Design Criteria for

Highways and Railroads

The goal in the Highway Design is to provide
safe roads for all road users, and not just
those in motor vehicles. The principle that
‘man is the reference standard’ implies that
roads must be adapted to the limitations of
human capacity. This leads to what is called
the safe system approach which encourages:
• Simpler, self-explaining roads
• Designing roads that
encourage/enforce safe speeds
• Forgiving roadsides
• The World Bank’s Sustainable safe
Road Design Manual also discusses:
o Functionality
o Homogeneity
o Predictability
1 Human Factors and
Driver Performance

The sustainability of a design rests as much on how effectively

drivers are able to use the highway as on any criteria.

Considerations include:
• Driver tasks
• Use of the facility by older drivers and older
pedestrians
• Errors due to driver deficiencies and situational
demands
• Speed
In the Philippines, as of 2018 data, there are a total of 116,906
incidents of road traffic crashes in Metro Manila alone. On average
there were 334 reported accident per day with one resulting
fatality, 56 being non-fatal and 276 leading to damages to
property. This leads to the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan
2017-2022, a program developed by the Department of
Transportation adopting a vision of zero road traffic death, with an
interim target to reduce road death rate by at least 20% by 2022.
The interventions are organized according to the Action Plan of the
Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011- 2020, focusing on the
following: (1) road safety management, (2) safe roads and mobility,
(3) safe vehicles, (4) safe road users, and (5) post-crash care.
2 Vehicles

In the design of any highway facility, the designer should

consider the largest design vehicle that is likely to use that
facility with considerable frequency or a design vehicle with
special characteristics appropriate to a particular location in
determining the design of such critical features as radii at
intersections and radii of turning roadways.
As a general rule:
• A two-axle single-unit truck may be used for the design of
residential streets and park roads.

• A three-axle single-unit truck may be used for the design of

collector streets and other facilities where the larger single-unit
trucks are likely.

• A bus may be used in the design of highway intersections that are

designated bus routes and that have relatively few large trucks
using them.
Table 1. Design Vehicle Dimensions
        Dimensions (m)        
  Overall   Overhang Typical Kingpin to
Center of Rear
Design Vehicle Type Symbol
WB1 WB2 S T WB3 WB4 Tandem Axle

Height Width Length Front Rear

Passenger Car P 1.30 2.13 5.79 0.91 1.52 3.55 - - - - - -

Single-Unit Truck SU-9 3.35-4.11 2.44 9.14 1.22 1.83 6.10 - - - - - -
Singe-Unit Truck (three axle) SU-12 3.35-4.11 2.44 12.04 1.22 3.20 7.62 - - - - - -

Buses                    
Intercity Bus (Motor Coaches) BUS-12 3.66 2.59 12.36 1.93 2.73 7.70 - - - - - -
BUS-14 3.66 2.59 13.86 1.89 2.73 8.69 - - - - - -
CITYBUS 2.59 - - - - - -
City Transit Bus 3.20 12.19 2.13 2.44 7.62

Conventional School Bus S-BUS 11 3.20 2.44 10.91 0.79 3.66 6.49 - - - - - -
Large School Bus S-BUS 12 3.20 2.44 12.19 2.13 3.96 6.10 - - - - - -
Articulated Bus A-BUS 3.35 2.59 18.29 2.62 3.05 6.71 5.91 - - -
Combination Trucks                    
Intermediate Semitrailer WB-12 4.11 2.44 13.87 0.92 1.37 3.81 7.77 - - - - 7.77
Interstate Semitrailer WB-19* 4.11 2.59 21.03 1.22 1.37 5.94 12.50 - - - - 12.50
Interstate Semitrailer WB-20** 4.11 2.59 22.40 1.22 1.37 5.94 13.87 - - - - 13.87
Double Bottom 4.11 2.59 0.91 -
Semitrailer/Trailer WB-20D 22.04 0.71 3.35 7.01 0.91 2.13 6.86 7.01

Double Semitrailer/Trailer WB-28D 4.11 2.59 29.67 0.71 0.91 5.33 12.19 1.37 2.13 6.86 - 12.34
Triple Semitrailer/Trailer 2B-30T 4.11 2.59 31.94 0.71 0.91 3.35 6.86 0.91 2.13 6.86 6.86 7.01
Tumpike Double- 4.11 2.59
Semitrailer/Trailer WB-33D* 34.75 0.71 1.37 3.72 12.19 1.37 3.05 12.19 - 12.34

Recreational Vehicles                    
Motor Home MH 3.66 2.44 9.14 1.22 1.83 6.10 - - - - - -
Car and Camper Trailer P/T 3.05 2.44 14.84 0.91 3.66 3.35 - 1.52 5.39 - - -
Car and Boat Trailer P/B - 2.44 12.80 0.91 2.44 3.35 - 1.52 4.57 - - -
Motor Home and Boat Trailer MH/B 3.66 2.44 16.115 1.22 2.44 6.10 - 1.83 4.57 - - -
 Table 2. Minimum Turning Radii of Design Vehicles
Minimum Design Turning
Radius
Design Vehicle Type Symbol Centerline Turning Radius (m) Minimum Inside Radius (m)
(m)

Passenger Car P 7.26 6.40 4.39

Single-Unit Truck SU-9 12.73 11.58 8.64
Singe-Unit Truck (three axle) SU-12 15.60 14.46 11.09

Intercity Bus (Motor Coaches) BUS-12 12.70 11.53 7.41

BUS-14 13.40 12.25 7.54
City Transit Bus CITY-BUS 12.80 11.52 7.45
Conventional School Bus S-BUS 11 11.75 10.64 7.25
Large School Bus S-BUS 12 11.92 10.79 7.71
Articulated Bus A-BUS 12.00 10.82 6.49
Intermediate Semitrailer WB-12 12.16 10.97 5.88
Interstate Semitrailer WB-19* 13.66 12.50 2.25
Interstate Semitrailer WB-20** 13.66 12.50 0.59
Double Bottom WB-20D 13.67 12.47 5.83
Semitrailer/Trailer

Double Semitrailer/Trailer WB-28D 24.98 23.77 16.94

Triple Semitrailer/Trailer 2B-30T 13.67 12.47 2.96
Tumpike Double-
Semitrailer/Trailer WB-33D* 18.25 17.04 4.19

Motor Home MH 12.11 10.97 7.92

Car and Camper Trailer P/T 10.03 9.14 5.58
Car and Boat Trailer P/B 7.26 6.40 2.44
Motor Home and Boat Trailer MH/B 15.19 14.02 10.67
3 Traffic Characteristics

The design of a highway and its features should explicitly cover traffic
volumes and traffic characteristics. Traffic volumes obtained from field
studies (such as hourly and daily traffic volumes, type and weight of
vehicles and traffic trends) can indicate the need for improvement and
directly influence the selection of geometric design features, such as
number of lanes, widths, alignments, and grades. Relevant studies
include average daily traffic (ADT), peak hour traffic, directional
distribution, composition of traffic, projection of future traffic demands,
speed and traffic flow relationships characterized by the volume flow rate
in vehicles per hour, the average speed in kilometers per hour, and the
traffic density in vehicles per kilometer.
4 Physical Elements

These elements include highway capacity, access control and

management, pedestrians, bicycle facilities, safety, and
environment.

Knowledge of highway capacity is essential to properly fit a

planned highway to traffic demands. Access control to manage
interference with through traffic is achieved through the
regulation of public access rights to and from properties abutting
the highway facilities, and can comprise full control, partial
control, access management or driveway/entrance regulations.
Pedestrian facilities including sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic control
features, curb cuts, ramps, bus stops, loading areas, stairs,
escalators, and elevators warrant due attention in both rural and
urban areas.

Existing streets and highways provide most of the network used by

bicycle travel, making bicycle traffic an important element for
consideration in highway design.

Because the number of crashes increases with the number of

decisions that need to be made by the driver, it is in the interest of
safety that roadways should be designed to reduce the need for
driver decisions and to reduce unexpected situations.
5 Economic Factors

Various road alternatives undergo rigorous economic

evaluations. Highway economics is concerned with the cost of a
proposed improvement and the benefits resulting from it.
Design Controls for
Highway Construction
1 Anticipated Traffic
Volume

 The design of a highway or any part thereof should consider

jointly all data relating to traffic such as traffic volume,
character of traffic and axle loading.
 Financing, quality of foundations, availability of materials,
cost of right-of-way, and other factors have important bearing
on the design.
 A road should be designed so that it will accommodate or can
be readily changed to accommodate the number of vehicles
which is estimated to pass it towards the end of its life. This
number is called the design volume.
 Traffic volumes are usually the annual average daily traffic
(AADT), through at critical points on a road, such as
intersections, peak traffic figures are also taken into account.
 The design hourly volume (DHV) should be representative of the
future year chosen for design. It should be predicated on current
traffic (existing and attracted) plus all traffic increases (normal
traffic growth, general traffic and the development traffic) that
would occur during the period between the current and the future
year chosen for design.
 A period of 20 years is widely used as a basis for design
i. highway - 50 to 150%
ii. expressway – 80 to 200%
2 Character of Traffic

 The vehicle which should be used in design for normal

operation is the largest one which represents a significant
percentage of the traffic for the design year.
 A design check should be made for the largest vehicle
expected to ensure that such a vehicle can negotiate the
designated turns, particularly if pavements are curbed. This is
done using a swept path analysis using either turning circle
templates or software.
3 Design Speed

 It is the speed determined for design and correlation of the

physical features of a highway that influence vehicle operation
 it is the maximum safe speed that can be maintained over a
specified section of the highway when conditions are so
favorable that the design features of the highway govern
 the choice of design is influenced principally by the character
of terrain, the extent of man-made features and economic
considerations which sets the limits for curvature, sight
distance and other geometric features
 changes in terrain and other physical controls also influence a
change in design speed on certain sections
4 Design Traffic
(vehicles)

 operating characteristics of motor vehicles

 major considerations are vehicle types and dimensions,
turning radii and off-tracking, resistance to motion, power
requirements, acceleration performance, and deceleration
performance
 motor vehicles include passenger cars, trucks, vans, buses,
recreational vehicles, and motorcycles, all with unique weight,
length, size, and operational characteristics
 forces that must be overcome by motor vehicles if they are to
move are rolling, air, grade, curve, and inertial resistance
5 Highway Capacity

 The maximum traffic flow that can be accommodated in a

highway facility during a given time period under prevailing
roadway, traffic and control conditions
 associated with traffic volume and traffic density
 the severity of the terrain reduces capacity and service flow
rates
 There are 3 Types of Capacity; basic capacity, possible
capacity, and practical/design capacity
Roadway factors include the following:
 number of lanes
 the type of facility and its development environment
 lane widths
 shoulder widths and lateral clearances
 design speed
 horizontal and vertical alignments
 axle loads
 availability of exclusive turn lanes at intersections
6 Classification of
Highway

 Design standards for multilane highways tend to be lower

than those for expressway, although a multilane highway
approaches expressway conditions as its access points and
turning volumes approach zero.
 The multilane highway is similar to urban streets in many
respects, although it lacks the regularity of traffic signals and
tend to have greater control on the number of access points
per kilometer.
 Design standards are generally higher than those for urban
streets.
 The speed limits on multilane highway are often 10 to 20 kph
higher than speed limits on urban streets.
 Pedestrian activity, as well as parking, in minimal, unlike on
urban street.
 Multilane highways differ substantially from two-lane highways.
 Multilane highway also tend to be located near urban areas and
often connect urban areas.
7 Accident Information

 On all proposed projects, the accident history should be

analyzed and potentially hazardous features and locations
identified to determine appropriate safety enhancement.
 A study of accidents by location, type, severity, contributing
circumstances, environmental conditions, and time periods
may suggest possible safety deficiencies
 References:
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Date retrieved: September 18, 2022, from
https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/global-street-design- guide/designcontrols/design-
vehicle-control-vehicle/
Anonymous. (n.d.). Forgiving roads concept. Road Safety Toolkit. Date retrieved:
September 18, 2022, from https://toolkit.irap.org/safer-road-treatments/forgivingroads- concept/
Anonymous. (n.d.). Measure for managing speed. ITE. Date retrieved: September 18,
2022, from https://www.ite.org/technical-resources/topics/speed-management- for
safety/measures-for-managing-speed/
Anonymous. (n.d.). Safe Speed. Road Safety Toolkit. Date retrieved: September 18,
2022, from https://toolkit.irap.org/safer-people-treatments/safe-speed/
Anonymous. (n.d.). Self-explaining road (SER) concept. Road Safety Toolkit. Date
retrieved: September 18, 2022, from https://toolkit.irap.org/safer-roadtreatments/self- explaining-
road-ser-concept/
Wijers, P. (2021). Speed reduction methods to promote road safety and to save lives.
Making Cities Safer. Date retrieved: September 18, 2022, from https://makingcities- safer.com/speed-
reduction-methods-to-promote-road-safety-and-to-savelives
Mitigation Strategies For Design Exceptions - Safety | Federal Highway Administration. (n.d.).
Safety.fhwa.dot.gov.
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/geometric/pubs/mitigationstrategies/chapter3/3_designspee d.cfm
Unit 6 - Design Criteria for Highway and Railways. (2019). StuDocu; StuDocu.
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/university-of-the-philippines-system/bs-civil- engineering/unit-
6-design-criteria-for-highway-and-railways/10372837
Jamal, H. (n.d.). Highway Capacity Definition, Types & Factors Affecting Highway Capacity. Www.aboutcivil.org.
Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.aboutcivil.org/highway-capacity-definition-types-
factors.
Group Members:

 Espiel, Mark Kevin

 Pura, Julian
 Mendizabal, Kacy
 Robedillo, Ma. Thalia
 Cua, Vincent
THANK
YOU!