Transportation

Engineering
What is
Transportation
Engineering?
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▰ a sub-discipline of Civil Engineering which
deals with the application of technology and
scientific principles to the planning,
functional design, operation and
management of facilities for any mode of
transportation in order to provide the safe,
rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical,
and environmentally compatible movement
or transport of people and goods
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▰ planning aspects relate to urban planning
and involve technical forecasting decisions
and political factors

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▰ technical forecasting of passenger travel involves the
urban transportation planning model which estimates and
determines the following:
▻ trip generation (how many trips for what purpose)
▻ trip distribution (destination choice, where is the
traveler going)
▻ modality (what mode is being taken)
▻ route assignment (which streets or routes are being
used) 5
▻ trip chaining (the decision of to link
individual trips together in a tour)
▻ choice of residential or business location
(known as land use forecasting)

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▰ focuses on passenger trips as they often
represent the peak of demand on any
transportation system

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▰ as practiced by Civil Engineers, primarily involves planning, design,
construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities which support
transportation for the following:
▻ air
▻ highway
▻ railroad
▻ pipeline
▻ water
▻ space 8
▰ design aspects include the following:
▻ sizing of transportation facilities (how
many lanes or how much capacity the
facility has)
▻ determining the materials and thickness
used in pavement designing the geometry
(vertical)

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▻ designing the base course and pavement
▻ selecting the drainage system
▻ design of highway bridges, retaining
walls, tunnels and other incorporated
structures into transportation facilities

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Major Specialties
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1 Traffic Engineering

▰ Traffic engineering is a branch of civil

engineering that uses engineering techniques
to achieve the safe and efficient movement
of people and goods.

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2 Highway Engineering

▰ a branch of engineering that deals with

major roadways and transportation systems
involving automobiles. Highway
engineering usually involves the
construction and design of highways

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3 Railway Engineering

▰ involves the design, construction, and

operation of railroads and mass transit
systems that use a fixed guideway (such as
light rails and monorails

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4 Ports and Harbor Engineering

▰ Field or engineering that specializes in the

design, construction, operation and
maintenance of maritime facilities such as
ports and harbors

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Harbors / Haven

▰ a place for ships to enter and find shelter

from storms and other natural phenomena
▰ a place where ships are built, launched, and
repaired and serve as a terminal for
incoming and outgoing ships
▰ may be natural or artificial

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▰ four (4) principal classes:
▻ Commercial
▻ naval
▻ Fishery
▻ refuge for small craft

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Ports

▰ a harbor with the necessary terminal

facilities to expedite the moving of cargoes
and passengers at any stage of a journey

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▰ must have a safe anchorage and a direct
channel to open water, and must be deep
enough for large ships
▰ must have enough room for docks,
warehouses, and loading/unloading
machinery

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▰ usually limited to a comparably small area
of berthing space rather than an extended
coastline

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5 Airport Engineering
▰ encompasses the planning, design, and
construction of the following to provide for
passenger and freight service:
▻ terminals
▻ runways
▻ navigation aids
▻ airports
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▰ accounts for the impacts and demands of
aircraft in the design of airport facilities

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▰ involves the analysis of predominant wind direction to
determine the following:
▻ runway orientation
▻ size of the runway border and safety areas
▻ different wing tip to wing tip clearances for all
gates
▻ designation of clear zones in the entire port
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6 Pipeline Engineering

▰ Field of engineering responsible for the

design, construction, operation, quality
control, and maintenance of pipelines and
pipeline transportation systems

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Fin.

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