ABSTRACT

Rapid increase in the population is one of the basic reasons for the
extension of Islamabad, where masses have been provided with all sort of
multidimensional living standards. In order to meet the international standards
CDA is joining hands with certain privatized housing authorities like BAHRIA
TOWN, DHA etc. The luxurious living facilities provided by these authorities are
making them more and more attractive among the masses which are leading
towards their extension. DHA is one of the most emerging housing authority
which is changing the face of living concepts in Pakistan through a holistic yet
progressive concepts of “DHA community system” by extending a total
experience in living, housing and different levels and options for investment
and commercial activities under a controlled and dependable environment. In
order to facilitate more and more population, DHA is developing a new phase
named as DHA phase lV in Islamabad to whom’s infrastructure, our project is
concerned. The infrastructure of a housing scheme is what makes it, in many
ways, a good or bad place to live and work. It's the physical or structural part
of a locality.

Our aim is to sort the geometric and structural design of roadways in

this phase. We are provided with the town planning of this phase. The
proposed project is to design the road network on eagle point and to determine
the geometric cross sections, horizontal alignment, vertical alignment,
intersections, and various design details. The scope of this project is to provide
safe, efficient, rapid, convenient and comfortable transportation for users.
 INTRODUCTION

Geometric Design:

Geometric design for transportation facilities includes the design of

geometric cross Sections, horizontal alignment, vertical alignment,
intersections, and various design Details. These basic elements are common to
all linear facilities, such as roadways, Railways, and airport runways and
taxiways. Although the details of design standards vary with the mode and the
class of facility, most of the issues involved in geometric design are similar for
all modes. The design of these features is to a great extent influenced by driver
behavior and psychology, vehicle characteristics, traffic characteristics such as
speed and volume. In all cases, the goals of geometric design are to maximize
the comfort, safety, and economy of facilities, while minimizing their
environmental impacts.
It is possible to design and construct the pavement of a road in stages;
but it is very expensive and rather difficult to improve the geometric elements
of a road in stages at a later date. Therefore it is important to plan and design
the geometric features of the road during the initial alignment itself taking into
consideration the future growth of traffic flow and possibility of the road being
upgraded to a higher category or to a higher design speed standard at a later
stage.

Historic Background
DHA:
Defence Housing Authority, Islamabad-Rawalpindi is a housing society
located in the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Due to the location of the
housing society, the name was considered controversial and confusing.
However, Defense Housing Authority recently updated its name on 19 March
2013. It has now been established that Phase I and Phase I Extension is
located in the city of Rawalpindi, while the rest of the land (Phase II and Phase
II Extension) in Zone V of the capital city Islamabad. It was primarily
established for Defence service personnel in 1992 by Armed Forces of Pakistan
welfare department. It is spread over an area of about 97, 903 Kanals (50 sq.
Km).

DHA Islamabad-Rawalpindi is subdivided in five phases:

 Phase I
 Phase I Extension
 Phase II
 Phase II Extension
 DHA Valley
 Phase III
 Phase IV

DHA Phase IV:

After incorporating Askari XIV and additional land relinquished by foreign

construction company, contract for re-design and development has been
signed. Phase 4 is spread over an area of 16750 kanals, which is distributed as
under:

 Area allocated for Part1 PH-IV 5143 Kanals

 Area allocated for Part2 PH-IV under development 8832 Kanals
 Area Allocated for Housing Directorate 1607 Kanals

The project is being developed along meandering spinal road that

connects the area to both DHA Phase-I housing towards north and Rawalpindi
M2 Motorway link towards the south. The natural topography has been
respected to the greatest possible extent while trying to achieve a viable
number of plots and an economical and well-engineered infrastructure of civic
and municipal services.
Services that will be provided in this phase includes Residential and
Commercial plots, Health centers Mosques , Fire station , Police station
,Telephone Exchange, Graveyard , Electric Grid station , Sewerage Treatment
Plant, Club houses , Sports Complex. The development work has commenced
in Part 1.
Objectives

 To study the natural site conditions of DHA Phase IV

 To study the survey file provide by NICE, including the town planning as
well as the elevation of the points.
 Geometric and structural design of pavement network using eagle point
software.
 To provide optimum efficiency in traffic operation and maximum safety at
reasonable cost.
 Literature Review
Introduction:
The geometric design of highways deals with the dimensions and layout
of visible features of the highway. According to Road Geometric Design Manual
(2012), the road geometric design has the following objectives:
 To design a road that provides, in a cost-effective and safe manner, an
adequate level of service to meet the needs of all road users, including
pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
 Determine within the allowance permitted by the design standard and
road reserve, the routing of the proposed road.
 Incorporate, within the design standard, various physical features of the
road alignment to ensure that drivers have sufficient view of the road
(and obstacles) ahead for them to adjust their speed of travel to maintain
safety and ride quality.
 Provide a basis for the road designer to evaluate and plan for the
construction of a section of the proposed road.
The design features that are normally considered are the cross section
elements, sight distance consideration, horizontal curvature, gradients, and
intersection. The design of these features is to a great extent influenced by
driver behavior and psychology, vehicle characteristics, traffic characteristics
such as speed and volume. Proper geometric design will help in the reduction
of accidents and their severity. Therefore, the objective of geometric design is to
provide optimum efficiency in traffic operation and maximum safety at
reasonable cost. The planning cannot be done stage wise like that of a
pavement, but has to be done well in advance. The main components that will
be discussed are:
 Factors affecting the geometric design,
 Highway alignment, road classification,
 Pavement surface characteristics,
  Cross-section elements including cross slope, various widths of roads
and features in the road margins.
 Sight distance elements including cross slope, various widths and
features in the road margins.
 Horizontal alignment which includes features like super elevation,
transition curve, extra widening and set back distance.
 Vertical alignment and its components like gradient, sight distance and
design of length of curves.
 Intersection features like layout, capacity, etc.

Factors affecting geometric design:

A number of factors affect the geometric design and they are discussed in
detail in the following sections.

 Design speed
 Topography
 Vehicle
 Human
 Traffic
 Environmental
 Economy

Design Speed:

According to AASHTO, design speed is defined as, “the maximum safe

speed that can be maintained over a specified section of highway when
conditions are so favorable that the design feature of the road govern.”

The main factors by which design speed can be determined are:

 Sight distance
 Radius
 Super elevation
  Friction of the road element

Topography:

It is easier to construct roads with required standards for a plain terrain.

However, for a given design speed, the construction cost increases multiform
with the gradient and the terrain. Therefore geometric design standards are
different for different terrain to keep the cost of construction and time of
construction under control. This is characterized by sharper curves and
steeper gradients.

Vehicle:

The dimensions, weight of axle and operating characteristics of a vehicle

influence the design aspects such as width of pavement, radii of curve,
clearances, parking geometrics etc. affect the design. A design vehicle which
has standard weight, dimensions and operating characteristics are used to
establish highway design controls to accommodate vehicles of a designated
type.

Human:

The important human factors that influence geometric design are the
physical, mental and psychological characteristics of the driver and pedestrians
like the reaction time.

Traffic:

It will be uneconomical to design the road for peak traffic flow. Therefore
a reasonable value of traffic volume is selected as the design hourly volume
which is determined from the various traffic data collected. The geometric
design is thus based on this design volume, capacity etc.
Environmental effects:

Environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, animal habitats,

nature conservation areas, etc. impose certain limitations when choosing
locations for transportation facilities. Aesthetic issues must be considered.
When designing a road through a scenic area, the general view of area should
not be obstructed. Preserving the natural environment and ensuring
community livability is an essential consideration when designing a new
roadway.

Economy:

The design adopted should be economical as far as possible. It should

match with the funds allotted for capital cost and maintenance cost.

Highway alignment and Road classification:

Roads have two basic traffic service functions which, from a design
standpoint, are incompatible. These functions are:

 To provide traffic mobility between centers and areas; and

 To provide access to land and properties adjoining the roads.

For roads whose major function is to provide mobility, i.e. to cater for
through and long-distance traffic, high and uniform speeds and uninterrupted
traffic flows are desirable. For roads whose major function is to provide land
access, high speeds are unnecessary and, for safety reasons, undesirable.
Thus, the function of a particular road in the national and district road
network has a significant impact on the design criteria to be chosen, and the
designer has to give careful consideration to this aspect in the early stages of
the design process. The following steps are required:

 Classification of the road in accordance with its major function.

 Determination of the level of access control compatible with the function
of the road.
  Selection of geometric design standards compatible with function and
level of access control

The figure illustrates that local roads facilitates emphasize the land
access function. Arterial for main movement or distribution emphasize the high
level of mobility for through movement. Collectors offer approximately balance
service for both functions.

The position or the layout of the central line of the road on the ground is
called the alignment. Horizontal alignment includes straight and curved paths.
Vertical alignment includes level and gradients. Alignment decision is
important because a bad alignment will enhance the construction,
maintenance and vehicle operating cost. Once an alignment is fixed and
constructed, it is not easy to change it due to increase in cost of adjoining land
and construction of costly structures by the roadside.

Requirements for an ideal alignment:

 The alignment between two terminal stations should be short and as far
as possible be straight, but due to some practical considerations
deviations may be needed.
 The alignment should be easy to construct and maintain. It should be
easy for the operation of vehicles. So to the maximum extend easy
gradients and curves should be provided.
 It should be safe both from the construction and operating point of view
especially at slopes, embankments, and cutting. It should have safe
geometric features.
 The alignment should be economical and it can be considered so only
when the initial cost, maintenance cost, and operating cost is minimum.

Pavement Surface Characteristics:

The pavement structure refers to the material and depth of base and
pavement placed on the finished subgrade. The basic purpose of the pavement
surface is:

 Provide a smooth-riding, skid-resistant roadway surface,

 Minimize the necessary subgrade width and the overall depth of material
necessary for the design service life of the pavement,
 Design the top portion of the subgrade to utilize the highest strength
material available from the earthwork grading, and
 Design the roadway and overall geometric cross section to fully optimize,
support and integrate the pavement structure design.
Cross section elements:

A road cross section will normally consist of the roadway, drainage

features, earthwork profiles and clear zones. The whole cross section, including
the clear zone is defined as the road reserve.

For a one or two lane road, the roadway is the portion of the road,
consisting of the shoulders and the carriageway. The carriageway is the portion
of the road used for the movement of vehicles exclusive of shoulders.
Earthwork profiles are the side and back slopes of the road cross section. The
figure mentioned below illustrates the various components of the cross-section
for a two lane road.

Lateral Clearance:

The lateral clearance is the minimum distance between the edge of the
traffic lane, the footway or cycle way and the nearest fixed object. Fixed objects
must not be so close as to discourage the driver from making full use of the
traffic lane or risk of them being hit by passing vehicles. According to Road
geometric design manual (2012), minimum lateral clearance for different
vehicles will be:
Road Width:

Road width should be sufficient to carry the traffic efficiently and safely.
The selection of lane width is based on traffic volume and vehicle type and
speed. High traffic volumes and speeds require wider lanes, and the widest lane
width recommended is 3.75 m. The narrowest lane width recommended for
national roads is 3.25 m, giving a clear space of approximately 0.35 m on
either side of a vehicle that is 2.5 m wide.

Shoulders:

A shoulder is the portion of the roadway that runs parallel to the

carriageway for the following functions:

 To provide lateral support of pavement structures;

 To provide emergency space for vehicles that need to be rescued;
 To enable non-motorized traffic (pedestrian and cyclist) to travel with
minimum encroachment on the carriageway; and
 To enable drivers to recover control.

Dimensions on the basis of road design classes:

A number of standardized road design classes have been defined in the

Road Geometric design manual (2012). These are shown in Table below, where
the dimensions of the cross sections for each design class are given.
Side slope & Back Slope:

Side-slopes should be designed to ensure the stability of the roadway and

to provide a reasonable opportunity for recovery of an out-of-control vehicle.
Three areas of the roadside are important when evaluating the safety aspects:

 The top of the slope (hinge point)

 The side slope, and
 The toe of the slope (intersection of the fore slope with level ground or
with a back slope, forming a ditch)
Drainage:

Drainage is the most important factor in determining the technical

performance of a road. When roads fail, it is often due to inadequacies in
drainage. Drainage problems can be grouped into two general categories:
surface and subsurface.

 Surface drainage deals with collection, transportation and disposal of

surface water on the roadway and near the roadway. The water is usually
either runoff from rainfall or from streams bordering or crossing the road
reserve.
 Subsurface drainage is concerned with water in pavement layers and
underlying soils. It deals with the interception and control of such water
which may flow laterally under the influence of gravity or rise vertically
by capillary action to soften the foundation soils.

In drawing up a drainage plan information concerning the following factors

is essential.

 Hydrological consideration such as maximum rainfall and intensity, rate

of runoff and nature and amount of stream flow.
 Characteristics of the drainage basin (area to be drained) such as size,
shape, general slope, nature and type of vegetation and land use (existing
and future).
 Nature and type of basin soils including their permeability and tendency
to erode.

Water is drained from the carriageway and shoulders by virtue of the cross-
fall or transverse slope and longitudinal grade. Such water is either allowed to
flow down the face of the side slope (for small embankments) or collected at the
edge of the shoulder by the use of kerbs, dykes or paved ditches and carried
longitudinally for disposal at a convenient place.
 Generally trapezoidal shape ditches with side slope of 1 in 1 to 1 in 4
(depending upon soil type) and bottom width of 0.6 to 2.5m (depending upon
excavation method) are used. The minimum depth of ditches should be 0.5m
measured from the bottom of the ditch to the formation level. To assure flow,
ditches should have minimum longitudinal slope of 0.5 percent if unpaved and
0.3 percent if paved. Key points to consider in the design of safe side drains
are:

 There should be sufficient discharge points and culverts to ensure that

the drain never gets very deep;
 With open drains, the slope next to the road should as much as possible
be flat enough to reduce the risk of errant vehicles overturning;
 In built-up areas channel drains deeper than 500mm should be covered
or under-drain system be used for the safety and convenience of both
pedestrians and vehicles;
 The drain should terminate or discharge in a satisfactory manner
without risk of causing erosion or other problems; and,
 The drain should be capable of being cleaned and maintained easily.

Median drains not only drain the median but also, in the case of a
horizontal curve, prevent water from the higher carriageway flowing in a sheet
across the lower carriageway. The transverse slopes should be in the range of
1:4 to 1:10. Unlike side drains, median drains, are generally constructed with a
shallow V-profile with the bottom gently rounded.

Subsurface drainage:

The road base must be designed either to exclude water completely or

alternatively to permit egress of water which has entered. When impermeable
bases such as stabilized soils or densely graded bituminous concrete are used,
drainage of base is not necessary. When permeable and porous base materials
are used, particular attention must be paid to the drainage of the base layer.
The base and sub-base should extend the full width across the roadway and
the surface of the sub-base layer given adequate cross fall to assist drainage.

Clear Zone:

The clear zone is a safety zone adjacent to the traffic lanes. The following
clear zone widths measured from the edge of the traffic lane, are considered to
give an acceptable standard of safety.

The clear zone widths given in above table should be increased at sharp
bends on high-speed roads by a correction factor to be obtained from Figure
below depending on the radius of curve.

Footways & Cycle ways:

The conventional practice is to assume that pedestrians and cyclists can

use the shoulders, but it is much safer for them to be on a separate footway, or
combined footway/cycle way. At high flows there can be conflicts between
cyclists and pedestrians, but these are not as dangerous as conflicts with
motor vehicles. Combined footways/cycle ways should be 3.0m wide (2.0m
absolute minimum). It is important for footway and cycle way surfaces to be at
least as smooth as the adjacent traffic lanes and shoulders.

Sight Distance:

Sight distance is the distance visible to the driver of a passenger car. For
roadway safety, the designer must provide sight distances of sufficient length to
ensure that drivers can control the operation of their vehicles when driving on
the road. The below mentioned table is taken from road geometric design
manual (2012), which gives the sight distance on level ground.
 Sight distance required on horizontal and vertical curves are calculated
by using appropriate formulas.
Alignment of roadway:

Horizontal Alignment:

The design elements of a horizontal alignment are the tangent (straight

section), the circular curve, the transition curve (spiral curve) and the super
elevation section.

Tangent Section:

The tangent section is the straight section of the road before meeting the
curved sections and after departing from the curved sections. The straight
sections have an advantage of providing good Sight Distances for passing and
stopping. However they have disadvantage of causing headlights glare and
accidents due to fatigue and over speeding. It is therefore recommended that
the length of straights on a road should not exceed 2 kilometers. Short
straights between curves turning in the same direction could cause a “broken
back” effect and therefore should be avoided.

Circular curve:

Circular curves are introduced between the tangents to facilitate for

smooth movement during change of direction. It is recommended that circular
curves should be long enough to avoid kink appearance. The below mentioned
table summarizes the values for minimum Radii which shall be applied to
curves on bituminous surface roads in geometric design.
Transition Curve:

On highways with design speed of 45 mph or greater, a motor vehicle

does not follow a path that is parallel to the center line of the road when
traveling from a tangent section into a horizontal curve, or vice versa. This
steering change cannot be adjusted instantly. Therefore, to make this
transition from tangent to curve as smoothly as possible, it is recommended to
use spiral curves when super elevation rates are 3 percent or greater. A spiral
curve is a curve with a variable radius.

Super Elevation:

Vehicles passing around circular curves are forced out of the curves by
centrifugal forces. Super elevation is the raising of the edges of a road towards
the center of a horizontal curve in order to counteract centrifugal forces. The
maximum rate of super elevation for bituminous roads shall be 0.08 (8%) for
flat, rolling and hilly terrain and 0.06 (6%) for mountainous terrain. For gravel
roads the maximum rate of super elevation shall not exceed 0.06 (6%). In
urban areas where traffic congestion or extensive marginal development acts to
curb top speeds, it is common practice to utilize a low maximum rate of super
elevation, usually 4%.

Vertical Alignment:

Vertical alignment consist of gradients (straights) connected to vertical

curves which are normally parabolic. During the design of the vertical
alignment it is important to ensure that the gradients provided comply with
maximum gradients for the design speed. The designer shall also ensure that
the lengths of the grades do not exceed the critical lengths given in the road
geometric design manual as shown below in table:

Recommended maximum grades are given in table below:

Coordination of Horizontal and Vertical Alignment:

Alignment coordination should start at the preliminary design stage.

Some major points on alignment coordination which need to be considered
during road design are described in the road geometric design manual which
are listed below:

 The best alignment is obtained when the horizontal and vertical curves
are separated in design. However due to the fact that it is practically
difficult to separate the horizontal and vertical curves, a satisfactory
alignment can be obtained when the intersection points of vertical and
horizontal curves nearly coincide or are within about 10% of the
horizontal curve length. The start of the horizontal curve is then clearly
visible to the driver.
 A larger number of horizontal intersection points than vertical points is
undesirable. And where the horizontal alignment is straight, a sequence
of closely spaced crest and sag curves must be avoided as it may appear
as horizontal but may hide oncoming traffic.
 The beginning of a horizontal curve shall always fall within the available
sight distance. Thus, a horizontal curve should never be introduced near
the top or end of a sharp crest curve. The same applies for sharp
horizontal curves at the bottom of steep grades.
 On dual carriageways, variations in the width of the median and the use
of separate horizontal and vertical alignment should be considered to
derive the design and operational advantage of one-way roads. Another
advantage is a possible reduction of construction cost by being able to fit
each section separately to the terrain.
 Sharp horizontal curves should not be placed near low points of vertical
curves. This violates driver expectations as operating speeds are higher
on bottom of the curve.
 Flatten both Vertical and Horizontal curves near intersections to enhance
sight distances.