soil

Soil consists mainly of mineral matter formed by the disintegration of rocks, by the action of
water, frost, temperature, pressure or by plant or animal life. The properties of soil depend upon
the type of soil and amount of water contained by them. Presence of small portion of water in
a soil, acts as an adhesive agent while higher amounts as a lubricating agent. Based on the
individual grain size of soil particles, soils have been classified as gravel, sand and clay. The
characteristics of soil grains depend on the size, shape, surface texture, chemical composition,
moisture content and dry density. Maximum dry density is obtained with minimum compaction
effort at optimum moisture content.
Soil is compacted to maximum dry density in order to use the following advantages of
compacted soil:
• Increase in strength.
• Rate of water movement through the soil decreases with the decrease in voids.
• Volume change due to variation in moisture content is less at maximum density.

4.2.2 Desirable Properties of Soil

The desirable properties of soil as a highway material expected are:
• Stability: It is characterized by resistance to permanent deformation under loads,
resistance to weathering, ability to retain desired subgrade support.
• Incompressibility: Soils used in subgrade and embankment construction and
foundation should be incompressible.
• Permanency of strength: Permanency in strength is the property of soil which allows
subgrade to support pavement with the same degree of strength under varied conditions
of moisture and weather.
• Minimum change in volume and stability under adverse condition of weather and
ground water: It is required to ensure minimum variation in expansion.
• Good drainage: Good drainage characteristic is essential to avoid excessive moisture
and frost action.
• Ease of compaction: It is the property of soil which ensures higher dry density with
minimum compaction effort for increasing strength characteristics and permanency in
strength.

4.2.3 CBR (California Bearing Ratio) Test

CBR test is a method for evaluating the stability of soil subgrade and other flexible pavement
materials for the design of pavement thickness. CBR value is defined as the ratio of the force
per unit area required to penetrate a soil mass with a circular plunger of 50 mm diameter at the
rate of 1.25 mm/min to that required for corresponding penetration of a standard material. The
ratio is usually determined for penetration of 2.5 mm and 5.0 mm.

Apparatus
• A mould 15 cm internal diameter and 175 mm height with a base plate 10 mm thick
and collar 50 mm in height.

106
 • A loading frame that can move vertically at the rate of 1.25 mm/min with the cylindrical
plunger of 50 mm diameter and at least 100 mm long.
• Dial gauges for measuring the expansion on soaking and the penetration values.
• A metal spacer disc of 148 mm diameter and 47.7 mm in height.
• One annular metal weight and slotted weights each of 2.5 kg and 147 mm in diameter
with a central hole 53 mm in diameter.
• Miscellaneous apparatus like mixing bowl, straight edge, scales, soaking tank, filter
paper, calibrated measuring jar etc.

Procedure
1. Preparation of specimen: Preparation of undisturbed sample (This method is very
useful for testing of fine-grained cohesive soils, but cannot be applied to non-cohesive
materials or materials containing gravel or stones): Fit to the mould, the steel cutting
edge of 150 mm internal diameter. Push the mould into the ground as gently as possible
till the mould is full of soil. Remove the soil from sides and bottom. Trim the excessive
soil from the top and bottom.

107
 For undisturbed sample above process is followed but, on this context, we took a sample
obtained from Proctor Compaction Test.

Preparation of remoulded specimen: Remoulded samples are prepared such that the
dry density obtained from proctor compaction tests (please refer a video presented in
your class), the water content of remoulded samples is either the optimum water content
or the field moisture as the case may be, the remoulded samples are compacted either
statistically or dynamically.

a) Statically compacted specimen.

• Calculate the amount of soil required such that it fills the mould (excluding
collar) at the desired density after compaction.
• Calculate the amount of water to be added to give desired water content.
• Mix the soil thoroughly with water.
• Fix the extension collar to the mould and clamp it to the base plate.
• Fix the mould with soil, gently pressing it with hands so that it does not spill out
of the mould.
• Place a coarse filter paper over the leveled soil surface and then insert the space
disc.
• Place the assembly on the pedestal of compression machine and compact the soil
until the top of the spacer disc is flush with the top of the collar.

b) Dynamically compacted specimen (please refer a video presented in your class)

• Sieve the material through 20 mm IS sieve.
• Take about 4.5 Kg or more of representative sample for fine grained soils and
about 5.5 Kg for granular soil in a mixing pan.
• Add water to the soil in the quantity such that the moisture content of the
specimen is either equal to field moisture content or optimum moisture content
as desired.
• Mix together the soil and water uniformly.
• Clamp the mould along with the extension collar to the base plate.
• Place the coarse filter paper on the top of the spacer disc.
• Pour soil water mix in the mould in such a quantity that after compaction about
1/5th of the mould is filled.
• Give 56 blows with the rammer weighing 2.6 Kg dropping through 310 mm in
three layers (light compaction) or 4.89 Kg dropping through 450 mm in 5 layers
(heavy compaction) evenly spread on the surface.
• Scratch the top layer of compacted surface, add more soil and compact in same
manner. Fill the mould completely in five layers.
• Remove the extension collar and trim off the excess soil by a straight edge.
• Remove the base plate, spacer disc and filter paper and note down the weight of
the mould and compacted specimen.
• Place a coarse filter paper on the perforated base plate.
• Invert the mould containing compacted soil and clamp it to the base plate.

108
2. Testing
• Place the mould containing
the specimen with base
plate in position on the
testing machine.
• Place the annular weight of
2.5 kg on the top surface of
soil.
• Bring the penetration
plunger in contact with soil
surface and apply a load of 4
Kg so that full contact
between soil and plunger is
established. This should be
taken as zero load.
• Place the remainder
surcharge weight so that total
surcharge weight equals 5 Kg.
• Set the reading of dial gauges to zero.
• Apply load so that penetration rate is 1.25 mm/min. Record the load at penetration
of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5 mm. The maximum load
has to be recorded if it occurs at less than 12.5 mm
• Collect about 20 to 50 g of soil to determine the water content.

3. CBR test on soaked specimen: To perform CBR test on

soaked specimen the sample excluding base plate and
spacer disc is weighed. A filter paper is placed on the
sample with a perforated plate on it. Over it a surcharge
weight 2.5 or 5 Kg is placed and the sample is soaked in
water tank for 4 days. The sample is then allowed to drain
off water in a vertical position for about 15 minutes. The
sample is weighed again to calculate the percentage of
water absorbed. It is then tested following the normal
procedure.

4. Computation of test results

• Plot the load penetration curve with load as ordinate and penetration as abscissa.
Sometimes the initial portion of the curve is concave upwards due to surface
irregularities. In such a case apply a correction. Draw tangent at the point of greatest
slope. The point where this tangent meet abscissa is the corrected zero reading of
penetration.
• From the curve, determine the load value corresponding to the penetration value at
which the CBR is desired.
• Compute the CBR value as:
Load sustained by specimen at 2.5 or 5.0 mm penetration
CBR (%) =
Load sustained by standard aggregate at corresponding penetration

109
CBR is usually calculated for 2.5-mm penetration.
If the CBR value at 5.0 mm penetration is more than
that for 2.5 mm, the test should be repeated. If the
check gives the similar result, the CBR value for 5
mm penetration is adopted. The average CBR value
of 3 test specimens is reported to the first decimal
place as the CBR value of the material.

4.3 Road Aggregates

4.3.1 Definition and Types of Road Aggregates
Stone aggregate is the principle material used in all
forms of pavement whether it may be bituminous pavement, cement pavement or any other
type. Stone is the material which is responsible for bearing stresses occurring on roads and also
resisting wear due to abrasive action of the traffic. Most of the aggregates are obtained from
natural rocks by crushing. The rocks may be of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic type.
The properties of aggregates depend upon the nature of rock from which it is obtained.
Based on strength properties, stone aggregates may be classified as hard aggregates and soft
aggregates. Aggregates are specified according to their grain size, shape, texture and gradation.
Gradation of aggregate can be determined by sieving the aggregate through square sieves of
successively decreasing size.

4.3.2 Desirable Properties of Aggregates

• Strength: Traffic moving on the road causes compressive stresses on its surface. The
aggregate used in road construction, particularly in top layers and wearing layers should
be sufficiently strong and capable to withstand these stresses. Hence to satisfy this
requirement aggregates should possess high strength and resistance to crushing.
• Hardness: The aggregates used in the surface course are subjected to constant rubbing
or abrasion due to moving traffic. They should be hard enough to resist the wear due to
abrasive action of traffic. Abrasive action may be increased due to the presences of
abrasive material like sand between the tyres of moving vehicles and the aggregates
exposed at the top surface.
• Toughness: Pavement aggregates are subjected to impact due to traffic movement. Due
to irregularities in road surface impact action is developed. The impact is more when
roughness of surface is more. The constant impact effects of heavy traffic loads, tend to
break the stone aggregates into small pieces. The aggregate used in road construction
should be tough enough to resist fracture under such impact.
• Durability: The aggregates used in pavement construction should be durable and
should resist disintegration due to the action of weather. The property of stones to
withstand the adverse action of weather may be called soundness. The aggregates are
subjected to the physical and chemical action of rain and ground water, the impurities
therein and that of atmosphere. Hence it is desirable that the road aggregates used in the
construction should be sound enough to withstand the weathering action.

110
 • Shape of aggregate: The shape of aggregate particles plays an important role in the
strength of the road pavement. Aggregate particles may be rounded, cubical, angular,
flaky or elongated shapes. Flaky and elongated shaped particles are less strong and
durable than other shaped particles of the same stone. Round shaped aggregate is
preferred in cement concrete, as more workable concrete can be developed with less
amount of water. But rounded particles have less interlocking capability which is against
important property in WBM and bituminous road construction. Hence in such
construction, aggregate having angular particles should be preferred.
• Adhesion with bitumen: The stone aggregates may be classified as hydrophobic and
hydrophilic depending upon their affinity for water as compared to its affinity for
bitumen. Hydrophobic aggregates are the type of aggregates which exhibit the property
by which it resists the stripping off (Good adhesion between bitumen film and aggregate
surface is necessary for a durable bituminous pavement. Disbonding of bitumen film
from the surface of the aggregate in the presence of water is usually known as stripping)
the bitumen in the presence of water.
The aggregate from which, with continued exposure to water, bitumen loses cohesion
and, in its place, a thin film of water surrounds the aggregate particles are known as
hydrophilic aggregates. This property of aggregate depends upon its electrolytic
property. Bitumen normally available in market is anionic. It is because of this reason
that the limestone, which are positively electrolytic, are hydrophobic while quartz, sand
stone and quartzite, which are negatively electrolyte, are hydrophilic.
It has been found that roughness of surface of the aggregate particles and slight porosity
increase adhesion and pavement stripping of bitumen. The aggregates having weak
crumbling surface should be avoided as they will encourage stripping.
• Cementation: In the case of WBM roads the binding action of the surface layer is
provided by grit and water jointly. In the construction of WBM roads, it is desirable to
use such stone aggregate, the powder of which possesses binding property in the
presence of moisture.
• Aggregate must be clean and free of clay and organic matter.

4.3.3 Tests on Road Aggregates and their Significance

As aggregates obtained from different sources differ considerably in their constitution and
properties and hence, they differ also with regard to their engineering properties. It is also
necessary therefore to carry out various tests on aggregates to ensure not only that undesirable
material are excluded from highway pavements but also that the best available aggregates are
included. Aggregates tests may be arbitrarily divided into four main groups:

4.3.3.1 Descriptive Tests

These tests are intended to define by the visual examination of an aggregate that enables it to
be described in terms of both the shape and surface texture of the particles. This results in
subjective descriptions of these mineral aggregate characteristics. The particle shape may be
described as rounded, irregular, flaky, angular, elongated and both flaky and elongated. Surface
texture may be defined as glossy, smooth, granular, rough, crystalline, honeycombed and
porous. Descriptive tests are most useful in classifying aggregates. The descriptive
classifications are very valuable guides relative to internal friction properties of aggregates. By
internal friction is meant the properties which resist the movement of aggregates past each

111
other. Thus, for instance, crushed ballast is generally considered an excellent road aggregate
since it has high internal friction as a result of having good interlocking qualities because of the
angular shapes of the particles and a rough surface texture. In contrast with ballast, a rounded
smooth aggregate such as gravel is relatively low in internal friction since particle interlock is
not possible and surface friction is low. It is for this reason that most gravel aggregate
specifications require that the gravel be artificially crushed to produce jagged edges and
surfaces before being used in a highway pavement.

4.3.3.2 Non-Destructive Quality Test

The non-destructive tests are carried out on the aggregate to determine its suitability for a
specific use. The results obtained are normally compared with aggregate specifications to see
whether they comply with the desired properties and characteristics. The tests of particular
interest are the gradation, water absorption and shape tests.

a) Gradation Test (please refer a video presented in your class):

Gradation, sieve analysis, screen analysis and mechanical analysis are
synonymous terms which refer to the quantity expressed in percentages
by weight of the various particle sizes of which a sample of aggregate is
composed. This is determined by separating the aggregates into portions
which are retained on a number of sieves or screens having specified
openings which are suitably graded from coarse to fine. The results
obtained may be expressed either as total percentage passing or retained
on each sieve or as the percentages retained between successive sieves.
The total percentage passing method is very convenient for the graphical
representation of grading and is most widely used in graded aggregate
specifications. The individual percentages retained on particular sieves
procedure is preferred in specifications for single sized aggregates.
(Single-size aggregate is based on a nominal size specification. It
contains about 85-100% of the material which passes through that specified size of the sieve
and 0-25% of which is retained in the next lower sieve. A graded aggregate contains more than
one single size aggregate. It means using different size of aggregates so as to have a uniform
consistency in concrete. Different sizes of aggregate will fill the gap and achieve higher
strength)
Gradation is the characteristic of road aggregates on which perhaps the greatest stress is placed
in specifications. It is also probably the cause of the majority of controversies which arise
between the supplier and road builder relative to the suitability of aggregates for specific uses.
The proper grading of an aggregate is important because of its direct influence on both the
quality and the cost of pavement component. The limits placed on a particular gradation depend
on the nature of work in which the aggregate is to be employed. For instance, the grading of a
material to be used in a dense bituminous surfacing depends considerably on gradation for its
denseness and consequent stability is more critical than the grading of an aggregate for use in
macadam in which stability is heavily dependent on the interlock of the aggregate particles.
When well graded aggregates have to undergo extensive handling or transporting, segregation
of sizes may occur which can be relatively costly to remedy. When aggregate particles are to
be bound together by cement or bitumen or tar variation in the grading of an aggregate will
result in a change in the amount of binder (cement/bitumen/tar) required to produce a material

112
of given stability and quality. Proper aggregate grading contributes to the uniformity,
workability and plasticity of the material as it is mixed. For example, in the case of concrete,
improved workability generally permits a decrease in the amount of mixing water which in turn
either results in an increase in strength or allows the cement content to be reduced.
Note: - 1mm = 1000 μ

b) Shape Test: The shape of aggregate mass is determined by the percentages of flaky,
elongated and angularity of the particles. The evaluation of shape of the particles is made in
terms of flakiness index, elongation index and angularity number.

i) Flakiness Index (please refer a video presented in your class): The flakiness index of
aggregate is the percentage by weight of the aggregate particles whose least dimension or
thickness is less than 0.6 times of
their mean dimension. This test is
applicable to aggregate sizes larger
than 6.3mm.
The sample aggregates to be tested
is sieved through set of sieves and
separated into specified size
ranges. The particles retained on each sieve are then made to pass through appropriate slot, (0.6
times mean size) of standard thickness gauges. The material which passes through the
appropriate slot of the gauge is said to be flaky.

113
Flakiness index of aggregate to be used in road construction should not exceed 25%. It is
preferred below 15%. For example: Let a particle of aggregate passes through 20mm but
retained on 10mm sieve. The mean size of this particle is (20+10)/2 = 15mm, where mean size
15mm is multiplied by 0.6 is equal to 9mm sieve is obtained. Hence for this aggregate if
thickness of the particle is less than 9mm it is said to be flaky.

ii) Elongation Index (please refer a video presented in your class): The elongation index of
an aggregate is the percentage by weight of particles whose greatest dimension or length is
greater than 1.8 times their mean dimension. The elongation test is not applicable for aggregate
sizes smaller than 6.3mm. The only difference
being that instead of using thickness gauge to
test flakiness, standard length gauges are used
to test the length of the aggregate. For an
aggregate passing through 20mm sieve but
retained on 10mm, the mean size is 15mm and limit for the length of the particle works out to
be 1.8 x 15 = 27mm. A particle which is longer than 27mm, for this particular range of size is
termed as elongated particles. Value of
elongation index should not exceed 15% for a
good aggregate and normally must not exceed
25%.

114
iii) Angularity number: The shapes of aggregates suitable for
road construction are the rounded and angular ones. When rounded
aggregate is filled in a vessel it leaves in it about 33% voids, so
volume of solid mass in the vessel is nearly 67%. Angularity
number test is used to indicate voids in excess of voids in perfectly
rounded gravel (33%). Apparatus required for this test is a metal
cylinder of 3-liter capacity, metal scoop and a tamping rod. The
test sample of the aggregate is sieved and specified size ranges of
the aggregate, such as 16 - 20mm, 12.5 - 16mm etc. are used for
the test. This single sized sample is
now filled in the metal cylinder in
three layers. Each layer being
tamped 100 times with tamping rod
before the next layer is put. Then
cylinder is emptied and filled with
water and weight of water is
determined. The specific gravity of
the aggregate can be separately determined. More angular is the aggregate the higher will be its
angularity number. Angularity number of a good aggregate should lie between 0 and 10. Since
the soft aggregates get crushed during compaction, the angularity number cannot be applied to
the aggregate which gets crushed during this test.

4.3.3.3 Destructive Test

In order to decide the suitability of the road aggregates for use in construction, the following
tests are carried out:

a) Crushing Test:
The aggregate crushing value gives a relative measure of the resistance of an aggregate to
crushing under a gradually applied compressive load. It is the percentage by weight of the

115
crushed matter obtained when the test aggregates are subjected to a specified load under
standardized conditions and is a numerical index of the strength of the aggregate used in road
construction. Aggregate with lower crushing value indicates a lower crushed fraction under
load and would give a longer service life to the road and hence a more economical performance.

Objectives:
• To determine crushing value
(mechanical strength) of given
road aggregates.
• To assess suitability of
aggregates for use in different
types of road pavement.

Apparatus
• The test mould is 15.2cm diameter open-ended steel cylinder with square base plate,
plunger having a piston of diameter 15cm with a hole provided across the stem of the
plunger so that the rod could be inserted for lifting or placing the plunger in the cylinder.
• A straight metal tamping rod of circular cross-section 16mm in diameter and 45 to 60
cm long rounded at one end.
• A balance of capacity 5kg, readable and accurate up to 1gm.
• IS sieves of size 12.5mm, 10mm, 2.36mm.
• A compression testing machine capable of applying load up to 40 tones at a uniform
rate of 4 tones per minute.
• A cylinder measure having internal diameter of 11.5cm and height 18cm.

Procedure
• The aggregate sample for standard test consists of aggregates sized mm to 12.5mm. The
aggregates should be in surface dry condition before testing. The aggregates may be
dried by heating at 100◦C - 110◦C for not more than 4 hours and cooled to room
temperature before testing.
• Take and dry aggregate passing from 12.5mm and retained on 10mm sieves.
• Take about 3.25 kg of this material (W1).
• Pour the aggregates to fill about just more than 1/3 depth of measuring cylinder.
• Compact the material by giving 25 nos. of gentle blows with the rounded end of tamping
rod.
• Add two more layers in similar manner, such that the cylinder is full.
• Remove the excess material with a straight edge.
• Place the plunger on the top of the test specimen and put whole apparatus in the
compression testing machine.
• Load the specimen with a total load of 40 tons at the rate of 4 tons per minute.
• Remove the test cylinder from the compression machine and sieve the aggregates
through 2.36mm sieve. Weight the material passing through 2.36mm sieve (W2).

116
b) Abrasion Test (please refer a video presented in your class)
The aggregate used in surface course of highway pavements are subjected to wearing due to
movement of traffic. When vehicles move on the road, soil particles present between the
pneumatic (air-filled) tyres and road surface cause abrasion of road aggregates. Therefore, road
aggregates should be hard enough to resist the abrasion. Resistance to abrasion of aggregate is
determined in laboratory by Los Angeles abrasion test. The principle of Los Angles abrasion
test is to produce the abrasive action by use of standard steel balls when mixed with aggregates
and rotated in drum for specific number of revolutions and also cause impact on aggregates.
The percentage wear of aggregates due to rubbing with steel balls is determined and is known
as Los Angeles Abrasion Value.

Objectives
• To determine the Los Angeles abrasion value.
• To find out the suitability of aggregates for its use in road construction.

Apparatus
The Los Angeles
abrasion machine
consists of a hollow
cylinder closed at both
ends having inside
diameter 700mm and
length 500mm and
mounted so as to rotate
about its horizontal
axis. The abrasive
charge consists of cast
iron spheres of
approximate diameter
48mm and each weight
390gm to 445gm. The number of spheres to be used as abrasive charge and their total weight
have been specified based on grading of the aggregate sample.

117
Procedure
Test sample consists of clean aggregates dried at 105◦C - 110◦C. The sample should conform to
any of the grading. The specified weight of aggregate specimen (5kg to 10kg depending on
gradation) W1 is placed in the machine along with the abrasive charge. The machine is rotated
at a speed of 30 to 33 rpm for specified number of revolution (500 to 1000 depending on the
grading of the specimen). The abraded aggregate is then sieved on 1.7mm IS sieve, and the
weight of powdered aggregate W2 passing this sieve is found. The result of the abrasion test

118
expressed as the percentage wear or the percentage passing 1.7mm sieve expressed in terms of
the original weight of sample.

c) Impact Test (please refer a video presented in your class)

The property of a material to resist impact is known as toughness. Due to movement of vehicles
on the road the aggregates are subjected to impact resulting in their breaking down into smaller
pieces. The aggregate should therefore have sufficient toughness to resist their disintegration
due to impact. The aggregates impact value is a measure of resistance to sudden impact or
shock which may differ from its resistance to gradually applied compressive load.

Objective
• To determine the impact value of road aggregates.
• To assess their suitability in road construction based on impact value.

Apparatus
• A testing machine weighing 45 kg to 60 kg and having a metal base with a plane lower
surface of not less than 30cm in diameter. It is supported on level and plane concrete
floor of minimum 45cm thickness.
• A cylindrical steel cup of internal diameter 102mm, depth 50mm and minimum
thickness 6.3mm.
• A metal hammer weighing 13.5 kg to 14 kg. The lower end is cylindrical in shape, is
50 mm long, 100mm in diameter, with a 2mm chamfer at the lower edge and case
hardened. The hammer should slide freely between vertical guides and be concentric
with the cup. The free fall of the hammer should be within 380 ± 5mm.
• A cylindrical metal measure having internal of 75mm and depth 50mm for measuring
aggregates.
• Tamping rod of 10mm in diameter and 230mm long, rounded at one end.

119
Procedure
• Take aggregates specimen passing through 12.5mm sieve and retained on 10mm sieve
should be dried by heating at 100ºC - 110ºC for a period of 4 hours and cooled.
• Fill dry aggregates specimen in cylindrical measure in three equal layers and tamp each
layer by 25 blows with tamping rod and weight say W1.
• The aggregate sample filled in the cylindrical measure is then transferred in the steel
cylindrical cup of machine and compacted by 25 blows of the tamper.
• Raise the hammer to a height 38cm above the surface of the aggregate in the cup and is
allowed to fall freely on the specimen, 15 blows are given to the aggregate specimen.
• Sieve the aggregate sample through 2.36mm sieve and the fraction passing through
sieve 2.36mm is weighted say W2.

120
Normally for base course, aggregate impact value should not exceed 45% while that for wearing
course 30%.

d) Soundness Test (please refer a video presented in your class)

Soundness test is intended to study the resistance of aggregates to weathering action by
conducting accelerated weathering test cycle. So, this test is done to determine the resistance to
disintegration of aggregate due to alternate cycle of dry and wet conditions.

Procedure
• Weight and count the dry and clean aggregate of specified sieve.
• Immerse the piece in the saturated solution of sodium sulphate or magnesium sulphate
for 16 to 18 hours at 20 ºC.
• The specimen aggregate is then taken out of solution, dried in oven at 105ºC to 110ºC
and allowed to cool at room temperature. This completes one cycle of wetting and
drying. The number of cycles to be carried out is decided according to the atmospheric
condition where aggregate is to be used.
• At the end of the final cycle, aggregate sample is washed in Barium chloride to free
from sodium sulphate and dried at 105ºC to 110ºC. Examine the piece of aggregate
visually to see excessive splitting, crumbling or disintegration of grains.
• The aggregate is then sieved on the same sieve on which it was retained before test and
weighed and the sample now retained on each sieve is recorded. Now the percentage
loss of weight on each sieve is determined.

The average loss in weight after 10 such cycles should not exceed 12% (for test with sodium
sulphate) or 18% (for test with magnesium sulphate) for aggregate to be of recommendable
quality.

e) Bitumen adhesion Test

Bitumen and tar adhere well to all normal types of road aggregates provided they are dry and
free from dust. The process of initial binding is controlled largely by the viscosity of the binder.
In the absence of water there is partially no adhesion problem in bituminous construction.

Stripping value test (please refer a video presented in your class)

The stripping is due to the fact that some aggregates have greater affinity towards water than
with bituminous binders and this displacement depends on the physio-chemical forces action
on the system. This test is conducted to determine the effects of moisture upon the adhesion of
bituminous film to the surface particles of aggregate. This test is of significant value to ascertain
the suitability of two materials viz. Bitumen (binder) and aggregates, because one particular
aggregate may be satisfactory with one binder and
unsatisfactory with another and some being true for the
binders.

Objective
• To determine the stripping value of aggregates used in
road construction.

121
 • To ascertain in the suitability of road aggregates for bituminous road construction.

Apparatus
• Thermostatically controlled water bath
• Beakers of capacity 500 ml.

Procedure
• The aggregate test sample consists of aggregate of size passing 25mm sieve and retained
on 12.5mm sieve about 200gm.
• Dry, clean and heat the binder and aggregates to 150ºC - 175ºC and 120ºC - 150ºC
respectively and mix with 5% binder by weight of aggregate.
• After complete coating, allow the mixture to cool at room temperature in clean dry
beaker.
• Add distilled water to immerse the coated aggregates.
• Cover the beaker and keep it undisturbed in 40 ºC for a period of 24 hours.
• Estimate the extent of stripping by visual examination while the specimen is still under
water and express as the average percent area of aggregate surface uncoated.

𝑈𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑒

Stripping Value = * 100
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑒

Note: Three samples may be tested simultaneously so as to arrive at an average value. The
stripping value is expressed to the nearest whole number.

The results of stripping test give an indication regarding susceptibility of aggregates to the
action of water or moisture. The more the stripping value, the poorer are the aggregates from
the point of view of adhesion. Maximum stripping value of 25% for aggregates to be used in
bituminous road construction.

4.4 Bituminous Road Binders

Introduction and Types of Road Binders
Bituminous binders used in pavement construction works include bitumen and tar. Bitumen is
a petroleum product obtained by the distillation (the action of purifying a liquid by a process
of heating and cooling) of petroleum crude whereas road tar is obtained by the destructive
distillation of coal and wood. Bituminous materials may be further categorized as below.

122
4.4.1 Bitumen
Bitumen is a viscous liquid or solid material black or dark brown in color, having adhesive
properties consisting essentially of hydrocarbons, derived from crude (unrefined) oil during
fractional distillation or from asphalt occurring in natural form and soluble in carbon disulphide.
Two categories of bitumen are identified as per their source of origin. The first petroleum
bitumen was the byproduct of the fractional distillation at petroleum refinery plant. The second
is the bitumen which is extracted from natural rock or native asphalt (lake).

Natural bitumen
• Extracted from natural rock or native asphalt.

Native lake asphalt

• Found in depression in earth's surface which have accumulated in lakes from the
discharge of spring.
• Asphalt which are found in a pure or nearly pure state in nature.

Natural rock asphalt

• Deposits of sand stone or lime stone naturally impregnated (saturated/soaked) with
asphalt.
• Native asphalt which is associated with a large proportion of mineral matter are called
rock asphalt.

Petroleum bitumen
• By product of the fractional distillation at petroleum refinery plant.
• Petroleum bitumen is also termed as residual bitumen, straight run bitumen or refinery
bitumen.

Desirable properties of bitumen

• The viscosity of the bitumen at the time of mixing and compaction should be adequate.
• The bituminous material should not be susceptible (vulnerable/liable) too much to
temperature.
• Bitumen should not strip off from the aggregate in presence of water.
• Affinity (attraction) and adhesion between the bitumen and the aggregate used in the
mix should be adequate.

A) Liquid Bitumen
a) Cutback Bitumen: Cutback is defined as a bitumen whose viscosity has been reduced by
the addition of volatile diluents. Volatile diluents are gasoline or Naptha, Kerosene and high
boiling light oils. After application of volatile diluents, volatile matter of bitumen will evaporate
leaving behind the desired quantity of bitumen. Cutback is used when it is essential to have a
fluid binder which can be poured or sprayed at relatively low temperature. It is used for road
construction like surface dressing, bituminous macadam or soil stabilization. The important
features of cutback are its viscosity at the temperature of its use and also the rate at which it
sets. The rate of setting of cutback is the rate at which its solvent evaporates. Cutbacks are
generally made by fluxing refinery bitumen with petroleum oil. The quantity of oil used as a
flux gives the low temperature viscosity of cutback but the type of oil or its volatility determines

123
the rate at which it evaporates or in other words rate of setting of cutback. The purpose of
cutback is to increase fluidity. Increasing fluidity has the following advantages:
• Substitute of heating.
• Suitable for direct application.
• Liquefying effect lasts over a long period of time.
• Good mixing manual method.
• Mix be transported for long haul without setting.

Types of cutback
i) Slow curing (S.C): It is manufactured when bitumen is fluxed with high boiling point light
oil which contains little or non-volatile constituent. Mixing of bitumen with low volatile and
non-volatile oil is known as slow curing cutback. It uses in fine cold asphalt and as dust
palliative materials.

ii) Medium curing (M.C.): Increasing fluidity by adding medium volatile agent such as
kerosene is called medium curing cutback bitumen. It is manufactured by fluxing bitumen with
less volatile solvent like kerosene. It uses in dense graded road surfacing and in bituminous soil
stabilization.

iii) Rapid curing (R.C.): This type of cutbacks is manufactured by fluxing or blending bitumen
with highly volatile solvent like Naptha or gasoline. It uses when quick changeable residual
semi-solid binding agent is required.

b) Bitumen emulsions
An emulsion is relatively stable dispersion of a liquid, minutely sub-divided (disperse phase) in
another liquid in which it is not soluble (continuous phase). In a bitumen emulsion, bitumen is
the disperse phase and water is the continuous phase.
Stability of the bitumen is achieved by the use of an
emulsifying agent contained in the aqueous phase.
Normally bitumen does not dissolve in water. But
when heated bitumen and water mixed together and
agitated (disturbed), the bitumen disperses in water in
the form of globules (drops/bubbles) of about 2-
micron diameter. The bitumen globules are held in
suspension in water and prevented from flocculating
(form or cause to form into small clumps or masses).
and setting by electrostatic changes providing by
emulsifiers. Soap is mostly used as an emulsifier.
Bitumen particles can be charged positively or
negatively according to the type of emulsifier.
Emulsion having negative charged bitumen particles
are called anionic emulsion and positively charged particles are called cationic emulsion.
Emulsifier for anionic emulsion - Fully acid derived from vegetative or wood source by reacting
sodium or potassium hydroxide.
Emulsifier for cationic emulsion -Amine salts made by reacting hydrochloric acid or acetic acid
with an organic amine.

124
Types of bitumen emulsion
i) Rapid setting: Break rapidly in contact with aggregates and uses in surface dressing and
penetration macadam (patch repair) type construction.

ii) Medium setting: It does not break rapidly as rapid setting. It is used in premixing with
coarse aggregates and for retreating with old road surface.

iii) Slow setting: It does not break down easily in contact with stone aggregates and is called
fully stable emulsion. It is suitable for fine aggregates, taken for coating purpose and in situ
stabilization of fine-grained soils.

Advantages of bitumen emulsion

• Because of low viscosity at normal temperature it eliminates the need to heat aggregates
and binder.
• Reduces environmental pollution.
• Can be used when weather is relatively cold.
• Ideal for patching and repair work particularly because they do not require heating
before use.
• Useful for sealing cracks.

Application of Emulsion
• Surface treatment - Used for scaling, micro surfacing etc. for the treatment of surface of
pavement.
• Recycling- Cold in place recycling.
• It can be used in soil stabilization.
• It can be used in patch repair works on bituminous road.
• It also can be used in wet conditions.
• It can be used for tack coat and prime coat during construction of pavement.

4.4.2 Tar
Tar is the viscous liquid obtained when natural organic materials such as wood and coal are
carbonized or destructively distilled in the absence of air. Based on the material from which tar
is derived, it is referred to as wood tar or coal tar. Coal tar is widely used for road work because
it is superior to wood tar. The production of tar can be classified into three stages.
• Carbonization of coal to produce crude tar.
• Refining or distillation of crude tar.
• Blending of distillation residue with distillate oil fraction to give the desired road tar.

Road tar can be graded into five groups:

• RT-1 has very low viscosity and can be used for surface painting exceptionally at cold.
• RT-2 is recommended for standard surface painting.
• RT-3 can be used for surface painting and premixing chips for top courses.
• RT-4 is generally used for premixing macadam in base course.
• RT-5 is used for grouting purpose because it has highest viscosity among the road tar.

125
Test carried out on tar
• Viscosity test
• Specific gravity test
• Softening point test
• Water content test
• Distillation test
• Float test.

4.4.3 Tests on bituminous binders

• Penetration test (for consistency)
• Ductility test
• Viscosity test
• Float test
• Softening point test
• Flash and fire point test (for safety)
• Loss on heating test etc.

4.4.3.1 Penetration Test (please refer a video presented in your class)

Penetration is a measurement of hardness or consistency of bituminous material. It is the
vertical distance traversed or penetrated by the point of a standard needle to the bituminous
material under specific condition of load, time and temperature. This distance is measured in
one tenth of a millimeter. This test is used for evaluating consistency of bituminous materials.

126
Objectives
• To determine the consistency of bituminous material.
• To assess the suitability of bitumen for its use under different climatic condition and
type of construction.

Apparatus
• A penetrometer consisting of a needle assembly with a total weight of 100gm and device
for releasing and locking needle in any position.
• A graduated dial gauge to read the penetration value.
• Penetration values can be read with this dial up to 0.1 mm.
• Thermometer - Range 0.44ºC readable up to 0.2ºC.
• Time measuring device with an accuracy ±0.1 sec.

Procedures
• Soften the bitumen to pouring consistency, stir well and pour into the test containers.
Keep the depth of bitumen at least 15mm more than the expected penetration in
container.
• Place the sample containers in water bath at a temperature of 25ºC for one hour.
• At the end of one hour take the sample out from the water bath and bring the needle in
contact with the surface of bitumen sample.
• Set the reading of the dial gauge at zero, when the needle is in contact with the surface
of the sample.
• Release the needle and allow the needle to penetrate for 5 seconds and note the final
reading.
• Take three measurements. The mean value of three measurements is reported as a
penetration value.

Penetration test is a commonly adopted test on bitumen to grade the material in terms of its
hardness. A 80/100 grade bitumen indicates that its penetration value lies between 80 and 100.
The grading of bitumen helps to assess its suitability for use in different climatic conditions and
types of construction. For bituminous macadam and penetration macadam IRC suggests
bitumen grades 30/40, 60/70 and 80/100. In warmer regions lower penetration grades are
preferred to avoid softening whereas higher penetration grade like 180/200 are used in colder
regions, so that excessive brittleness does not occur. Highest penetration grade is used in spray
application works.

127
4.4.3.2 Ductility Test (please refer a video presented in your class)
The ductility test gives a measure of adhesive property of bitumen and its ability to stretch. In
flexible pavement design, it is necessary that binder should form a thin ductile film around the
aggregates so that physical interlocking of aggregates is improved. Binder material having
insufficient ductility gets cracked when subjected to repeated traffic loads and it provides
pervious pavement surface. Ductility of a bituminous material is measured by the distance in
centimeters to which it will elongate before breaking when two ends of standard briquette
specimen of the material are pulled apart at a specified speed and at a specified temperature.

Objectives
• To measure the ductility of a given sample of bitumen.
• To determine the suitability of bitumen for its use in road construction.

Apparatus
• Briquette of standard dimension.
• Pulling device with distance measuring dial (ductility testing machine).
• Water bath arrangement.

Procedure
• Heat the bitumen sample to bring it in fluid state and pour in the briquette assembly and
place on a brass plate.
• Allow whole assembly (bitumen briquette and brass plate) is kept in room temperature
for about 30 to 40 minutes to cool in air.
• Keep whole assembly in a water bath, maintained temperature at 25ºC ± 0.5 ºC for 30
minutes.
• Cut excess bitumen and level the surface with the help of a hot knife.
• After trimming the specimen, it is kept on the ductility machine-maintained temperature
at 25ºC ± 0.5 ºC for about 85 to 95 minutes.
• Now, remove the side of the mould and hook the clips carefully on the machine without
causing any initial strain and adjust the pointer to zero value and note the initial reading.
• Pull the clips apart horizontally at the rate of 50mm per minute and note the distance up
to the point of breaking of thread. The distance in cm gives the value of ductility of
bitumen.
• The ductility of bitumen may vary from 5 to over 100 for different bitumen grades but
for satisfactory performance it should not be less than 50.
• Ductility of bitumen is influenced by pouring temperature, dimension of briquette, test
temperature, rate of pulling etc.

Bitumen with low ductility value may get crack especially in cold weather.

128
4.4.3.3 Viscosity Test (please refer a video presented in your class)
Viscosity of a fluid is the property by virtue of which it offers resistance to flow. Higher the
viscosity, the slower will be the movement of the liquid. The viscosity affects the ability of
binder to spread, move into and fill up the voids between aggregates. It also plays an important
role in coating of aggregates. Highly viscous binder may not fill up the voids completely thereby
resulting in poor density of the mix. At lower viscosity the binder does not hold the aggregates
together but just acts as lubricant. The viscosity of bituminous binders falls very rapidly as the
temperature rises. For binders in liquid state the viscosity is determined as the time in seconds
by 50cc of the material to flow a cup through a specified orifice under standard conditions of
test and at specified temperature.

Objective
• To determine the viscosity
of bituminous.

Apparatus
• An orifice of 10mm size
(Orifice viscometer)
• Sample collector
• Thermometer

Procedure
Record the time in second for 50cc of sample to flow through the orifice of 10mm at the
specified temperature of 35, 40, 45 or 55ºC.

For Cutback, apparatus

• An orifice of 4mm at 25ºC or 10mm at 25ºC - 40ºC (Orifice viscometer).
• Sample collected (with graduated readings).
• Thermometer.

129
Procedure
Record the time in seconds for 50cc of sample to flow through 4mm orifice at 25ºC or 10mm
orifice at 25ºC - 40ºC. The determined time of flow of binder through the orifice gives an
indirect measure of viscosity of tars and cutback. Higher the duration of flow, greater is the
viscosity. Binder having very low viscosity can be advantageously used in exceptionally cold
weather conditions. High viscosity binder has to be heated before their application.

4.4.3.4 Float Test (please refer a video presented in your class)

There is a consistency range of bituminous material for which neither an orifice viscometer test
nor a penetration test could be used to define the consistency of the group and this is measured
by float test.

The apparatus consists of a float made of

aluminum and a brass collar filled with the
specimen material to be tested which is screwed
to the float. The test specimen is filled in the
collar (mould), cooled to a temperature of 5ºC
and screwed into the float. The float assembly
is floated in a water bath at 50ºC and the time required in seconds for water to force its way
through the bitumen plug is noted as the float test value. The higher the float test value, the
stiffer is the material.

4.4.3.5 Softening point Test (please refer a video presented in your class)
The softening point of bitumen or tar is the temperature at which the substance attains a
particular degree of softening. It is the temperature (in ºC) at which a standard ball passes
through a sample of bitumen in a mould and falls through a height of 2.5cm when heated under
water or glycerin at specified conditions of test. The binder should have sufficient fluidity
before its applications in road uses. The determination of softening point helps to know the
temperature up to which a bituminous binder should be heated for various road use application.
Softening point is determined by ring and ball apparatus.

Objective
• To determine the softening point of bitumen or tar.

Apparatus
• A brass ring, steel balls and thermometer.

130
Procedure
• Place the bitumen test sample in the brass ring and suspend the ring in water at given
temperature.
• Put the steel ball on the bitumen and heat the water bath such that the temperature of
water bath rises by 5ºC per minute.
• Note the temperature at which the soften bitumen touches the metal plate placed at a
specified distance below the ring.

Softening point indicates the temperature at which binders possess the same viscosity.
Bituminous materials do not have a definite melting point. Softening point has particular
significance for materials that are to be used as joint and crack fillers. Higher softening point
ensures that they will not flow during service. Higher the softening point, lesser the temperature
susceptibility. Bitumen with higher softening point may be preferred in warmer places.

4.4.3.6 Flash and fire point Test (please refer a video presented in your class)
Flash point: It is the lowest temperature at which the vapour
of a bituminous material momentarily takes fire in the form
of a flash, under specified conditions of test.
Fire point: It is the lowest temperature at which the
application of test flame causes the material to ignite and
burn at least for 5 seconds under specified conditions of test.

At high temperature, bituminous materials emit hydrocarbon vapor which is susceptible to catch
fire. Therefore, heating temperature of bituminous material should be restricted to avoid
hazardous conditions. Flash point and fire point tests are used to determine the temperature to
which bituminous material can safely be heated.

131
Objective
• To determine flash point and fire point of bituminous material.

Apparatus
• Flash and fire point test apparatus in which material closed up
• Cleveland Open Cup Apparatus
• Test Cup- of brass
• Heating Plate
• Test Flame Applicator
• Heater
• Thermometer Support
• Heating Plate Support
• Filling Level Gauge

Procedure
• The test cup is washed with an appropriate solvent to remove any oil or traces of gum
or residue remaining from a previous test. If any deposits of carbon are present, they
should be removed with steel wool. The cup is flashed cold water and dry for a few
minutes over an open flame, on a hot plate, or in an oven to remove the last traces of
solvent and water. The cup is cooled to at least 56ºC below the expected flash point
before using.
• The thermometer is supported in a vertical position with the bottom of the bulb
6.4 mm from the bottom of the cup and located at a point halfway between the center
and side of the cup on the diameter perpendicular to the arc (or line) of the sweep of the
test flame and on the side opposite to the test frame burner arm.
• The cup, is filled at any convenient temperature (Note 1) not exceeding 100ºC above
the softening point, so that the top of the meniscus is at the filling line. To aid in this
operation, a Filling Level Gauge may be used. If too much sample has been added to
the cup, remove the excess, using a pipette or other suitable device; however, if there is
sample on the outside of the apparatus, empty, clean and refill it. Any air bubbles on the
surface of the sample are destroyed.

Note 1. Viscous samples should be heated until they are reasonably fluid before being
poured into the cup. For asphalt cement, the temperature during heating must not
exceed 100 ºC above the expected softening point. Extra caution must be exercised with
liquid asphalt’s which should be heated only to the lowest temperature at which they
can be poured.
• The test flame is lighted and adjusted to a diameter of 3.8 to 5.4mm.
• Heat is applied initially so that the rate of temperature rise of the sample is 14 to 17ºC
per minute. When the sample temperature is approximately 56ºC below the anticipated
flash point, decrease the heat so that the rate of temperature rises for the 28ºC before the
flash point is 5 to 6ºC per minute.
• Starting at least 28ºC below the assumed flash point, the test flame is applied when the
temperature read on the thermometer reaches each successive 2ºC mark. The test flame
is passed across the center of the cup, at right angles to the diameter which passes

132
 through the thermometer. With a smooth, continuous motion apply the flame either in a
straight line or along the circumference of a circle having a radius of at least 150 mm.
The center of the test flame must move in a plane not more than 2.5 mm above the plane
of the upper edge of the cup passing in one direction first, then in the opposite direction
the next time. The time consumed in passing the test flame across the cup shall be about
1 sec. During the last 17ºC rise in temperature prior to the flash point, care must be taken
to avoid disturbing the vapors in the test cup by careless movements or breathing near
the cup.
• The observed flash point is recorded as the temperature read on the thermometer when
a flash appears at any point on the surface of the oil, but do not confuse the true flash
with the bluish halo that sometimes surrounds the test flame.
• To determine the fire point, continue heating so that the sample temperature increases
at a rate of 5 to 6 ºC. The application of the test flame is continued at 2 ºC intervals until
the oil ignites and continues to burn for at least 5 sec. Record the temperature at this
point as the fire point of the oil.

The determination of flash point is helpful in assessing the safe limits of heating the bitumen.
The heating temperature of bitumen should be limited well below the flash point.

4.4.3.7 Loss on heating Test (please refer a video presented in your class)
When bitumen is heated, it losses the volatiles and gets hardened.

Procedure
• About 50gm of the sample is weighted and heated to a temperature of 163ºC for 5 hours
in special oven designed for the test.
• Weight the specimen again after heating and determine the loss in weight.
• Express the loss of weight as percentage of the original weight.

Bitumen used in pavement mixes should not indicate more than 1% loss in weight, for bitumen
of penetration values 150-200 up to 2% loss in weight is allowed.

4.4.4 Bituminous Mixes

The bituminous mix design should aim an economical blend with proper gradation of
aggregates and adequate proportion of bitumen so as to fulfill the desired properties of the mix.
The desirable properties of a good bituminous mix are stability, durability, flexibility, skid
resistance and workability. Bituminous mixes are composed of mixture of aggregates (coarse
aggregates and fine aggregates) with bitumen tar / bituminous materials with or without filler.

4.4.4.1 Coarse aggregate: Materials retained on 2.36mm sieve.

Function
• Imparts stability to the mix by the mechanical interlock between the particles and the
frictional resistance developed at the interface between the particles.
• Resist the abrasive action of traffic and withstand wear.
4.4.4.2 Fine aggregates: Material passing through 2.36mm sieve and retained on 75μm sieve.
Function
• Add stability to the mix by increasing the interlock.

133
 • Fill the voids of coarse aggregates and help to secure dense gradation.
• Facilitate greater load transfer from one aggregate to other in view of the increased
number of contact points.

4.4.4.3 Filler: Material passing through 600-micron sieve

Function
• Acts as final void filling and completes the process of making the mixture as dense as
possible.
• Helps to lower the temperature susceptibility of the binder and thus helps it to retain its
hardness at higher temperature.

4.4.4.4 Functions of binder

• Helps to lubricate all the aggregates particles and thus facilitates the compaction of
mixture to the required density.
• Imparts cohesion to the mixture and thus increase its stability.
• Serves to water proof layer.
• Provides flexibility of the layer.

4.4.4.5 Bituminous Mixes: are of two types

a) Closed graded mixes
• Composed of hot mix, hot laid mixtures of aggregates and high viscosity binder.
• Used in high category roads in the construction of top layer.

b) Open grade mixes

• Can be laid either in hot or cold mix form.
• Used in medium category roads (low traffic volume).

Mix design methods should aim at determining the properties of aggregates and bituminous
material which would give a mix having the following properties:
• Sufficient stability to satisfy the service
requirements of pavement and the traffic
conditions without under displacement.
• Sufficient bitumen to ensure a durable
pavement by coating the aggregate and
bonding them together and also by water
proofing the mix.
• Sufficient voids in the compacted mix as to provide a reservoir space for a slight amount
of additional compaction due to traffic and to avoid flushing, bleeding and loss of
stability.
• Sufficient flexibility even in the coldest season to prevent cracking due to repeated
application of traffic load.
• Sufficient workability while placing and compacting the mix.
• The mix should be the most economical one that would produce a stable, durable and
skid resistance pavement.

134
4.4.4.6 Various Methods of Bituminous Mix Design
The design of bituminous mix primarily consists of three basic steps:

a) Selection of aggregates
Aggregates which possess sufficient strength, hardness and soundness are chosen keeping in
view the availability and economic consideration. Crushed aggregates and sharp sands produce
higher stability of the mix when compared
with gravel and rounded sands. The
properties of a bituminous mix including
density and stability are very much
dependent on the aggregates and their grain
size distribution. As higher maximum size of
aggregate gives higher stability, usually
biggest size that can be adopted keeping in
view of the compacted thickness of the layer
is selected, provided all other factors
are equal. In base course maximum
aggregate size of 2.5 to 5cm are used
whereas surface course 1.25 to 1.87cm
size are used in the mix. The design
grading is decided based on the type of
construction work, thickness of the
layer and availability of aggregates.
Then the available aggregates are
proportioned. The preparation of
specimen depends on the stability test
method. According as the specification of materials proposed for bituminous mixes.

b) Selection of binders
• Depends upon the nature
of traffic and climatic
condition
• Penetration grade
bitumen is considered
suitable.
Recommendation for selection of
binder for asphalt concrete

c) Determination of optimum binder content (OBC)

It is done to ensure maximum stability. Stability is defined as the resistance of the paving mix
to deformation under load. This can be done by following methods:
• Surface area concept method
• Void concept method

135
Mix design method (Marshall Method- please refer a video presented in your class)
The test procedure is used in designing and evaluation bituminous paving mixes. The major
features of Marshall method of designing mixes are to
determine the two important properties i.e. strength and
flexibility.

Objectives
• To determine the density-voids analysis for the given
bituminous mixture.
• To determine the strength (Marshall's stability value
– Maximum load at 60 ºC to cause deformation in Kg)
and flexibility (flow value – deformation under
maximum load in mm) for the given bituminous
mixture.
• To determine the suitability of the bituminous mixture
to meet the specified criteria for surface course.

Apparatus
• Cylindrical mould of 101.6mm diameter and 63.5mm
height with a base plate and collar.
• A hammer of 4.54 kg weight.
• A sample extractor to extrude
the compacted specimen from
mould.
• A dial gauge to measure the
deformation of the specimen.
proving ring to measure the
load.

Preparation of test specimen

• Measure out of aggregates and
heat up to 154ºC 160ºC.
• Add bitumen at the mixing
temperature to produce
viscosity of 170 centistokes at
various percentages for both above or below the expected optimum content.
• Mix the materials in a heated pan with heated mixing tools.
• Return the mixture to oven and reheat it to the compacting temperature (to produce
viscosity of 280 ± 30 centistokes).
• Place the mixture in a heated Marshall mould with a collar base. Spade the mixture
around the sides of the mould. Place filter paper under the sample and on top of the
sample.
• Place the mould in Marshall Compaction Pedestal.
• Compact the material with 50 blows of hammer, invert the sample and compact the
outer face with the same number of blows.

136
 • After compaction, invert the mould. With the collar on the bottom, remove the base and
extract the sample by pushing it out the extraction.
• Allow the sample to stand for a few hours to cool.
• Obtain the sample's mass in air and submerged to measure density of specimen, so as to
allow, calculation of voids properties.

Note:
• At least three specimens for each combination of aggregates and bitumen should be
prepared.
• For surface courses with 12mm aggregate, the expected optimum bitumen content may
be made at 5.5%, 6%, 6.5%, 7% and 7.5% bitumen content.

Procedure
• Specimens are heated to 60º ± 1º (57.8º + 1ºC for specimens in which tar has been used
in place of bitumen) either in a water bath for 30-40 minutes or in oven for a minimum
of two hours.
• Remove the specimens from the water bath (or oven) and place in the lower segment of
the breaking head. Then place the upper segment of the breaking head on the specimen
and place the complete assembly in position on the testing machine.
• Place the flow meter over one of the posts and adjust it to read zero.
• Apply load at a rate of 50mm per minute until the maximum load reading is obtained.
• Record the maximum load reading in N. At the same instant obtain the flow as recorded
on the flow meter in units of mm.

137
 Unit 5 (6 Hrs)

ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE

5.1 Activities and Techniques used in Road Construction

This chapter focuses on how the highways are built i.e. highway construction. In fact, road
construction project can be divided into following phases namely:
• Earthwork and preparation of subgrade.
• Laying of pavement.
• Protection work like retaining wall, toe wall, parapet wall etc., construction of drainage
facilities.
Road construction technology is that branch of engineering which deals with all kinds of
activities and technology or operation for changing existing ground to the desired shape, slope
and to provide all necessary facilities for smooth, safe and efficient traffic movement and
operation which also includes the reconstruction of existing roads. Any technology for civil
construction depends upon the available resources which are available equipment, plant and
human resources. The construction technology differs as per the adoption of the resources. As
per the nature, type of works and elements of road to be constructed various activities can be
broadly divided into several works as follows:

a) Earthwork and site clearance

• Site clearance
• Earthwork in filling for embankment
• Excavation for cutting
• Excavation for borrow pit
• Excavation for structural foundation
• Disposal of surplus earth

b) Drainage works
• Minor bridges
• Culverts
• Causeways
• Side drains
• Other surface and sub surface drainage works

c) Protection works
• Earth retaining structures
• River training works
• Gully control works (A gully is a landform created by
running water, eroding sharply into soil, typically on a
hillside. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys,
but are metres to tens of metres in depth and width)
• Land, slide stabilization
• Bridge protection works

138
d) Pavement works
• Sub grade works
• Sub base works
• Base works
• Surface works

e) Miscellaneous works
• Road ancillaries (marking, fencing, guard rails/kerbing and bush clearing)
• Traffic signs/signals/markings etc.
• Bio-engineering works

5.2 Tools, Equipment and Plants used in Road Construction

Construction tool, equipment and plants used in road construction activities can be classified as
follows.

5.2.1 Tools
Hand shovel, chisel, peak, spade, hand rammer, brushes, trowel, wheelbarrows etc.

139
5.2.2 Equipment
a) Earth Moving Equipment
• Dozer (Bull, Angle & Tree)
• Scraper
• Loader
• Excavator
• Backhoe
• Dragline
• Clamshell
• Trench digger

b) Compaction Equipment
• Smooth wheel roller
• Vibrating roller
• Pneumatic roller
• Sheep foot roller
• Different capacity rammers

140
Soil compaction can be achieved in field either by rolling, ramming or by vibration, Hence the
compacting equipment may also be classified as rollers, rammers and vibrators. Compaction of
sands is also achieved by watering, pounding and jetting. Trucks and heavy equipment’s do
compaction of loose materials to some extent.

Rollers: The principle of roller is the application of pressure, which is slowly increased and
then decreased. The various types of rollers which are used for compaction are smooth wheel,
pneumatic tyred and sheep-foot rollers.

i) Smooth Wheel Rollers

There are mainly two types of smooth wheel rollers namely;
• Three wheel or
macadam rollers
with gross weight of
4~18t
• Tandem rollers (two
wheel) with gross
weight of 1~14t
The compacting efficiency
of the smooth wheel rollers depends on the weight, width and diameter of each roller. They are
useful for finishing operations after compaction of fills and for compacting granular base course
of highways. They are used to seal the surface of the fill to provide a smooth surface to quickly
drain off the rainwater. They are suitable for compacting gravel, sand, crushed rock and any
material where crushing action is required.

ii) Pneumatic Tyred Rollers

In this type of rollers, number of pneumatic wheels (9~1 1 wheels) are mounted on two or more
axles under a loading platform. Sandbags or some other weights can be placed over the platform
to provide the effective compaction. Pneumatic tyres are so spaced that a complete coverage is
obtained with each
pass of the roller. In
addition to the direct
pressure due to
rolling, it also
compacts the soil by
kneading action. They
are most effective for
compacting both
cohesive soils
(attraction between
same particle) and
cohesion less soils especially non plastic silts and fine sands. The weight of such roller may be
as large as 50t and 2~4 passes are generally sufficient to achieve compaction of 60cm thick soil
layer. Light rollers (weight up to 20t) are used for soil layers of small thickness up to 15 cm,
heavy rollers useful for layers of thickness up to 30 cm.

141
iii) Sheep Foot Roller
This type of roller consists of hollow steel cylinder with projecting feet. The weight of the roller
can be increased by filling water or wet soil in the drum. The weight, diameter and width of the
roller may be varied and also the shape and size of the feet. The efficiency of the sheep foot
rollers depends on the weight of the roller and the number of feet in contact with the ground at
a time. They are
most suitable to
compact clayey
soils. There is an
action of tamping
and kneading
action to the soil
during compaction.
The thickness of
compacting layer is
kept about 5 cm
more than the length of each foot. About 24 or more number of passes of the roller may be
necessary to obtain adequate compaction. The top layer of the subgrade or fill may be
compacted using smooth wheel roller so as to get a properly finished surface.
The compaction of any roller depends up on the following factors:
• Contact pressure
• Number of passes
• Layer thickness
• Speed of roller

Rammers
It is the block of iron or stone attached to a wooden rod; and may be of following two types
namely:
• Hand operated of weight around 3.5 Kg
• Mechanical
It is useful to compact relatively small areas and where the rollers cannot operate due to space
limit such as trenches, foundation and slopes. The output of the rammer is much lower than that
of the rollers.

Vibrators
They are most suitable for compacting dry cohesionless granular material. There are also
vibrator mounted roller (vibratory roller) to give combined effects of rolling and vibration. They
are advantageously used in compacting a wide range of materials.

Watering (Jetting and Pounding)

Watering is considered to be an efficient method of compacting cohesionless sands. Watering
heavily and rolling by smooth wheel of pneumatic tyred roller may also give adequate
compaction of cohesionless sands.

142
c) Leveling Equipment
• Motor grader

d) Paving Equipment
• Binder storage tank with heating device
• Binder spreader (Distributor)
• Aggregate spread
• Cement concrete mixture
• Bituminous mechanical paver
• Cement concrete paver

e) Lifting Equipment
• Backhoe, Loader (for low loads)
• Crane (Different capacity)
• Transporting Equipment
• Dumping trucks (Tippers)
• Trucks (Flat body)
• Mini dumpers

143
f) Miscellaneous Equipment
• Rock driller
• Water Tanker/Drilling machines

g) Plant
• Cement concrete plant
• Asphalt concrete plant
• Cold mix plant
• Aggregate crushing plant
• Screening plant
• Washing plant
• Sand blowing unit

144
5.3 Preparation of Road Bed
5.3.1 Site Clearance
Site clearance is the first operation for fixing road alignment before the commencement of any
earthworks for the road construction. The major works in site clearance includes:
• Clearing hedges (border) and shrubs at least covering toe width.
• Removal of existing trees, stumps and roots along the alignment.
• Removal of existing structures along the alignment.

5.3.2 Preparation of Subgrade

Subgrade preparation includes all operations before the pavement structures could be laid over
it and compacted. Subgrade may be situated on embankment, excavation or at the existing
ground surface. Therefore, the sites should be cleared off and grading is necessary to bring the
vertical profile of the subgrade to the designed grade and camber. The top of the subgrade
should be well compacted before placing the pavement layer.

5.3.3 Earthwork
It includes all construction operations required to convert the road land from its natural
condition and configuration to the sections and grades prescribed in the plans. Earthwork, which
may be excavation or filling, can be performed manually or using machines. In order to reduce
the cost of construction, it is necessary to plan the movement of materials from cuts to the
nearest fills; therefore, it is necessary to decide the limits of economical haul and lift. It is
advantageous to plot a mass haul diagram to compute the haulage details. The swelling and
shrinkage factor may also be considered in the excavation and compaction of earth.

Earthwork in Excavation
The process of cutting or loosening and removing the earth including rock from its original
position, transporting and dumping it to the site as a fill or spoil bank is known as excavation.
It may be needed in soil, soft rock, or even in hard rock before preparing the subgrade. It is
done when the natural ground level is higher than the designed grade line level. The depth of
cutting depends upon the height of grade line below natural ground level and can be calculated
from longitudinal section and cross section of the road. The construction of side drains also
requires excavation along roadside. The selection of excavating equipment and cost analysis is
made based on the stiffness of the materials to be excavated. The excavation equipment’s
commonly used in highway projects are dozers, drag line, scrappers, clam shell, hoe etc. In
small projects excavation is carried out using hand tools. The selection of particular type of
equipment depends upon the types of soil, availability of equipment and cost benefit analysis
of the project. The design elements of highway excavation works are:
• Depth
• Stability of foundation
• Stability of slopes
• Accommodation of road side drains

Earthwork in Embankment
Earthwork in embankment is the filling of earth or soil to achieve the desired grade line with
the consideration of vertical alignment. It is necessary when natural ground level is below the

145
grade line level or formation level. The grade line may be raised due to any of the following
reasons.
• To keep the subgrade above the high ground water table.
• To prevent damage to pavement due to surface water and capillary water.
• To maintain the design standards of the highway with respect to the vertical alignment.
The design elements of highway embankments are:

a) Height of fill: Depends on the formation level and location of natural ground. In case of
weak soils, its bearing capacity and stability control the height of embankment.

b) Fill materials: Generally, granular soil is preferred as highway embankment material. As

far as possible organic soils, silts should be avoided. If the foundation is very weak then light
soil as cinder may also be used as fill material. The best of the soils available locally is often
selected with a view to keep the lead and lift as low as possible.

c) Settlement of embankment: The settlement of fill material i.e. embankment after the
completion of construction may be caused due to:
• settlement of fill material itself
• settlement of foundation
• both of the above

If the embankment foundation consists of compressible soil with high moisture content, the
consolidation
can occur due
to increase in
the load. The
settlement of
the fill is
generally due
to inadequate
compaction
during
construction
and hence by proper compaction this type of settlement may be almost eliminated. Whatever
be the type of settlement, it is desirable that the settlement is almost complete before the

146
construction of pavement. To reduce the settlement of foundation at high moisture content
sometimes following remedy is taken into account. To accelerate the rate of consolidation of
saturated foundation clay, vertical sand drains are sometimes constructed. The use of vertical
drains and sand blanket will reduce the path of flow so that there is no danger from settlement
point of view. Vertical sand drains or vertical columns of sand installed in the compressible
foundation like marshy soils to decrease the drainage path and thus accelerate the rate of
consolidation. It may be of 0.3 to 0.6 m diameter and may be installed at 2.5 to 6 m spacing,
arranged in a hexagonal pattern. A horizontal sand blanket of about 0.5 m thickness is placed
at the top of the vertical sand drains extending across the entyre bottom width of the
embankment. This helps the water to flow out with ease.

d) Stability of foundation: When the embankment foundation consists of weak soil just
beneath or at a certain depth below in the form of a weak stratum, it is essential to consider the
stability of the foundation against the failure. This is also essential in the case of high
embankments. The foundation stability is evaluated and the factor of safety is estimated.

e) Stability of slopes: Embankment slopes should be stable enough to eliminate the possibility
of a failure under adverse moisture and other conditions. The stability of the slope should be
checked by providing minimum factor of safety of 1.5. Flatter slopes are preferred than in
highway excavation due to aesthetic and other reasons.

Construction of Embankment
The embankment may be
constructed either by
rolling in relatively thin
layers called rolled earth
method or by hydraulic
fills. The former (previous)
is more preferred in
highway embankments. In
rolled earth method, each
layer is compacted by
rolling to a satisfactory
degree or to a desired
density before next layer is
placed. While rolling the
layers of the soils are
maintained at optimum
moisture content.
Compaction at optimum
moisture content provides
the maximum dry density
using a specified
compacting effort and
equipment. The thickness
of the layers may vary

147
between 10 to 30 cm depending on various factors such as soil type, equipment specification
etc. The practice of dumping the earth without compacting properly and allowing the fill to get
consolidated under weather during few subsequent seasons should be avoided, as the settlement
will continue for a very long period. If the pavement is constructed before the settlement of the
fill is almost complete, the pavement is likely to become uneven and also fail later on.

Soil Compaction
Compaction of soil is the process by which the soil particles are constrained to pack more
closely together through a reduction in air voids generally by mechanical means. The objective
of compacting soil is to improve its properties and to increase its strength and bearing capacity,
to reduce its compressibility and to decrease its ability to absorb water due to reduction in
volume of voids. The various factors influencing soil compaction include moisture content,
amount and type of compaction, soil type and stone content. There is optimum moisture content
for a soil, which would give maximum dry density for a particular type and amount of
compaction. Hence, it is desirable to compact the soil at the OMC (Optimum Moisture Content)
after deciding the compacting equipment. The moisture content during compaction must also
be specified and carefully controlled during construction to achieve the maximum density by
the selected method of compaction.

Field Control of Compaction

For adequate quality control in construction, it is necessary to have proper field control in
construction. The two field control tests needed are:
• Measurement of moisture content
• Measurement of dry density
Before compaction of earthwork is undertaken, it is always preferred to know the optimum
moisture content for the soil, which can be determined by Proctor's Field control method. If the
moisture content of the soil during compaction is controlled at OMC then the next control
needed is the dry density, the desired value of which may be achieved by increasing the number
of passes for the selected equipment and the thickness of each layer (sand replacement method
is widely used). In field, it is not possible to achieve 100% results in comparison to standard
results obtained in the laboratory. However, by field checks it is possible to control the
compaction to achieve the best possible results. Around more than 95% of the standard density
is generally aimed at in the field compaction.

5.4 Mass Haul Diagram

Mass-haul diagrams (MHD) are used to compare the economics of the various methods of
earthwork distribution on road or railway construction schemes. With the combined use of the
MHD plotted directly below the longitudinal section of the survey centre-line, one can find:
• The distances over which ‘cut and fill’ will balance.
• Quantities of materials to be moved and the direction of movement.
• Areas where earth may have to be borrowed or wasted and the amounts involved.
• The best policy to adopt to obtain the most economic use of plan.

Diagrammatic representation of earthwork volumes along a linear profile. Horizontal stationing

is plotted along the X-axis. Net earthwork values are plotted along the Y-axis. An Earthwork
Profile is a plot of the net earthwork along a roadway or air strip. Net cut values are plotted

148
above the X- axis (positive Y value). Net fill
values are plotted below the X- axis
(negative Y value). It represents a picture of
the earthwork requirements.

Upward sloping curves indicate (rising left

to right) indicate a cut. Downward sloping
(falling left to right) curves occur in a fill
section. Peaks indicate a change from cut to
fill and valleys occur when the earthwork
changes from fill to cut.

The cumulated volume of earthwork at the

horizontal axis (Y=0) is 0. When
a horizontal line intersects two
or more points along the curve,
the accumulated volumes at
those points are equal. A
negative value at the end of the
curve indicates that borrow is
required to complete the fill. A
positive value at the end of the
curve indicates that a waste
operation will be the net result.

To construct the Mass Haul Diagram

manually:
• Compute the net earthwork
values for each station,
applying the appropriate
shrink factor
• Net cuts have a positive
value, net fills have a negative
value
• The value at the first station
(origin) = 0
• Plot the value of each
succeeding station which
equals the cumulative value
to that point, i.e., the value at
i = net cut/fill a+b+c+…i

149
Characteristics of Mass Curve:
• Rising sections of the mass curve indicates areas where excavating exceeds fill,
whereas falling sections indicate where fill exceeds excavation.
• Steep slopes reflect heavy cuts & fills, while flat slopes indicate areas for small amount
of earthwork.
• The difference in ordinates between any two points indicate net excess of excavation
over embankment or vice versa.
• Any horizontal line drawn to intersect two points within the same curve indicates a
balance of excavation (cut) and embankment (fill) quantities between the two points.
• Points of zero slope represent points where roadway goes from cut to fill or from fill to
cut.
• The highest or the lowest points of the mass haul diagram represents the crossing points
between the grade line (roadway level) and natural ground level.

A graphical representation of the cumulative amount of earthwork moved along the centerline
and distances over which the earth and materials are to be transported. Mass curves determine
the average haul, free haul and overhaul on a given segment of roadway. Mass diagrams tell
the contractors and inspectors about the quantity of material moved and how far it can be
economically moved.
• Haul - The transportation of excavated material from its original position to its final
location in the work or other disposal area. This is also known as authorized haul.
• Average haul - Average haul is the area of the mass diagram representing the number
of cubic yard stations of haul between balance points divided by the ordinate of the
mass which the yardage hauled.
• Free haul distance- Free haul is the distance to which the contractor is supposed to
move the earth without any additional charge. The charge for free haul is covered by
the unit rate of earthwork and it is generally 50m.
• Overhaul distance - Overhaul is the distance in excess of free haul for which the
contactor will be paid extra for each unit of haulage.

150
 • Economic haul:
o Economic haul distance is a distance to which material from excavation to
embankment can be moved more economically than to get material from
borrow opening.
o When the haul distances are large it may be economical to waste excavated
material and borrow from a more convenient source that pay for overhauling.
o The economic over haul distance can be determined by equating the cost of
roadway excavation plus overhaul and tipping in embankment with the cost of
borrow pit material (including original cost as well as cost of excavation,
hauling and tipping from borrow pit to embankment) plus excavation, haul and
wasting of roadway material within the free haul distance.
• Shrinkage: When earth is excavated from borrows area and deposited on the
embankment its volume increases. But as compaction is done, the final volume of the
compacted bank becomes less than the borrow area volume. This is known as
shrinkage. Actual shrinkage factor depends on the soil deposit and may vary from
10~20%.
• Swell: When rock is excavated and deposited in the bank, the volume of material may
occupy a larger volume and this is known as swell which may vary from 20~40%.

5.5 Construction of Low-Costs Roads

A low-cost road is a road constructed at a low cost and is capable of being maintained at a low
cost. In villages and undeveloped areas, the immediate need is not of good roads but the road
access which may serve the traffic needs. As the traffic increases on the road, as a result of the
development existing roads may be improved upon to serve the needs of the increased traffic.
This enables economical use of the funds. Construction of low-cost roads is very preferred in
developing countries like Nepal where large length of roads is to be constructed in the rural
area with the limited available funds. Earth roads, Gravel roads and Soil stabilized roads are the
examples of such roads.

5.5.1 Construction of Earthen Roads

Earth road is type road whose whole pavement section is constructed with the locally available
earth material preferably. It is the cheapest type of road prepared from natural soil. It is also the
first stage of road development. The road pavement is totally made out of soil locally available.
Standing water may damage the pavement in gentle cross slope and erosion and formation of
cross ruts will occur in steep slope. Camber provided in this type of road is in the range of 1 in
20 to 1 in 33.

Specification of materials:
The earth material used for the
construction of earth roads as termed as
satisfactory if they possess the following
properties.

151
Construction procedure
• Material: The soil survey is carried out and suitable borrow pits are located within the
economical haulage distance. The various organic materials like trees, shrubs and grass
roots are removed before the excavation of earth.
• Location of center line: The center line and boundaries are marked in the ground by
driving the wooden peg to follow the desired vertical profile of the road. Reference pegs
are also driven at a certain spacing.
• Preparation of sub-grade: Following steps are necessary for the preparation of the sub-
grade.
✓ Site clearing: The site clearance may be done manually using appliance like spade,
pick or hand shovel or using the mechanical equipment like dozer, scraper etc.
✓ Excavation and construction of fills: Excavation and construction of fills to bring
road in a desired grade may also be done manually or using excavation, hauling and
compaction equipment Dozer are considered very useful for haulage of short
distance.
✓ Shaping of sub grade: The sub grade should be compacted to the desired grade,
camber and longitudinal profile.
✓ Pavement construction: The soil is dumped on the prepared sub-grade and
pulverized. The soil may be a mixture of more than one soil to get the desired
properties. The moisture content is checked and if extra moisture is needed, then
added to bring it to OMC (Optimum Moisture Content). The soil is mixed, spread
and rolled in the layer such that the compaction thickness net does not exceed 10cm.
The type of roller for compaction is decided based on soil type, desired amount of
compaction and availability of equipment. The camber of the finished surface is
checked and correct when necessary.
✓ Opening to traffic: The compacted earth surface is allowed to dry out for few days
and then open to traffic.

5.5.2 Construction of Gravel Roads

Gravel roads are considered superior to earthen roads as they can carry heavier traffic loads.
Compacted gravel mix makes the carriageway of these roads. This type of road can cater for
about 100 t of pneumatic tyred vehicle or 60 t of iron-tyred vehicle per day per lane. These
gravel roads can have camber ranging between 1 in 25 and 1 in 30. A well compacted crushed
rock or gravel road is fairly resilient (strong/hard) and does not become slippery when wet.
Gravel roads may be constructed in the form of trench type or featheredge type patterns as
shown in the figure below.

The feather edge type is constructed over the subgrade with varying thickness so as to obtain
the desired cross slope for the pavement surface. In the trench type, the subgrade is prepared by
excavating a shallow trench. Since there is better lateral confinement for the gravel pavement
this method of construction is preferred.

152
Materials
Hard, durable, strong variety of crushed stone or gravel of specified gradation is used for the
road construction. There are no specifications for the materials. But rounded stones and pit run
gravel (obtained from the river beds) are not preferred because of their poor interlocking. Proper
gradation of the mix should be chosen to have a maximum density.

Equipment
The road can be constructed manually with hand tools or using other equipment’s for
excavations, hauling, compaction.

Construction Procedure
• Material: Gravel to be used for construction is stacked along the sides of the proposed
road.
• Location and preparation of subgrade: Compacted subgrade is prepared as in the case
of earthen roads. Usually trench type construction technology is followed. Trench is
formed to the desired depth of construction; the width of the trench is made equal to that
of the carriageway. The trench is brought to the desired grade and compaction of trench
base is done to obtain hard-consolidated base for the gravel layer.
• Pavement construction: Crushed gravel aggregates are placed carefully in the trench
so as to avoid segregation. Aggregates are spread with greater thickness at the centre
and less towards the edges to obtain the desired camber. The layer is rolled using smooth
wheel rollers. Rolling is done from edges to the centre with an overlap of at least half
the width of the roller in the longitudinal direction. Some quantity of water may be
sprayed to get effective compaction. The camber is checked and corrected using a
template or camber board.
• Opening to traffic: Few days after the initial rolling and drying out, the road is opened
to the traffic. Efficient drainage facilities should be provided.

5.5.3 Construction of Water Bound Macadam (WBM) Roads

The water bound macadam road construction technique was given by John Macadam. Macadam
means the pavement base course made of crushed or broken aggregate mechanically interlocked
by rolling and the voids filled with screening and binding material with the assistance of water.
WBM may be used as a sub-base, base or surface course. The thickness of each compacted
layer of WBM ranges from 10 cm to 7.5 cm depending on size and the gradation of aggregate
used.

Specification of materials:
• Coarse aggregates: They are crushed aggregate or broken stones and should be hard,
durable, acceptable and free from flaky and elongated particle.
• Screenings: Screenings are used to fill up the roads in compacted layer of coarse
aggregate. They consider of small sized coarse aggregate with non-plastic materials.
✓ Liquid limit ≤ 20%
✓ Plasticity index ≤ 6%
✓ Proportion of fines passing 0.075 mm sieve ≤ 10%.
• Binding materials: Binding materials are used to prevent reveling of the stones. Fine
grain and locally available material like lime, stone dust etc. may be used.

153
 ✓ Plasticity index- 4% to 9% in WBM surface course construction.
✓ Plasticity index ≤ 6% WBM layer as base course and sub-base course.

Construction Procedure:
• Preparation of foundation: The existing surface shall be prepared to the required
grade, camber and cross-section and cleaned of all dust. Weak places such as ruts,
depressions and coarse pot holes made good with suitable material before spreading the
aggregates for WBM. The necessary camber and grade are also provided.
• Lateral confinement: For providing lateral
confinement of aggregates, the shoulders
having thickness equal to the compacted
WBM layer should be constructed in advance
and by trimming the inner sides vertically.
• Spreading of coarse aggregate: The coarse
aggregate should be spread uniformly and
evenly on the prepared sub-base.
• Rolling: Compaction of coarse aggregate is done by wheel power roller of capacity 6
to 10 tones or alternately by an equivalent vibratory roller. Except in super elevated
portion, where the rolling should proceed from inner edge to outer edge, rolling should
begin from the edge gradually progressing towards center. Successive passes should
uniformly overlap the proceeding by at least one-half width. Complete rolling is
indicated by a loose stone piece getting crushed under the roller without sinking.
• Application of screening: After the coarse aggregate have been dry rolled, the
screening (stone dust) shall be applied to fill up the gaps, gradually and uniformly in
successive thin layers at a slow rate in three or more. Dry rolling shall be done when the
screenings are being spread so that vibration of roller cause screening to settle into the
voids of coarse aggregate. This shall be accompanied by rolling and brooming. After
the application of screening, the surface shall be sprinkled with water, swept and rolled.
The sprinkling, sweeping and rolling operations shall be continued and additional
screenings applied when necessary.
• Application of Binding material: After the application of screening binding material
shall be applied at a uniform and slow rate in two or more successive thin layers. After
each application of binding material, the surface shall be sprinkled with water, the
resulting slurry swept into the voids properly and surface rolled by a roller.
• Setting and drying: After final compaction of course, the layer shall be allowed to dry
overnight. Next morning, hungry spots shall be filled with screening or binding material,

154
 lightly sprinkle with water and rolled. No traffic shall be allowed till the macadam sets.
The compacted WBM course shall be allowed completely dry and set.

Quality control
• Checking camber and grade
• Conducting Atterberg’s limit, gradation of aggregate, flakiness index, CBR value of
aggregate.

5.5.4 Soil Stabilized Roads

Mechanics of soil stabilization
Soil stabilization is a process which brings about improvement in the performance of the soil
sub-grade or soil base. In other words, it brings about improvement in the stability and bearing
power of the soil. These changes are brought about through controlled proportioning,
compaction and/or the addition of suitable stabilizer or admixture.

Techniques of soil stabilization

Depending upon the results achieved by various stabilization techniques, they can be grouped
under following heads.
• Proportioning: In this method various soils are proportioned in suitable proportion;
which give desired results after-compaction.
• Modifying agents: Lime and cement are the two main modifying agents. When small
amount of modifier is added to the soil to be stabilized it brings about lot of
improvement in the performance of the soil.
• Cementing agents: Addition of cementing material like lime, lime-fly ash, or cement,
considerably enhance the strength and stability of the stabilized soils. Bituminous
materials impart binding property to non-cohesive soils like pure sand.
• Water proofing and water repelling agents: A good stable soil may become soft and
weak if water, somehow, gets entered into it. If entrance of water in such soil is stopped
or minimized by using water proofing agents, its strength properties can be preserved
and soil may continue to perform effectively. Bituminous materials are the most
commonly adopted water proofing materials. Water repelling agents like vinsol resin,
when added to the materials to be stabilized, render stabilized soil water proof. These
agents do not allow water to come in contact with the stabilized soil, because they coat
the soil particles and prevent absorption of water.
• Water retaining agents: Some of the non-cohesive soils maintain sufficient stability
and strength when their layers possess certain minimum amount of moisture. These soils
become loose and less stable if M.C. (moisture content) is less than this. Calcium
chloride is one such compound which if added to the stabilized soil, will continue to
absorb moisture from atmosphere and will maintain optimal M.C. in the soil. Treatment
with calcium chloride also reduces dust nuisance on the kutcha roads.

Factors which affect mechanical stability

The following are the factors which affect stability of the mechanically stabilized layers.
• Proper proportioning of the mix, i.e. gradation.
• Strength of the aggregate itself.
• Properties of the soil to be mixed.

155
 • Presence of harmful ingredients in the soil or aggregate.
• Amount of compaction.

Methods of soil stabilization

The most commonly used methods of soil stabilization are:
• Mechanical soil stabilization. (Low cost Road)
• Soil bitumen stabilization
• Soil lime stabilization
• Soil cement stabilization

Mechanical Stabilization
The basic principle involved in mechanical stabilization are proportioning and compaction.
Properties of granular soils having negligible fines if mixed with some binder soils like clay, its
stability and strength both are improved similarly the stability of clayey soil can be improved
by mixing a proper proportion of granular material in it.

Construction Method
• Prepare the sub-grade to correct camber and profile. Sprinkle water if felt necessary on
the subgrade and roll it with the help of plain roller of 6t weight.
• Aggregate and soil or fines are mixed in designed proportions on volume basis.
• M.C. of the mix is checked and if need be, some more water is added and mixed with
the materials.
• Spread this mix on the prepared sub-grade and compact it with the help of plane roller.
• If more than one layer is to be laid, repeat the process in the same way as before.
• Field tests should be conducted for M.C. just before the compaction of the layer is
started.
• Just after completion of compaction, density of the compacted surface should be
checked.
• Based on field tests if some modification in M.C. or compaction is required it should be
done.
• Compacted road is opened to the traffic only after compacted layer gets hardened.

5.6 Construction of Bituminous Pavements

Roads in which bitumen is used as binder are termed as bituminous roads. There are a wide
range of construction materials (type, size and grading of aggregates and type and grade of
bituminous binder) and bituminous pavement construction techniques in use. Stage
development of the bituminous roads can be adopted depending on the traffic demands but not
in the cement concrete road. Bitumen content over an optimum value is actually harmful and
reduces strength and stability values of the designed mix. Therefore, based on the surface area
of the aggregates and the technique of the construction, the optimum binder content may be
determined. Another problem associated with the construction of bituminous pavements is the
control of the proper viscosity of the bituminous aggregate mixtures during mixing and
compaction operations.

Types of Bituminous Construction Roads

Bituminous roads can be classified in the following ways:
156
 a) Classification based on construction technique
• Interface treatments like prime coat and tack coat.
• Surface dressing and seal coat.
• Grouted or penetration macadam.
• Premix construction like Bituminous bound macadam, bituminous carpet,
bituminous concrete, rolled or sheet asphalt, and mastic asphalt.
• Classification based on temperature of the binder
• Hot mix (bitumen and tar required heating)
• Cold mix (cutback and emulsion)
b) Classification based on method of mixing Road mix method
• Control plant mix method
c) Classification based on texture exhibited by compacted layers
• Open graded (premixed carpet)
• Dense graded (bituminous concrete)

Bituminous binders may be road tars, cutback, emulsions etc. The choice of particular types
depends upon the type of construction, availability of materials and equipment, climatic
conditions etc. Bituminous concrete is the mixture of controlled graded coarse aggregate and
Bitumen. Mastic asphalt is the mixture of bitumen fine aggregate and fillers. Rolled or sheet
asphalt is the mixture of sand and bitumen without any coarse aggregate. In hot mix method
binder and aggregate both are heated before use (bitumen and tar) where as in cold mix method
binder and aggregates are not heated. In Road mix, materials are mixed at the roadside whereas
in central plant mix, hot mix plant is situated centrally to the length of the road.

A) Interface Treatment
The surface of the existing pavement layer is to be cleaned to remove dust and dirt and a thin
layer of bituminous binder is to be spray before the construction of any type of bituminous layer
over surface. Thus when a bituminous wearing surface is to be placed upon a previously
untreated compacted foundation layer such earth, gravel, stabilized soil, kankar or water bound
macadam, it is necessary that the newly laid bituminous surfacing possess a bond with the
existing base at the interface, which can be developed with the help of bituminous material and
this treatment is known interface treatment. There are two types of interface treatments
depending upon the condition of the existing base.

i) Prime coat
Prime coat is the first application of low viscosity (RC-O, MC-1, SC-1) liquid bituminous
material to the surface of sub-base or sub-grade to seal the surface to prevent the penetration of
moisture into sub-grade. Vehicular traffic should be avoided on the surface sprayed with prime
coat during construction period because the traction and tearing action of vehicles would
damage this asphalt layer.

A prime coat performs following functions.

• Develops adhesion or bond between the base and the wearing surface.
• Seals the pores and capillary voids thus making it water proofing.
• Binds together any loose aggregates on the existing surface.

157
Constructions steps:
• Materials MC (medium curing) or SC (slow curing) cutback of suitable grade or
viscosity.
• The existing surface pavement is repaired and cleaned.
• The bituminous primer is sprayed uniformly; using a mechanical sprayer at a rate of
7.3 to 14.6 kg per 10m2 area depending on the porosity of the surface.
• The primed surface is allowed to cure for at least 24 hours. During which period no
traffic is allowed.

ii) Tack Coat

It is a single initial application of bituminous material on existing pavement surface which is
relatively impervious such as existing bituminous, cement concrete or a pervious surface like
WBM which has already been treated by a prime coat. It is light spray application of diluted
bituminous emulsion between two relatively impervious layers designed to create a strong
adhesive bond without slippage. Heavier applications may be used under porous layers or
around patches when it also functions as a seal coat. Without tack coat the asphalt layers in the
road way may separate which reduces the structural integrity of the road and may also allow
water to penetrate the structure. Its primary function is to ensure bond between the existing
pavement surface and a pavement.

Construction steps:
• The surface of existing pavement layer is to be cleaned to remove dust and dirt.
• Tack coat is applied by spraying bituminous material of higher viscosity like hot
bitumen at the rate of 4.9 to 9.8 kg per 10m2 area depending in the type of surface.

B) Seal Coat
It is a thin protective wearing surface that is applied to a pavement base course. A mixed sand
bitumen seal coat is commonly used over the premixed carpet. It may be defined as a very thin
surface treatment or single coat surface dressing which is either applied as a final step in the
construction of certain bituminous surfaces or to existing surfaces, which have cracked or worn
out. A premixed sand bitumen (hot mix) seal coat is also commonly used over the premixed
carpet.

Seal coat can provide all of the following functions:

• waterproof layer to protect the underlying pavement.
• increased skid resistance.
• a filler for existing cracks or raveled surface.
• an anti-glare surface during wet weather and an increased reflecting surface for night
driving.

Construction
• Surface preparation: Surface defects, such as pot holes are repaired and the existing
surfaces cleaned.
• Asphalt material application: Typically, an asphalt emulsion is applied from a spray
truck or sprayer to the surface of existing pavement.

158
 • Aggregate application: A thin aggregate cover is sprayed over the asphalt material
it has set. The aggregate usually has a uniform gradation.
• Aggregate embedding: A roller is used to push the aggregate into the asphalt material
and seal it firmly against the underlying pavement. Generally, about 50% of each
aggregate particle should be embedded in the asphalt material after final rolling.

C) Bituminous Surface Dressing

Surface dressing is a cost-effective road that is used on many roads that make up the rural road
network. It is provided over an existing pavement to serves as a wearing coat. The objective of
surface dressing is to create a stable mosaic of aggregate chippings that is securely attached to
the road surface by a thin layer of bitumen. The result is a new road surface that provides seal
against water ingress, slows down the deterioration of the road pavement and restores skid
resistance.

Material specification
Bitumen grades: 80/100 or 180/200

Aggregate type should conform the following requirements.

• Los Angles abrasion value ≤ 35%
• Aggregate impact value ≤ 30%
• Flakiness index ≤ 25%
• Water absorption ≤ 1%
• Percentage loss with Na2S04 for 5 cycles ≤12%
• Stripping at 40°C test ≤ 25%

Plants and equipments

• Mechanical blower or hand brushes
• Mechanical sprayer
• Equipment for heating of bitumen
• Roller

The recommended size of chippings and quantity are given in the table below:

Selection of different grade of binder to be used in surface dressing depends upon the climatic
conditions. Mostly between 80/100 and 180/200 penetration grades are used. The binder
quantity requirement for surface dressing is given in the table below:

159
Construction steps:
• Preparation of existing surface: The surface defects such as pot holes, ruts,
depression etc. are repaired and surface is cleaned. If the existing base course is
pervious then prime coat is applied.

• Application of binder: The bituminous binder is applied at specified rate using

mechanical sprayer on prepared surface.
• Application of stone chipping: Stone chipping as per requirement is spread after the
application of binder, to cover surface uniformly.
• Rolling of first or final coat: Rolling is done with tandem roller of 6 to 8 tons weight
starting from edges preceding towards the center longitudinally with overlapping
not less than one third of the roller tread.
• Application of binder and stone chipping for second coat: The binder is again
applied to the prepared surface as per requirements. Immediate stone chipping is
spread as before and rolling is done as before.
• Finishing and opening to traffic: The surface is checked for longitudinal and cross
profiles. Then the road surface is opened to traffic after 24 hours.

D) Otta Seal
Otta seal is the bituminous surfacing consisting of graded aggregates ranging from natural
gravel to crushed rock in combination with relatively soft (low viscosity) binders, with or
without a sand cover seal. There are various types of Otta seal in terms of number of layers,
type of aggregate grading and with or without sand cover seal those are Single Otta Seal with
or without sand cover seal with aggregate grading "open", "medium" or "dense" and Double
Otta Seal with or without sand cover seal with aggregate grading "open", "medium" and
"dense".

160
Material
• Bitumen: MC 3000 or MC 800 cut back.
• Aggregate: Clean, strong, hard and durable with the following properties
o Los Angeles Abrasion value (LAA) - 40% (Max)
o Aggregate Impact Value (AIV) - 30% (Max)
o Flakiness Index (FI) - 30% (Max)
o Plasticity Index < 5 preferable
o Gradation as per the specification either open, medium or dense
o Gradation all passes from 6.7 mm

Equipment Requirement
• Storage Tank with Bitumen Heating Device
• Mechanical Broom or Hand Brushes
• Air Compressor
• Bitumen Distributor
• Aggregate Spreader
• Pneumatic Rollers

Construction Steps
• Preparation and intensive cleaning of the existing surface by mechanical broom or hand
brushes and air compressor.
• Application of the prime coat at specified rate if necessitate in design.
• Spreading of binder as per specified rate of application.
• Spreading of aggregate of specified grading as per specified rate of application.
• Rolling by two pneumatic rollers at a minimum weight of 12 tons or more at the day of
construction.
• A minimum of 15 passes with a pneumatic roller is required over the entyre surface
area.
• After the initial rolling is completed (on the day of construction) it is advantage to apply
one pass with 10-12 tones static steel roller to improve the embedment of the larger
aggregate.
• During the first two days after sealing, extensive rolling shall be applied by pneumatic
roller to ensure all particles embedded in the binder are properly coated. Daily a
minimum of 15 passes with pneumatic roller shall be applied covering the entyre
surfaced area.
• Aggregates dislodged by traffic during the immediate post construction period shall be
broom back into the wheel tracks during the first 2-3 weeks, so that the aggregate
particles are embedded into the binder.
• Spreading of binder as per specified rate of application.
• Spreading of sand as per specified rate of application.
• Rolling with pneumatic roller and curing the surface till four weeks.
• After 8-12 weeks a second coat is executed in a similar manner (following the above-
mentioned steps) after first layer is constructed.

Quality Control

161
 • Checking of the conditions of the equipment.
• Checking of temperature of binder.
• Conducting of tests on binder at least penetration, viscosity and ductility or availability
of lab facility at site.
• Conducting tests on aggregates at least Gradation, LAA (Los Angeles Abrasion Value),
ACV (Aggregate Crushing Value) or AIV (Aggregate Impact Value), Fl (Flakiness
Index), PI (Plasticity Index) or as availability of lab facilities.
• Checking of rate of application of binder and aggregates by placing rectangular tray
during spreading.

Precaution
• Equipment condition should be in perfect running condition before starting.
• Excellent coordination between the labors, equipment and supervisor should be
maintained perfectly.
• Broom dislodged aggregates into the wheel tracks to embed in the layer.
• Caring of immediate post construction, traffic management, follow-up inspection etc.

E) Grouted or Penetration Macadam

Stability of WBM is due to the physical interlocking of stones. This is done by selecting proper
gradation where the interstices (gaps/openings) are filled with fine aggregates. If the aggregates
are left without any binder, the stresses induced in such pavement layers are sufficient to cause
excessive displacements. In penetration macadam construction, the high viscosity bitumen is
sprayed in fairly large quantity after aggregates are spread and compacted. The bitumen
penetrates into the voids from the surface of the compacted aggregates thus filling up a part of
the voids and binding the stone aggregates together. It can be used as a base or binder course.

Bituminous penetration macadam shall consist of the construction one or more courses of
compacted crushed aggregates bonded and keyed by alternate applications of bituminous
materials and filling aggregate (key aggregates) and the applications of a seal coat, when
specified. The thickness of an individual course shall not exceed 75 mm.

Depending upon the quality of bitumen sprayed and the extent of penetration it can be classified
as full grout of semi grout. When bitumen penetrates to the full depth of compacted aggregate,
it is called full grout and when it penetrates up to about half the depth, it is called semi grout.
Full grout is adopted in regions of heavy rainfall and semi grout is adopted in regions of
moderate rainfall and traffic. The construction of penetration macadam is recommended for
thickness of 50 and 75 mm.

Materials
• Bitumen of grade 80/100, 60/70, 30/40 or tar RT-4 and RT-5 may be used.
• The quantity of bitumen required depends upon the depth of penetration.
• Physical properties of stone aggregates should be as follows. It should be hard, strong,
durable, clean etc.
o Los Angeles Abrasion value ≤ 40%
o Aggregate impact value ≤ 30%
o Flakiness index ≤ 25%

162
 o Stripping at 40 °C (24 hrs. immersion) ≤ 25%
o Loss with Na2S04 for 5 cycles ≤ 12%

Two types of aggregates generally used

are coarse aggregate and key aggregate.
The compacted macadam layer over
which the binder is sprayed is made
from coarse aggregate. After this,
comparatively small sized aggregate is
again sprayed on the sprayed surface
before
rolling is done. The aggregate, which is
applied after spraying process, is known
as key aggregate.

Seal coat
Chipping 9 mm size (passing 12 mm and
retained on 6 mm) 0.09 to 0.11 m3 per
10 m2.

Binder: Straight run bitumen 9.8 kg to

12 kg per 10 m2 (grade 175/225 is
suggested for use in very cold regions
and 80/100 for use in warm climates).

Plants and equipment

• Bitumen heating device
• Bitumen distributor
• Aggregate spreader
• Rollers

Construction Procedure
• Preparation of existing surface: The underlying course is prepared and conditioned to
a uniform grade. Any depressions or potholes should be properly made up and
thoroughly compacted sufficiently in advance. The surface is lightly scarified and is
brushed. Prime coat may be applied on porous surfaces.
• Spreading the coarse aggregate (edge protection): The coarse aggregates are spread
either by mechanical spreader or by hand. The spreading shall be carried out no further
in advance of the rolling and penetrating operations that can be completed in one
average day's work. Segregated aggregate or aggregate mixed with earth or other foreign
substances shall be removed and replaced with graded aggregate. A template cut to
camber profile is used to achieve the desired profile in cross section.
• Rolling (dry rolled with 10t rollers): Rolling is commenced from the sides and
proceeded to the centre the overlap recommended being 30 cm. The amount of rolling
depends upon the aggregate type. Rolling is stopped with either first sign of crushing or
when the internal movements of the aggregates are stopped.

163
 • Bitumen application (50 and 67 kg for 5 and 7.5 cm thick for 10 m 2): The binder is
applied over the dry and compacted aggregates with pressure distributor or mechanical
sprayer.
• Spreading of key aggregates: The key aggregates are spread and rolled after the
application of bitumen. The cross profile is checked.
• Seal coat: The seal coat (premixed sand bitumen) is applied if another surfacing course
is not constructed immediately and traffic is to be allowed. The pavement section is
rolled again but excessive rolling should be avoided.
• Finishing: The constructed pavement section is checked for its cross profile with
template and longitudinal profile by straight edge. The maximum permissible
undulations on a three-meter straight edge is 12 mm and the number of undulations of
10 mm and higher values should not exceed 30 in a road length of 300 m.
• Opening to traffic: The finished surface shall be opened to traffic preferably after
minimum period of 24 hrs. If the road is required to be opened to traffic earlier it may
be done provided the speed of vehicles is restricted to 15 kmph.

F) Construction of different types of Bituminous Premixes

i) Bitumen Bound Macadam
It consists of one or more course of compacted crushed aggregate premixed with a bituminous
binder and laid immediately after mixing and then compacted. This is used primarily for use as
a base course because the load transmitted by it to the subgrade and the surface deflections of
the pavements are substantially lower than WBM or gravel types. When this layer is exposed
as a surface course, at least a seal coat is necessary. It is laid with usual thickness of 5~7.5 cm,
aggregate size used are 37 mm down and is open graded mix (These are small sized aggregate
premixed with bituminous binder laid and compacted in single coarse of 20 mm thickness. It
serves as surface course. An open graded cold mix is a coarse aggregate mix (very small
amount of fine aggregate) with a large amount of air voids to allow for water to drain. These
mixes can be used as a base or surface course and show excellent resistance to fatigue,
reflection cracking, rutting, and shoving. Open graded mixes are useful for restoration or new
construction at varying depths).

Materials: Bitumen of grade 30/40, 60/70, 80/100 penetration and tar RT-4, cutbacks and
emulsions may be used in cold mix construction technique. The binder content used varies from
3 to 4.5 percent by weight of the mix.

The coarse aggregate should fulfil the following requirements:

The gradings of the aggregates for 75 mm and 50 mm thickness for base and binder course
construction are given in the table below:

164
The quantity of aggregates required for 10 m2 of bitumen bound macadam are 0.60 to 0.75 m3
and 0.90 to 1.0 m3 respectively, for 50 and 75 mm compacted thickness.

Plants and Equipment

Bitumen heating device, hot mix plant, sprayer, mechanical mixer or improvised hand mixer.
Spreader - Mechanical paver or finisher grader or manual method roller.

Weather and seasonal limitations

Bituminous macadam shall not be laid or placed during rainy weather or when the subgrade or
base course is damp or wet unless emulsion is used or normally when the atmospheric
temperature in the shade is 16°C or below.

Construction Procedure
• Preparation of underlying layer: The existing layer is prepared to a proper profile.
The surface is properly cleaned after patching the pot holes and making even the
irregularities.

165
 • Application of tack coat or prime coat: (4~7.5 Kg/10 m2 for black top layer and
7.5~10 Kg/10 m2 for untreated WBM layer). The tack coat shall be applied just ahead
of the spreading of premixed macadam.
• Premix preparation: The binder and aggregates to be used are separately heated to a
specified temperature and then mixed properly. The mixing temperature for each grade
and the bitumen binder is also specified based on the laboratory results. The mixture is
then carried to the site for its placement through a transporter or a wheel barrow.
• Placement: The transported mix is immediately placed on the desired location and
spread to predetermined thickness. The camber profile is checked with a template.
Minimum time should be spent between the placement of the mix and the rolling
because compacting temperature also influences the strength characteristics of the
resulting pavement structure.
• Rolling and finishing (8~10 t tandem roller): The rolling is commenced from the
edges of the pavement construction towards the center and uniform overlapping is
provided. The finished surface should not show separate lines of markings due to
defective or improper rolling. The roller wheels are kept damp, otherwise the paving
mix may partly stick to the wheels and the finishing may not be good. A variation of 6
mm over 3 m length is allowed in the cross profile. The number of undulations
exceeding 10 mm should be less than 30 in 300 m length of pavement.
• Application of seal coat
• Opening to traffic

ii) Bituminous Carpet

Bituminous premixed carpet is prepared from stone chippings 10 mm and 12 mm size, premixed
with bitumen or tar binder and compacted to the thickness usually 2~2.5 cm to serve as a
surface course of the pavement. Being an open graded construction, it should be covered by a
premixed sand bitumen seal coat before opening to traffic.

Material
• Bitumen 80/100 quantity for 2 cm thick carpet.
7.32 ~ 9.76 Kg/10m2 for prime coat on WBM surface.
4.9 ~ 7.3 Kg/10m2 for tack coat.
For 12.5 mm size coarse aggregate (for premix) 9.5 kg @ 52 kg/m3.
For 10 mm size coarse aggregate (for premix) 5.1 kg @ 56 kg/m3.
For seal coat, low rainfall areas 6.8 kg and high rainfall areas 9.8 kg.
• Tar
12.20 ~ 14.64 Kg/10m2 for prime coat on WBM surface.
7.3 ~ 9.8 Kg/10m2 for tack coat.
19.73 Kg/ 10m2 for premix.

Aggregate for 2 cm thick carpet

Coarse aggregate
The aggregates shall consist of angular fragments
and be clean, tough, durable and of uniform
quality throughout. They shall be crushed rock,
gravel, river shingle or slag and should be free of

166
elongated or flaky pieces, soft and disintegrated material, vegetable or other deleterious
(harmful) matter. The aggregates shall also satisfy the following properties according to the
chart presented above.

Fine aggregates and sand

The fine aggregates or sand shall consist of clean, hard, durable, uncoated coarse dry particles,
and be free from injurious amounts of dust, soft or flaky particles or organic matter or other
deleterious (harmful) substances.

Quantities of materials required

a) For carpet
• Passing 20 mm and retained on 10 mm (12 mm size) 0.18 m3/ 10m2.
• Passing 12 mm and retained on 6.3 mm (10 mm size) 0.09 m3/ 10m2.
b) For seal coat
• Low rainfall areas, medium coarse sand (fineness modulus more than 2.5) 0.06 m3
• High rainfall areas, coarse aggregate passing 10 mm sieve size and retained on 2.36 mm
sieve size (6.3 mm size) 0.09 m3.

Plants and equipment

• Bitumen heating device, bitumen distributor, pneumatic roller, grader or paver.

Construction Procedure
• Preparation of existing surface: Fill the pot holes or depressions with precoated
chippings as required.
• Application of prime coat or tack coat: Heated bitumen binder is applied on the
existing pavement surface just before spreading the premix.
• Preparation and placing of premix: Premix is prepared in a mechanical mixer or in
an improvised hand drum mixer. The aggregates and the bitumen are heated separately
upto the required temperature. After the mixing is thorough and homogeneous, the mix
is taken out and carried at the site for spreading and rolling.
• Rolling and finishing: Rolling is commenced immediately after spreading the mix. At
one operation 15 cm of premix is laid and rolled. A tandem or pneumatic roller of 6 to
9 tonnes is used. To prevent adhesion of the mix to the roller wheels, the same are kept
damp with water. The rolling is done until there is no further movement of aggregates
in the mix.
• Application of seal coat
o For low rainfall: Premixed sand-seal coat is applied. Medium coarse sand
passing 1.7 mm sieve and retained on 1.18 mm sieve is used at the rate of 0.06
m3 per 10 m2. The binder requirement for this purpose is 6.8 Kg per 10 m2 of the
road surface.
o High rainfall area (150 cm/year): A liquid seal is sprayed at 9.8 Kg per 10 m2
area and covered with layer of chippings applied over the carpet. Stone chipping
6 mm size (passing 10 mm sieve, retained on 2.26 mm sieve) are used at the rate
of 0.09 m3 per 10 m2 area. This layer is rolled by a light tandem roller to give a
smooth finished surface.

167
 • Surface finish: The longitudinal undulations under 3.0 m straight edge should not
exceed 10 mm and the number of undulations higher than 10 mm should not exceed 30
in a length of 300 m road length. The cross profile should not have undulations
exceeding 6.0 mm.
• Opening to traffic: The road is opened to traffic 24 hours after providing the seal coat
or surface dressing.

iii) Asphalt or Bituminous Concrete

It is the highest quality of construction in the group of black top surfaces. It consists of carefully
proportioned dense grading of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and mineral filler coated with
bitumen binder. The thickness depends up on the traffic intensity and quality of base course and
ranges from 40 to 75 mm. Bituminous mixes should be properly designed to satisfy the
requirements of stability, density, flexibility and durability. This kind of surfacing is more
durable, have better riding quality, more load carrying capacity.

Advantages: Asphaltic concrete has many desirable properties which makes it a popular
specification. There are
• Durability (Life varies from 10 to 15 years)
• Imperviousness
• Load spreading property
• Quickly openable to traffic
• Good skid resistance

Disadvantages: The main disadvantages for this specification for widespread use in Nepal are:
• High cost
• Need for sophisticated machinery such as a hot-mix plant and paver finisher
• Need for a high degree of quality control
• Very high bitumen content. Bitumen is a costly and scarce commodity in Nepal

Materials
Bitumen - 30/40, 60/70, 80/100
Aggregate - specified gradation
LAA ≤ 40%
Impact ≤ 30%
Flakiness index ≤ 25%
Stripping ≤ 25%
Water absorption ≤ 1%
Loss with Na2S04 5 cycles ≤ 12%

168
Gradation of aggregates for bituminous concrete

Plants and equipment

Hot mix plant
Mechanical finisher (produce a uniform level riding surface and correct automatically small
irregularities in the pavement surface).

Rollers
Weather and seasonal limitations
The work of laying shall not be taken up during rainy or foggy weather or when the base course
is damp or wet or when the atmospheric temperature in shade is 10°C or below.

Construction steps
• Preparation of existing base layer.
• Removal of pot holes or ruts if any: The surface shall be thoroughly swept and scraped
clean, free of dust and other foreign matter. Irregularities are filled in with premix
chippings at least a week before laying surface course. If existing surface is extremely
wavy, a bituminous levelling course of adequate thickness.
• Application of tack coat: a tack coat of bitumen is applied at 6.0 to 7.5 Kg per 10 m2
area; this quantity may be increased to 7.5 to 10 Kg for non-bituminous base. The tack
coat shall be applied just ahead of the oncoming bituminous construction.
• Production of mix from hot mix plant: the bitumen may be heated upto 150 ~177 °C
and the aggregate temperature should not differ by over 14°C from the binder
temperature. Mixing shall be thorough to ensure that a homogeneous mixture is obtained
in which all particles of the mineral aggregates are coated uniformly.
• Placing of premix: The hot mixed material is collected from the mixer by the
transporters, carried to the location and is spread by mechanical paver at a temperature
of 121 ~ 163°C. The camber and the thickness of the layer are accurately verified. The
control of the temperatures during the mixing and the compaction are of great
significance in the strength of the resulting pavement structure.
• Rolling: The mix placed over the base course is thoroughly rolled at a speed not more
than 5 km per hour.
o Initial rolling - 8 ~10 T
o Intermediate rolling - 15~30 T pneumatic roller tyre pressure 7 Kg/cm2
o Final rolling - 8~12 T roller
▪ The wheels of the roller are kept damp with water. But in no case shall
fuel/lubricating oil be used for this purpose nor excessive water poured

169
 on the wheels. The number of passes required depends on the thickness
of the layer. In warm weather rolling on the next day helps to increase
the density if the initial rolling was not adequate. Rolling shall be
continued till the density achieved is at least 98% of that of Laboratory
Marshall Specimen and all roller marks are eliminated.

Quality control of bituminous concrete construction: routine checks are carried out at the
site to ensure the quality of the resulting pavement mixture and the pavement surface.
• Aggregate grading (physical properties of aggregates shall be check at the rate of one
test each for every 50-100 m3 of aggregates. Filler grading shall be tested at the rate of
1 test for every 5 m3 of filler)
• Grade of bitumen.
• Temperature of aggregate: Temperature of paving mix during mixing and compaction
are necessary. At least one sample for every 100 t of the mix discharged by the plant is
collected and tested for above requirements. Marshall tests and one field density test for
every 100 m2 of compacted surface are conducted to check whether it is at least 95% of
the density obtained in the laboratory. The variation in thickness allowed is 6 mm per
4.5 m length of construction. Rolling operation shall be completed in every respect
before the temperature of the mix falls below 100 °C.

• Finished surface: the finished surface is checked by a 3 m straight edge. The

longitudinal undulations should not exceed 8.0 mm and the number of undulations
higher than 6.0 mm should not exceed 10 in a length of 300 m. The cross profile should
not have undulations exceeding 4.0 mm. Traffic may be allowed after completion of the
final rolling when the mix has cooled down to the surrounding temperature.

iv) Mastic asphalt

• Mixture of bitumen, fine aggregate and filler in suitable proportion yielding a void less
and impermeable compact mass.
• Ingredients similar to bituminous concrete but different properties
• Mastic asphalt when cooled results in hard, durable, stables layer which is suitable to
withstand heavy traffic. This material can also absorb vibrations and has a property of
self-healing of cracks without bleeding.
• Mostly used on the surfaces on bridge deck slab etc.
• Prepared by heating aggregate, filler and bitumen to 200 °C ~ 223 °C for 5 hrs.
• Its consistency is such that it flows like a fluid at a temperature of about 200°C, but on
cooling to normal temperatures, it solidifies. Thus, it requires no effort towards
compaction. Because of this property even without compaction a void less hard layer of
mastic asphalt can be obtained. A penetration grade 10/20 is very good. The final
product is very hard, fully impermeable, highly durable, extremely resistant to
deformation and is self-healing.
• Can be laid and spread without compaction to a thickness of 2.5~5 cm at 200 °C.

Uses:
• because of the above properties it is used as a paving material for
• heavy duty areas such as industrial floorings, warehouses, godowns

170
 • city streets carrying high volume of traffic
• city bus stops and intersections where heavy abrasion of the surfaces is experienced
• surfacing bridge decks and
• locations where iron-wheeled and tracked vehicles operate.

5.7 Construction of Cement Concrete Pavement

The construction of cement concrete pavement is dealt under the following groups:
• Construction of pavement slab
• Design and placement of joints

Cement grouted concrete: Open graded

aggregate mix with minimum size of
aggregates as 18~25 mm is laid on the
prepared sub grade and the aggregates are dry
rolled. The loose thickness is compacted to provide 80% of rolled thickness. The grout made
of coarse sand, cement and water is prepared. The proportion of cement to sand is taken as to.
The grout is applied on the surface and is allowed to seep through the aggregate matrix. The
technique can be compared with bituminous grouted or penetration type construction.

Rolled concrete layer: Lean mix concrete is used. Lean mix of aggregate, sand, cement and
water is prepared and laid on the prepared subgrade or sub base course. The rolling is done
similar to WBM construction. The loose thickness of concrete is 20 percent more than the
compacted or finished thickness. Tandem rollers are recommended. The rolling operation is
completed before the final setting time of cement.

Cement grouted and rolled concrete are suitable for base course only.

* (Lean Concrete - A concrete with cement content less than about 10% of the total contents
can be called lean concrete. More the aggregate to cement ratio, the leaner is the concrete. So,
in this type of concrete, less amount of paste is available to provide lubrication per surface area
of the aggregates. This hence restricts the mobility of the aggregate in the mix. It serves the
purpose of providing a uniform surface to the concrete foundation. This also helps to prevent
the direct contact of the foundation concrete from the soil. This is a good choice to provide a
flat bottom for a terrain that is uneven or dirty)

171
5.7.1 Construction of Concrete Slab
Cement concrete slab can be constructed by two methods namely;

a) Alternate bay method:

Alternate bay method: In this method of construction, bays or slabs are constructed in alternate
succession (ABCD), leaving the intermediate bays (A’B’C’D’) as shown in figure. These
intermediate bays are constructed after a gap of
at least one week if ordinary Portland cement is
used and two days in the case when rapid
hardening cement is used. This method is
practicable and found useful when the proposed
width of pavement is more than 4.5 m. This
method provides additional working
convenience for laying of slabs. The
construction joint is easier. But larger numbers of transverse joints are to be provided. This
increases the construction cost and reduces the smooth riding quality of the surface. Also,
during rains, the surface water is collected on the subgrade between the bays and the
construction is spread over the full width of the road and the traffic will have to be completely
diverted.

b) Continuous bay method:

In this method of construction, all the bays or slabs (ABCD) of strip are constructed
continuously without any break as shown in figure. In this method, construction joints are,
however, provided when the day’s work is not
ended at the specified joint. In addition to these,
construction joints, dummy joints are also
provided at 5 m intervals in the transverse
direction to check the planes of weakness and to
control cracking. This method is generally
preferred as compared to alternate bay method
because of its main advantage of construction of
half the pavement width at a time. Thus, the essential traffic can be diverted on the other half
of the road.

Materials
• Cement: Ordinary Portland cement in general but rapid hardening type may also be
used to reduce curing time.
• Coarse aggregate: Maximum size of coarse aggregate should not exceed one fourth of
the slab thickness. The gradation of coarse aggregate may range from 50 to 4.75 or 40
to 4.75 mm, the aggregate is collected in two size ranges, one below and the other above
20 mm size. The coarse aggregates should be free from harmful materials. The desirable
limits of important properties for coarse aggregates are:
o Crushing value ≤ 30%
o Impact value ≤ 30%
o LAA ≤ 30%
o Soundness ≤12% Na2So4

172
 ≤ 18% MgSo4
• Fine aggregate: Natural sands are preferred though crushed stones may also be used.

Proportioning of Concrete: Proportioned to produce a minimum modulus of rupture of 40

Kg/cm2 on field or to develop a minimum compressive strength of 280 Kg/cm2 at 28 days of
curing or higher values.

Plants and equipment

Concrete mixer, batching equipment, wheel barrows, internal vibrators, float, straight edge,
belt, brush, edging tool and other small tools.

Construction steps
• Preparation of subgrade and sub base: The prepared surface should exhibit the
following requirements:
o No soft pots are present in subgrade or sub base
o It should extent at least 30 cm on either side of the width to be connected,
o Subgrade is properly drained, minimum modulus of subgrade reaction (by
plate bearing test) should be 5.54 Kg/cm2.
o The layers should be kept moist when cement concrete is placed.
o Water proof paper may also be used when cement concrete is laid directly

• Placing of forms:
o Steel or wooden forms are used.
o The steel forms are M.S. Channel sections and their depths is equal to
thickness of pavement and length at least 3m except on curves < 45m radius.
o The wooden forms are dressed on side having minimum base width of 10 cm
for slab thickness of 20 cm and minimum base width of 15 cm for slabs over
20 cm thick.
o The forms are jointed neatly and are set with exactness to the required grade
and alignment.
o Sufficient rigidity is obtained to support the forms in such a position during
the entyre operation of compacting and finishing that they do not deviate more
than 3 mm from a straight edge 3 m in length.

• Batching of material and mixing:

o After determining the proportion of ingredients for the field mix, the fine
aggregates and coarse aggregates are proportioned by weight and placed in a
mixer with the necessary quantity of cement.
o All batching of material is done on the basis of one or more whole bags of
cement, wt. of one bag is 50 kg or unit wt. of cement is taken as 1440Kg/m3.
o The mixing is done in batch mixer which will ensure a uniform distribution of
the materials throughout the mass, so that the mix is uniform in colour and is
homogeneous.
o The water for mixing is introduced into the drum within the first 15 seconds
of mixing. The mixing of each batch is commenced within one half minute
after all the materials are placed in the mixer.

173
 • Transporting and placing of concrete:
o The cement concrete is mixed in quantities required for immediate use and is
deposited on the soil subgrade or subbase to the required depth and width of
the pavement section within the form work in continuous operation.
o Care should be taken to ensure that no segregation of materials is resulted
while the concrete is being transported from the mixer to its placement.
o The spreading is done uniformly. A certain amount of redistribution is done
with shovels.

• Compacting and finishing:

o The surface of the pavement is compacted either by means of a power-driven
finishing machine or by a vibrating hand screed.
o Areas where the width of the slab is very small as the corner of road junctions,
hand consolidation and finishing may be adopted.
o The concrete is further compacted by means of the longitudinal float. The
longitudinal float is held in a position parallel to the carriageway center line
and passed gradually from one side of the pavement to the other side.
o After the longitudinal floating is done and the excess water gets disappeared,
the slab surface is tested for its grade and level with the straight edge.
o Just before the concrete becomes hard, the surface is belted with two ply
canvas belts.
o Broom finish is given with fibre broom brush and it is done perpendicular to
centerline of pavement.
o Before concrete develop initial set, the edges of slab are carefully finished with
an edging tool.

• Curing of cement concrete:

o The entyre pavement surface is cured as follows:
o (a) initial curing in which the surface is entyrely covered with jute mats. The
mats are thoroughly saturated with water and are placed with the wet side
down to remain in intimate contact with the surface.
o (b) Final curing with wet soil exposed edges of slabs are banked with soil
berm. A blanket of sandy soil free from stones is placed. The soil is thoroughly
kept saturated with water for 14 days.
o In impervious membrane method, use of impervious membrane which does
not impart a slippery surface to the pavement is used. Liquid is applied under
pressure with a spray nozzle to cover the entyre surface with a uniform film.
It hardens with 30 minutes after its application which is applied immediately
after the surface finishing.

• Opening to traffic: When the concrete attains the required strength or after 28 days of
curing the concrete road is opened to the traffic.

5.7.2 Construction of Joints

Joints are provided in cement concrete pavement for expansion, contraction and warping of the
slabs due to the variation in the temperature of slabs.

174
Expansion joints are provided to allow for
expansion of the slabs due to rise in slab
temperature above the construction temperature
of the cement concrete. It also provides the
contraction of slabs. They are provided at
interval of 50 to 60 m for smooth interface laid
in winter and 90 to 120 m for smooth interface
laid in summer. For rough interface the spacing
between expansion joints may be 140 m. The
approximate gap width for this type of joint is from 20 to 25 mm.

Contraction joints are provided to permit the

contraction of the slab. These are spaced closer
than expansion joints. Load transference at the
joints is provided through the physical
interlocking by the aggregates projecting out at
the joint faces. The maximum spacing of
contraction joints in unreinforced cement
concrete slabs is 4.5 m and in reinforced slab
of thickness 20 cm is 14 m.

175
 Dowel bars are required for the transverse joints to
▪ Transfer part load across the adjacent slab
▪ Stresses becoming critical
▪ Assist in the event of loss of sub grade support at the location of joint
Dowel bars are generally mild steel round bars embedded and bonded into concrete on
one side of the joint and the other half length deliberately prevented from bonding with
concrete on that side. A recess is provided at the sliding end for free movement of slab
when used in the expansion joints).

Longitudinal joints are provided in cement concrete roads which have width over 4.5 m. They
are provided to allow differential shrinkage and swelling due to rapid changes in subgrade
moisture under the edges than under the centre of road. They are provided to prevent
longitudinal cracking in the cement concrete pavements. This type of joint acts as a hinge and
helps to maintain the two slabs together at the same level.

The joints in transverse direction can be placed as:

staggered arrangement, uniform arrangement and
skew arrangement as shown in the figure. Joints form
the break in the cement concrete pavement can allow
the infiltration of water and ingress of stone grits. The
infiltration of water damages the soil subgrade and
gives rise to the phenomenon known as mud pumping
especially if the subgrade is of clayey soil. If stone grit
enters into the joint space, the effective joint width gets
reduced and faults like spalling of joint edges takes
place. In extreme cases the blowups take place. Thus,
the joint spaces are first filled with compressible joint
filler materials and the top of the joints are sealed using
a sealer.

176
Reinforcement used in cement concrete pavement
is in the form of welded wire fabric or bar mats. The
function of reinforcement is to hold the cracked slab
portions together and thus not to allow them to open
up any more. Sufficient load transfer across the crack
is affected due to the reinforcement. It may be clearly
understood that the quantity of reinforcement
recommended for use does not provide any added
flexural strength to the pavement.

5.8 Highway Maintenance and Repair

Road maintenance is to preserve and keep the serviceable conditions of Highway/Road as
normal as possible and as best as practicable. If the maintenance works are not done at all or
done faulty or the pavement structure is inadequate for present day traffic and loading, the
useful life may be drastically reduced. And it causes the waste of huge investment of funds and
sincere efforts of the engineers. So, the maintenance is an important activity which helps in
providing better service facilities, longer life and better appearance. The maintenance cost
totally depends on the highway/road location, design and quality of construction.

On poor designed roads the cost of maintenance may be higher than the initial cost. So, at the
time of alignment studies proper consideration should be given to minimize the maintenance
cost and the oncoming probable maintenance problems such as: -
• Drainage problems
• Soil and Geological conditions
• Directness of route
• Landslide problems etc.

General Causes of Pavement failure

The general causes of pavement failure needing maintenance different types of maintenance
activities are:
• Defects in the quality of the materials used.
• Defects in the construction method and improper quality control during construction.
• Inadequate surface or subsurface drainage of the road resulting in the stagnation of water
in the subgrade or in any of the pavement layers.
• Increase in the magnitude of wheel load and the number of load repetitions due to
increase in traffic volume.
• Settlement of foundation of embankment of fill materials.
• Environmental factors like heavy rainfall, soil erosion, high water table, snowfall, frost
action etc.

5.8.1 Classification of Road Maintenance, Activities for Road Pavement & Road Facilities
Depending upon the various types of failure and remedial road maintenance operations, it can
be broadly divided into:
• Road Maintenance: It concerns all maintenance works on the road way (carriage way
and shoulder) and on all structures within and immediately adjacent to the road way
such as side ditches, culverts, causeways, bridges etc.

177
 • Road Side Maintenance: It concerns all maintenance works on structures and surfaces
above and below the road having direct active and /or passive influence on the road.
This comprises culverts, protection works, and retaining walls, area drains, cut slopes,
fill slopes, (unstable) natural slopes, river protection works and vegetation structures.

In general, the following types are classified as road maintenance:

• Routine Maintenance (द्दनयद्दमत सम्भार): Maintenance operations of localized nature
required continually on any road whatever engineering characteristics or traffic volume
may be. The works are generally done by labor and can be contracted out (petty
contractors). It covers the activities like
o Grass and bush cutting, grading and reshaping of unpaved surfaces.
o Cleansing of carriageways, ditches, drains, signs and signals, safety barriers etc.
as well as grass cutting and tree purning.
o The repair of minor damage to carriageways, slopes, culverts, signals and sign
posts barriers, lighting facilities and buildings as well as any urgent interventions
required to restore disrupted traffic movement e.g. removal of debris from the
carriageway.
o The replacement of ancillary furniture and equipment that has been damaged
e.g. signing, barriers, road markings, drainage tubes, planted areas, lighting
facilities.
o Winter maintenance operations intended to retain serviceability in poor weather
conditions e.g. clearance of snow and ice.
• Recurrent Maintenance: Maintenance operations of localized nature and of limited
extent carried out at more or less regular intervals of six months to two years with a
frequency that depends on traffic volume. The works in general need to be done by the
use of minor equipment. Activities for paved road within this category are such as
sealing cracks, local surface treatment, repair of depressions, holes and ruts, pothole
patching, edge repair, local reconstruction etc.
• Preventive Maintenance: Maintenance operation of road surface, geological and
geotechnical nature to protect the road way. The activities within this category are
sealing of raveling/stripping and meandering cracking, sealing of longitudinal and
transverse cracks, laying of net on the slopes, trimming of loose materials including
stones on slope, installation of subsurface drains, the construction of the masonry
retaining wall/cascade/check dam/gabion wall, river training structures, river bank
protection, slope protection with bio- engineering etc.
• Periodic Maintenance (आवद्दधक सम्भार): Maintenance operations of large extent
required only at intervals of several years. Examples of activities within this category
for a paved road are such as resealing (surface treatment, slurry sealing), resurfacing
(thin overlay).
• Emergency/ Special Maintenance (आपतकालीन सम्भार): Emergency maintenance can
be divided into two types depending upon the nature of work as follows:
o Urgent emergency maintenance works needed for reopening the road or
construction of a temporary diversion to allow the traffic to pass around the
obstruction such as slides, road wash outs. Urgent maintenance activities are

178
 removal of debris and other obstacles, placement of warning signs and
diversion works etc.
o Reinstatement of the road after the critical period is over (in general after
the rainy season) by reconstruction or repair of the pavement, the structures
and the drainage as constructed before. In addition, construction of new river
training structures and the road side structures and the case may be.

5.8.2 Difference between Maintenance, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

The works performed to upkeep a pavement in its as constructed condition is considered as
maintenance, whereas measures improving the structural strength of the pavement is considered
as rehabilitation. The upgrading of road elements as well as partial change in horizontal and
vertical alignment for better route including strengthening of pavement structure is considered
as reconstruction.

5.8.3 Inspection, Prioritization and Planning of Maintenance Operations

a) Assessment of Maintenance Needs
The type and extent of maintenance requirement for a road depend on the serviceability standard
laid down, the maintenance funds available and the priorities for the maintenance operations.
For the assessment of road maintenance, following information is necessary:
• A road inventory including information regarding the soils, terrain and climate of the
district serviced.
• Knowledge of the nature and amount of the traffic using the road.
From the regular inspection of each road considered for maintenance, it is necessary to
determine priorities and draw up purposeful programs which enable the required work to be
carried out in a systematic and cost-effective way.

b) Determining Priorities
It is not enough to know where maintenance is required on highway but we must be able to
allocate the limited resources available to the maintenance organization in such a way that most
nearly satisfies the objectives and policies in relation to the maintenance of highway system.
The maintenance priorities can be as below:
• Urgent work like emergency repairs to roads that are cut, removal of debris, informing
police of broken-down vehicles.
• Routine drainage works like clean out and deepen ditches, clean out bridges and
culverts, filling scoured areas, repair of structures.
• Routine works on pavements like dragging, brushing or grading of unpaved roads,
patching, scaling and local sealing of paved roads.
• Other routine works like filing on unpaved roads, shoulders and slopes, grass cutting,
cleaning, repainting, repairing and replacing road furniture.
• Periodic work like heavy grading, regraveling of unpaved roads, surface dressing of
paved roads.
• Special works like overlaying, reconstruction.
From the above priorities of maintenance activities, it can be concluded that absolute priority
should be given to urgent work with safety overtunes. Routine drainage work get priority
over recurrent works as repairing surface defects which result from faulty drainage is a waste
of effort unless the drainage is also corrected.

179
c) Maintenance Management System
The system approach is appropriate for the road maintenance management as several interlinked
factors are involved in the maintenance works of road networks consisting of different classes
of works. The various factors to be included in the maintenance management system are:
• Minimum acceptable serviceability standards for the maintenance of different
categories of roads.
• Field surveys for the evaluation of maintenance requirements.
• Various factors influencing the maintenance needs such as subgrade soil, drainage,
climate, traffic, environmental conditions etc.
• Estimation of rate of deterioration of the pavement under the prevailing set of
conditions.
• Type and extent of maintenance requirements and various possible alternatives and their
economic evaluation.
• Availability of funds.
• Maintenance cost, availability of materials, man power and equipment.
• Need based allocation for optimum utilization of inputs and fixing maintenance
priorities.

5.8.4 Types of Failures and Causes

Flexible pavement failure is due to formation of pot holes, ruts, cracks, localized depression or
settlements normally followed with heaving in its vicinity. This also develops wavy pavement
surface. The failures of any one or more components of the pavement structure develop the
waves and corrugations on the pavement, longitudinal ruts and shoving. Pavement unevenness
surfaces or may itself be considered as a failure when there are excessive undulations. The aging
and oxidation (exposed to atmosphere) of bituminous surfaces lead to deterioration of
pavement. Surface deformations appears when failure takes place in sub grade, base or on
surface of bituminous pavements. Water retained in the void spaces of bituminous pavement
and in the cracks and joint of the cement concrete pavements. The cement concrete pavement
may deteriorate due to the development of cracks and repeated loads and fatigue effects
deteriorate the pavement component (bituminous and cement concrete pavements).

Corrugation: the formation of ripples or waves on the flexible pavement generally

perpendicular to the traffic flow is called corrugation or washboarding. It occurs at the points
where traffic stops and starts.
Shoving: The bulging of the pavement surface due to plastic movement of pavement is called
shoving. It occurs at points where a vehicle pulls its brakes or at points where pavement meets
rigid objects.

180
a) Failures in Flexible Pavements
As mentioned earlier, the localized settlement of any one component layer of the flexible
pavement structure could be enough to cause pavement failure. Therefore, each layer should be
carefully designed and laid for the stability of whole pavement layer.

i) Subgrade Failure
Prime cause of flexible pavement failure is excessive deformation in subgrade soil. It can be
noticed in the form of excessive undulations or waves and corrugations in the pavement surface
and also depressions followed by heaving of pavement surface. The lateral shoving of pavement
near the edge along the wheel path of vehicles is due to insufficient bearing capacity or a shear
failure in the subgrade soil. Excessive unevenness in the pavement surface is considered as
pavement failure.
The following may be the causes of subgrade failure:
• Inadequate stability: due to inherent weakness of the soil itself or excessive moisture
or improper compaction.
• Excessive stress application: due to inadequate pavement thickness or loads in excess
of design value.

The figure shows the type of damage in

flexible pavement due to subgrade failure
or inadequate and improper compaction of
subgrade and other pavement layers.

181
ii) Sub base or Base Failure
The following are the main causes of failure:
• Inadequate stability or strength: Due to poor mix proportioning, inadequate
thickness, soft varieties of stone aggregates, improper quality control during
construction.
• Loss of binding action: Due to internal movements of aggregates under repeated stress
applications, loosening of materials and formation of alligator cracks on the bituminous
surfacing.
• Loss of base course materials: Due to base course not covered with surface course or
wear out of surface course, pot hole development, suction caused between the pneumatic
tyres of fast-moving vehicles and the exposed base course material causing removal of
binding material in WBM base.
• Inadequate wearing course: Absence of wearing course, inadequate thickness or
stability exposes to the damaging effects of climatic variations like rains, frost action
and heavier traffic.
• Use of inferior materials: Structural failures are due to rapid deterioration when
exposed to the atmosphere and weather cycle.
• Lack of lateral confinement for the granular base course.

iii) Wearing Course Failure

• Lack of proper mix design: improper gradation of aggregates, inadequate binder
content, inferior type of binder.
• Improper quality control during construction.
• Volatilization (the process whereby a dissolved sample is vaporized) and oxidation:
make the bituminous surfacing brittle and cause cracking of the pavement surface allows
seepage of rain water to harm the underlying layers.

Typical Flexible Pavement Failures

• Alligator (map) cracking: This is the
much common type of flexible pavement
failure which mainly occurs due to
relative movement of pavement layer
materials. This may be caused by
repeated application of heavy wheel
loads resulting in fatigue failure
(weakening of a material caused by
cyclic loading) or moisture variation
resulting in swelling and shrinkage of
subgrade and other pavement materials.
Localized weakness in the underlying
base course may also cause this type of
failure.

• Consolidation of pavement layers: Formation of ruts is mainly due to consolidation

of one or more layers. Repeated application of loads along the same wheel path cause
cumulative deformation resulting in consolidation deformation or longitudinal ruts.

182
 Shallow ruts on the surface course may be due to wearing along the wheel path.
Consolidation deformation may be due to subgrade or other layer failure and can be
estimated by the depth and width of ruts.

• Shear failure and cracking: This is mainly due to inherent weakness of pavement mix,
low shearing resistance due to inadequate stability or excessively heavy loading. Shear
failure causes upheaval of pavement materials by forming a fracture or cracking.

• Longitudinal cracking: They are formed in

pavement traversing through the full pavement
thickness and are mainly due to frost action and
differential volume changes in subgrade. Settlement
of fill and sliding of side slopes would also cause this
type of failure.

• Frost heaving: Localized heaving up pavement portion depending upon the ground
water and climatic conditions.

• Lack of binding with lower layers: Slipping occurs when the surface course is not
keyed (bound with
the underlying base)
and these results
opening up and loss
of pavement
materials forming

183
 patches and pot holes. These conditions are more frequent when bituminous surfacing
is provided over the existing cement concrete or soil cement base course. This is more
pronounced when there is lack of prime/tack coat between the layers.

• Reflection cracking: This type of cracking is

observed in bituminous overlays provided over
existing cement concrete pavements. Crack pattern
in existing cement concrete pavements are reflected
on bituminous surfacing in the same pattern. There
is no much influence on structural action of total
pavement section but seepage of water through the
cracks cause damage to the subgrade soil and mud
pumping and result in mud pumping.

• Formation of waves and corrugations: These may

be caused due to defective rolling, poor subgrade
condition, poor soil or inadequate stability, poor
gradation of mix, in appropriate compaction
temperatures, and unstable underlying layers etc.

b) Failures in Cement Concrete Pavements

Formation of structural cracks is the main causes of failures of cement concrete pavements. The
failures may be mainly due to two factors:

• Deficiency of pavement materials

o Soft aggregate: disintegration of cement concrete.
o Poor workmanship: formation of cracks.
o Poor joint filler and sealer material: spalling of joints, poor riding surface.
o Poor surface finish: slippery surface.
o Improper and insufficient curing: formation of shrinkage cracks.
o Ingress of surface water through cracks makes further progressive failures.

• Structural inadequacy of pavement system

o Inadequate subgrade support or pavement thickness could be a major cause of
developing major cracking in pavements.
o Inadequate pavement thickness.
o Poor subgrade soil.
o Incorrect spacing of joints.

184
Above could give rise to the failures of the following types
• Cracking of slab corners.
• Cracking of pavements longitudinally.
• Settlement of slabs.
• Widening of joints.
• Mud pumping.

Inadequate pavement thickness for the amount and type of vehicles is the prime reason for the
structural cracking. Mostly the pavements are found to crack at the corners and edges. It is quite
difficult to differentiate the type of cracks. Generally, if it could be decided that the crack in the
vicinity of joints or corners are not due to spalling or mud pumping, then the cracks are
attributed to the structural inadequacy. The cracking in the interior regions are mainly due to
the temperature stresses.

Typical Rigid Pavement Failures

Following are some typical and basic types of failures in rigid pavements:
• Scaling of cement concrete: This is mainly due to deficiency in the mix or presence of
chemical impurities. The excessive vibration given to mix during construction causes
the cement mortar to come to the top and this get abraded exposing aggregates of the
mix which makes surface rough and shabby in appearances.
• Shrinkage cracks: During the curing operation of cement concrete pavements
immediately after the construction these cracks develop both in longitudinal and lateral
directions.
• Spalling of joints: Due to placing of pre formed filler materials at an angle during
casting of pavement slabs. This forms an overhang of a concrete layer on the top and
the joint later shows excessive cracking and subsidence.
• Warping cracks: Due to improper design of joints to accommodate the warping of
slabs at edges in an irregular pattern. There is no structural defect due to the warping
cracks if proper reinforcement is provided at the longitudinal and transverse joints.
• Mud pumping: Soil slurry ejects out through the joints and cracks during the downward
movement of slab under the heavy wheel loads.

185
5.8.5 Types and Methods of Pavement Repair
Whatever may be the road type, defects should be corrected before they become serious,
keeping the surface in good repair rather than allowing it to fall into disrepair and then
correcting it. About 50% of the maintenance budget is used for maintenance of road surfaces.
Maintenance operations relating to various surfaces are as follows:

a) Maintenance of Earth Roads

The usual damages caused in earth roads needing frequent maintenance are:
• Formation of dust in dry weather.
• Formation of longitudinal ruts along wheel paths of vehicles.
• Formation of cross ruts along the surface due to surface water.
Dust nuisance can be reduced by following methods:
• Sprinkling of water.
• Treatment with calcium chloride and other palliatives.
• Application of oiled earth.

Periodic maintenance by spreading moist soil along ruts and reshaping of the camber is
necessary. Cross ruts may be due to excessive cross slope which cannot be avoided in untreated
earth roads in heavy rainfall areas and hence ruts should be repaired from time to time during
and after the monsoon or a suitable treatment or stabilized layer treatment is provided on the
top. Application of calcium chloride retains some water due to the hygroscopic nature of the
mix.

b) Maintenance of Gravel Roads

Maintenance of gravel roads should be done on the same ways as that of earth roads but in no
case, soil should be spread over the gravel surface. Only gravel should be used. For this reason,
additional material should be staked along the road on the berms before the onset of monsoon.
The volume of gravel staked should be sufficient to be spread over the full width of the road in
a thickness of 50 cm.

c) Maintenance of WBM Roads

WBM roads are damaged rapidly due to heavy mixed traffic and fast-moving vehicles and
adverse climatic conditions. In dry weather dust is formed and during rains mud is formed. Due

186
to combined effects of traffic and the rainwater washing away the soil binder from the
surface, the stone aggregates get loose on the surface layer. Potholes and ruts are also formed.

Remedial measures
• Spreading a thin layer of moist soil binder on the surface as a part of periodic
maintenance particularly after the monsoons can prevent the aggregate from getting
loosened from the surface course.
• Potholes and ruts are remedied by patch repair works. It is done by cutting out a
rectangular shape of the defective area to remove the stone up to the defective depth.
Then the coarse aggregate of the same size (using part of the old and remaining fresh
aggregate), the patch is filled up and compacted well by ramming such that it is about
1cm above the general pavement surface to allow the further compaction under traffic.
• Wet soil binder is applied on the surface of the patched area and the surface is rammed
again.
• Dust nuisance can be prevented by providing a) dust palliatives b) moist soil c)
bituminous surface dressing course over WBM.
• After useful life of WBM road or when it fails extensively, resurfacing is carried out. If
the thickness requirement of the old road was inadequate, the thickness of the WBM
pavement is increased during the resurfacing.

d) Maintenance of Bituminous Surfaces

Regular and frequent inspections are essential for repairing failures in early stages. Rainy
weather inspections are very helpful, in that surface defects can be detected readily and marked
for future correction. The maintenance works of bituminous surfaces mainly consists of
• Patch repairs
• Pot holes repairs
• Surface treatments
• Repair of depression and settlement of pavement and shoulder
• Repair of pavement edge and shoulder distress
• Resurfacing

i) Patch Repairs
Patch repairs may be needed for the damaged or improper portion of the road and pot holes
formed in the surface layers due to defects in materials and construction or for removing of
inequalities in shape and surface and removing waviness in order to smooth a rough or uneven
riding surface. Corrugations on the road surface are often created by incorrect gradation of
aggregates, excessive bitumen in the mix, traffic overloads or excessive moisture in bituminous
mix.
Patch repairs are done on affected localized areas, potholes using a cold mix. Potholes in the
road surface should be cut to rectangular shape and should be excavated and extended until
sound materials are encountered. Holes should be cleaned of all loose aggregate dust and water
before the patch is applied. The sides and the bottom of the cut portion, after cleaning is lightly
primed and patching mixture should be placed as soon as possible after application of prime
coat. Patching mixture usually consists of premixed materials made by proper mixing of graded
aggregate and suitable bituminous materials such as cutback, emulsified asphalt or paving
asphalt etc. The materials in potholes are placed in layers of thickness 6 cm or so. The surface

187
of the finished patch should be slightly higher than the normal surface of the road for further
compaction by traffic but care must be taken not to cause a bump.

ii) Base Repair

Structural failures of base in flexible pavements may result from inadequate thickness of base,
inadequate subgrade support, excess moisture in the base or subgrade or combination of these
causes. The failures may be due to consolidation or shear developing in the subgrade, sub base,
base course or surface. It is necessary to replace the base course material with similar new
materials if failure has been detected in the base course layer.

iii) Surface Treatment

If bituminous surface contains too much bitumen, it will bleed and become slippery and
corrugations and rutting or shoving may develop. Bleeding usually occurs soon after
construction. It should be corrected by the application of blotting (spoiling) materials such as
aggregate chips (max. size 10mm) or coarse sand free from dust. Necessary rolling is done to
development permanent bond between the existing surface and the new materials. The binders
in bituminous surfaces get oxidized due to ageing and this may result crack and permit water
infiltration thus causing further deterioration. Such pavement surface is treated with a
bituminous surface treatment renewal coat or seal coat. More than one layer of surface treatment
may be necessary if the surface has been seriously damaged due to the oxidization or
volatilization (the process whereby a dissolved sample is vaporized).

iv) Resurfacing
In the event when paving surface is totally worn out and develops a poor riding surface, it may
be more economical to provide an additional surface course on the existing surface. If the
pavement is of inadequate thickness due to increase in traffic loads and strengthening is
necessary, then an overlay of adequate thickness should be designed and constructed.

v) Maintenance of Waves and Corrugations

There is no way to improve the road surface once the waves and corrugations are formed.
Another layer of surface course may be laid after laying a leveling course but waves and
corrugation develop again unless the proper measure is taken to correct the basic reason. If
instability of underlying layer is due to excessive moisture conditions, suitable sub surface
drainage system is necessary to correct the defect permanently. If failure is due to improper
compaction of lower layers this would need complete reconstruction. If failure is due to highly
plastic expansive subgrade clay, subgrade treatment using modifying agent is necessary.

vi) Maintenance of Skidding of Pavement Surfaces

Sufficient skid resistance can be developed by keeping the highway clean and dry. Presence of
water film, debris and polishing characteristics of aggregates influence the skid resistance
property. Providing renewal of surface course when the wheels do the polishing of aggregates
and spreading of stone chips when bitumen bleeding happens will be useful measures do
develop skid resistance (…is the force developed when a tyre that is prevented from rotating
slides along the pavement surface) surface.

188
5.8.6 Maintenance of Cement Concrete Roads
Little maintenance is necessary for cement concrete roads. Main defect in the rigid pavement
is the formation cracks and hence these cracks should be examined and suitable remedial
measures should be taken.

a) Treatment of Cracks
The cracks developed in cement concrete slabs are:
• Temperature cracks (hair cracks) formed across the slab between a pair of transverse or
longitudinal joints.
• Structural cracks formed near the edge and corner regions due to combined wheel load
and warping stresses.
The presence of hair cracks as such are not harmful and do not call for immediate maintenance.
As the cracks due to the shrinkage in the cement concrete pavement start from the bottom of
the slab, by the time fine cracks are visible on the top of the slab the cracks at the bottom portion
would have got widened. Due to repeated application of heavy wheel loads and the variations
in temperature and moisture conditions, the cracks get widened and further deterioration
becomes rapid. Therefore, before the cracks get wide infiltration of water, they should be sealed
to prevent rapid deteriorations.

To seal the pavement from ingress of water:

• Dust, sand and other loose particles at the cracks are thoroughly cleaned using a shape
tool, stiff brush and a pressure blower.
• Kerosene oil is applied on the cleaned cracks to facilitate proper bonding of sealing
material.
• Cracks are filled by suitable grade bituminous sealing compound heated to liquid
consistency.
• The sealer is placed up to about 3 mm above the slab level along the crack.
• A sand layer is spread over it to protect the sealer temporarily.

The structural cracks in cement concrete pavement need immediate attention as these indicate
possible beginning of pavement failure. First the cause of failure should be investigated. If the
failure is confined to few slab only at a particular location, localized embankment settlement or
underground drainage problem may be prime causes. The maintenance is to remedy the basic
causes of failures and recasting of slabs. For general pavement distress indicating the structural
failure of the pavement, steps are to be taken to strengthen the pavement by flexible or rigid
overlay before the structural cracks develop in other slabs also. For badly cracked or failed
cement concrete pavement, reconstruction of new flexible or rigid pavement is necessary.

5.8.7 Evaluation of Pavement Distress and Pavement Condition

5.8.7.1 Pavement Evaluation

Pavement evaluation involves a thorough study of various factors such as sub-grade support,
pavement composition and its thickness, traffic loading (present) and environmental conditions.
This is mainly to assess the existing conditions and make decisions to what extent the pavement
fulfils the intended requirements so that the maintenance and strengthening job can be planned
in appropriate time. There are mainly two methods of pavement evaluation.

189
 • Structural evaluation: This may be carried out by plate bearing test. The structural
capacity of the pavement may be assessed by load carried out at a specified deflection
or by the amount of deflection at a specified load. Benkelman beam is the most
commonly used equipment for the assessment of flexible pavement overlay thickness
requirement.
• Evaluation of pavement surface condition: The surface condition of flexible
pavement may be evaluated by the surface unevenness, ruts, patches and cracks. The
surface condition of rigid pavements may be assessed by cracks developed and faulty
joints affecting the riding quality of the pavement. The pavement unevenness may be
measured using unevenness indicator, profilograph, profilometer etc. An equipment
capable of integrating the unevenness of pavement surface to a cumulative scale and
that gives the unevenness index of the surface in cm/km length of road may be used.

5.8.7.2 Strengthening of Existing Pavements

For the successful maintenance of pavements, it is essential that they have adequate stability to
withstand the design traffic prevailing climatic and sub grade conditions. If the pavements have
to support increased wheel loads and more load repetitions, the pavements rapidly undergo the
distress and no amount of routine and periodic maintenance can help and the alternative would
be either directing the traffic to other routes or to strengthen the existing pavements.
Strengthening by providing additional thickness of the pavement of adequate thickness in one
or more layers over existing pavement is known as overlay.

Types of Overlay
The overlay combinations are divided into the following categories. The choice of overlay type
depends upon the number of factors like total thickness of overlay required, local materials,
wheel load, costs etc.

Design of Overlay
First evaluation of overlay thickness is done and then overlay thickness required over a flexible
pavement may be determined either by one of the conventional pavement design methods or by
a non-destructive testing method like Benkelman Beam deflection method.

The overlay thickness required is given by:

ℎ0 = ℎ𝑑 − ℎ𝑒
Where
ℎ0 = overlay thickness required, cm
ℎ𝑑 = Total design thickness required, presently determined, cm
ℎ𝑒 = Total thickness of the existing pavement, cm

190
Benkelman Beam Deflection
Studies (Please refer your class
videos)
A.C. Benkelman (1953, USA) was
the first to use a beam for
deflection measurement of
bituminous pavement. It is a
popular test for estimating the
required overlay thickness. The
permissible maximum Benkelman
beam deflection for satisfactory
performance of a road stretch
depends upon the traffic, material
of construction and the
environmental factors. Benkelman
deflection more than the allowable
deflection suggests that the
pavement may require are overlay.
It is desirable to carry out the
deflection studies of pavement
soon after the monsoons when the
pavement may be at the weakest
condition due to the maximum
subgrade moisture content. It is a
device which is used to measure
the rebound deflection of pavement
due to design wheel load. This test
procedure covers the determination
of the rebound deflection of a pavement under a standard wheel load and tyre pressure.

Equipment consists of,

• a slender beam of length 3.66 m which is pivoted to a datum frame at a distance 2.44 m
from the probe end.
• Distance from pivot to dial gauge 1.22 m
• Distance from pivot to front leg 25 cm
• Distance from pivot to rear leg 1.66 m
• the probe end of the beam is inserted between the dual rear wheels of truck
• a dial gauge (to measure rebound deflection) is fixed on the datum frame

191
Deflection Measurement Procedure
• A standard loaded truck with rear axle weighing 8170 Kg and fitted with dual tyre each
having a tyre pressure of 5.6 kg/cm2 is used in the study.

• The dual wheel of the truck is centred above the selected point.
• The probe of the Benkelman beam is placed between the two wheels.

192
• The lock of Benkelman beam is removed and the beam is checked for its free movement.
• When the dial gauge reading is stationery, the initial dial gauge reading Do is taken.

• The truck driver is asked to slowly move (at speed 8-10 m/s) 2.7m from the selected
point and stop.
• The dial gauge reading for the corresponding deflection is noted when the recovery of
the pavement is less than or equal to 0.025mm/minute, this reading is called the
intermediate reading (I).
• The truck is moved forward by another 9m and the final reading (F) is taken.

• The difference between the final and the initial dial readings and also the difference
between the intermediate and initial readings are both calculated.
• If the difference of values lies within 0.025 mm then the actual pavement deflection is
twice the final differential reading.
• If not, apparent pavement deflection is defined as twice the final differential reading.

193
• The temperature of the pavement surface is recorded at intervals of one hour during the
study. The tyre pressure is checked and adjusted if necessary, at intervals of around 3
hours during the study. The moisture content in the subgrade soil is also to be
determined at suitable intervals.

194
Where,
d = distance between the bearing of the beam and the rear adjusting leg.
e = distance between the dial gauge and rear adjusting leg.
F = distance between the front and rear legs.
K = 2.91 generally.

195
 Unit 6 (2 Hrs)

HILL ROADS

6.1 Introduction
A hill road may be defined as one which passes through the area with a cross slope of 25% or
more. The population living in hill area depends upon the agriculture and other products of that
area which are not sufficient for them where as in plain terrain the agricultural and industrial
products are always surplus. This unbalanced productivity of land makes the people of hilly
area underprivileged (वञ्चित/poor/needy). For the overall economic development of the nation
this unbalanced distribution of national product should be curtailed down. Surplus products in
one area should be served in deficit area. Construction of hill roads is important not only from
economic consideration but it is associated with the social justification for providing facilities
to underprivileged mass of the country.
The hilly regions generally have extremes of climatic conditions, difficult and hazardous
terrain, topography and vast high-altitude areas. The region is sparsely (thinly) populated and
the basic infrastructural facilities that are available in plain areas are mostly absent. The roads
in these areas are affected by floods, landslides, snowfall etc. compelling certain roads to be
closed in part of the year especially in winter months. But these areas are rich in natural
resources, flora (वनस्पञ्त) and fauna (जीव, पश,ु वन्यजन्तु) and are important to launch development
projects, tourism etc.

6.2 Design and Construction Problem

• Highly broken relief with widely differing elevations, steep slopes, deep gorges (गञ्िरो
घाट) and a great number of watercourses. This may unnecessarily increase the road
length.
• Great variation in geological condition varies from spot to spot.
• Slope unstable after road construction.
• Great variation in hydrological condition.
• Installation of various road structures.
• Filling may overload the weak underlying soil layer on hill.
• Slope which may trigger new slides.
• Variations of the climatic condition.
• Relatively small approach stretches.
• High speed of run off.
• Need of special safety precautions.
• Frequent blasting.
• Design of hairpin bends to get heights.

Special consideration in hill road design

• Selection of road alignment.
• Geometric design (gradient and hair pin bends).
• Cross section design.
• Design of drainage structures (special structures may require).

196
6.3 Alignment of Hill Roads
The requirement of hill road is decided based on administrative, developmental, strategic, other
needs and the obligatory points to be connected by the road. Control points between obligatory
points are governed by passes, valleys, river crossings, vertical and over hanging cliffs, forest
and cultivated land and other natural features like slide prone and other unstable areas.

In order to explore the possibility of various alternative alignments, preliminary investigation

should start from the high obligatory or control summit points and proceed downwards. The
alignment finally selected linking the obligatory and control points should fit in well with the
landscape. The main aim is to establish a safe, easy, short and economically possible line of
communication between the obligatory points considering the physical features of the region
and traffic needs apart from least disturbance to the eco-system. Ideal road alignment is the
one which will cause the least overall transportation cost taking into account the costs of
construction, maintenance and recurring cost of vehicle operation.

The route should avoid the introduction of hair pin bends as far as possible. If such a situation
becomes inevitable, the number of hair pin bends should be reduced to absolute minimum and
the inevitability (अपरीिाययता/unavoidability) of each hair pin bends should be recorded in the
reconnaissance report. The bends should be located on stable and flat hill slopes and their
location in valleys should be avoided. A series of hair pin-bends on the same face of the hill
should be avoided.

Economy in operating of transport vehicles is achieved by adopting easy grades, minimizing

rise and fall and by following a direct line as far as possible between obligatory points. Although
shortest distance is an important factor, it may have to be sacrificed in order to obtain easy
curvature and gradients to avoid prohibitive cuts and fills and long river crossings. Even a
longer road length to easy gradient and curves may result in a more economical operating cost.

Survey method in hill road should follow the following sequences:

• Reconnaissance
• Preliminary survey
• Determination of final center line
• Final location survey

To facilitate in surveying for selection of alternative alignments for subsequent detailed ground
reconnaissance the advantage of modern techniques like aerial survey, photogrammetry and
remote sensing can be taken.

The selection of road alignment in mountainous and hilly area is affected by the following
factors:

a) Temperature
• Air temperature in the hills is lower than in the valley. The temperature drop being
approximately 0.5° per 100 m of rising.

197
 • On slopes facing south and southwest snow disappears rapidly and rain water evaporates
quickly while on slopes facing north and northeast rain water or snow may remain for
the longer time.
• Unequal warming of slopes, sharp temperature variations and erosion by water are the
causes of slope facing south and southwest.

b) Rainfall
As the elevation increases rainfall also increases
• Maximum rainfall
o Zone of intensive cloud formation (1500~2500m above mean sea level).
o 40~60mm increase in rainfall for every 1000m of elevation.
• In summer there is very heavy rainfall having serious effect on the construction and
maintenance of roads.

c) Atmospheric pressure
It decreases with increase in elevations
• At high altitudes (3000~4000m)
o Wind velocities 25~30m/s.
o Freezing temperatures.
o Depth of frost penetration 1.5~2.0m.
• Therefore, there is intensive rock weathering and also the wind contributes to the
damage of low-cost road pavements.

d) Geological conditions
If the geological and hydrological conditions are not taken into
account, the construction of the road may disturb the natural slope
stability. Degree of stability of hill side slope depends on type of
rock, ‘dip’ or inclination of the strata and presence of ground water.

Dip of the strata will be

as small as possible or
alternatively be inclined
away from the road. In
figure it may be seen
that the sides (a), (e), (f)
and (h) are stable
locations, whereas (b),
(c), (d) and (g) are
unstable locations.

198
Stratified (planes of parting, or separation between individual rock layers) sedimentary rock
often occurs as ‘folds’ which may be concave (syncline) or convex (anticline). The inclination
of the folds may vary from horizontal to vertical. The folds may have various faults
(a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant
displacement as a result of rock-mass movement) too. The inclination of strata varies
considerably from place to place and folds, inversions and faults exist along the line of
movement. These determine the physical characteristics of the formation. Roads are generally
taken in cutting along hill face. The stability of the face is an important feature for the safety of
the road. Careful observations give some idea of the geology of the region but purely superficial
(artificial) observations lead to serious errors. Therefore, appropriate geological investigations
are to be carried out.
The alignment should be so adjusted that the bedding planes of the rock tend to dip away from
the cut slopes rather than towards them. In locating an alignment, consideration should be given
to some of the additional situations which may cause land-slides due to proposed cuts or fills.
These are:
• Restriction of ground water flow by the side fill
• Over-loading of relatively weak underlying soil layer by fill
• Over-loading of bedding planes by heavy side fill
• Excessive steepening of cuts, unstable rock or fill

199
 DIP is the acute angle that a rock surface makes with a horizontal plane. STRIKE is
the direction of the line formed by the intersection of a rock surface with a horizontal
plane.
Inversion or basin inversion relates to the relative uplift of a sedimentary basin or
similar structure as a result of crustal shortening.
A fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has
been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movement.
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediment that has been eroded, reshaped by
water in some form, and redeposited in a non-marine setting.
Talus is the pile of rocks that accumulates at the base of a cliff, chute, or slope.
Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs,
volcanoes or valley shoulders that has accumulated through periodic rockfall from
adjacent cliff faces.

6.4 Route Location

Hill road is characterized by longer routes with many sharp curves. There are mainly two route
location possibilities in case of hill roads namely river route and ridge route. The characteristics
of each of these two route location possibilities can be described as:

6.4.1 River route

The location of a route along a river valley is the most frequent case of hill alignment as there
is a great advantage of running a road at a gentle gradient. Also, there is a benefit of low
construction cost and operation cost. However, a river valley may run through numerous
horizontal curves. Requirements for the construction of large bridges over tributaries
(streams/rivers) also may occur. It may also be necessary to construct special retaining
structures and protection walls on hill side for safe guarding the road against avalanches
(floods/slides).

Some important considerations

• Road bed should be located sufficiently above and away from the maximum water level.
• When the road bed is near to the water
course embankment slope should be
adequately protected and stabilized.
• More attention to the geological and
hydro geological structures.
• Select the best alternative while
crossing the water courses.

For example, as shown in figure a road is to be

connected from A to B. The first alternative
runs through alluvial making a bridge.
However, it may not be feasible unless there
are strong foundations which may increase
construction cost greatly. The second
alternative is located above the alluvial fan
through which the bridge length is greatly

200
reduced Similarly, other options like route III or IV may also be chosen depending upon the
economic comparison

Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediment that has been eroded, reshaped by
water in some form, and redeposited in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made
up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles
of sand and gravel.

6.4.2 Ridge route

• Very steep gradient.
• Large number of sharp curves including hair pin bends.
• Extensive earthwork is required.
• Construction of special structures.
• Necessity of long length away from the air route.
• Geologically stable and comparatively mild slope should be selected.

6.5 Gradient
In hill roads, a heavy amount of earthwork is required. So, to reduce the earthwork for reducing
construction cost the gradients selected are close to maximum. Although steep gradients help
in reducing earthwork and length of road, it also causes increased fuel consumption and
reduction in operating speed as the vehicles will be on low gears which will use more energy.

201
So, both these factors must be taken into account and a suitable solution should be chosen. The
cumulative rise or fall in elevation should not exceed 100 m in mountainous terrain and 120 m
in steep terrains. Vertical curves are designed as the square parabola. The curves should be
provided at all grade change exceeding those indicated in the table.

6.6 Design of Hair Pin Bends

In hilly regions it may become difficult to avoid bends where direction of the road reverses. In
hill road alignment, hair pin bends are introduced particularly when it becomes necessary to
attain height without covering substantial
horizontal distance. Hair pin bends
where unavoidable may be designed
either as a circular curve with transition
at each end or as a compound circular
curve.

The following criteria should be followed normally for their design (as per NRS 2070).

Where number of hair pin bends have to be introduced, a minimum intervening distance of
60m should be provided between two successive bends.

The figure shows two different kinds of symmetrical hair pin bends consisting of main curve
‘C’, reverse curves ‘Cr’, and tangents ‘m’. The acute angle of the bend is α. The main curve
with radius ‘R’ has a total length ‘C’ and subtends an angle ‘γ’ at the center. Points ‘A’ and ‘B’
are located at the apices (peaks/tops/tips) of reverse curves. Between the ends of reverse curves
and main curve of the bend, tangents must be introduced for the transitions of super-elevation
and extra-width of the curve. For the design and layout of hairpin bends, elements such as radii
of the main and reverse curves (R and r), the length of tangents ‘m’ are selected. The design of

202
hairpin bends then basically consists of establishing the value of the turning angle ‘β’ at point
‘A’ and ‘B’ which satisfies the parameters of the bend. For this purpose, following simple
expression may be derived based on the geometry of hair pin bends.

Deriving simple expressions for symmetrical hair pin bends having reverse curve with
equal angle and equal radii (with respect to the first type)

Tangent length of reverse curve

203
The expressions given above are for symmetrical hair pin bends having reverse curve with equal
angles and equal radii.

If owing to land conditions, these curves should differ, in which case these are referred as
unsymmetrical hair pin bends. The bend is designed by the same method, but separately for
each reverse curve.

Hair pin bends are not desirable elements of hill road. In these bends speeds have to be reduced
substantially. The construction cost also increases substantially because of the extensive
volume of earthwork and retaining work.

6.7 Types of Hill Road Cross-sections/Typical Cross sections

The cross section of a road in hilly

terrain is determined by the original
ground slope of the site, the slope of
the road formation, width of
roadway, side drain size and shape
and so on. Various configurations of
road cross sections include.

6.7.1 Cut and fill: With a hill side slope of over 2%, a ‘cut and fill road bed’ is the cheaper and
environment friendly type of construction. The fill mass is obtained from the cut material at the
same location or within free haul distance. To ensure adequate stability of embankment,
benches are made on the surface of the hill side with a height of 0.5m and a length varying from
1.5m to 3m
depending on the
slope. The
settlement of the
fill portion of
road bed
sometimes
causes the
appearance of
longitudinal
cracks in the
pavement. That
is why it is
recommended to
locate roads on
stable hills cross slope exceeding 1 in 3 entyrely in a cutting at the higher cost of making full
bench. Roads with hard and costly pavement structures are to be preferably located in full

204
bench while those with low cost surfaces (WBM, gravel, earthen) be made with cut and fill
road bed.

6.7.2 Bench type: A cross section of

the bench type although entails some
increase in earthwork but ensures the
complete stability of the road bed, if
hill side itself is stable.

6.7.3 Box cutting: When the location of road bed is

unstable or unsuitable along the hill side due to one
or other reasons, the road bed is designed as trench
type of cross section. This type of road bed increases
earthwork to a large extent. It is introduced in order
to meet the geometric design standards for given
category of road. When a road is ascending up the
grade is reduced substantially by raising formation
line at the beginning with fill and lowering the same
at the following section with box cutting. This way, the length of road may be substantially
reduced.

6.7.4 Embankment with retaining walls: On steep

slopes over 30 to 35 degrees, the earthwork involved
in constructing the embankment increases
substantially. This is so that the embankment slope
line meets the natural ground line at an acute angle far
away from the center line of the road. When the
original ground slope is steeper than the embankment
slope, these two slope lines never meet downhill. In
the first case the retaining wall is provided to reduce
the cost of earthwork and to increase the stability of
embankment. In the second case retaining walls are
necessary to support the embankment soil on steep
ground at the edge of the road itself. An embankment
with a retaining wall has a greater stability and should
be preferred. Retaining walls are also constructed on a
less steep ground slope to increase the stability of
roadbed.

6.7.5 Semi bridge: If the road is located across a steep hill slope the retaining wall may have
to be of substantial height. In such cases, in order to reduce the quantities of work, road bed

205
with a semi bridge type of structure may be constructed. Part of the roadway is accommodated
on bench cut and part on the semi bridge.

6.7.6 Semi-tunnel: When inscribing is to be cut into steep hills in stable rock faces, the rock
may be permitted to overhang the road to reduce rock works. Such a cross section is called a
semi-tunnel. Road in half tunneling is advantageous for high altitude hill roads as they do not
get blocked by snows.

6.7.7 Platform: On the precipitous slopes, where shifting

of the route into the hill side will lead to enormous rock
work, which would substantially increase the cost of road
construction and where semi-tunnel cannot be constructed
owing to the geological condition, platforms are usually
cantilevered out of the rock on which road way is partially
located.

206
When cross slope of the hill is very small, road may
be in full embankment. Filling may be small or
heavy. In case of heavy filling, retaining walls
should be constructed on both the side of the
formation.

6.8 Special Structures in Hill Roads

Construction of hill roads involves many special structures. These may include wide range of
structures which are used to retain soil mass to increase stability of road embankment slopes as
well as natural hill slopes to accommodate road bed in steep slope, to penetrate deep through
mountain pass and so on. Special structures are also required to dissipate energy of surface
water in the hill road drainage system to provide snow avalanche control and protection system,
river training and erosion control to prevent scour under cutting and the cutting by the river.
The following types of special structures are most frequently used in the hill roads in Nepal:
• Retaining structures
• Drainage structures
• Slope protection structures

6.8.1 Retaining structures: A retaining structure is usually a wall constructed for the purpose
of supporting or retaining a vertical or nearly vertical earth bank which in turn may support
vertical roads. It provides adequate stability to the roadway and to the slope. Retaining walls
are constructed on the valley side on the roadway and also on the cut hill side to prevent slide
towards the roadway. They are also provided to retain the earth mass for elevated and depressed
roads where the embankment slope or cut slope cannot be extended beyond roadway.
Generally, for hill slopes with gentle slope retaining walls may not be required. For steeper
slopes, relative economy of cost of earth cutting and retaining wall has to be compared. Other
situations requiring the construction of retaining walls are:
• place where the valley side surface gets saturated in the monsoons and is likely to result
in slip taking a part of road with it.
• place where undercutting by a stream or other water course causes damage to the valley
side and the road.
• in valley point where water flows over the road.
• to achieve roadway width, where cutting into hill is not economical or has to be
restricted due to other reasons.

207
208
Classification of retaining walls may be based on:
a) Materials used: Based on materials used in construction of retaining walls in hill road
may be made of dry-stone masonry, stone filled gabion wire crates, Stone masonry with
cement sand mortar, composite (dry stone masonry filled in cement sand stone masonry
frame), plain cement concrete, reinforced cement concrete and in some cases steel or
timber.
b) Structural scheme or location with respect to the roadway: Based on the location of
retaining walls, they may be referred as hill side or valley side retaining walls, toe walls,
cut of walls, revetment walls etc. Revetment walls are known as breast walls. They are
not meant to take the road and retain the soil mass but to prevent the cut slope or fill
slope made of loose eroding soils from further slip or erosion. The thickness of such
wall is much less than those of retaining walls. These walls are sloped towards cut or
fill slope and are not intended to resist overturning or sliding.

Principal type of retaining wall based or their structural scheme include:

• gravity wall
• semi gravity wall
• cantilever wall
• counterfort wall
• buttressed wall
• crib wall
• reinforced soil wall

In rocky stretches, dry

stone walls/ revetments
may be provided at narrow
gullies and re-entrants to
provide additional width
for movement of traffic
taking construction
materials to site till the road
is widened. Proper dressing
and leveling of foundation sloping towards hill side is
essential.

Dry stone masonry is preferred to masonry in mortar as it

helps easy drainage of seeping water. These are flexible and
help stabilization of slope. The design of retaining walls is
based on the thumb rules and suggested thickness of
retaining wall should be not less 0.5 m of height and a
minimum top width of 0.45m to 0.60m and a front batter
of 1 in 4 with the rear side vertical.

For heights greater than 6m, sections of (0.4H + 0.3) to (0.5H +0.6) m are adopted with a top
width of 0.75m. Also, bands of coursed rubble masonry in cement mortar at vertical and
horizontal intervals of about 3m each are constructed for added stability.

209
Revetment or breast walls are provided on the inner side of the road to give support to the
loose and unreliable soil of the cut-up hill side. The embankment slopes are normally protected
with rough stone pitching about
30cm thick in order to avoid
erosion due to flow of water. Such
walls perform the following
functions:
• keep the road edge defined
and also protect the drain to
some extent.
• the hill slope to the extent
of breast wall height will
remain protected from slips
and any slide above this
height will flow over the
top of the breast wall.
• it would not allow
continuity of the flowing
mass of soil and would thus
facilitate the clearance of
slides.
• assistance in drainage from
hill slope through weep
holes in breast wall on to
the side drain in front of the
wall.

Bally revetments: In weak/wet sliding area, revetments of ballies driven vertically and ties
horizontally in rows parallel to the road along the hill slopes above and below the formation
level as shown in figure, provide temporary stability to the slope. These can be replaced by
breast walls of masonry or crated masonry in due course. At times the temporary revetment is
enough to stabilize the slopes permanently,
these are provided. If the revetment is made
with selected varieties of fresh cut ballies,
which take roots quickly under wet
conditions, it provides vegetation cover and
adds to stability to the slope.

If the slopping length is too long, it is

preferable to construct a toe wall as to support
the embankment. Where the cutting slope is
steep and contains loose soils, slips are likely to occur. In such locations, revetments walls of
dry-stone masonry are constructed to retain the soil on the cutting side to prevent occurrence of
any such slip.

210
When culverts/scuppers are constructed and
waterfalls above the retaining walls on the
valley side to a considerable height, in the form
of free fall, there is considerable erosion at the
toe of the retaining wall. In order to check this,
one or a series of toe walls are constructed in
order to break the water force so that the
retaining wall does not get eroded.

In some cases, similar structures called check

walls are required in the stream bed on the
upstream side of the road to reduce the flow of
debris which blocks the road.

Gravity walls are made of dry-stone

masonry, gabion, stone masonry with
cement mortar or concrete. Obviously,
there does not exist the problem of backfill
drainage in dry stone or gabion box
retaining walls. In case of stone masonry
in cement mortar joint, weep holes are
provided at specific interval to facilitate
backfill drainage. Compacted backfill
with crushed aggregates or river gravel are
provided for backfill to prevent choking of
weep holes.

Another method of retaining the hill side can be by using wire crates filled with stones and used
as breast wall. The suggested specification for crate wall is 3 m x 1.5 m size, consisting of 15
cm x 15 cm size square mesh of 10-gauge GI wire interwoven each other in one or two tiers as
required.

211
6.8.2 Drainage structures
Structures such as side drains, culverts, causeways which help to easy drain off water in hills
are called drainage structures. Topography of hill generates numerous water courses. This
coupled with continuous gradient of roads in hills and high intensity of rainfall calls for
effective drainage of roads. Furthermore, two main factors highlight the hill road drainage
problem in our country. The first factor is that 80% of annual precipitation is concentrated to
only four months (monsoon), not as a steady rainfall but with high intensity at short intervals.
Secondly, un-proportionally huge amount of water reaches side drains and later on the water
crossing point (causeways, culverts). The increased level of water at a time in recipients (natural
water courses) than before road
construction may induce bank and
bed erosion unless precautionary
measures are taken.

a) Drainage of water from hill

slope
Surface water flowing from the hill
towards the roadway is one of the
main problems in the drainage of hill
roads. Since a large amount of water
flows along with debris from the hill
slopes during heavy storms, a catch
drain is generally provided to catch
the water in the middle of the slope.
Water intercepted in catch water
drains are then diverted by sloping
drains and carried to the nearest
watercourse or to culvert to cross the
roadway.

212
The figure below shows a layout for drainage from hill slopes. In order to intercept and divert
the water from the hill slope catch water drains are provided running parallel to the roadway.
The catch water drains should be given a gradient of 1 in 50 to l in 33 to avoid high water
velocity and possible wash out. If drains of large sections are required, the bed and sides are
paved.

b) Road side drains:

Road side drains should be taken below the subgrade of the road. Side drain is provided only
on the hill side of the road and not on both sides. Due to limitation in the formation width, the
side drains are constructed to such a shape that at emergency the vehicles could utilize this
space for crossing at low speed or for parking. The usual types of side drains are angle, saucer
and kerb and channel drains.

213
The parabolic section is hydraulically the best and most erosion resistant. The trapezoidal
section is easier to construct and is more generally used. Kerb and channel drain gives extra
width in case of emergencies for vehicles to use. U shaped drains are generally deep drains and
are provided where higher discharge has to be catered and adequate road width is available.

Chutes: Surface run off on a hill slope generally flows down in the form of natural
gullies/chutes. The water entrapped in the catch water drains is also brought down either by
connecting them with existing natural gullies or through specially provided chutes. The
cumulative discharge with its increasing momentum causes immense erosion. It is therefore
desirable to provide lined chutes to lead the discharge to the catch pit of culvert or to a natural
drainage channel. Box type stepped chutes of stone masonry have been found more appropriate
because of their stability and long life.

214
c) Cross drainage:
A cross drainage is always required on a hill road. As far as possible, cross drainage should be
taken under the road at right angle to it. At the head of small cross drains catch pits must be
provided to collect
debris and to prevent
scouring. In rocky
cuts, catch pits can
be provided as inlets
in rocks. The floor
level of the catch pit
is deeper than the sill
of the culvert or
cross drain by at
least 0.3m. The floor
of the cross drain is
given a longitudinal
slope of 1 in 7.
215
Ford: Location for the ford is chosen at a place where the stream runs in shallow channel. A
trench about 1 m wide and 1 to 1.2 m deep is dug on the bed of the stream along the downstream
edge of the road. The trench is then filled with stones in wire crates up to the level of the road.
As an alternative, a masonry (stone or brick in cement mortar 1 :4) wall could be built along
the downstream edge to retain the road in position. The road surface is formed by leveling the
stream bed with gravel. After one or two seasons, fines transported by the stream will fill in the
voids in the gravel surface, leaving a satisfactory stream crossing.

In hill roads where rain-fall is heavy, culverts are provided to facilitate drainage of water cross
the road. When culverts under the road cannot be provided causeways are the alternative
solution. Causeways are submersible bridges, with a dip in the road profile to allow water flow
across the road surface during flood. Causeways may be of two types:
• Flush or low-level causeway
• Vented or high-level causeway
Low level causeway is similar to a ford constructed flush with the stream bed except for the
provision of permanent riding surface protected by cut-off walls on the upstream and
downstream sides.
Vented causeways have the double function of passing normal discharge through the vents
below the roadway and the flood discharge both through the vents and over the roadway itself.
216
217
d) Subsurface drainage:
The seepage flow of water on hill road is one of the major problems during and after the
monsoons. The seepage water may cut across the hill side slope above, at below the road level
depending upon several factors such as depth of hard stratum and its inclination, quantity of
underground flow of water etc. The seepage flow causes problems of slope stability as well as
weakening of the road bed and the pavement. The seepage flow may be controlled by suitable
subsurface drainage system done by methods in the previous chapter.

6.8.3 Slope protection structures

In high mountainous regions rainfall is very heavy and hill tops are very steep. In such areas
landslides and slips are very common. Landslides can be classified as fall, slides, flows and
complex landslides. Slides are the movement caused by shear failure while fall is free fall and
rolling of rocks. Flow failure is such that it resembles flowing fluid, and surface of slip cannot
be located. Combination of flow, slide or fall, results in complex landslides. Basic cause of
slides is the development of shear stresses more than the shear strength of the soil.

Hill road is formed mostly by cutting into the hill and thereby disturbing natural stability of
slopes. Water courses along the slopes cause erosion affecting road stability. As described
earlier, during the formation cutting of a road, the natural hill slope gets disturbed and masonry
structures provided to support the downhill side unstable strata or fills are called retaining walls.

Fresh unturfed embankment and cut slopes are the least stable part of road bed, since the soil
on the surface of the slopes is subjected to the direct action of sun, rain and wind. With the
disturbance of the moisture content equilibrium, the formation slopes become prone to failure.
The formation slopes are selected based on the type of embankment or cut soil. Flat slopes are
provided for loose soil in embankments and cutting. In stable soils, steeper slope may be chosen.

Causes of landslides:
• Increase in moisture content and subsequent swelling and increase in pore water
pressure.
• Hair cracking due to alternate shrinkage and swelling of soil mass.
• Heavy traffic load near the outer edge of the formation.
• Undermining due to erosions or excavations.
• Vibration caused by blast or earthquake.
• Seepage pressures of percolating ground waters.
• Failure or removal of retaining or breast walls.
• Steeper slopes.

Preventive measures:
• Highway may be realigned at areas more prone to landslides.
• Effective drainage of hill slopes and embankment slopes.
• Construction of retaining and breast walls must be done at places where required.
• Treatment of slopes to increase stability conditions.
• Adopting easy slopes during design and construction of the road.

218
Reinforced soil retaining walls: It is a composite construction material in which the strength
of fill is enhanced through addition of inextensible tensile reinforcement in form of strips,
sheets, grids or geotextiles. The technique of construction is quite suitable for hilly areas mainly
due to the following reasons:
• The fill material which consists of mainly
granular material is easily available in all
parts of the hilly areas from cutting of hill
side during the construction of roads.
• These involve minimum alteration in
natural slopes since the emphasis is on
avoiding the cutting of natural slope.
• The land width or actual embankment
width required is less.
• Cost effective, easy to construct and
environmentally friendly.

Use of geosynthetics: Geosynthetics which include geotextile, geogrids, geonets,

geomembranes and geocomposits can be used in various applications of road and bridge works.
Some of the areas of geosynthetics and their functions are given as below.

219
 Unit 8 (6 Hrs)

ROAD PAVEMENT

8.1 Definition and types of pavement

Road pavement can be defined as a relatively stable layer constructed over the natural soil for
the purpose of supporting and distributing the wheel loads and providing an adequate surface
for the movements of vehicles with certain speed safely, comfortably and economically. One
main objective of a well-designed pavement is to keep temporary deformation of the pavement
with in the permissible limits so that the pavement can sustain a large number of repeated load
applications during design life. The main function of the pavement is to support and distribute
wheel load of vehicle over a wide area of the underlying subgrade soil and permitting the
deformation within the range.

Pavement Layers
Pavement consists of one or more layers of subgrade, sub base, base, surface or wearing course.
Surfacing course is the top course and is provided to provide a smooth, abrasion resistant, dust
free, reasonably water proof and strong layer. Base course is the medium through which the
stresses imposed are distributed evenly to the underlying layers. Sub base layer provides
additional help in distributing the loads. Subgrade course is the compacted natural earth and the
top of the sub grade level is also known as the formation level.

The function of different types of layers are as below:

i. Sub grade:
• It is the compacted natural earth and top of it is called formation level.
• It is layer of natural soil prepare to receive the other layers of the pavement.
• Loads on the pavements are ultimately supported by the soil sub-grade and
dispersed to the earth mass below.
• Sub-grade should pass the following properties
o Strength
o Drainage
o Ease of compaction
o Permanency of compaction etc.

ii. Sub-base course

• Provides additional help in distributing the loads.
• Layer of selected granular soil, stabilized soils or gravels, boulders, broken
stones, bricks are used to constructed these layers.
• Main purpose of this layer is to permit the building at relatively thick pavement
at a low cost.

220
 • Usually provided on fine grained soil.
• To increase the structural support for the base and sub-base courses.
• To improve drainage.
• To eliminate frost heave

iii. Base course

• Base course is the medium through which the stressed imposed are distributed
uniformly to the underline layers.

iv. Surface course or wearing course

• It is the top course and is provided to get a smooth, abrasion resistance, dust free
reasonably water proof and strong layer.
• Superior quality of materials is used to construct this layer.
• In rigid pavement, concrete slab itself acts as the surface course and distributed
the load.

Types of pavements:
Based on structural behaviors the road pavements are generally classified into two types:

a) Flexible pavements
The pavements which have very low flexural strength (the maximum amount of stress a
material can withstand without breaking) and are flexible in their structural behavior under the
load are called flexible pavements. The flexible pavement layers reflect the deformation of the
lower layers on to the surface of the layer. Thus, if lower layer somehow gets deformed the
surface of the pavements also gets deformed. Different pavement layers used in flexible
pavement are soil subgrade, sub base layer, base layer, surface layer.

The flexible pavement layers transmit the vertical loads to the lower layers by grain to grain
transfer through their point of contact in the granular structure. The load spreading capacity of
the flexible layer depends on the type of material and the mix design factors. The materials
which fall in the category of flexible pavement layers are soil aggregate mix, crushed aggregate,
WBM, granular materials with bituminous binder, bituminous concrete. The basic design
principle of flexible pavements is based on layered systems with better materials on the top
where the intensity of stress is high and inferior materials at the bottom where the intensity is
low. This design principle makes possible the use of local materials and usually results in a
most economical design. This is particularly true in regions where high-quality materials are
expensive but local materials of inferior quality are readily available.

b) Rigid pavements
Rigid pavements are those which possess considerable flexural strength. The rigid pavements
are made of cement concrete which may be either plain, reinforced or pre-stressed. The rigid
pavements have a slab action and are capable of transmitting the wheel loads stresses through
a wider area below. The main difference between rigid and flexible pavements in the structural
behavior is that the critical condition of stress in rigid pavement is the maximum flexural
strength occurring in the slab due to the wheel load and the temperature changes where as in
flexible pavement it is the distribution of compressive stress to the lower layers and lastly over

221
the soil subgrade. Usually the rigid pavement structure consists of a cement concrete slab, below
which a granular base or sub-base course may be provided. A good base or sub base course
under the cement concrete slab increases the pavement life considerably and therefore works
out more economical in the long run.

8.2 Differences between Flexible and Rigid Pavement structures

Flexible and rigid pavements differ in many characteristics which can be described as below:

222
Design precision: The design of cement concrete pavement (rigid pavement) is much more
precise due to precise structural analysis technique and flexural strength of concrete is well
understood. But flexible pavement designs are mainly empirical.

Design life: Well-designed concrete slab has a life of about 40 years whereas flexible
pavements has a design life of 10-20 years with extra maintenance input.

Maintenance: A well designed cement concrete pavement needs very little maintenance
(mainly of joints) whereas bituminous surfaces need great inputs in maintenance.

Initial cost: Argument is made that cement concrete slab is much more costly than flexible
pavement but if higher specification of bituminous pavement is selected, the argument that a
cement concrete specification is costlier than a flexible pavement should no longer be valid.

Stage construction: Stage construction is possible on bituminous pavement in which initial

minimum thickness can be provided and additional overlays are provided in keeping with traffic
growth thus at no stage the investment made in advance of the actual requirement.
But cement concrete slab does not fit such scheme of stage construction.

Availability of material: Bitumen (used in flexible pavement) is a scarce resource and should
be imported involving hard earn foreign exchange whereas cement (used in rigid pavement)
can be manufactured within the country.

Surface characteristics: Cement concrete produces smooth pavement surfaces free from
rutting, potholes and corrugations with good riding quality and asphalt concrete pavement
surface has comparable riding quality. Well-constructed cement concrete pavement gives
permanent non-skid surface but faulty design may become very smooth which is extremely
costly to restore the non-skid characteristics.

Penetration of water: Cement concrete is practically impermeable except at joints where the
problem of mud pumping exists but bituminous surface is not impervious in which water enters
through pores and cracks which impairs stability of pavement

Utility location: No digging up the pavement for water supply pipes, telephone lines, electric
poles etc. is possible for rigid pavement but the same be accomplished in flexible pavement
though the practice is not a good one.

Glare and night visibility: Cement concrete pavement is grey in color which produces glare
on the sun lights whereas bituminous roads being black in color need more street lighting for
night driving condition.

Traffic dislocation during construction: Cement concrete pavement needs around 28 days
for setting and curing to gain its strength but bituminous surface can be opened to traffic shortly
after it is rolled and, in this case, traffic will facilitate its further compaction. Concrete pavement
causes longer dislocation of traffic if the work is done on existing pavement.

223
Environmental considerations during construction: Heating of aggregates and bitumen in
hot mix plants can prove to be much more hazardous in case of flexible pavement construction.
Use of cutbacks can also prove to be environmentally hazardous due to evaporation of volatile
constituents into the atmosphere.

Overall economy on a life cycle basis: Rigid pavement is far more economical than flexible
pavement in the long run.

Furthermore, the advantages of rigid pavement can be summarized as:

• High strength: Compressive, abrasion, compression-tension.
• Good stability: Water, heat stability, strength increases with increase in time.
• Durability: 20-40 years.
• Low maintenance cost, large economic gain: big initial investment but long
design period therefore maintenance cost per year is low.
• Suitable for night driving

The main disadvantages of rigid pavement are:

• Necessity of cement and water is large: For 20cm depth, 7 m wide cement
concrete pavement for every 1 km road, needs about 400-500t cement and 250t
water which does not include water necessary for curing. This is difficult where
these materials are very hardly available.
• Have joints: Joints increases difficulty in construction and maintenance which
easily causes vibration on vehicle. If not handled properly, damages may occur.
• Pavement is quite lately available for vehicle operation: Needs of 15-20 days.
• Difficult to repair: Repairing work big, influence the traffic movement.

Functions of Pavement Layers

Pavement whether it may be flexible or rigid is generally composed of different layers namely
subgrade, subbase, base and surface layer. Each of the layers has different functions which can
be elaborated as below:

a) Soil subgrade
The soil subgrade is a layer of natural soil prepared to receive the layers of pavement materials
placed over it. Traffic load moving on the surface of the road is ultimately transferred to the
subgrade through intermediate layers and this transmitted pressure should be within the
allowable limit so as not to cause excessive stresses condition or deform the same beyond the
elastic limit. The top layer of the subgrade soil should be well-compacted under controlled
condition of optimum moisture content so as to achieve maximum dry density. It is necessary
to evaluate the strength properties of soil subgrade. If the strength properties are inferior,
suitable treatment should be given to impart improvements in the performance of soil
subgrade.

b) Sub base and Base layer

These layers are made of broken stones bounded or unbounded. Sub base layer may sometimes
be constructed by stabilized soil or selected granular soil. At sub-base course, it is desirable to
use smaller size graded aggregates or soil aggregate mixes or soft aggregates instead of large

224
boulder stone. Sub base course primarily has the similar function as that of the base course and
is provided with inferior materials than of the base course. Base and sub base courses are used
under flexible pavement primarily to improve the load supporting capacity by distributing the
load through a finite thickness. Base courses are used under rigid pavement for preventing the
mud pumping, protecting the subgrade against frost action. Thus, the fundamental purpose of a
base and sub base course is to provide a load transmitting medium to spread the surface wheel
loads in such a manner as to prevent shear and consolidation deformation.

c) Wearing course
Wearing course performs the following functions:
• Provides smooth and dense riding surface.
• Resists pressure and takes up wear and tear duo to traffic.
• Provides water tight layer against the filtration of surface water.
• Provides hard surface which can withstand the pressure exerted by tyres of vehicle.

In flexible pavement, wearing surface is generally made of bituminous material whereas in rigid
pavement, the cement concrete slab is used as wearing course. There are many types of surface
treatments employed as wearing course. The type of surface depends upon the availability of
materials, plants and equipment’s and upon the magnitude of surface loads. There is no test for
evaluating the structural stability of the wearing course. However, the bituminous mixes used
in the wearing courses are tested for their suitability (Marshall Stability' test by which optimum
content of bitumen binder is worked out based on stability, density and other parameters as
explained in the Marshall method of bituminous mix design).

8.3 Loads and Other Factors Controlling Pavement Design

The load and other factors controlling pavement design are as follows:
• Traffic and loading factors
• Environmental factors
• Materials
• Failure criteria

8.3.1 Traffic and loading factors

Factors the traffic loading to be considered include axle loads, the number of load repetition,
tyre contact areas and vehicle speeds.
a) Axle configuration and axle load: The different kinds of axle load configurations of
vehicle in different countries. Standard axle load also varies from country to country.

225
Wheel loads of vehicles cause stresses and strains in pavement layers and subgrade. Higher
magnitude of wheel load obviously needs thicker pavement, provided other design factors are
the same.

Figure showing higher wheel load producing greater stress at the surface which gradually
decreases with the increase in depth of pavement.

The wheel spacing of single and tandem axle is typically shown in figure below. This spacing
should have no effect on the pavement design because the wheels are so far apart that their
effect on stresses and strains should be considered independently.

In pavement design, it is very important to know the way in which the loads of a given vehicle
are applied on the pavement surface. A vehicle can have many numbers of axles. The weight
of individual axles is called axle load. In practice the weights of the rear and the front axles are
not equal and they depend on the position of the load the vehicle carries. Unless an equivalent
single axle load is used, the consideration of multiple axles is not a simple matter. The design
may be unsafe if the tandem and tridem axles are treated as a group and considered as one
repetition. The design is too conservative if each axle is treated independently and considered
as one repetition. For design purpose generally the weight of rear axle of a vehicle is taken into
account. In the design of flexible pavement, only the wheels on one side say at the outer wheel
path need to be considered; whereas in the design of rigid pavements, the wheel on both sides
even at a distance of 1.8 m apart are usually considered.
226
The damage caused by different axle loads in the pavement structure are of different
magnitudes. If damage is caused by N1 no. of repetitions for an axle weight of W1 and the same
extent of damage is caused by N2 no. of repetitions for an axle load of W2 then AASHTO's
experimental data gives the following equation:

Difficulty arises in assessing the no. of repetitions of load since the traffic consists of a mixture
of axle loads of varying magnitudes. A simplified and widely accepted practice is to express
the traffic in terms of an equivalent no. of standard axles. Fourth power rule can be used in
calculating the equivalent factor considering the structural damage caused by an axle load varies
as fourth power of its ratio to the standard axle load and if F is equivalent factor for an axle load
L and if LS is the standard axle load (80 KN).

b) Number of repetitions of load: Repetition of wheel loads is very important in causing

pavement distress therefore it is necessary to select the design vehicle and assess the total
number of repetitions of axle loads during the pavement life. These cumulative load
applications during the design life cause plastic and elastic deformation which may also be
affected by the position of wheel loads as the concentration of wheel load at a localized
width of the pavement can cause extra distress.

c) Contact pressure and contact area: As the depth of pavement increases the tyre pressure
decreases and finally diminishes at a specified depth. Therefore, the materials used in
different layers are of varying quality. i.e. the quality of materials in upper layer should be
better as compared to lower layer. The intensity of tyre pressure under the wheel is
maximum as compared in between wheels. The ratio of contact pressure to tyre pressure is
known as rigidity factor. The numerical value of rigidity factor is one, less than one or
greater than l.

227
 Contact pressure = Load on wheel/contact area
As shown in the figure below, the contact pressure is greater than the tyre pressure for low
pressure tyre, because the wall of tyres is in compression and the sum of vertical forces due to
wall and tyre pressure must be equal to the force due to contact pressure. Contact pressure is
smaller than tyre pressure for high pressure tyres because the wall of tyres is in tension.

In pavement design, the contact pressure is generally assumed to be equal to tyre pressure.
Heavier axle loads have high tyre pressures and more destructive effects on pavements; the use
of tyre pressures is therefore on the safe side.

Contact area: Heavier axle loads are always applied on dual tyres. Figure below shows the
approximate shape of contact area for each tyre, which is geometrically composed as in the
figure. When the layered theory is used
in the design of flexible pavement, it is
assumed that each tyre has a circular
contact area. To simplify the analysis of
flexible pavements, a single circle with
the same contact area as the duals is
frequently used to represent a set of dual
tyres instead of using two circular areas.

228
d) Vehicle speed: Another factor related to traffic is the vehicle speed. If the viscoelastic
theory is used, speed is directly related to the duration of loading. So, by increasing the
speed of vehicle, the contacting time of wheel on the pavement surface is very-very small.
i.e., the failure of pavement reduces.

8.3.2 Environmental Factors

• Temperature
• Rainfall/Precipitation
• Frost

a) Temperature: The effect of temperature on asphalt pavements is different from that on

concrete pavements. Temperature affects the resilient modulus of asphalt layers and induces
curling of concrete slabs. Low temperature can cause asphalt concrete pavements to crack.
During the day, when the temperature at top is higher than that at the bottom, the slab curls
down so that its interior may not be in contact with the subgrade. At night, when the temperature
at top is lower than that at bottom, the slab curls upward so that its edge and corner may be out
of contact with the subgrade. The loss of subgrade contact will affect the stresses in concrete
due to wheel loads. The change between the maximum and minimum temperatures also
determines the joint and crack openings and affects the efficiently of load transfer.

b) Rainfall/Precipitation: Rainfall affects the quantity of surface water infiltrating into the
subgrade and the location of the ground water table. Every effort should be made to improve
pavement drainage and alleviate the detrimental effect of water. If water from rainfalls can be
drained out within a short time, its effect can be minimized, even in regions of high
precipitation. The location of ground water table is also important. The water table should be at
least 1 m below the subgrade level.

c) Frost: Another effect of temperature on pavement design in cold climate is the frost
penetration. This results a stronger subgrade in the winter but much weaker subgrade in the
spring. Although frost heave causes differential settlements and pavement roughness, the most
detrimental effect of frost penetration occurs during the spring breakup period, when the ice
melts and the subgrade is in saturated condition. It is desirable to protect the subgrade by using
non-frost susceptible materials within the zone of frost penetration.

8.3.3 Materials
a) Subgrade materials: Strength, soil type and compacted density affects the pavement
design.
b) Drainage: Surface/sub-surface drainage of pavement and from the adjoining land affects
the subgrade strength.

8.3.4 Failure Criteria

The failure criteria for flexible pavement are:

a) Fatigue cracking:
• caused by allowable number of load repetitions to the tensile strength based on the
laboratory fatigue test.

229
b) Rutting:
• occurs only on flexible pavements.
• permanent deformation or net depth along the wheel path.

c) Thermal cracking: It is caused by the tensile strain in the asphalt layer due to daily
temperature cycle. This type of distress includes both low-temperature cracking and thermal
fatigue cracking.
• low temperature cracking in colder regions.
• thermal fatigue cracking in milder regions if excessively hard asphalt is used or
the asphalt becomes hardened due to aging.

The failure criteria for rigid pavement are:

a) Fatigue cracking:
• permissible number of load repetitions may cause fatigue cracking.

b) Pumping or erosion: Although permanent deformations are not considered on rigid

pavement design, the resilient deformations under repeated wheel loads will cause pumping of
the slabs. Since pumping is caused by many factors such as types of sub-base, sub-grade,
precipitation and drainage a more rational method for analyzing pumping is needed.

c) Other criteria: Other major types of distress in rigid pavements include faulting, spalling
and joint determination. These distresses are difficult to analyze mechanistically and a great
effort has been made recently in developing regression models to predict them.

8.4 Design Methods for Flexible Pavement

A) Theoretical Method (Mechanistic methods)

a) Boussinesq’s elastic method
b) Burmister two layered method

B) Semi-Empirical Method
a) Triaxial method
b) Fatigue cracking models
c) Rutting models
d) Thermal cracking models

C) Empirical Method
a) Group Index method
b) California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
o Original CBR method
o IRC recommended CBR method
▪ IRC 37 - 1970
▪ IRC 37 – 1984 (first revision)
▪ IRC 37 – 2001 (second revision)
c) California resistance value
d) Mc load method

230
 e) AASTHO method
f) Road note 29 (U.K.) - Melamchi road
g) Road note 31 (U.K.) - Suitable for Nepal
h) Asphalt Institute method

8.4.1 Empirical Method

A) CBR Method
It is originally developed by O.J. Porter in 1928-29. One of the main advantages of CBR method
of pavement design is the simplicity of test procedure. Based on the extensive CBR test data
collected on pavement which behaved satisfactorily and those failed, an empirical design chart
was developed correlating the CBR value and the pavement thickness. The basis of design chart
is that a material with a given CBR required a certain thickness of pavement layer as a cover.
A higher load needs a thicker pavement layer to protect the subgrade. Design curves correlating
the CBR value with total pavement thickness cover were developed by the California State
Highway Department of wheel loads of 3175 kg and 5443 kg representing light and heavy
traffic. Later the design curve for 4082 kg wheel load was obtained by interpolation of medium
traffic. The original curves were modified by US Army Corps of Engineer (USACE).

Studies carried out by US Corps of engineers have shown that there exists a relationship
between pavement thickness, wheel load, tyre pressure and CBR value within a range of 10 to
12 percent. Therefore, it is possible to extend the CBR design curves for various loading
conditions using the equation:

231
*laden = heavily loaded

Numerical 1) Find out the total thickness of pavement, using

i) design curve developed by California State Highway Department.
ii) design formula developed by the US Corps of Engineer.
The CBR value of subgrade = 4%, assume wheel load as 4100 kg and tyre pressure as 6 kg/cm2
to carry average traffic of 250 vehicles/day.

Solutions:
i) from the graph, pavement thickness for CBR value of 4 % for wheel load of 4000
kg is 42.5 cm.
ii) P = 4100 kg; CBR = 4%; p = 6 kg/cm2
1.75 1 1/2 1.75 1
𝑡 = √𝑃(𝐶𝐵𝑅 − ) = √4100( − )1/2 = 39.7 𝑐𝑚
𝑝𝜋 4 6∗𝜋

Pavement Thickness Determination

For the determination of pavement thickness by CBR method, the soaked CBR value of the soil
subgrade is evaluated. Then appropriate design curve is chosen by taking the design wheel load
or by taking the anticipated traffic into consideration. Thus, the total thickness of flexible
pavement needed to cover the subgrade of the known CBR value is obtained. In case there is a
material superior than the soil subgrade such that it may be used as sub base course then the
thickness of construction over this material could be obtained from the design chart knowing
the CBR value of the sub base. Thickness of the sub base course is the total thickness minus the

232
thickness over the sub base. Thus, CBR method of flexible pavement design is based on strength
parameter of subgrade soil & subsequent pavement material.

a) IRC recommended CBR Method

i) IRC 37 – 1970
• The IRC guidelines for flexible pavements, published in 1970, was the basis for design
in India till recently. The soil strength is measured by the CBR tests. The selection of
moisture content is very important.
• The CBR tests should be performed on remoulded soils in the laboratory. In situ tests
are not recommended for design purposes.
• The specimens should be prepared by static compaction wherever possible and
otherwise by dynamic compaction.
• For the design of new roads, the subgrade soil sample should be compacted at OMC to
Proctor density whenever suitable compaction equipment is available to achieve this
density in the field otherwise the soil sample may be compacted to the dry density
expected to be achieved in the field. In the case of existing roads, the sample should be
compacted to field density of subgrade soil (at OMC or at field moisture content).
• In new constructions the CBR test samples may be soaked in water for four days period
before testing. However, in areas with arid (dry) climate or when the annual rainfall is
less than 50 cm and the water table is too deep to affect the subgrade adversely and
when thick and impermeable bituminous surfacing is provided, it is not necessary to
soak the soil specimen before carrying out CBR test. Wherever possible the most
adverse moisture condition of the subgrade should be determined from the field study.
• At least three samples should be tested on each type of soil at the same density and
moisture content. If the maximum variation in CBR values of the three specimens
exceeds the specified limits the design CBR should be average of at least six samples.
(The specified limits of maximum variation in CBR are 3% for CBR values up to 10%,
5% for CBR values 10 - 30% and 10 % for values 30 - 60%)
• The top 50 cm of subgrade should be compacted at least up to 95 to 100 percent of
Proctor density.
• An estimate of the traffic to be carried by the road pavements at the end of expected life
should be made keeping in view the existing traffic and probable growth rate of traffic.
• Pavements of major roads should be designed at least for 10 years life period and the
following formula may be used in such cases for estimating the design traffic.
A = P(1+r) (n+y)
Where,
A = number of heavy vehicles per day for design (laden weight>3 tonnes)
P = number of heavy vehicles per day least count
r = annual rate of increase of heavy vehicles
n = number of years between the last count and the year of completion of
construction
y = design years
• The value of P in the formula should be the seven days average of heavy vehicles found
from 24 hours counts. In reliable values of growth factor r is not available, a value of
7.5% may be assumed for roads in rural areas.

233
 • The traffic for the design is considered in units of heavy vehicles (of laden weight
exceeding 3 tonnes) per day in both directions and are divided into seven categories: A
to G.
• The suitable design curves should be chosen from the table given in the design chart
after estimating the design traffic. The design thickness is considered applicable for
single axle loads upto 8200 kg and tandem axle loads upto 14500 kg. For higher axle
loads, the thickness values should be further increased. For single lane roads, because
of the concentration of traffic on one lane only, the design traffic intensity is taken to be
twice that for two lane roads.
• When sub base course material contains substantial proportion of aggregates of size
above 20 mm, the CBR value of these materials would not be valid for the design of
subsequent layers above them. Thin layers of wearing course such as surface dressing
or open graded premixed carpet upto 2.5 cm thickness should not be counted towards
the total thickness as they do not increase the structural capacity as the pavement.

ii) IRC 37 – 1984 (First Revision IRC guidelines)

IRC guidelines were revised in 1984. The features of the new practices are:
• A new set of curves for determining pavement thickness relating the cumulative
standard axles and the CBR value to the thickness.
• Revised curves relating the commercial vehicle traffic and the CBR value to the
thickness.
• Recommendations on types of pavement materials suitable for various layers.
• The number of standard axles per commercial vehicle is designated as Vehicle Damage
Factor (VDF).
• The total thickness obtained from the chart is distributed into surfacing of thickness X,
base of thickness Y and sub base of thickness Z as per table.
This method considers traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axle 8160 kg, to be
carried by the pavement during the design life, this requires the following information;
• Initial traffic:
o it determines in terms of commercial vehicles per day (CVPD).
o estimate the initial daily average traffic flow for any road based on 7 day 24 hour
classified traffic count.
• Traffic growth rate:
o generally taken at 7.5 % whenever it is not provided.
• Design life:
o for national and state highway; design life = 15 years.
o for express and urban roads; design life = 20 years.
o for other categories of road (including rural road); design life = 10 to 15 years.
o vehicle damage factor (VDF) varies with axle configuration, axle loading,
terrain type of road and from region to region.

234
235
236
 ii) IRC 37 – 2001 (Second Revision IRC guidelines)
The Indian Roads Congress have recently brought out a revised version, the features of this
document are:
• Design based on the design catalogue.
• The flexible pavement has been designed as a four-layer structure.
• The catalogues cover soils having CBR values in the range of 2-10%.
• Traffic upto 150 million standard axles (msa) has been considered.
• The damaging effect of axle loads can be taken from the table.
• Separate figures for the thickness for loads upto 10 msa (million standard axles) and
10~150 msa.
• The design catalogues are given separately for each CBR.

Distribution of commercial traffic over the carriageway

• Single lane road (3.75m)
o Traffic tend to be more channelized on single lane road than two lane roads and
to allow for this concentration of wheel load repetitions, the design should be
based on the total number of commercial vehicles per day in both directions
multiplied by 2 (as per 1984), multiplied by 1 (as per 2001).
• Intermediate width road (5.5m)
o Design should be based on total number of CVPD in both directions multiplied
by 1.5.
• Two lane single carriageway
o The design should be based on 75% of the total number of commercial vehicles
in both directions.
• Four lane single carriageway
o The design should be based on the 40% of the total no. of commercial vehicles
in both directions.
• Dual carriageway roads
o Design should be based on the 75% of the number of commercial vehicles in
each direction. For dual three lane carriageway and dual four lane carriageway,
the distribution factor will be 60% and 45% respectively.

Computation of Design Traffic (Estimated traffic at the end of design)

365 × 𝐴 × ((1 + 𝑟)𝑛 − 1) × 𝑉𝐷𝐹 × 𝐿𝐷𝐹
𝑁𝑠 = = 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑠𝑎
𝑟
Where,
Ns = cumulative number of standard axles to be catered for in the design in terms of msa
A = Initial traffic in terms of number of commercial vehicles per day, duly modified to
account for lane distribution = Initial standard number of axles = P(1+r)y in terms of
CVPD.
P = number of commercial vehicles as per last count
y = period of construction = number of years between the last count and year of
completion of construction
LDF = Lane distribution factor (condition given)
VDF = Vehicle damage factor
r = annual growth rate of commercial traffic/vehicles

237
 n = design life in years
VDF is the multiplier for converting the number of commercial vehicles to the number of
standard axles loads repetitions.

238
239
240
241
242
243
244
b) Catalogue Method (Road note 31)
Road note 31 method is based on structural catalogues. The cells of the catalogue are defined
by ranges of traffic and subgrade strength. It is important that the surfacing material should be
flexible and the granular road base should be of the highest quality, preferably GB 1. In traffic
classes T6, T7, T8 are only granular road base of type GB1 or GB2 should be used, GB3 is
acceptable in the lower traffic classes.
There are three main steps to be followed in designing a new road pavement, they are:
• Estimating the amount of traffic and the cumulative number of equivalent standard axles
that will use the road over the selected design life.
• Assessing the strength of the subgrade soil over which the road is to be built.
• Selecting the most economical combination of pavement materials and layer thicknesses
that will provide satisfactory service over the design life of the pavement (It is usually
necessary to assume that an appropriate level of maintenance is also carried out).

The pavement layer composition and the overall design procedure is as below:

245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
c) Asphalt Institute Method for Flexible Pavement Design

Design principles
• Pavement is regarded as multi layered elastic system. The design procedure is based on
established theory, experience, test data and a computer program DAMA were used to
develop a comprehensive pavement design procedure.
• Materials in each layer are characterized by modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio.
• Traffic is expressed in terms of repetitions of an 80 KN single axle load applied to the
pavement on two sets of dual tyres.
• This method can be used to design asphalt pavements composed of various
combinations of asphalt concrete surface and base, emulsified asphalt surface and base,
untreated aggregate base and sub base.
• Full depth asphalt layer is composed as 3-layer system i.e. sub base, base and surface.
whereas untreated aggregates are considered as four-layer system.
• The AI design method focuses on the horizontal tensile strain at the base of the asphalt
layer(s) and on the vertical compressive strain at the top of the subgrade as shown in
below.
• The horizontal tensile strain causes fatigue cracking that starts at the base of the
asphalt and propagates upward through the asphalt layer(s).
• The vertical strain at the top of the subgrade results in permanent deformation
(rutting) of the pavement.

Design criteria
• Two critical strains
o Horizontal tensile strain 𝑬𝒕 on the underside of the lowest asphalt bound layer
should be within the permissible value. If the strain is excessive, fatigue of the layer
will result.
o Vertical compressive strain 𝑬𝒄 at the surface of the subgrade layer should be such
that excessive permanent deformation (rutting) should not take place due to
overloading.

255
 • If 𝑬𝒕 is excessive then cracking of the treated layer occurs resulting fatigue failure where
as if 𝑬𝒄 is excessive there will be permanent deformation. To develop design criteria,
𝐸t and 𝐸𝑐 were calculated using computer program DAMA.

Selection of design subgrade resilient modulus

• Individual subgrade test values (6~8 tests) are used to find a design subgrade resilient
modulus (𝑀𝑅 ).
• For higher traffic volume, 𝑀𝑅 is adjusted to a lower value to ensure more conservative
design for a larger traffic volume.
• Design subgrade resilient modulus is defined as the subgrade resilient modulus value
that 60, 75 or 87.5 percent of all test values in the section are equal to or greater than.

Procedure for determining the design subgrade resilient modulus (𝑴𝑹 )

• Select the design traffic EAL
• Test 6~8 samples of subgrade and convert CBR or R value test data to subgrade resilient
modulus value.
• Arrange all test values in numerical order
• For each change in test value, beginning with the lowest value compute the percentage
of the total number of values that is equal to or greater than
• Plot the results on cross section paper
• Draw a smooth, best fit curve through the plotted points

256
 • Read from the curve the subgrade strength value at the appropriate percentile value—
this is the design subgrade strength value.

Example of resilient modulus test results.

Fig. showing plots these test results and shows an appropriate curve.

As an example, if the ESAL was 105 , the appropriate percentile from Table would be 75.
Entering the plot at 75 percentiles, moving across until the curve is encountered, and moving
downward yields an 𝑀𝑅 value of 9,300 psi.

Reasonable properties were assumed for the properties of the wearing layer and of the base and
subbase courses. Thus, the design variables treated in the analysis of a given pavement type are
subgrade resilient modulus, MR, and traffic ESAL.

257
Thickness determination for full depth asphalt concrete pavements
• Thickness selection can be made using design chart.
• Approximate traffic EAL values and subgrade design 𝑀𝑅 values may be entered.
• Thickness of full depth asphalt concrete pavement may be read directly to the nearest
25 mm or less.

Thickness determination for pavements with asphalt concrete and untreated aggregate base
• Both base and sub base quality aggregate may be used a minimum thickness of 150 mm
of higher quality base material should be place over lower quality sub base materials
• Thicknesses of asphalt concrete surface and base required over each thickness of
untreated aggregate may be read directly from the charts.

Minimum thickness of asphalt concrete over untreated aggregates base

• For full depth asphalt concrete or emulsified asphalt pavements a minimum thickness
of 100mm applies.
• Thickness determination for pavements with emulsified asphalts mixes over untreated
aggregate base:

Design charts for thickness design of pavements with emulsified asphalt mixes are used for all
or part of the asphalt mixture required for untreated aggregate bases have not been prepared.
Following method is recommended:
• Design a full depth asphalt concrete pavement for the appropriate traffic and subgrade
conditions. Assume a 50mm surface course and calculate the corresponding base
thickness.
• Design a pavement for the same traffic and subgrade condition using the selected
emulsified mix type. Assume a 50mm surface course and calculate the corresponding
base thickness.
• Divide the thickness of emulsified asphalt base (step 2) by the thickness of asphalt
concrete base (step l) to obtain a substitution ratio.
• Design a pavement for the same traffic and subgrade conditions using asphalt concrete
and untreated aggregate base.
• Select the portion of the thickness of asphalt concrete obtained in step 3 that is to be
replaced by the emulsified asphalt mix based on the minimum asphalt concrete thickness
specified in the table.
• Multiply this thickness by the substitution ratio obtained in step (3) to obtain the
thickness of the emulsified asphalt mix to be used.
Note: - *Design CBR; MR (Mpa) = 10.3 × CBR, MR (Psi) = 1500 × CBR
HMA – Hot Mix Asphalt

258
259
REFERENCES

260