HIGHWAY

GEOMETRIC DESIGN
HIGHWAY AND RAILROAD ENGINEERING
Importance of Geometric Design
• The geometric design of a highway deals with the dimensions and
layout of visible features of the highway such as alignment, sight
distance, and intersection.
• The main objective of highway design is to provide optimum
efficiency in traffic operation with maximum safety at reasonable
cost.
• Geometric design of highway deals with following elements:
– Cross-section elements
– Sight distance considerations
– Horizontal alignment details
– Vertical alignment details
– Intersection elements
Design Controls and Criteria
• Design speed
– In the Philippines, different speed standards have been assigned
for different class of road.
– Design speed may be modified depending upon the terrain
conditions.
• Topography
– This is classified based on the general slope of the country
– Plane terrain < 10%
– Rolling terrain 10-25%
– Mountainous terrain 25-60%
– Steep terrain > 60%
Design Controls and Criteria
• Traffic Factor
– Vehicular characteristics and human characteristics of road
users.
– Different vehicle classes have different speed and acceleration
characteristics, different dimensions, and weight.
– Human factor includes the physical, mental, and psychological
characteristics of driver and pedestrian.
• Design hourly volume and capacity
– Traffic flow fluctuating with time
– Low value during off-peak hours to the highest value during the
peak hour
– It is uneconomical to design the roadway for peak traffic flow.
Design Controls and Criteria
• Environmental and other factors
– Aesthetics
– Landscaping
– Air pollution
– Noise pollution
Pavement Surface Characteristics
• Pavement surface depend on the type of pavement which is decided
based on the following:
– Availability of material
– Volume and composition of traffic
– Soil subgrade
– Construction facility
– Cost consideration
• The important surface characteristics are:
– Friction
– Pavement unevenness
– Light reflecting characteristics
– Drainage of surface water
Friction
• Friction | When the path travelled along the road surface is more than the
circumferential movement of the wheels due to their rotation.
• Slipping | When a wheel revolves more than the corresponding
longitudinal movement along the road
• Factors affecting the friction or skid resistance:
– Types of pavement surface
– Roughness of pavement
– Condition of the pavement (wet or dry)
– Type and condition of tire
– Speed of vehicle
– Brake efficiency
– Load and tire pressure
– Temperature of tire and pavement
Friction
• Smooth and worn-out tires offer higher friction factor on dry
pavement but new tire with good threads give higher friction factor
on wet pavement.
• Hydroplaning | or aquaplaning by tires of a road vehicle occurs
when a layer of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and
the road surface.
Pavement Unevenness
• Higher operating speed are possible on even surface than uneven
surface.
• It affects:
– Vehicle operation cost
– Comfort and safety
– Fuel consumption
– Wear and tear of tires and other moving parts
• It is commonly measured by an equipment called bump integrator.
• Bump integrator | also known as automatic road unevenness
recorder gives quantitative integrated evaluation of surface
irregularities . It gives cumulative measure of vertical undulations of
the pavement surface recorded per unit horizontal length.
Pavement Unevenness
• Bump integrator | 250 cm/km for a speed of 100 kph and more than
350 cm/km considered very unsatisfactory even at speed of 50 kph.
• Unevenness of pavement surface may be caused by:
– Inadequate compaction of the fill, subgrade and pavement
layers
– Un-engineered construction practices including the use of
boulder stones and bricks as soiling course over loose subgrade
soil
– Use of inferior pavement material
– Improper surface and subsurface drainage
– Improper construction machinery
– Poor maintenance
Uneven Pavement and Bump Integrator
Light Reflecting Characteristics
• Night visibility very much depends upon the light reflecting
characteristics of the pavement surface.
• The glare caused by the reflection of head light is high on wet
pavement surface than on dry pavement particularly in case of black
top pavement (flexible pavement).
• Light colored or white pavement (rigid pavement) surface give good
visibility at night particularly during the rain, but produces glare or
eye strain during bright sunlight.
Highway Cross-Section Elements
• Carriageway • Cross slope
• Shoulder • Crown
• Roadway width • Curb
• Right of way • Gutter
• Building line • Guardrail
• Control line • Other facilities
• Median
Design Standards for Ph National Highways
Carriageway
• It is the travel way which is used for movement of vehicle and it
takes the vehicular loading.
• It may be cement concrete (rigid pavement) road or bituminous
pavement (flexible pavement).
• Width of carriageway is determined on the basis of the width of the
vehicle and the minimum side clearance for safety.
Carriageway
• As indicated in the table (Design Standards), the basic lane width
appropriate for national road is 3.35 m.
• On lower trafficked roads, the lane width can be reduced. This is
justified on the basis of economics.
• For a single lane road traffic, the lane width is 4.0 m.
• For two lane national road, the minimum width is 2 x 3.35 m lanes
(total of 6.7 m).
• As the traffic volume increases, so the need for extra width is
justified. This width can increase up to a maximum of 3.65 m.
Shoulder
• It is provided along the road edge to serve as an emergency lane for
vehicles. It act as a service lane for vehicles that have broken down.
• Shoulder width is generally selected according to the traffic volume
and standards that are detailed in the table (Design Standards).
• Shoulder widths on low volume roads may be increased if there are
significant number of pedestrians or other needs requiring use of
the shoulder to improve safety.
• The surface should be rougher than the traffic lanes so that vehicles
are discouraged to use the shoulder for regular traffic.
• On curved alignments, it is advisable to consider the paving of the
outside curve shoulder width. This will minimize the possibility of a
vehicle that strays off the traffic lane from loosing control due to
poor traction on a graveled shoulder.
Shoulder
Roadway Width | Right of Way
• Roadway width
– It is the sum of the width of the carriageway or pavement
including separators if any, and the shoulders.
• Right of way
– It is the total area of land acquired for the road along its
alignment.
– It depends on the importance of the road and possible future
development.
– It is desirable to acquire more width of land as the cost of
adjoining land invariably increases very much, soon after the
new highway is constructed.
Building Line| Control Line
• Building line
– In order to reserve sufficient space for future development of
roads, it is desirable to control the building activities on either
side of the road boundary, beyond the land width acquired for
the land.
• Control line
– In addition to building line, it is desirable to control the nature of
building up to further set-back distance.
Median (Traffic Separators)
• The section of a divided highway that separates traffic moving in opposite
directions is the median.
• Its width is measured from the edge of the inside lane in one direction to
the edge of the inside lane in the opposite direction.
• The main functions of medians include:
– Providing a recovery area for out-of-control vehicles
– Separating opposing traffic
– Providing stopping areas during emergencies
– Providing storage areas for left-turning and u-turning vehicles
– Providing refuge for pedestrians
– Reducing the effect of headlight glare
– Providing temporary lanes and crossovers during maintenance
operations
Median (Traffic Separators)
Median (Traffic Separators)
• Medians can be raised, flush or depressed.
• Raised median | In urban areas where it is necessary to control left-turn
traffic at intersections of arterial streets, raised medians are often
deployed so that part of the median width can be used as a left-turn lane.
• Flush median | Flush medians are commonly used on urban arterial
streets but are also used on freeways if a median barrier is provided.
• Depressed median | Depressed medians are mainly deployed on freeways
where they are often used as a means to facilitate drainage of surfaced
water from travel lanes. AASHTO recommends a slope of 6:1 for
depressed medians, although a slope of 4:1 is adequate.
Median (Traffic Separators)
• Median width generally range from 2 ft to 80 ft or more.
• AASHTO recommends that a divided arterial should have a minimum
median width of 4 ft.
• A minimum of 10 ft for four-lane urban freeways is recommended. This
includes two 4 ft shoulders and a 2 ft median barrier.
• For freeways of six or more lanes, a minimum of 22 ft is recommended
but 26 ft is preferable.
• The widths of medians on urban collector streets vary from 2 to 40 ft
depending on the median treatment. The narrowest widths (2 to 4 ft) are
usually for medians that are separated by paint stripes and the widest (16
to 40 ft) are for medians in curbed areas. Intermediate widths (2 to 6 ft)
are usually for narrow raised curbed areas.
Cross Slope | Crown
• Cross slope (camber)
– It is the slope provided to the road surface in the transverse direction
to drain off the rain water from the road surface.
– AASHTO recommends that rates of cross slopes for high-type
pavements should be 1.5 to 2 % and for intermediate-type pavements
1.5 to 3 %.
– High-type pavements | those that have wearing surfaces that can
adequately support the expected traffic load without visible distress
due to fatigue and are not susceptible to weather conditions.
– Intermediate-type pavements | those that have surfaces that vary
from qualities just below that of high-type pavements.
• Crown
– The curved cross-section usually takes the shape of a parabola, with
the highest point (crown) is slightly rounded.
Curb
• Curbs are used mainly to delineate pavement edges and pedestrian
walkways in urban areas, but they can also be used to control
drainage.
• They are classified as either barrier or mountable curbs.
• Barrier curbs | are designed to prevent vehicles from leaving the
highway and are therefore higher (6 to 8 inches).
• Mountable curbs | are designed to permit vehicles to cross over
them if necessary and have heights varying from 4 to 6 inches.
Gutter
• Gutters or ditches provide the principal drainage facility for the roadway.
• They are usually located at the pavement side of the curb and in
conjunction with storm sewer systems.
• They are used mainly in urban areas to control street runoff.
• They are usually 1 to 6 ft wide.
• In order to prevent any hazard to traffic, gutters are usually constructed
with cross slopes of 5 to 8 % on a width of 2 to 3 ft adjacent to the curb.
Guardrail
• Guardrails are used to prevent errant vehicles from leaving the
roadbed at sharp horizontal curves and at high embankments.
• They are normally placed at embankments with heights greater
than 8 ft and when side slopes are greater than 4:1.
• Guardrails should be properly designed to avoid creating a
hazardous situation when they are placed at a location.
Road Margins
• Parking lane
– These are provided on urban roads to allow curb parking.
– As far as possible only parallel parking should be allowed as it is safer
for moving vehicles.
– It should have a sufficient width of 3 m.
• Lay bay
– These are provided near the public conveniences with guide map to
enable driver to stop clear off the carriageway.
– It has 3 m width, 30 m length with 15 m end tapers on both sides.
• Bus bay
– These may be provided by recessing the curb to avoid conflict with
moving traffic.
– It is located at least 75 m away from the intersection.
Road Margins
• Frontage road
– These are provided to give access to properties along an important highway
with control access to expressway or freeway.
– It may run parallel to the highway and are isolated by separator.
• Driveway
– It connects the highway with commercial establishment like fuel stations,
service stations, etc. It should be located away from the intersection.
• Cycle track
– It is provided in urban areas when the volume of cycle traffic on the road is
very high. A minimum of 2 m is provided for cycle track.
• Footpath
– These are provided in urban areas when the vehicular as well as pedestrian
traffic are heavy. Minimum width of 1.5 m is provided.
Bibliography
• Highway Safety Design Standards. (2012). Department of Public
Works and Highways.

• Hoel, L. A., Garber, N. J., & Sadek, A. W. (2008). Transportation

Infrastructure Engineering: A Multi-Modal Integration.

• Khanna, S. K., Justo C. E. G., & Veeraragavan A. (2014). Highway

Engineering. Nem Chand & Bros.