INTRODUCTION TO HIGHWAY GEOMETRIC DESIGN

 The Engineering part of the road transport consists of three main areas;
ENGINEERING AREAS STUDIED UNDER
 Road Geometry Highway Geometric Design GDE310S S5
 Highway Pavement Pavement Design/Technology PTN411S and PTN421S S7 and S8
 Traffic Flow Traffic Engineering TEN411S S8
 Highway geometric design deals with two main aspects of the highway
 Design and dimensioning of the visible features, and
 Layout of the highway features

 Geometric design affects (or influences) operational requirements of both, the drivers and the vehicles,
and these include;
 Safety,
 Efficiency, and
 Comfort
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  Roadway characteristics that affect drivers include;
 Topography
 Pavement conditions
 Traffic volume and its mix
 Functional class of the highway
 Drainage conditions
 Highway alignment (both, vertical and horizontal)
 Available sight distances
 Design speed

 Proper highway geometric design therefore ensures;

 Maximum safety at reasonable cost
 Efficiency in the traffic operations
 Facilities that provide economic traffic operations
 Maximum comfort, safety and economy of facilities
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  Minimum environmental impacts

 The elements of the highway geometry (i.e. geometric features) include;

 Elements of highway cross sections (including vertical and lateral clearances),
 Horizontal and vertical alignments,
 Intersections, and
 Facilities for bicycle (cyclists) and pedestrians

 Factors that influence highway geometric design include;

 Topographical features,
 Type, amount and composition of the traffic (traffic characteristics),
 Humans characteristics (drivers and pedestrians),
 Vehicles characteristics,
 Design speed,
 Access control and management,
 Environmental factors,
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  Economical factors, and
 Aesthetics and Public concern

THE BASICS OF GEOMETRIC DESIGN

 The design of the highway geometry is controlled by three concepts;
 Types of Highways
 Design Controls Design Speed
 Sight Distances

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 1. HIGHWAY TYPES
 Highways are classified according to their functions allowing the roads to be put in groups of the same
design quality, maintenance and operation
 This also allows roads to be assigned to different levels of jurisdictions
 The two main considerations in the functional classification system are;
 Travel mobility: ‐ Ability to travel to many different destinations
 Land access ‐ Ability to gain entry to a particular site or area

 There are two broad groups of roadway categories;

 Urban roads
 Rural roads

 These categories are divided into the functional classes, which include;
 Arterials ─ (Principal arterials and Minor arterials)
 This functional class is mainly intended for the travel mobility
 Higher mobility, Lower degree of access, Long trips, High speed

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

  Collectors ─ (Major collectors and Minor collectors)
 They offer balanced service for both functions (balance between mobility and access)
 Locals ─ (Local roads and Streets)
 These cater more of the land access
 Lower mobility, Higher degree of access, Short trips, Low speeds

 In Namibia, classification of roads is done in three ways;

1. For technical purposes (done by Roads Authority for the national roads)
 Trunk roads (T – Roads) serve as arterials (run border to border)
 Main roads (M – Roads) serve as arterials (run region to region)
 District roads (D – Roads) serve as collectors (run district to district)
 Farm roads (F – Roads) serve as locals (proclaimed farm roads)
2. For use by the public (e.g. tourist guide maps)
 A roads Designation still under discussion, but intended to be used for dual carriageway
roads (e.g. Windhoek – Okahandja)
 B roads Designation for the T – Roads
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  B roads Designation for the T – Roads
 C roads Designation for the M – Roads
 D roads Designation for the D – Roads

3. Classification by local governments/municipal authorities

 As these roads are in built‐up areas, they are all under urban category
 The classification in Windhoek follows the same order

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 COMPARISON OF ACCESS AGAINST MOBILITY BY DESIGN TYPE
(NOT FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION)

ACCESS FUNCTION

Local Street
Cul‐de‐sac
Unrestricted Access

Collector Street
Increasing Use of Street for Access Purposes

Decreasing Degree of Access Control

(e.g. Parking, Loading etc.)

Arterial

Expressway

Freeway/Motorways
Complete Access Control

No No MOVEMENT FUNCTION
Through Increasing Through Traffic Proportion, Local
Traffic Increasing Speed Traffic

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 2. DESIGN CONTROLS
 Design controls are factors that significantly influence the geometric features
 These include the following;
a. DRIVER PERFORMANCE
 Being a human‐based mode of transport, highway design has to account for
 Human capabilities
 Human limitations

 Humans also make errors, and geometric design of a highway should be able to reduce the
consequences of such errors (e.g. judging a situation)
 In the driving task a driver has to handle three tasks that call for different types of information
(and its processing);
 Control (steering the vehicle and speed control),
 Guidance (lane placement, road following, and car‐following), and
 Navigation (trip planning)

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 TYPE OF INFORMATION DESIGN CONSIDERATION

 CONTROL
 Steering Horizontal Curve Turning Radii
 Speed Control Lane Width

 GUIDANCE
 Road ‐ Following Alignments
 Car ‐ Following Cross Sections
 Overtaking Manoeuvres Signs and Pavement Markings

 NAVIGATION
 Origins and Destinations Message Signs
Traveller Information System

 DRIVER ERRORS
 Driver Deficiencies Roadside Design
 Information Overflow Speed
3D Drive Through

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 IMPORTANT HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS
 Skills and abilities to see, hear, evaluate and react to information vary from one person to another

1. VISUAL PERCEPTION
 Reception of stimuli by eye being it an important source of information to both, drivers and
pedestrians
 Main properties of the eye include;
 VISUAL ACUITY
 Ability to see fine details of an object (i.e. distinctly) in the central field of vision
 Both, static and dynamic acuity are important for traffic and highway situations
 PERIPHERAL VISION
 Ability to see objects beyond the cone of clearest vision (detect movements from sides)
 Cone of peripheral vision could be up to 1600 and is affected by;
 Speed
 Age
 Light condition
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  COLOUR VISION
 Ability to differentiate one colour from another
 Deficiency in this ability is not of great significance for driving
 GLARE VISION AND RECOVERY
 Glare is the decrease of visibility and discomfort to the eyes due to bright light appearing in
the field of vision
 Glare recovery is the time needed to recover from the effects of glare after the light source
has passed
 Glare can occur in both ways, moving from light to dark where glare recovery takes longer,
and from dark to light

 DEPTH PERCEPTION
 Ability of a person to estimate speed and distance
 Very important on two‐lane highways for overtaking manoeuvre, which needs proper
judgment of speed and distance

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 2. HEARING PERCEPTION
 Reception of sound stimuli by ear
 For drivers, this ability is important only when warning sounds are to be detected
(e.g. emergency vehicles)

3. PERCEPTION – REACTION PROCESS

 This is the total time the driver takes from perceiving until the when he completes making a
decision to react
 It is referred to as perception ‐ reaction time
 The whole process can be divided into four sub‐processes
 Perception
 It is time taken for the sensation received by the eyes or ears to be transmitted to the brain
 Intellection (or identification)
 It is time required for understanding the situation (the driver identifies the object or control
device to understand the stimulus)

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

  Emotion
 It is time elapsed during emotional sensations and disturbance such as fear, anger or other
feelings
 The driver decides what action to take in response to the stimulus
 Volition (or reaction)
 It is time taken for final action
 The driver actually executes the action he had decided during the emotion sub process

 Perception – reaction time varies among individuals and depends on;

 The situation (how complicated it is)
 The existing environmental conditions
 Driver’s age
 Driver’s condition (tired, under influence of drugs or alcohol etc.)
 Expectancy (whether the stimulus is expected or unexpected)

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 b. PEDESTRIANS CHARACTERISTICS
 Pedestrians interaction with traffic is a major consideration in highway planning and design
 Their characteristics are therefore important to geometric designers
 They tend to walk along the shortest distance between two points
 They tend to resist changes in grade or elevation when crossing roadways
 They tend to avoid the use of underpass or overpass pedestrian facilities
 Though the walking speed varies among the walking population, normal (or average) speeds range
between 3.6 to 4.3 km/h (1.0 to 1.2 m/s)

 Pedestrian facilities normally include;

 Sidewalks urban areas and rural areas with pedestrian concentration and/or on grade separation
 Crosswalks provided at intersections and at road mid blocks
 Kerb cuts depressed kerbs and kerb ramps for handicapped
 Bus stops and taxi stops or other loading areas
 Ramps for elderly walkers and people with mobility impairments
 Stairs, elevators and escalators related to highways
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
 c. VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS
 Highway geometric features are designed to accommodate characteristics of the vehicles that will use
the facility

 Since different vehicles or classes of vehicles have different characteristics, geometric design is
normally done using a representative vehicle called a DESIGN VEHICLE

 A design vehicle will have characteristics that exceed almost all vehicles that will use the highway

 Such characteristics (of the design vehicle) are used to determine criteria for,
 Geometric design
 Intersection design
 Sight distance requirements

 Classes of design vehicles include

 Passenger cars
 Buses
 Trucks (Commercial Vehicles)
 Recreational vehicles (also regarded as a variant of passenger cars)
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  Important vehicle characteristics that influence road geometry include;
 Static characteristics (characteristics not affected by vehicle motion),
 Vehicle weight ─ or mass
 Vehicle size ─ or dimensions

 Kinematic characteristics (characteristics involving motion, but do not consider forces),

 Vehicle acceleration capabilities
 Vehicle braking capabilities

 Dynamic characteristics (characteristics involving forces on a moving vehicle)

 Air resistance
 Friction resistance (and skid resistance)
Outside Forces
 Grade resistance
 Curve resistance
 Rolling resistance Inside Forces

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS ‐ FORCES ACTING ON A MOVING VEHICLE

Vehicle Weight W
α

Wsinα Grade Resistance

Curve Resistance = F ‐ Fcosθ

F F
θ
x
Fsinθ

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

  The design criteria (elements) that are affected by the type of the vehicle used for the design include;
 Horizontal and vertical clearances
 Alignment (both horizontal and vertical)
 Lane widening on curves
 Shoulder width requirements
 Turning roadway and intersection radii
 Intersection sight distance
 Acceleration criteria

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 HORIZONTAL CLEARANCE

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 VERTICAL CLEARANCE

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 LANE WIDENING

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
 3. SIGHT DISTANCES
 A sight distance is the length of a roadway that a driver can see ahead at any specific time
 It is a very important design element for safety and efficient operation of the highway
(the driver’s ability to see ahead )
 This distance must allow sufficient time for a driver to perceive, react and take an evasive action as
necessary (e.g. stop, swerve etc.)
 There are five main types of site distances;
 Stopping Sight Distance – SSD
 Passing (Overtaking) Sight Distance – PSD (OSD)
 Decision Sight Distance – DSD
 Intersection Sight Distance – ISD
 Preview Sight Distance – PVSD
 Crossing – ISD specific for Rail‐Road cross
 Operational Sight Distance – OSD (not a design consideration)
Obtained from speed studies after roadway has been
opened to traffic
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  TRH17 (from South Africa) gives recommendations about the first three sight distances and defines
two other distances with different names
 Barrier Sight Distance (BSD)
 Defined as a limit below which overtaking is legally prohibited
 It is a distance that will allow two opposing vehicles travelling along the same lane to stop
before colliding

 TRH17 recommends BSD to be twice the Stopping SD

 Shoulder Sight Distance

 This is the same concept determined in a sight triangle in American practice
(i.e. Intersection Sight Distance)
 Different requirements are used for STOP control and YIELD control intersections
(to calculate the shoulder sight distances)

NOTE:
The height of the driver’s eye in South Africa for sight distance calculations is taken as 1.05 m
(1050 mm) above the road surface
For BSD, the height of the object is taken as 1.3 m (1300 mm)
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
 a. STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE
 This is the distance that allows a vehicle that is travelling at a design speed to stop before reaching an
object obstructing its path

 This distance is applicable on all types of highways/roads

 It is the minimum distance that must be provided to safely stop when an unexpected object appears
on the travelled way

 It is required at every point along the alignment (horizontal and vertical)

i.e. an alignment has to be designed for it, or sign for a lower and safe speed

 SSD = f(roadway alignment, height of the eye above the road, height of the object on road)

 SSD = PRD + BD Where the final velocity V2 = 0

 PRD – Perception ‐ Reaction Distance = Dr
 BD – Braking Distance = Db
 tr – Driver’s Reaction Time = taken to be 2.5s
Dr = V tr and V2 V2
Db = =
254  f ± G  2g  ga ± G 
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
 FORCES ON A VEHICLE BRAKING ON A DOWNGRADE

Db

G
Vi 1.0

Wa
g
Vf

W
α

α = angle of incline
G = tanα
Vi = speed when brakes applied Vf = speed at a desired point
KINEMATIC EQUATIONS
x = distance traveled by the vehicle along the road during braking
1 2
Db = braking distance d  vi t  at v f 2  v i2  2ad
2
W = weight of the vehicle
 v  vf 
f = coefficient of friction v f  v i  at d i t
 2 
g = acceleration of gravity
a = vehicle acceleration
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  A mixed formula for the stopping sight distance S is expressed as;
V2 V2
S = 0.694V  OR S = 0.694V 
254  f ± G  254  ga ± G 

Where;
S = Stopping sight distance in m
V = Design speed in km/h
G = Gradient of the road upgrade is +ve and downgrade is ‐ve
a = Rate of deceleration = taken as 3.4 m/s2 (comfort on wet surface)
g = Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2
tr = Driver’s perception‐reaction time taken to b 2.5 s for SSD

EXAMPLE: A vehicle is travelling at 100 km/h on a road whose pavement has f = 0.39. Calculate the
braking distance and the stopping sight distance if;
1. The section that the vehicle is travelling is level.
2. The vehicle is going down a slope of 10%.

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 SOLUTION:

Given: V = 100 km/h

f = 0.39
G = ‐10% = ‐0.10
tr = 2.5s

V2 V2
S  Dr  Db  Vtr  OR Vtr 
2g  f ± G  254  f ± G 

2
 m 
 103 km
 100 h  
km
s 
 10 3 m
   3600 
h    = 69.44  135.76  205.20m
km h
S = 100 km  2.5s
 3600 s
h  2  9.81   0.39  0.10 

OR (using a mixed formula)

V2 1002
S = 0.694V  =  0.694  100    205.20m
254  f ± G  254  0.39  0.1 0 

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 b. OVERTAKING (OR PASSING) SIGHT DISTANCE
 This is the distance that allows a vehicle to overtake a slower moving vehicle safely on a two‐lane
highway

 It is applicable only on Two‐Lane Two‐Way highways/roads where drivers have to occupy the opposing
traffic lane to overtaking slower vehicles

 If it is not possible to provide this distance on such roads, the NO PASSING zone must clearly be defined

 Note that:
 It is not practical to provide this distance at every point along the road (consider cost)
 Establishing its value depends on some factors (and hence may become a bit complicated)
 The speed of the slower vehicle
 The speed of the overtaking vehicle
 The speed of the oncoming vehicle
 The minimum gap between the slower vehicle and the oncoming vehicle

 Therefore, some assumptions have to be made on the traffic behaviour

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

  This distance is calculated by considering a single overtaking manoeuvre assuming a passenger car
overtaking another passenger car (not a truck etc.)

 Assumptions for calculating the minimum PSD (AASHTO model)

a. The slow moving vehicle is traveling at a uniform speed

b. The over taker travels at the same speed as the overtaken to a point that he decides to pass
c. On arrival at an overtaking section, some time elapses to perceive the clear overtaking section and
decide to start the overtaking manoeuvre
d. If the decision is made, the over taker accelerates and the average passing speed is about 16 km/h
(10 mph) more than that of the impeder
e. A suitable clearance exists between the passer and the opposing vehicle when the overtaking
manoeuvre is completed

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 OVERTAKING (OR PASSING) SIGHT DISTANCE

1 d2 2 d2
3 3
d1 d2 d3 d4

PHASE 1 PHASE 2

 The model for the overtaking process identifies the following distances;

 d1 – Distance traversed during perception and reaction time AND the initial acceleration to the point
of encroachment on the opposing lane
 d2 – Distance traveled while the overtaking vehicle occupies opposing lane
 d3 – Distance between the overtaking vehicle at the end of its manoeuvre and the opposing
(or oncoming) vehicle (this acts as a safety clearance)
 d4 – Distance traversed by an opposing vehicle for two‐thirds of the time the overtaking vehicle
occupies the opposing lane (i.e. 2/3 of d2)
 Therefore, the Total Overtaking Sight Distance is given by: s = d1 + d2 + d3 + d4
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
 SPACE DIAGRAM FOR OVERTAKING SIGHT DISTANCE
Distance d

DELAY TIME DUE TO FOLLOWING SLOWER VEHICLE

THE ACTUAL TRAJECTORY OF

THE OVERTAKING VEHICLE

d4
GOES BACK TO ITS LANE AND PREVIOUS SPEED

d3

WOULD BE TRAJECTORY OF
THE OVERTAKING VEHICLE
d2 ACCELERATES, CHANGES LANE AND OVERTAKES
ACTUAL TIME AND POINT OF OVERTAKING AS THE
TWO ARE TRAVELLING ALONG THE SAME LANE

d1 FASTER VEHICLE FOLLOWS BEHIND SLOWER VEHICLE

TIME AND POINT OF OVERTAKING IF THE TWO VEHICLES

WERE TRAVELLING ALONG DIFFERENT LANES
d0 Time t
GDE310S t0 t1 t2 t t
GEOMETRIC
3 t
4 DESIGN5 OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
 c. DECISION SIGHT DISTANCE (DSD)
 This is the sight distance needed at complex locations where drivers may find an unexpected hazard
or may need to make unusual manoeuvres

 This distance is provided to allow drivers to;

 Detect the unexpected hazard,
 Recognize the hazard,
 Decide on a proper manoeuvre, and
 Carry out (execute) the required (or proper) action safely

 The perception‐reaction time for DSD is longer than SSD making decision sight distances longer
(than SSDs)
 Examples of complex locations requiring consideration of DSD include;
 Complex interchanges and intersections
 Places where lanes drop (creating merge areas)
 Areas with competing sources of information (signs, signals, traffic control devices and pavement
markings) clustered at one point (and therefore, cause of visual “noise”)
GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
  DSD depends on the type of manoeuvre to be made and roadway setting
(i.e. whether the road is located in the urban or rural areas)

 If DSD cannot be provided, traffic control devices should be used to give a warning of the condition
ahead (e.g. signs, pavement markers, etc.)

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 d. INTERSECTION SIGHT DISTANCE
 This is the length of a cross road that must be visible such that a driver of a turning or crossing vehicle
can decide and complete his manoeuvre without conflicting with vehicles approaching the Intersection
from the cross road
 It allows drivers to have an unobstructed view of intersection
 It is the sight distance identified in TRH17 as Shoulder Sight Distance
 Its analysis involves the use of a Sight Triangle (an area free of obstructions that gives sufficient view to
A driver allowing to complete his manoeuvre and avoid collision)
 AASHTO has presented six ISD cases (drive side is opposite to Namibia)
 Case A: Intersection with No Control
 Case B: Intersection with Stop Control on minor roadway
 Case C: Intersection with Yield Control on minor roadway
 Case D: Intersection with Traffic Signal Control
 Case E: Intersection with all‐way Stop Control
 Case F: Left‐turns from the major roadway (yield to oncoming traffic)

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 CASE A AND C ─ NO CONTROL AND YIELD CONTROL ON MINOR ROADWAY

MINOR ROAD
FROM SIMILARITY OF TRIANGLES DRAWN FOR NAMIBIAN DRIVING

b d ‐b
= A
dB‐a a

CONFLICT POINT IN CONSIDERATION

dB
B
MAJOR ROAD SIGHT DISTANCE (RIGHT)
C
b

THEN DISTANCES

dA
adA
dB =
dA‐b
dA‐b

OBSTRUCTION
AND
dB‐a a
A bdB
dA =
dB‐a

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.
 e. PREVIEW SIGHT DISTANCE (PSD)
 This is the distance needed by a driver to perceive a horizontal curve and properly react to it
 It is a very important consideration when a sharp horizontal curve is introduced
 At or near the top of a pronounced crest vertical curve
 Near the low point of a pronounced sag vertical curve
 It is a distance that is provided for horizontal curves and is provided as a sum of two components
 S1: The tangent component
Distance needed by the driver to react and adjust the speed before reaching the curve
 S2: The curve component
Distance on the horizontal curve needed for the driver to detect its existence
 The object’s height from the surface of the road is taken to be 0 m (i.e. the driver is to see pavement
markings)
 The origin of PVSD is the driver’s eye height above the surface for daytime (1050 mm) while for night
time, it is the height of the headlight (600 mm)

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 CONCEPT OF PREVIEW SIGHT DISTANCE
PVSD ORIGIN PVSD OBJECT
(Driver Eye or Vehicle Headlight) (Pavement Marking)

BVC EVC

S1 S2
VERTICAL ALIGNMENT

PT or ST
PC or TS

HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 4. DESIGN SPEED
 Speed is defined as the rate of change of distance as time changes

 Depending on how the change in distance is taken, there are different types of speed, which are used
for various engineering and operational purposes

 These include;
 Posted speed = Speed limit
 Operating speed = Free flow speed
 Running speed = Highway length ÷ Running time
 Design speed = Selected speed used to determine geometric features of the highway

 Design speed is defined as the highest continuous speed at which a vehicle can travel with safety when
the weather condition is conducive

 This is to say, it is the maximum safe speed that can be maintained over a specified section of highway
when conditions are so favourable such that the design features of the highway govern

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

  It is a single most important factor that affect most of the geometric design elements, which include;
 Sight distance
 Radius of the horizontal curve
 Length of the vertical curve

 Selection of the design speed is done considering such factors like;

 Highway functional classification
 Characteristics of the terrain (i.e. topography)
 Density and characteristics of adjacent land uses
 Traffic volumes expected to use the highway
 Economic and environmental considerations

 Selection of the design speed should be made so as to attain a desired combination of safety, mobility,
and efficiency taking into account aspects of Environments, Economics, Aesthetics, and Social or
Political impacts

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 WORLD MAXIMUM SPEED LIMITS (AS OF FEBRUARY 2019)

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.

 OPERATING SPEED

 This is defined as the speed at which drivers are observed to operate their vehicles under free flow
conditions
 It can therefore be above or below the selected design speed within a section of a given geometric
feature of the highway
 As different drivers may drive their vehicles at different speeds they desire within a section that they feel
is safe and comfortable operating speed within a highway section may differ significantly
 It is a common practice therefore to use the 85th percentile speed as a measure of the operating speed

GDE310S GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.


 What has been covered?
1. Meaning and significance of geometric design
2. Geometric design factors
 Highway types (classifications)
 Design controls
 Human characteristics
 Vehicle characteristics
 Sight distances
 Design speed
GDE310S
SUMMARY
– Drivers and Pedestrians
– Design vehicle
– Types
• Stopping Sight Distance
• Passing (Overtaking) Sight Distance
• Decision Sight Distance
• Intersection Sight Distance
• Preview Sight Distance
GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS TOMEKA C. L. T. G.