Highway Engineering

Introduction of Highway

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UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

OBJECTIVES

General Objective
To understand the development and transportation system in Malaysia.

Specific Objectives
At the end of the unit you should be able to : state the construction structure used in transportation system. identify the related profession in the road construction development. describe the history of road development. describe the road category. identify the related agencies involved in road construction.

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INPUT
CONSTRUCTION STRUCTURE FOR TRANSPORTATION
1.0 Introduction

For rapid economic, industrial and cultural growth of any country, a good system of transportation is very essential. Transportation system comprises of good network of roads, railways, well developed water ways and airways. Airways and water ways although help to some extent in transportation within the country, but they are the modes of transport mainly with foreign country. Railways and highways also to some extent help in transport with foreign countries but their main concern is within the country itself.

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1.0.1 Different modes of transportation Man has always been curious for new inventions. In the early days of civilization it was thought that the movement of any human being can be on the earth only. No one thought of flying in air or cruising in largeoceans. Seeing birds flying, man must have thought of flying and that may probably be the starting point of modern aeronautics. Similarly, seeing fishes cruising in the sea or river, man must have thought of rowing in water, and that may probably be a starting point in the development of water ways and designing of ships and boats.

Modes of transportation can be classified as follows : a. roadways or highways b. railways c. water ways d. airways The science which covers designing, maintenance and operation of the roads, for convenience of the road traffic, is called highway engineering. The science dealing with planning, designing, operation and maintenance of railway track, wagons, coaches, locomotives, is called railway engineering.

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Similarly planning, designing, operation, control and maintenance of water ways, airways and their connected machinery are respectively called harbour engineering and airport engineering.

Besides the above stated four major modes of transportation, fluids are mainly transported through pipes. Belt conveyors, cable cars, monorails are some other minor systems of transportation, but they are used for specific purposes. Looking to the transport characteristic of each type of transportation system, it can easily be appreciated that roads and railways are economical and easy for internal transportation, while airways and waterways are main economical for transportation with foreign countries. Airways are gaining importance even in internal movement these days, because they cause saving in time of travel.

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1.0.2 Road transport characteristics While going to railway station, harbour or airport, roads is the first mode which is going to lead you to these places. Hence it can be said that out of all types of transport systems, road is the nearest to the man. Characteristics of road transport are given as follows : a. Roads can be used by all sorts of vehicles like bullock carts, carriages, bicycles, scooters, cars, buses and lorries, etc. They are equally useful for pedestrians also. b. c. Roads can lead to any remote place. Investment on road transport by government is comparatively small. Maintenance of roads is also cheaper than rail-track, docks, harbours and airports. d. There is complete freedom to road users to transfer the vehicles from one lane to another, or from one road to another according to the requirements. e. f. g. Local communication among villages, villages and towns is only possible through roads. Movements on roads are not time bound, as in case of railways or airways. Road transport is the only mode of transport that offers itself for the service of whole community alike.

Highway Engineering

Introduction of Highway

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1.1

HISTORY OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

Traces of early roads have been found since the recorded history of the man kind. The first and oldest mode of travel obviously was foot path. Before invention of wheel, people used to move on foot, thus creating foot paths. Men and material must have been transported either on backs of men or animals. The historical road development can be divided in to the following era : Early/ Basic roads Roman roads Modern roads

1.1.1 Early roads After invention of wheel, animal drawn bullock carts continued to be the popular mode of transport for quite a long time. This necessitated in providing hard surface for wheeled carts. The first hard surface was discovered in Mesopotamia at about 3500 B.C. Archeological findings street were paved in Mohanjodaro at about 3500 B.C. There are signs of pucca roads were used during the construction of Illahun pyramids in Egypt between 3000 - 2500 B.C. This would be due to the transportation of huge limestone blocks. 1.1.2 Roman roads

In the ancient Rome era, more intensive system of roads was developed. The road radiating in many directions from Rome. Some of

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those roads are said to be a very elaborate construction. Many of the Roman roads are still in existence even after 2000 years. Romans were considered to be the pioneers in road construction. With the fall of Roman Empire, the road building technique became a lost art. 1.1.3 Modern roads In eighteenth century, improved construction methods for roads again began to develop. Mr. Pierre Tresaquet developed an improved method of construction in 1764 in France. At the time when Mr. Pierre Tresaquet was busy in developing his road construction method, Mr. John Metcalf was engaged in his development in England. Metcalf constructed about 290 Km road in northern region of England. Since Metcalf was blind, his work was not recorded and thus got lost. Telford and Macadam were the pioneers in road development in England. Telford believed in using heavy foundation stones over the soil sub-grade, while Macadam advocated the use of compacted crushed aggregate layer at the bottom. Macadams method of road construction is still in used and is named after his name. 1.2 CHARACTERISTIC OF SOME IMPORTANT EARLY ROADS

Important early roads include: a. Roman roads construction b. Tresequet roads construction c. Metcalfs roads construction d. Telfords roads construction e. Macadam roads construction

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1.2.1 Roman roads Romans developed very elaborate system of roads mainly for the purpose of military movement. They constructed in all about one lakh kilometers of road, extending in whole of their empire. An Important road constructed by Romans in 312 B.C called Appian way is still in existence in Rome. The main characteristics of Roman roads were as follows: 1. They weary very thick. Total thickness of the road varied from about 0.7 m to as much as 1.2 m. 2. They were straight, without any regard for gradient. Probable reason for straightness may be their main use for army. 3. Roads were not built on soft soil formations but on hard stratum reached after excavation. Method of construction for Roman roads First of all loose soil was used to be removed from the site of the road and a trench, equal to width of carriage way excavated to depth so that hard stratum is reached. At the bottom of the trench one or two layers of large stones were laid in lime mortar. The thickness of this foundation layer ranged from 10 20 cm. Over this, 25 40 cm thick layer of lime concrete with large size broken stone aggregate was laid. Another layer again 25 to 40 cm of lime concrete but using comparatively small size broken stone aggregate was laid over the previously laid layer. Lastly 10 to 15 cm thick dressed large stone blocks, set in lime mortar were used as wearing course. Seeing thickness of the road, it is obvious that these roads must be very strong, but they cannot prove economical, when compared with modern design methods.

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1.2.2 Tresaquets roads Mr. Pierre Tresaquet was inspector general of roads in France from 1775 to 1785. He developed an improved method of road construction. The main feature of his work was that the thickness of the road was about 30 cm. He also made consideration of sub-grade moisture and drainage from the surface. He also emphasized the need for continuous maintenance of road to keep it in good shape. At the time of Napoleon, quite elaborate road system was developed in France mainly for use of military adventures. Method of construction for Tresaquets roads On the prepared sub-grade a layer of large foundation stones was laid, keeping all the stones on edge. At the edges of the road, a large size stone was laid length wise to give lateral support to the foundation layer. The interstices of the foundation stone layer were filled with stone aggregate of smaller size. Compacted thickness of this layer was about 8 cm. Lastly the top wearing course was laid of walnut sized stones and compacted to a thickness of about 5 cm. A cross slope of about 1 in 45 was used to be developed in the road surfaced by adjusting thickness mainly in top and intermediate layers. Lastly, shoulders were also given suitable cross slope, away from the edges of carriage way.

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1.2.4 John Metcalf roads (1717-1810) He was working in England at the time when Tresaquet was busy in France. He experimented road construction with a graded mixture of earth and gravel. Since Mr. Metcalf was blind, his work could not be recorded. But it is believed that he was following the procedure outlined by Robert Philips in 1737. Robert Philips method consisted of laying gravel layer upon a well drained and dried sub-grade. Gravel layer was used to be compacted in due course of time, by the action of the traffic using road. Metcalf constructed about 290 Km of road in northern parts of England. Telford roads (1757-1834) Thomas Telford was Scottish road engineer and founder of the institution of civil engineers. He used big size stones in foundation wearing from 17 22 cm to develop a firm base. He also provided cross drains under foundation layer to keep the sub-grade in dry condition. He proposed provision of cross drains at intervals of about 90 m. Total thickness of road advocated by him was about 38 cm. Construction Method for Telford roads A level sub-grade which may be on embankment or cutting was prepared in the required width. Telford adopted 9 mm width of the road. On the prepared sub-grade a layer of large size stone boulders, varying in size from 17 cm near the edges to a maximum size of about 22 cm at the centre of the width of the road was laid. Laying of the stones was done by packing. By using smaller size stone near the edges and larger size near centre, a cross slope, of 1 in 45 in road surface was developed. The interstices in this boulder foundation layer were filled with smaller stones and chippings and properly compacted.

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Now central width of about 5.5 m ( 18 ) of road was covered with intermediate coating consisting of two layers. The compacted thickness of first layer was about 10 cm and consisted of 6.5 cm size stone aggregate. The compacted thickness of second layer was about 5 cm and consisted of about 4 cm size stone. These layers were used to be rammed initially, but allowed to be compacted under traffic. No water was sprinkled during compaction. Only rain water was used to help compaction and consolidation of these layers. Over the intermediate coat, 4 cm thick gravel layer was used to act as blinding and wearing layer. The finished surface used to have a cross slope of 1 in 45. The remaining width of the foundation left untreated by intermediate coats (two layers), on either side, was treated by lime concrete. Lime was mixed with broken stone aggregate about 10-15 cm size to prepare lime concrete, to be laid on either side of the road. This treatment provided lateral stability to the road structure. 1.2.5 Macadam Roads ( 1756-1838 ) He, for the first time put forward entirely new concept of road construction in 1827. He was a Scottish engineer and was surveyor general of roads in England. Important characteristic of his concept are as follows: It was he who for the first time recognized the importance of subgrade compaction and drainage. To affect speedy surface drainage he recommended suitable cross slope for the sub-grade. It was he who realized for the first time that heavy foundation stones are not at all necessary. If sub-grade is prepared properly and kept well drained it can be very well bear the traffic load transmitted to it through foundation layer, having smaller

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compacted thickness of small size broken stones. He was of the opinion that a broken stone layer of few centimeter thickness can sustain mush heavier load than a thick layer of big size stones. Size of the aggregate to be used in wearing course was decided according to requirements of stability under the effect of vehicles. Method of Construction for Macadam roads Sub-grade was prepared and compacted to the required width of the road. Prepared sub-grade was given the same camber, as to given to the finished road surface. Construction of road according to Macadam method consists of three layers, namely, foundation layer, intermediate layer and wearing surface layer. Foundation layer was 10 cm thick (compacted) and was made from 5 cm size aggregate. Intermediate layer was also 10 cm thick (compacted) but made from aggregate passing 40 mm sieve. Lastly, wearing surface was made 5 cm thick (compacted) using aggregate passing 20 mm sieve. Cross slope of finished surface was kept as 1 in 36. In those days, there were no rollers to affect thorough compaction and interlocking, and hence, this action was used to be achieved by means of traffic. This was the reason that next layer could not only be laid once the previously laid layer gets thoroughly compacted. Macadam method was first scientific method based on modern concepts and hence is still in use in most parts of the world, though with certain modifications.

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Comparison Between Macadam and Telford Roads a. Telford roads are costlier than Macadam roads. b. In the case of Telford construction, sub-grade was kept horizontal due to which drainage of sub-grade was not proper. In the case of Macadam construction sub-grade was given 1 in 36 cross slope. This aspect helped in better sub-grade drainage. c. Large size stones were adopted by Telford for foundation. Size of stone varied from 17 cm near edges to 22 cm at the centre of the road. In the case of Macadam roads 5 cm was the maximum size of the aggregate used for foundation layer. d. Cross slope in Telford using smaller size stones at the edges and large size stones at the centre of the width-developed roads. Thicknesses of subsequent intermediate and surfacing layers, is kept constant for the full width of the road. In Macadam roads, required camber was given to the sub-grade itself and all the subsequent layers of aggregate including foundation layer of uniform thickness for the whole of the width of the road. e. Telford construction is carried out in four layers namely foundation layer, two layers of intermediate coat and 4 cm thick wearing top layer. Macadam construction is done in three layers. Two layers each of 13 cm compacted thickness as foundation layers and 5 cm thick surfacing layer. f. In Telford roads, camber given was 1 in 45 while in Macadam it was 1 in 36. g. Telfords foundation layer, being of larger sized stones, behaved like semi flexible road but Macadams base was yielding type and hence Macadam roads behaved like fully flexible roads. h. Total thickness of road structure was about 40 cm in case of Telford but only about 25 cm in case of Macadam.

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ACTIVITY 1

TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING BEFORE YOU CONTINUE WITH THE NEXT INPUT.! 1. Describe briefly the contribution of Tresaquet , Metcalf, Telford and Macadam to road improvement of a scientific nature. 2. Write short notes on the history of: a. b. c. Early basic roads Romans roads Moderns roads

3. Discuss the comparative specifications of Telford and Macadam road crust construction.

GOOD LUCK.

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FEEDBACK ON ACTIVITY 1

1. Pioneers contributions are : a. Tresaquet Developed an improvement method of road construction which feature of his work was that the thickness of the road was about 30 cm. The interstices of the foundation stone layer were filled with stone aggregate of smaller size and compacted thickness of this layer was about 8 cm. Top wearing course was laid of walnut sized stones and compacted to a thickness of about 5 cm. A cross slope of about 1 in 45 was used to be developed in the road surfaced by adjusting thickness mainly in top and intermediate layers. b. Metcalf Experimented road construction with a graded mixture of earth and gravel. Method consisted of laying gravel upon a well drained and dried sub-grade. It used to be compacted in due course of time, by the action of the traffic using road.

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c. Telford Used big sized stones in foundation wearing from 17-22 cm to develop a firm base Provided cross drains under foundation layer to keep the sub-grade in dry condition Level sub-grade on embankment or cutting was prepared in the required width. d. Macadam Using entirely new concept of road construction. Recognized the importance of sub-grade compaction and drainage Using a broken stone layer of few centimeter thickness can sustain much heavier load than a thick layer of big size stones Size of the aggregate to be used in wearing course was decided according to requirements of stability under the effect of vehicles. 2. a. Early roads. After invention of wheel, animal drawn bullock carts continued to be popular mode of transport for quite a long time. This necessitated providing hard surface for wheeled carts. The first hard surface was discovered in Mesopotamia at about 3500 B.C. Archeological findings in Mohanjodaro indicate that about 3500 B.C Street was paved.

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b. Romans roads. In the ancient Rome era, more intensive system of roads was developed. The roads radiating in many directions from Rome. Some of those roads are said to be a very elaborate construction. Many of the Roman roads are still in existence even after 2000 years. Romans were considered to be the pioneers in road construction. With the fall of Roman Empire, the road building technique became a lost art. c. Modern roads. In eighteenth century, improved construction methods for roads again began to develop. Mr. Pierre Tresaquet developed an improved method of construction in 1764 in France. At the time when Mr. Pierre Tresaquet was busy in developing his road construction method, Mr. John Metcalf was engaged in his development in England. Metcalf constructed about 290 Km road in northern region of England. Telford and Macadam were the pioneers in road development in England. Telford believed in using heavy foundation stones over the soil sub-grade, while Macadam advocated the use of compacted crushed aggregate layer at the bottom. Macadams method of road construction is still in use and is named after his name. 3. Comparison between Telford roads and Macadams roads are : a. Telford roads are costlier than Macadam roads. b. In the case of Telford construction, sub-grade was kept horizontal due to which drainage of sub-grade was not proper. In the case of Macadam construction sub-grade was given 1 in 36 cross slope. This aspect helped in better sub-grade drainage. c. Large size stones were adopted by Telford for foundation. Size of stone varied from 17 cm near edges to 22 cm at the centre of the

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road. In the case of Macadam roads 5 cm was the maximum size of the aggregate used for foundation layer. d. Cross slope in Telford roads was developed by using smaller size stones at the edges and large size stones at the centre of the width. Thicknesses of subsequent intermediate and surfacing layers, is kept constant for the full width of the road. In Macadam roads, required camber was given to the sub-grade itself and all the subsequent layers of aggregate including foundation layer of uniform thickness for the whole of the width of the road. e. Telford construction is carried out in four layers namely foundation layer, two layers of intermediate coat and 4 cm thick wearing top layer. Macadam construction is done in three layers. Two layers each of 13 cm compacted thickness as foundation layers and 5 cm thick surfacing layer. f. In Telford roads, camber given was 1 in 45 while in Macadam it was 1 in 36. g. Telfords foundation layer, being of larger sized stones, behaved like semi flexible road but Macadams base was yielding type and hence Macadam roads behaved like fully flexible roads. h. Total thickness of road structure was about 40 cm in case of Telford but only about 25 cm in case of Macadam.

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Question
1. Describe brie the characteristic of road transport.. 2. Describe the method of construction for Macadam roads. 3. Classify the modes of transportation used in Malaysia.

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Answer
1. The characteristics of road transport are as follows : i. Roads can be used by all sorts of vehicles like bullock carts, carriages, bicycles, scooters, cars, buses and lorries, etc. They are equally useful for pedestrians also. ii. Roads can lead to any remote place. iii. Investment on road transport by government is comparatively small. Maintenance of roads is also cheaper than rail-track, docks, harbors and airports. iv. There is complete freedom to road users to transfer the vehicles from one lane to another, or from one road to another according to the requirements. v. Local communication among villages, villages and towns is only possible through roads. vi. Movements on roads are not time bound, as in case of railways or airways. vii. Road transport is the only mode of transport that offers itself for the service of whole community alike.

2.

Method of Construction for Macadam roads

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Sub-grade was prepared and compacted to the required width of the road. Prepared sub-grade was given the same camber, as to given to the finished road surface. Construction of road according to Macadam method consists of three layers, namely, foundation layer, intermediate layer and wearing surface layer. Foundation layer was 10 cm thick (compacted) and was made from 5 cm size aggregate. Intermediate layer was also 10 cm thick (compacted) but made from aggregate passing 40 mm sieve. Lastly, wearing surface was made 5 cm thick (compacted) using aggregate passing 20 mm sieve. Cross slope of finished surface was kept as 1 in 36. In those days, there were no rollers to affect thorough compaction and interlocking, and hence, this action was used to be achieved by means of traffic. This was the reason that next layer could not only be laid once the previously laid layer gets thoroughly compacted. Macadam method was first scientific method based on modern concepts and hence is still in use in most parts of the world, though with certain modifications.

3.

Modes of transportation can be classified as follows: a. roadways or highways b. railways c. water ways d. airways