Highway Capacity Design

Chapter 2

Based on Highway Capacity Manual 2000

Transport Research Board

Waruna Jayasooriya
Level of Service
• Although speed is a major concern of drivers as related to service

quality, freedom to maneuver within the traffic stream and

proximity to other vehicles are equally noticeable concerns.

• These qualities are related to the density of the traffic stream.

• The LOS are defined to represent reasonable ranges in the three

critical flow variables; speed, density, and flow rate.

LOS A describes free-flow operations. Free-flow speeds
prevail. Vehicles are almost completely unimpeded in their ability
to maneuver within the traffic stream. The effects of incidents or
point breakdowns are easily absorbed at this level.
LOS B repercents reasonably free flow, and free-flow speeds
are maintained. The ability to maneuver within the traffic
stream is only slightly restricted, and the general level of
physical and psychological comfort provided to drivers is still
high. The effects of minor incidents and point breakdowns are
still easily absorbed.
LOS C provides for flow with speeds at or near the FFS of the
freeway. Freedom to maneuver within the traffic stream is
noticeably restricted, and lane changes require more care and
vigilance on the part of the driver. Minor incidents may still be
absorbed, but the local deterioration in service will be substantial.
Queues may be expected to form behind any significant blockage.
LOS D is the level at which speeds begin to decline slightly
with increasing flows and density begins to increase somewhat
more quickly. Freedom to maneuver within the traffic stream is
more noticeably limited, and the driver experiences reduced
physical and psychological comfort levels.
LOS E describes operation at capacity at its highest density value.
Operations at this level are volatile, because there are virtually no usable
gaps in the traffic stream. Vehicles are closely spaced leaving little room to
maneuver within the traffic stream..
LOS F describes breakdowns in vehicular flow. Such
conditions generally exist within queues forming behind
breakdown points.
Figure 2.2 LOS C

LOS B

LOS D

LOS E
LOS A
Capacity
The capacity of a two-lane highway is 1700 pc/h for
each direction.
For both directions of combined travel, the capacity
will not exceed 3200 pc/h.
LOS criteria for pedestrian walkway
Level of Service (LOS)
For Class I highways:
 Efficient mobility is more important
 LOS is defined in terms of both percent time spent
following and average travel speed.

For Class II highways:

 Mobility is less critical
 Percent time spent following without considering avg.
travel speed.
Level of Service (LOS) cont…

The difference between these LOS assessments

represent the difference in motorist expectations for
Class I and Class II
Calculation of current LOS of the road
Methodology
Step 1 :Collect Field data & computations

 Step 2A : Average travel speed calculation

 Determination of grade adjustment factor

 Computation of fHV for an average travel speed

 Computation of Vp

 Calculation of highest directional flow rate &

check against to capacity

 Compute free flow speed

 Compute average travel speed

Step 2B : percent time-spent-following

 Compute base percent time-spent-following

 Compute percent time-spent-following

Determine LOS
Field data
Two-way volume (based on 2 hour traffic count)
% of trucks and buses
% of recreational vehicles
Directional split
% of no passing zones
No. of access point per km length
 Traffic survey data
Table 1: Traffic flow considering both directions according to collected traffic data

Time Motor 3 Car Utility Light Medi Heavy Multi Mini Large Service Tractor Bicycle Total
Period Cycle wheel (RV) Axle Bus Bus Vehicle

2.15-
2.30

2.30-
2.45

2.45-
3.00

3.00-
3.15

3.15-
3.30

3.30-
3.45

3.45-
4.00

4.00-
4.15
 Traffic survey data
Table 1: Traffic flow considering both directions according to collected traffic data

Time Motor 3 Car Utility Light Medi Heavy Multi Mini Large Service Tractor Bicycle Total
Period Cycle wheel (RV) Axle Bus Bus Vehicle

2.15- 71 42 52 59 10 12 5 2 6 3 1 0 1 264
2.30

2.30- 75 33 57 60 9 5 5 0 5 7 1 1 2 260
2.45

2.45- 78 41 43 40 8 5 9 0 0 4 0 0 4 232
3.00

3.00- 61 35 64 57 5 6 9 1 0 6 0 0 5 249
3.15

3.15- 74 25 64 56 3 4 10 0 0 8 0 1 5 250
3.30

3.30- 66 48 54 70 3 8 14 2 1 5 1 0 5 277
3.45

3.45- 69 31 52 53 2 7 12 0 1 6 0 0 9 242
4.00

4.00- 71 34 57 58 8 5 10 0 0 8 3 1 1 256
4.15
Calculation from survey data
Table 2: Traffic data arrange according to considering number of vehicle to both
directions

Time To Talawathugoda To Pannipitiya Total

117 147 264
2.15- 2.30
111 150 261
2.30- 2.45
104 128 232
2.45- 3.00
104 145 249
3.00- 3.15
120 130 250
3.15-3.30
116 161 277
3.30-3.45
104 138 242
3.45-4.00
117 140 256
4.00-4.15
Table 3: Hourly traffic flows to the both direction

Time Interval To To Pannipitiya Total Directional Split

Talawathugoda
2.15-3.15 436 570 1006 43/57
2.30-3.30 339 553 892 38/62
2.45-3.45 444 564 1008 44/56
3.00-4.00 444 574 1018 44/56
3.15-4.15 457 569 1025 45/55

Table 4: Peak hour distribution of vehicle

Time Motor 3 Car Utility Light Medi Heavy Multi Mini Large Service Tract
Period Cycle wheel Axle Bus Bus Vehicle or

3.15- 280 138 227 16 24 46 2 2 27 4 2 20

4.15
Terrain condition (based on vertical profile eg. Level or
Rolling)
Geometric data (existing avg. pavement width,
shoulder width)
Speed study ( at representative location, sample of at
least 100 vehicles with systematic sampling. eg. Avg of
every 10th vehicle)
Geometric data
Section Lane width(m) Shoulder
width(m)
1 2.87 2.57
2 2.64 2.46
3 2.61 1.87
4 2.59 1.88
Total 2.68 8.78

 Table 1 : Extracted data from Auto CAD drawing

Calculation of current LOS of the
road Methodology
Step A : Average travel speed
calculation
 Determination of grade adjustment factor
 Computation of fHV for an average travel
speed
 Computation of Vp
 Calculation of highest directional flow
rate & check against to capacity
 Compute free flow speed
 Compute average travel speed

Step B : percent time-spent-following

 Compute base percent time-spent-
following
 Compute percent time-spent-following

Determine LOS
Determination of grade adjustment factor - fG
Computation of fHV for an average travel speed
Step 3 : Computation of passenger-car equivalent flow
rate - Vp
 Calculation of highest directional flow
rate & check
Highest directional flow rate = maximum dir. Split * Vp

Check flow rates against to capacity values of 1700 pc/h

or 3200 pc/h
  Compute free flow speed
 Compute average travel
speed
Step 2B : percent time-
spent-following
 Compute base percent
time-spent-following
 Compute percent time-
spent-following
Determine LOS
Compute free flow speed
Compute average travel speed
Compute average travel speed
Calculation of current LOS of the road
Methodology
 Step 2B : percent time-spent-following
 Computation of fHV for a percent time-
spent-following fG and check
 Compute base percent time-spent-
following
 Compute percent time-spent-following

 Determine LOS
Computation of fHV for a percent time-spent-following
Determination of grade adjustment factor - fG
Computation of passenger-car equivalent flow rate -
Vp
 Calculation of highest directional flow
rate & check for time spent following
Highest directional flow rate = maximum dir. Split * Vp

Check flow rates against to capacity values of 1700 pc/h

or 3200 pc/h
Compute base percent time-spent-following & percent time-spent-following
Determine LOS
Graphical method…
Question
Consider a Class I two-lane highway segment with the following facts;
 1600 veh/h(two way volume)
 14% trucks and buses
 4% RVs
 89.2 km/h free flow speed FFS
 0.95 PHF
 Rolling terrain
 3.4 m lane width
 10 km length
 1.2m shoulder width
 50% no-passing zones
 50/50 directional split
 12 access points/km
What is the two-way segment LOS for the peak hour?
Determination of grade adjustment factor - fG
Computation of fHV for an average travel speed
Step 3 : Computation of passenger-car equivalent flow rate - Vp
 Calculation of highest directional flow rate &
check
Highest directional flow rate = maximum dir. Split * Vp

Check flow rates against to capacity values of 1700 pc/h

or 3200 pc/h
Compute average travel speed
Computation of fHV for a percent time-spent-following
Determination of grade adjustment factor - fG
Computation of passenger-car equivalent flow rate - Vp
 Calculation of highest directional flow rate &
check for time spent following
Highest directional flow rate = maximum dir. Split * Vp

Check flow rates against to capacity values of 1700 pc/h

or 3200 pc/h
Compute base percent time-spent-following & percent time-spent-following
Determine LOS
Graphical method…
Answers
Avg. travel speed:
 fG=0.99
 FHV=0.931
 VP=1837 pc/h
 Check VP*max dir. split < 1700 pc/h & VP<3200 pc/h
 ATS=65.1 km/h
Time spent following
 fG=1.00
 fHV=1.00
 VP=1684 pc/h
 Check VP*max dir. split < 1700 pc/h & VP<3200 pc/h
 BPTSF=77.2%
 Fd/np=4.8%
 PTSF=82%
LOS = E
Example 1:
A segment of two lane Gampaha - Idigolla road carries a peak
hour volume of 780 vph and has a 4% grade. The 11.75 km
length segment, has operational speed of 54 kmph with two
lanes of 3.3m wide and the shoulders of 0.6 m. 40% of the road
segment has passing prohibition. The directional split of traffic
is 70/30 with 12% trucks, 8% buses and 80% passenger cars in
the traffic stream. The effects of other vehicles may be ignored.

At what level of service will the road operate during peak
periods, if the flow rate for the peak 15 minutes total for both
directions is 87% of the total flow rate for the peak hour?

What is the maximum volume that can be?

Highway Design Project
Existing level of service of the road
Proposed centerline of the road with setting-out details of
curves and cross sections
Drainage design includes cross drainage and lea dawn
drain design.
Pavement design (Provide the cross sections details)
Safety audits of the existing road and proposed design
improvements.
Level of service of the road at the end of the design period
Estimate & prepare cost details for tendering
Details that you may have…
Drawing file which includes plan view of a trace
HCM 2000 with chapter 20 hard copy
HSR for unit costing
.xls file which contains culvert details
1:50,000 topo-sheets for catchment area calculations
TRL road note 31 or AASTHO guidelines for pavement
design
Road Safety Audit reports
 Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 5 Section 2
Capacity Design
Determine Existing LOS
Traffic forecasting for end of the design period
Determine the required LOS at the end of design
period
back calculation to present condition based on future
LOS
Based on
 Highway Capacity Manual 2000
 Traffic forecasting based on realistic data
 Present road geometry with certain modification
Road Safety Audit
Audits should conduct for existing road segment &
designed road segment.
Identify existing safety drawbacks
Proposed road cross-section
Plan view with necessary road safety detailing

Drainage Design
Determine the cross drains and parallel drain sizes
with necessary calculations
Pavement Design
Evaluate axle-load values base on
the forecasted traffic
Evaluate baring capacity by
following necessary laboratory
tests
Determine the layer thickness
based on road note 31 or following
AASHTO guideline
Geometric Design
Figure out existing geometric parameters
Horizontal alignment and profile correction base on
the design speed(posted, safer, etc..)
Provide final design drawings with supportive
calculations
Cost estimation & tendering
Cost for the reconstruction
 Based on profile correction
 Based on horizontal alignment correction
Cost for the land acquisition & compensation
Cost for the drainage
 Highway Design Project
Ref # Date Group Inception Interim Final presentation &
Civil 3D Field work
report report report submission

1 17th Sep Group A & B   Group A & B      

2 24th Sep A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6 A4,A5,A6 A1,A2,A3      

3 1st Oct B1,B2,B3,B4,B5,B6 B4,B5,B6 B1,B2,B3 A1,A2,A3    

4 8th Oct A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6 A4,A5,A6 A1,A2,A3 B1,B2,B3    

5 15th Oct B1,B2,B3,B4,B5,B6 B4,B5,B6 B1,B2,B3    

6 29th Oct A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6 A1,A2,A3 A4,A5,A6      

7 5th Nov Reading week
8 12th Nov A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6 B1,B2,B3 B4,B5,B6 A4,A5,A6 A1,A2,A3  

9 19th Nov B1,B2,B3,B4,B5,B6 A1,A2,A3 A4,A5,A6 B4,B5,B6 B1,B2,B3  

10 26th Nov A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6 B1,B2,B3 B4,B5,B6   A4,A5,A6  

11 3rd Dec B1,B2,B3,B4,B5,B6       B4,B5,B6  

12 10th Dec B1,B2,B3,B4,B5,B6         A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6

13 17th Dec           B1,B2,B3,B4,B5,B6

14 24th Dec