B.

Tech Civil Engineering

FIFTH SEMESTER
CE217 Transportation Engineering
UNIT – III
Unit -3 Traffic Engineering

Traffic Engineering – Fundamentals of traffic flow, Level of service, analysis of Speed

studies. Accident studies and analysis. Principles and design of signalized and un-
signalized intersections as per IRC standards.

CAPACITY AND LEVEL OF SERVICE

Traffic Volume or Traffic Flow:

 Number of vehicles moving in a specified direction on a given lane or roadway

that* pass a given point or cross section during specified unit of Time.

 Traffic volume is expressed as vehicle per hour or vehicles per day.

 In case of mixed traffic flow, traffic volume is expressed either in terms of

classified number of vehicle per unit time or total passenger car units (PCU) per
unit time after converting the different vehicle classes into one unit, using
appropriate PCU values.

Traffic Density:

 Number of vehicles occupying a unit length of lane of roadway at a given instant,

usually expressed as vehicles per kilometre.

 Traffic volume is the product of rafic density and the mean speed of traffic flow.

 The highest traffic density will occur when the vehicles are practically sopped or
stranded still on a given route and in this case traffic volume will approach zero.

Highway Capacity or Capacity of a traffic lane

 Ability of the roadway or the traffic lane to allow maximum traffic flow or traffic
volume per unit time.

 It is expressed as the maximum number of vehicles in a lane or roadway that can

pass a given point in unit time, usually an hour i.e., vehicles per hour per lane or
the roadway.

 Traffic volume and capacity are measures of traffic flow and have the same units.

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 Volume represents an actual rate of flow and responds to variations in traffic
demands, while capacity indicates a capacity or maximum rate of flow with a
certain level of service that can be carried by the roadway.

 Capacity of a roadway depends on the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.

Basic Capacity

 Maximum number of passenger cars that can pss a given point on a lane or
roadway during one hour under nearly ideal roadway and traffic conditions which
can possibly be attained.

 Two roads having the same physical features will have the same basic capacity
irrespective of traffic conditions, as they are assumed to have ideal conditions.

 Thus basic capacity is the theoretical capacity.

Possible Capacity

 Maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on a lane or roadway
during one hour under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.

 Possible capacity of a road is generally much lower than the basic capacity as the
prevailing roadway and traffic conditions are seldom ideal.

 In a worst case when the prevailing traffic conditions is so bad that due to traffic
congestion, the traffic may come to a standstill condition and in such a situation
the possible capacity of the road may approach zero.

 For the purpose of design, neither basic capacity nor possible capacity can be
adopted as they represent extreme case of roadways and traffic condition.

Practical Capacity

 Maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on a lane or roadway
during one hour, without traffic density being so high as to cause unreasonable
delay, hazard or restrictions to the driver’s freedom to manoeuvre under the
prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
 It is the practical capacity which is of primary interest to the designers who strive
to provide adequate highway facilities and hence this is also called “Design
Capacity”

Determination of Theoretical Maximum Capacity

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 1000V
 Theoretical Maximum or Basic capacity of a single lane is qc  where qc =
S
capacity of a single lane, vehicles per hour per lane, V = Speed kmph; S=average
centre to centre spacing of vehicles, when they follow one behind the other as a
queue or space headway, m.

 Capacity depends on Speed, V and Spacing S. Average spacing S between centre

to centre of vehicles is equal to the average length of vehicle + the average clear
gap between the vehicles in the stream and this spacing is also equal to the space
headway.

 The minimum clear gap between the vehicle are allowed for safe stopping of the
rear vehicle in case the vehicle ahead suddenly stops.

 Space gap allowed by the driver of a following vehicles depends on several factors

such as  Speed of leading and following vehicles  Type and characteristics of

the two vehicles  Driver characteristics  Traffic volume to capacity ratio of the

road stretch at the instant or the level of service  Proportion of different vehicle

classes in the stream  Roadway Geometrics  Environmental factors such as

weather conditions, lighting , etc.

 Space gap between the vehicle ahead and following vehicle in a traffic stream is
assumed to be equal to the distance travelled during the reaction time of the
driver.

 If the reaction time is t sec, minimum space gap Sg = v t where v is velocity m/s

 Minimum space headway in a traffic stream S = Sg + L where L average length of

the vehicle.

 In a stream flow, as the driver of the following vehicle is quite alert, average
reaction time is found to be low (0.7 – 0.75sec).

 Empirical relationship for spacing S = (0.7v + L)

 Maximum theoretical capacity of a traffic lane is obtained if the minimum time

3600
headway Ht is known qc  where qc – capacity, Vehicles per hour or 3600sec
Ht
& Ht – minimum time headway in Sec.

Factors affecting practical capacity

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1. Lane width:

 as the lane width decreases, the capacity also decreases.

 Practical capacity of 3.0m wide lane in a two lane rural road may decrease to
76% of the capacity of a 3.5m lane.
2. Lateral Clearance:

 Vertical obstructions such as retaining wall, or parked vehicles near traffic lane
reduce the effective width of a lane and this results in reduction and increased
in the capacity of lane.

 Further, restricted lateral clearance effects driving comforts.

 A minimum clearance of 1.85m from the pavement edge to the obstruction is

considered desirable so that capacity is not affected adversely.

3. Width of shoulders:

o Narrow shoulders reduce the effective width of traffic lanes as the vehicles
travel towards the centre of the pavement.

o When vehicles in emergency (breakdown Vehicles) has to park on the shoulder

of insufficient width, there is reduction in effective lane width resulting in the
capacity of the lane.

4. Commercial Vehicles:

 Large commercial vehicles like trucks and buses occupy greater and influence
the other traffic in the same lane as well as the vehicles along the adjoining
lanes.

 Also these heavy commercial vehicles may travel at lower speeds especially on
grades.

5. Alignment :

 If the alignment are not upto the desired standards, the capacity will decrease.
Particularly, restrictions to sight distance requirements cause reduction in
capacity.

 Steep and long grades affect the capacity. When 60% of the road length has
substandard OSD, the capacity decreases to 65% of the standard design
capacity.

6. Presence of intersections at grade:

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  Intersections restrict free flow of traffic and this adversely affect the capacity.

 The capacity of an intersection of two roads crossing at grade will be slightly

less than the road with lower capacity og the two.

 At signalized intersection as the vehicle have to stop alternatively to allow

crossing traffic, the capacity of the intersection will be further decreased.

 In order to provide consistent traffic flow and maximum capacity o important

highways, it is necessary to plan them as controlled access highway with grade
separated intersections.

7. Other factors which affect the capacity are

Stream speed, one or two way traffic movement, number of traffic lanes, vehicular
and driver characteristics, composition of traffic and the traffic volume.

Design Capacity and Level of Service

 Capacity flow or minimum possible flow on a roadway

or a traffic lane is attained at particular optimum
speed; the flow decreases at higher as well as lower
speed values.

 Capacity flow is reached

 Capacity flow is reached when all the vehicle flow as

a stream at this optimum speed with no opportunity for overtaking.

 At this optimum speed, the level of service is considered to be low when the
volume of the road reaches maximum flow or the capacity; Volume to capacity
ratio approaches 1.

 Factors to be considered for the evaluation of level of service of a roadway in

a comprehensive manner are operating speed, travel time, traffic
interruptions,  freedom of maneuverer,  driving comfort,  safety, economy,
etc.

 Two important factors considered by Highway Capacity manual (HCM) are  Ratio
of service volume to capacity q/qc  Operating or Travel Speed.

 Operating conditions for the six levels of service selected by HCM and IRC are
given below (Level A represents the highest and level F the lowest):

Level A

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 Free flow, with low volumes and high speeds low traffic density speed controlled
by driver’s desires and physical roadway conditions.
 There is no restriction on manoeuvrability due to the presence of other vehicles.
Level B

 Zone of stable flow, operating speeds beginning to be restricted by traffic

conditions.

 There is reasonable freedom to select speed and lane.

 The lower limit of this level (lowest speed and highest volume) is associated with
service volume used in the design of rural highways.

Level C

 Still in the zone of stable flow, but speeds and manoeuvrability more closely
controlled by higher volumes.

 Drivers are restricted regarding speeds lane changes and overtaking manoeuvres.

 A relatively satisfactory operating speed is still obtained, with service volumes

suitable for urban design practice.

Level D

 Approaches unstable flow, the operating speed is tolerable, but considerably

affected by changes in operating conditions.

 Fluctuations in volume and restrictions to flow may cause substantial drops in

operating speed.

 Drivers have little freedom to manoeuvre. Comfort and convenience are low but
can be tolerated for short periods.

Level E

 This level cannot be described by speed alone. It is also determined by volumes at

or near highway capacity.

 Typical speeds are 50km/h.

 Flow is unstable and there may be stoppages of short durations.

Level F

 At this level, there are forced operations at low speeds resulting in volumes below
capacity.

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 Queues of vehicles piling up from a restriction downstream serve as a storage area
during peak hour.

 Substantial reduction in speeds and stoppages may occur for short or long
duration because of downstream congestion. In the extreme, both speed and
volume can drops to zero.

 The traffic volume that can be served at each level of service is known as the
‘service volume’.

 After selecting a level of service for design purposes, the corresponding service
volume logically becomes the design volume or design capacity.

 If this volume is exceeded, the operating conditions will fall below the level of
service selected.

 Highway capacity manual makes no recommendations regarding the level of

service to be selected for the design of different types of highways.

 Choice is left to the designer to select an appropriate level of service based on

economy and need.

http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportation-engineering/traffic-
engineering/highway-capacity-definition-importance-factors-and-formula/48457

Design Service Volume

 Design service volume is defined as the maximum hourly volume at which vehicles
can be expected to traverse a point or uniform section of a lane or roadway during
a given time period under prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions while
maintaining a designated level of service.

Recommended design service volumes for a single lane road.

 Single lane roads with two way traffic flow or bi-directional flow are common in
India.
 For smooth operation of traffic, a single lane road should have at least 3.75m wide
paved carriageway and total roadway width 7.5m with good quality shoulders (1m
minimum).

Service volumes of single lane roads with good pavements as per guidelines of
the IRC
Suggested design services
Terrain Curvature
volume PCU/day
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 Low (0 to 50) 2000
Plain
High ( above 51) 1900
Low (0 to 100) 1800
Rolling
High (above 101) 1700
Low (0 to 200) 1600
Hilly
High (above 201) 1400

 If good or any other suitable pavement surface is not provided, the design service
volume will be lower by about 20 to 30%. If the shoulder condition is poor, the
service volumes are to taken as 50% of the values given in the above tables.

Recommended Deign Service Volumes for Intermediate and two lane roads.

 Intermediate lane roads are those roads which have a pavement width of about
5.5m with good shoulders on wither side. Two lane roads have 7.0m wide carriage
way with good earthen shoulders.

Recommended Service volumes for intermediate and two lane Roads.

Suggested design Suggested design

services volume services volume
Terrain Curvature
PCU/day – PCU/day – Two
Intermediate lane Lane
Low (0 to 50) 6,000 15,000
Plain
High ( above 51) 5,800 12,500
Low (0 to 100) 5,700 11,000
Rolling
High (above 101) 5,600 10,000
Low (0 to 200) 5,200 7,000
Hilly
High (above 201) 4,500 5,000

Design service volume for multilane highways in rural areas.

 35,000 PCU can be adopted for four lane divided carriage ways located in plain
terrain with earth shoulders. If hard shoulders are provided 40,000 PCU can be
adopted.

Design Service Volumes of Urban Roads

Total Design Service volume for different categories

Type of Carriageway of urban roads, PCU per hour
Arterial Roads Sub-arterial Roads Collector Roads
2-lane (One-way) 2,400 1,900 1,400
2-Lane (Two-way) 1,500 1,200 900

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 3-Lane (One-way) 3,600 2,900 2,200
4-Lane undivided(Two Way) 3,000 2,400 1,800
4-Lane Divided (Two-way) 3600 2,900 -
6 Lane Divided (Two Way) 5,400 4,300 -
8-Lane Divided (Two Way) 7200 - -

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