New Era University

Dr. Roger Antonio De Sesto

[HIGHWAY
ENGINEERING]
branch of civil engineering which deals in the location, design, construction,
maintenance, economics, financing, planning and programming of roads

Contents
HIGHWAY ENGINEERING.....................2
FIELD INFORMATION........................2
HIGHWAY GEOMETRIC DESIGN........2
DATA REQUIRED FOR AN INTELLIGENT GEOMETRIC DESIGN

DATA REQUIRED FOR AN INTELLIGENT STRUCTURAL DESIGN

BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN PREPARING THE DESIGN OF A HIGHWAY

DATA WOULD INCLUDE:...................3

HIGHWAY DESIGN STANDARDS...........5
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VEHICULAR AND ROAD CHARACTERISTICS

STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE.............5

PASSING SIGHT DISTANCE...............5
Problem........................................6
DESIGN DOCUMENTS......................6
SUPERELEVATION............................6
Problem........................................6
ROAD PAVEMENT................................7
PRIMARY ROLE OF ROAD PAVEMENT7
THICKNESS OF ROAD DEPENDS ON. 7
DESIGN PROCESS............................7
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAVEMENTS...7
FLEXIBLE & RIGID PAVEMENTS CHARACTERISTIC

10

THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FLEXIBLE, SEMI-RIGID, AND RIGID

PAVEMENT.....................................10
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT......................10

HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
HIGHWAY ENGINEERING branch of civil engineering which deals in the location, design,
construction, maintenance, economics, financing, planning and programming of roads.

Major considerations that are taken into account in the location of any highway
project between two terminals are:
1. the character and purpose of the road
2. the nature and volume of present and anticipated traffic
3. the amount of funds available for its construction
FIVE DISTINCT STATES THAT A MODERN HIGHWAY LOCATION PRACTICE
EMBRACES:
RECONNAISANCE the purpose of which is to eliminate costly locations and limit
the choice to one or two general routes between controls. This could be aided
effectively by studying available maps, examination of the ground as seen from
airplane, stereoscopic examination of aerial photographs, and ocular examination
of the site on foot.
ROUTE SELECTION the purpose of which is to flag the best location within the
general route which will more or less permit the predetermined grade controls.
Flagging is the procedure where the selected route is marked by blazing trees or
tying strips of cloth or flags to branches or to poles set on the ground. The resulting
route is called flag line.
PRELIMINARY SURVEY the purpose of preliminary survey is to get the topography
of the strip or strips flagged, which data will be utilized as the basic framework for
projection of the line in the office.
OFFICE PROJECTION the purpose of office projection is to fit as close as possible,
the best line into the terrain within the desired standards.
LOCATION SURVEY the purpose of the final location survey is to transfer the
paper projection determined in the office, from the topographic strip map to the
actual site in the field.

FIELD INFORMATION
During the stage of the location survey, it is intended to secure all field information
necessary for the preparation of plans and specifications and estimate so that after
the location survey the following data should be available for final design.
location centerline, location levels and cross-sections
the drainage survey

 soils and materials survey

bridge site survey
right-of-way and improvement survey

HIGHWAY GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Two aspects of highway design:
1.Geometric Design embraces the gradeline or profile, the alignment, including
curvature, and the width of the several component parts, including intersections
2.Structural Design embraces the thickness of pavements, base and stability of
foundations.

DATA REQUIRED FOR AN INTELLIGENT GEOMETRIC DESIGN

traffic density
character of traffic
design speed

DATA REQUIRED FOR AN INTELLIGENT STRUCTURAL DESIGN

Maximum expected wheel load to use the highway and volume of traffic
Soil classification
Minimum field compaction
Modulus of subgrade reaction

BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN PREPARING THE DESIGN OF A HIGHWAY

The design must be suitable for the traffic volume, both daily and at the design
peak hour, for the design speed, and for the character of the vehicles to use the
facility.
The design must be consistent and must avoid surprise changes in alignment,
grade and sight distance
The design must be pleasing to the user of the highway and to those who live
along it.
The design must be complete. Although the test of the function and the
attractiveness of the design will be reflected in the use of the highway, the
designer can ensure the effectiveness of his design, to a large degree, by allowing

for necessary roadside treatment and providing for control devices, such as lane
markers and special signs.
The design should be as simple as possible from the stand point of the builder.
Excessive changes in cross sectional design or the use of a variety of types within
a project, will in many cases, increase the cost and difficulty of construction
beyond the commensurate value of such uniqueness.
The design should be such that the finished road can be maintained at the least
cost and with the least trouble practicable.
The design must be safe for driving and should ensure confidence for the majority
of the drivers.
You are making a survey for a relocation of a highway. Outline briefly the data that
you would secure in the field for the design and preparation of the plans and
specifications.

DATA WOULD INCLUDE:

A study of the inadequacies of the present route including point of excessive grade
or curvature with a view to relocating only portions of the existing route.
A traffic survey to determine volume and type of traffic to aid in selecting type of
new facility.
A series of topographic strip maps covering the possible alternate routes.
A series of strip maps evaluating soil condition on the alternate routes.
A study of the natural drainage
A real-state map to predict possible cost of right-of way acquisition.
A study of the location of possible borrow pits or waste area.
A study of the location of water supplies where concrete is to be used as as paving
material.
An evaluation of the area as to possible future development of industrial areas.
For some types of facilities it would also be necessary to study scenic attraction as
the location of some routes would be affected by this.

HIGHWAY DESIGN STANDARDS

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VEHICULAR AND ROAD CHARACTERISTICS

Length

parking stall length

transit station platform length

Width

lane width
parking stall width
lateral clearance

Wheelbase lateral clearance on curves

intersection edge radii

Weight

structural design of surface

structural design of guideway
structural design of bridges

Acceleration/
Deceleration

maximum grade

minimum vertical grade length

horizontal curve radius

Speed

horizontal curve radius

minimum vertical curve length
maximum superelevation

Lift

runway length

STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE

The distance required to see an object 0.15 m high on the roadway.
The stopping sight distance s depends on the reaction time of the driver ( including
both perception time and time required to react physically ) and the braking
distance of the vehicle.
s = dr + db
dr = v * tr

PASSING SIGHT DISTANCE

The distance required to see an on coming vehicle of a certain minimum size.
It is intended to ensure that apassing maneuver can be completed safely under
under certain assumptions as to vehicle speeds and acceleration capabilities.
Passing sight distances are normally of concern on two-lane roadways, and need
not to be maintained everywhere on them; rather, the usual consideration is that
passing sight distance exist for a sufficient fraction of the highways length to
prevent driver impatience.

Stopping sight distance should be maintained at all points on the roadway.

Breaking distance varies from vehicle to vehicle depending upon the breaking
force, vehicle mass, and vehicle speed.

db = v2/ (2g(f+G))

db

v2/ 254f
v in KPH
db in meters

values of f and reaction times are chosen to be conservative and vary with design
speed

Problem
Determine minimum stopping sight distance on a
speed of 110 km/h. From Table: f=0.28

-3.5% grade for a design

Answer: 270.8m

DESIGN DOCUMENTS
The plan
The profile
The geometric cross section
The superelevation diagram

SUPERELEVATION
The purpose of superelevation or banking of curves is to counteract the centripetal
acceleration produced as avehicle rounds a curve.
e =( v2 / gR) f
e = (v 2 / 127R) f
v in km/h and R in meters
Problem
What is the minimum radius of curvature allowable for a roadway with a 100 km/h
design speed, assuming that the maximum allowable superelevation rate is 0.12%.
Compare this with the minimum curve radius recommended by AASHTO. What is
the maximum superelevation rate allowable under AASHTO recommended
standard for a 100km/h speed if the value of f is the maximum allowed by AASHTO
for this speed. Round the number to the nearest whole percent.
Ans. 328m , 4%

ROAD PAVEMENT
Design, Types, Flexible & Rigid Comparison

PRIMARY ROLE OF ROAD

PAVEMENT
Provide friction
Distribute stresses to underlying soils

THICKNESS OF ROAD DEPENDS ON

Vehicle wheel load or axle load.
Configuration of vehicle wheels or tracks.
Volume of traffic during the design life of pavement.
Soil strength.
Modulus of rupture (flexural strength) for concrete pavements.

DESIGN PROCESS
Foundation Design
Thickness Design

DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAVEMENTS

Flexible

 Perpetual Pavement

Rigid

 Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP)

 Concrete Pavement Contraction Design (CPCD)

Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP)

 Post-tensioned Concrete Pavements

(Prestressed Concrete)

 Composite Pavement

FLEXIBLE & RIGID PAVEMENTS CHARACTERISTIC

Different manner in distributing traffic loads over the subgrade
Rigid Pavement is very high in stiffness and distributes loads over a relatively wide
area of subgrade

 Flexible Pavement is less in stiffness and absorbs the loads effectively but with
narrow distribution of load in subgrade

THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FLEXIBLE, SEMI-RIGID,

AND RIGID PAVEMENT

load distribution over the subgrade

The rigid and semi-rigid pavement has a higher composite modulus of elasticity
than a flexible pavement and begins to resemble the rigid structure in terms of
how the traffic loads are distributed over the subgrade.

FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
Made from several layer of materials that receives loads from above layer, spreads
and passes the loads to the bottom layer to reduce the stress
Hot Mixed Asphalt (HMA) is the specific material used by flexible or semi-rigid
pavements