1.

National Highway

• Asian Highway – Phuentshogling-Thimphu (AH48)

The Phuentshogling-Thimphu Highway is designated by the Royal Government as the

Asian Highway route No.48 within Bhutan. The design standards for the Asian Highway
specified in the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network are
equivalent to the design standards of Primary National Highway (PNH)

• Primary National Highway (PNH)

PNHs are roads of strategic importance carrying high traffic volume. It should be the
shortest possible route between two designated points and provide width for two lanes of
traffic.

• Secondary National Highway (SNH)

SNHs are those roads that:

• connect a Dzongkhag center to a road of equal or higher classification;

• provide connectivity between two Dzongkhag centers.

It should be the shortest route between two designated points and provide width for two lane
traffic. The formation width of SNH will 8.5 m. The existing District Roads will be re-designated
as SNHs

DoR will be solely responsible for planning and implementation of AH, PNH and SNH. DoR
shall also be the authority for development of the national road network with full authority to set
technical standards for all classes of roads and bridges, including re-classification of roads, as
and when it is necessary to match the socio-economic development of the country.

All AHs, PNHs and SNHs shall have necessary safety measures including road signs and
guardrails as per the DoR standards.
1.1 Farm Roads

• Farm Roads are roads that link farmland areas/villages to an existing road of equal or
higher classification to enable the transportation of inputs to the farm and agriculture
produce to the market. Like other higher classes of roads, construction of Farm Roads
should be inclusive of cost of appropriate bridges.

• Prioritization/selection of Farm Roads will be done by the Gewog Tshogde based on the
criteria set by the Department of Agriculture (DoA). The design standards for Farm Roads
will be set by DoR in consultation with MoA. See Annex-1 for proposed design standards
for Farm Roads.

Due to the limited capacity of the Gewog Administration, the Dzongkhag Administration will
carry out pre-investment studies, geotechnical investigations, survey, design and procurement for
Farm Roads with technical backstopping from DoA.

Planning, prioritization, budgeting and implementation of Farm Roads will be done by the
respective Gewogs with technical backstopping from Dzongkhag Administration/DoA.

1.2 Access Road

• Access Roads are roads listed below

Forest Roads, Health Roads, Education Roads, Telecommunications Roads, Power

Roads,

Private Road, Project Road & Public Road

• Design standards for Access Roads Technical backstopping such as provision of

design standards and specifications for Access Roads will be provided by DoR in
consultation with the concerned agencies.
 • Design and take off point for access roads shall be approved by the Department of
Roads.

• Access Roads should be constructed to a minimum of Farm Road standard.

Responsibilities for Access Roads

Pre-investment studies, geological investigation, survey, design, procurement, construction, and

maintenance of Access Roads will be done by the agencies/communities/individuals concerned

1.3 Thromde Road

• Thromde road means all types of roads located within the municipal boundary not
otherwise designated as AH, PNH and SNH. Roads located within the municipal
boundaries shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the concerned
municipality. Responsibilities for Access Roads

• Thromde Roads will be executed either by the Thromde or Dzongkhag

Administration wherever relevant including maintenance. Design standards for
Thromde Roads will be set by DES in consultation with DoR.

1.4 Road Features

Fig. 1 Asian Highway (AH) & Primary National Highway (PNH)

 ROW = 30 m
10.50 m
Formation Width
1.00 m
Shoulder
7.50 m
Carriageway 1.00 m
L-drain

DBM + AC

Remaining Width for

Debris collection

Soling
Base course
Sub base
Hard shoulder
Compacted granular soil

Primary National Highway

Fig. 2. Secondary National Highway (SNH)

ROW = 30 m

8.50 m
Formation Width

1.00 m 5.50 m 1.00 m

Shoulder Carriageway Drain
25mm PMC

2-4% Remaining Width for

4-6% 2-4%
Debris collection

Soling
Base course
Sub base
Hard shoulder
Compacted granular soil

Secondary National Highway

Fig 1.1Farm Roads (FR)

 ROW = 12.2 m

5.10 m
Formation Width
Carriageway
0.50m 0.50m 0.60m
3.50m L-drain
Shoulder Shoulder
(incl. parapet)

Base course
Sub base Soling
Hard shoulder
Compacted granular soil
Farm Road

Fig1.2 . Access Roads (AR) (Minimum Requirement)

4.00 m
Formation Width

3.00 m 0.50 m
0.50 m Carriageway
Shoulder Drain

Base course
Sub base
Hard shoulder
Compacted granular soil

Access Road
2. General Stages of Road Planning

Survey & Design is required mainly to address the following points; not necessarily
limited to:

 Cost Optimization

 Fairly accurate cost estimation

 To decrease time of construction so that benefit to the road user is achieved earlier
than expected.

 Attach engineering attributes and geometrics such as stability, gradient, water

management, curvature, super elevation, width, structures etc.

 Comfort and aesthetic realization

 Employment generation and environment protection etc

Some of the governing principles that are required to be considered during desk top study
are:

 The alignment should take into account all the control points and should be
shortest and economical.

 Marshy areas, steep terrain, landslide, unstable hill features etc should be avoided.
Stereographic use of aerial photographs are recommended.

 Need of connecting important villages and towns

 Bridge site locations

 Map study is carried out using available topographical map and now a days using google
earth from internet. 2 or 3 alternative alignments are marked on the topo map between two
known points i.e takeoff and terminal points. The gradient of the alignment in the map is
maintained by the distance of crossing point between one contour to another contour. It is
determined by the simple equation;

X=

Example

Contour interval = 40m

Gradient required = 5% (0.05)

Scale of the map = 1/50000

Distance X =
(40/0.050)*1/50000

= 0.016m

= 1.6cm

Therefore, the second contour will be crossed at the distance of 1.6cm from first contour
which will give 5% slope / gradient
In Feasibility Study the following must be included:

1. Team from the head office in Thimphu

1. Team Leader – Design Engineer

2. Surveyor – Who will be involved in doing the survey

3. Geo-Tech Engineer

4. Bridge Engineer

2. Engineer from the concerned Dzongkhag Administrative

3. Environmental Officer from the concerned Dzongkhag Administrative

4. Forest Officer from the concerned Dzongkhag Administrative/Park

5. Engineer from the concerned Regional Office, DoR

6. Representative from the concerned Gewog.

2.1 Feasibility Study Report

 In conjunction with ground reconnaissance survey, other assessment such as

social assessment, environmental assessment, geotechnical assessment etc. are
also carried out. Based on the information collected during the ground
reconnaissance survey, a report should be prepared.

 The report should include all relevant information including a map/plan showing
alternative alignments with their rough cost estimates. The report should discuss
advantageous and disadvantageous of different alternatives to help the selection of
most suitable alignment. The feasibility team should put up their
recommendations based on their judgment and knowledge.

2.2 Alignment fixing survey (Ghat Tracing survey)

  Based on the feasibility study report, the authority will approve one suitable
alignment. This alignment which is approved for adoption will have to be
transferred to the ground. This is done by fixing the wooden pegs at an interval of
20m with the help of clinometers or abney level and measuring tape. It is suppose
to be an approximate center line having a gradient that is given in the feasibility
report.

 Each alignment peg should contain the information such as chainage and gradient.
This phase of survey, though simple is considered to be very important. It should
be usually carried out by experienced survey engineer or civil engineer. Once this
phase of survey is completed, change of alignment in future is very difficult.

 During this phase of survey, the data recorded are: Exact length of road, number
of cross drainages required, number of hairpin bends introduced, gradient
adopted, soil classification, bridge points and its span etc. A brief report shall be
submitted where concern authority will instruct to carry on with further survey
works which is called detail survey.

2.3 Detail Survey using Total Station

 Detail survey which is also known as topographic survey will commence

immediately using total station instrument. Collection of topographic data is
carried out along the proposed road corridor in combination with traverse survey.
In order to attain the line of sight any obstructions such as bushes and small trees
should be cleared.

 The corridor of about 50m ie 30m towards hill side and 20m towards valley side
of centerline should be made visible to the survey instrument. The data that are
collected during detail survey phase are : All topographic features such as gullies,
ridge, natural surface, change of grade, any man made features, cliff, boundary
pillars, fence, cultivated land, Ghat tracing pegs, prominent trees etc.

 For future references at least 2 nos. of traverse stations per km of alignment shall
be made permanent. This type of survey is very time consuming but unavoidable
 and without which geometric design is not possible. This type of survey demand
use of other associated equipment such as computer, generators if electricity is not
available. The data that is collected during such detail survey is downloaded to the
computer using appropriate software and then handed over to design engineers.

2.4 Detail Road Design

 Geometric design is carried out based on the detail survey data collected earlier.
The parameters that are considered in geometric design are: Classification of
Road, Design Speed, Horizontal Alignment, Formation & Cross Section, Sight
Distance, Super elevation, Vertical Alignment, Gradient etc. Geometric design is
carried out using computer software such as MXROAD, Geocomp etc. The
designer is required to visit the site for verification of his/her preliminary design
before the finalizing the design.

 Necessary drawings and set out data are produced. Drawings include Plan,
longitudinal section, cross section to the required scale. Cross sections are
generally taken at 20m interval for straight sections and more close for curve
sections. Set out data such as station set out, centerline set out, batter set out,
earthwork quantities etc are produced.

 Environment friendly road construction technique to be adopted in the geometric

design through optimization of cut and fill involved in the earthworks.
Environment friendly road design aptly demonstrates that a slight shift of the
centerline to the valley side can result in substantial reduction of earthworks and
height of hill side cut
Setting out the alignment (Batter Pegging)

 The purpose of set out survey is to lay out the final centerline of the road based on the
centerline fixed in the design office. Two main operations involved in this survey is
fixing centerline and batter pegs to guide the construction team. Both the pegs are fixed
at 20m interval with information such as chainage, gradient, cut and fill etc. are written
on it. All such pegs should be protected. See drawing in next slide.
3. Pavement Design

• Design of pavement for roads, whether in plains or hills follow the same basic principles
like:

 Soil properties

 Traffic parameters

 And also climatic conditions

4.1 Type of Pavement

• Rigid Pavement

• Flexible Pavement

• Composite Pavement

Rigid Pavement
Flexible Pavement

Composite Pavement
Typical Pavement Layers

Advantages of Flexible Pavement

 Adjusts to limited differential settlement

 Easily, quickly constructed and repaired

 Additional thickness can be added

 Quieter smoother (Generally)

Disadvantages of Flexible Pavement

• Properties may change over time as pavement ages

• Generally shorter service life before first rehabilitation

• May experiences moisture problems

 4.2 Pavement Design (Flexible)

• Design procedure

Based on the performance of existing designs and using analytical approach, simple design
charts and a catalogue of pavement designs are added in the IRC code. The pavement designs are
given for subgrade CBR values ranging from 2% to 10% and design traffic ranging from 1 msa
to 150 msa for an average annual pavement temperature of 35 C. Using the following simple
input parameters, appropriate designs could be chosen for the given traffic and soil strength:

 Design traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axles; and

 CBR value of subgrade.

• Design traffic

The method considers traffic in terms of the cumulative number of standard axles (8 Tons) to be
carried by the pavement during the design life. This requires the following information:

 Initial traffic in terms of CVPD (Commercial Vehicle per day)

 Traffic growth rate during the design life

 Design life in number of years

 Vehicle damage factor (VDF)

 Distribution of commercial traffic over the carriage way.

• Initial traffic

Initial traffic is determined in terms of commercial vehicles per day (CVPD). For the structural
design of the pavement only commercial vehicles are considered assuming laden weight of three
tonnes or more and their axle loading will be considered. Estimate of the initial daily average
traffic flow for any road should normally be based on 7-day 24-hour classified traffic counts
(ADT). In case of new roads, traffic estimates can be made on the basis of potential land use and
traffic on existing routes in the area.

• Traffic growth rate

Traffic growth rates can be estimated

(i) by studying the past trends of traffic growth, and
(ii) by establishing econometric models. If adequate data is not available, it is
recommended that an average annual growth rate of 7.5 percent may be adopted.
• Design life
For the purpose of the pavement design, the design life is defined in terms of the cumulative
number of standard axles that can be carried before strengthening of the pavement is necessary.
It is recommended that pavements for arterial roads like PNH, SNH should be designed for a life
of 15 years and other categories of roads for 10 years.

 Vehicle Damage Factor

Introduction to Transportation Engineering 28.3 Tom V. Mathew and K V Krishna Rao

CHAPTER 28. IRC METHOD OF DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS NPTEL May 3,
2007 The vehicle damage factor (VDF) is a multiplier for converting the number of commercial
vehicles of different axle loads and axle configurations to the number of standard axle-load
repetitions. It is defined as equivalent number of standard axles per commercial vehicle. The
VDF varies with the axle configuration, axle loading, terrain, type of road, and from region to
region. The axle load equivalency factors are used to convert different axle load repetitions into
 equivalent standard axle load repetitions. For these equivalency factors refer IRC:37 2001. The
exact VDF values are arrived after extensive field surveys.

• Vehicle distribution

A realistic assessment of distribution of commercial traffic by direction and by lane is necessary

as it directly affects the total equivalent standard axle load application used in the design. Until
reliable data is available, the following distribution may be assumed.

 Single lane roads: Traffic tends to be more channelized on single roads than two
lane roads and to allow for this concentration of wheel load repetitions, the design
should be based on total number of commercial vehicles in both directions.

 Two-lane single carriageway ions.

Pavement Thickness
4.3 Pavement composition

• Sub-base

Sub-base materials comprise natural sand, gravel, laterite, brick metal,

crushed stone or combinations thereof meeting the prescribed grading and
physical requirements. The sub-base material should have a minimum CBR of
20 % and 30 % for traffic upto 2 msa and traffic exceeding 2 msa respectively.
Sub-base usually consist of granular or WBM and the thickness should not be
less than 150 mm for design traffic less than 10 msa and 200 mm for design
traffic of 1:0 msa and above.

• Base

The recommended designs are for unbounded granular bases which comprise
conventional water bound macadam Introduction to Transportation
Engineering 28.4 Tom V. Mathew and K V Krishna Rao CHAPTER 28. IRC
METHOD OF DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS NPTEL May 3, 2007
(WBM) or wet mix macadam (WMM) or equivalent confirming to MOST
specifications. The materials should be of good quality with minimum
thickness of 225 mm for traffic up to 2 msa an 150 mm for traffic exceeding 2
msa.

• Bituminous surfacing

• The surfacing consists of a wearing course or a binder course plus wearing

course. The most commonly used wearing courses are surface dressing,
open graded premix carpet, mix seal surfacing, semi-dense bituminous
concrete and bituminous concrete. For binder course, MOST specifies, it
is desirable to use bituminous macadam (BM) for traffic upto o 5 msa and
dense bituminous macadam (DBM) for traffic more than 5 msa.
• Numerical example

• Design the pavement for construction of a new bypass with the following data:

• Two lane carriage way

• Initial traffic in the year of completion of construction = 400 CVPD (sum

of both directions)

• Traffic growth rate = 7.5 %

• Design life = 15 years

• Vehicle damage factor based on axle load survey = 2.5 standard axle per
commercial vehicle

• Design CBR of subgrade soil = 4%.

Solution

• Distribution factor = 0.75

= 7200000

= 7.2 msa

• Total pavement thickness for CBR 4% and traffic 7.2 msa from our Chart
= 525 mm + 200 mm SR
 • Pavement composition can be obtained by interpolation from Pavement
Thickness chart.

(a) Bituminous surfacing = 40 mm AC + 60 mm DBM

(b) Base course = 200 mm WWM

(c) sub-base = 225 mm GSB

(d) Soil replacement of 200 mm

5. Road Maintenance

5.1 WHY IS MAINTENANCE IMPORTANT?

• Roads are among the most important public assets in many countries. Road
improvements bring immediate and sometimes dramatic benefits to road users through
improved access to hospitals, schools, and markets; improved comfort, speed, and safety;
and lower vehicle operating costs. For these benefits to be sustained, road improvements
must be followed by a well-planned program of maintenance. Without regular
maintenance, roads can rapidly fall into disrepair, preventing realization of the longer
term impacts of road improvements on development, such as increased agricultural
production and growth in school enrollment.

• Postponing road maintenance results in high direct and indirect costs. If road defects are
repaired promptly, the cost is usually modest. If defects are neglected, an entire road
section may fail completely, requiring full reconstruction at three times or more the cost,
on average, of maintenance costs.
 • Delayed maintenance has indirect costs as well. Neglected roads steadily become more
difficult to use, resulting in increased vehicle operating costs (more frequent repairs,
more fuel use) and a reluctance by transport operators to use the roads. This imposes a
heavy burden on the economy: as passenger and freight services are curtailed, there is a
consequent loss of economic and social development opportunities.

5.2 TYPES OF MAINTENANCE

 Routine Maintenance

 Periodic Maintenance

 Emergency Maintenance

Routine Maintenance

Which comprises small-scale works conducted regularly, aims “to ensure the daily passability
and safety of existing roads in the short-run and to prevent premature deterioration of the roads.

Frequency of activities varies but is generally once or more a week or month. Typical activities
include roadside verge clearing and grass cutting, cleaning of silted ditches and culverts. For
gravel roads it may include regrading every six months..

I. Sweeping

II. Grass cutting

III. Cleaning drain

IV. Clearing slips less than 1 cu.m

Periodic Maintenance
Which covers activities on a section of road at regular and relatively long intervals, aims “to
preserve the structural integrity of the road”.

These operations tend to be large scale, requiring specialized equipment and skilled personnel.
They cost more than routine maintenance works and require specific identification and planning
for implementation and often even design. Activities can be classified as preventive, resurfacing,
overlay, and pavement reconstruction. Resealing and overlay works are generally undertaken in
response to measured deterioration in road conditions. For a paved road repaving is needed about
every eight years; for a gravel road re-graveling is needed about every three years.

I. Pothole repair

II. Resurfacing (5 years)

Emergency Maintenance
• Is undertaken for repairs that cannot be foreseen but require immediate attention,
such as collapsed culverts or landslides that block a road.
• Maintenance does not include rehabilitation, building shoulders, or widening
roads. If the sections to be rebuilt constitute more than 25 percent of the road’s
length, the work is rehabilitation, not maintenance.
6. Pavement Failure
Alligator cracking is a load associated
structural failure. The failure can be
due to weakness in the surface, base
or sub grade; a surface or base that is
too thin; poor drainage or the
combination of all three. It often starts in the wheel path as longitudinal cracking and ends up as
alligator cracking after severe distress.

Alligator Cracking

Block cracks look like

large interconnected
rectangles (roughly).
Block cracking is not
load-associated, but
generally caused by
shrinkage of the asphalt
pavement due to an
inability of asphalt binder
to expand and contract
with temperature cycles. This can be because the mix was mixed and placed too
dry; Fine aggregate mix with low penetration asphalt & absorptive Block
Cracking aggregates; poor choice of asphalt binder
the mix design; or aging dried out asphalt.

Longitudinal cracking are cracks that are parallel to the pavements centerline or laydown
direction. These can be a result of both pavement fatigue, reflective cracking, and/or poor joint
construction. Joints are generally the least dense areas of a pavement.  
 Longitudinal (Linear) Cracking

Transverse cracks are single cracks perpendicular to the pavement's centerline or lay down
direction. Transverse cracks can be caused by reflective cracks from an underlying layer, daily
temperature cycles, and poor construction due to improper operation of the paver.

Transverse Cracking

Edge Cracks travel along the inside edge of a pavement surface within one or two feet. The most
common cause for this type of crack is poor drainage conditions and lack of support at the
pavement edge. As a result underlying base materials settle and become weakened. Heavy
vegetation along the pavement edge and heavy traffic can also be the instigator of edge
cracking. 
 Edge Cracks

These are cracks in a flexible pavement overlay of a rigid pavement (i.e., asphalt over concrete).
They occur directly over the underlying rigid pavement joints. Joint reflection cracking does not
include reflection cracks that occur away from an underlying joint or from any other type of base
(e.g., cement or lime stabilized). 

Joint Reflection Cracks

Slippage cracks are crescent-shaped cracks

or tears in the surface layer(s) of asphalt
where the new material has slipped over the
underlying course. This problem is caused by a lack of bonding between layers. This is often
because a tack coat was not used to develop a bond between the asphalt layers or because a
prime coat was not used to bond the asphalt to the underlying stone base course. The lack of
bond can be also Slippage Cracks caused by dirt, oil, or other
contaminants preventing adhesion between the layers. 

Small, bowl-shaped depressions in the pavement surface that penetrate all the way through the
asphalt layer down to the base course. They generally have sharp edges and vertical sides near
the top of the hole. Potholes are the result of
moisture infiltration and usually the end result of
untreated alligator cracking. As alligator cracking
becomes severe, the interconnected cracks create
small chunks of pavement, which can be dislodged
as vehicles drive over them. The remaining hole
after the pavement chunk is dislodged is called a
pothole.

Pot Holes

Depressions are localized pavement surface areas

with slightly lower elevations than the surrounding
pavement. Depressions are very noticeable after a
rain when they fill with water. 
 Depressions (bird baths)

Upheaval is a localized upward movement in a pavement due to swelling of the subgrade. This
can be due to expansive soils that swell due to moisture or frost heave (ice under the pavement).

Upheaval

Important References

• Road Act 2013

• Road Rules and Regulations of The Kingdom of Bhutan 2016

• Guidelines on use of Standard Work Items for Common Road Works

• Guidelines on Road Classification System and Delineation of Construction and
Maintenance Responsibilities

• Pavement Standard Brochure

• Road Pavement Thickness Chart