CIV3703 Transport Engineering

Module 4 – Traffic Analysis

Part C
4.15 Two-lane highways

One travel lane in each direction, and generally

undivided
Free flow speed ranging from 60 to 100 kmph
May have signals or stop signs
Overtaking of slower vehicles requires use of
opposing traffic lane (except where passing lanes
are provided)
Average travel speed and time that vehicles are
traveling behind slower vehicles are used in LOS
Classification of two-lane highways
Class I: Serves primary arterials, daily commuter routes, and
links to other state or national highway networks. Motorists’
expectation are that travel will be at relatively high speeds

Source: HCM2010
Classification of two-lane highways
Class II: Serves as access to Class I highways. Also serves as
scenic byways and can be used by motorists for sightseeing;
some are located in rough terrain

Source: HCM2010
Classification of two-lane highways
Class III: Serves moderately developed areas. They may be a
portion of a Class I or II highway passing through a small town or
a recreational area

Source: HCM2010
Base condition for Two-lane highway
traffic lanes are 3.6 m wide or greater
clear shoulder widths are 1.8 m or greater
overtaking permitted with absence of no-passing
zones where the sight distance along the road is
greater than 450 m
traffic consists of passenger cars only
a 50/50 directional split of traffic occurs
no restrictions occur due to traffic control or
turning vehicles
terrain is level
all familiar drivers
Capacity

If ideal conditions met, capacity of two-lane

highway for each direction is:1700 pc/hour.

The capacity will not exceed 3,200 pc/h for both

directions of travel (combined).
Peak Hour Factor (PHF)
Hourly flow: Maximum flow in 24 hours
PHF represents the variation in traffic flow within
an peak hour.

Estimation of PHF
PHF = Hourly Count/(4 x Highest 15-min Count)
Example

PHF = (1750+1700+2000+1800)/(4x2000)
= 0.91
Level of service criteria
Average travel speed (ATS):
Space mean speed of vehicles in the traffic stream. Space mean speed
is the segment length divided by average time for all vehicles to
traverse the segment in both directions (Space mean speed)

Percent time-spent-following another vehicle (PTSF):

Average percentage of time that vehicles are traveling behind slower
vehicles. When the headway is less than 3 seconds, the trailing vehicle
is considered to be following the lead vehicle

Percent of free-flow speed (PFFS):

Measure of the ability of vehicles to travel at the posted speed limit
(Ratio of ATS to FFS where FFS - approximately speed limit or equal to
the mean speed of passenger cars operating in flow rates up to 200
pcph-both directions)
LOS criteria for two-lane highways

Class I
Both ATS and PTSF Must be calculated
Class II
Only PTSF must be calculated
Class III
Only PFFS (and ATS) must be calculated
LOS criteria for two-lane highways

Examples: given - PTSF = 54%; ATS = 75 km/h & PFFS = 82%

1) If Two-lane highways is Class I
PTSFLOS = C; and ATS  LOS = C
Finalised LOS = C (poorest from the both)
2) If highway is Class II with PTSF = 54%, then LOS = B
3) If highway is Class III with PFFS = 82%, then LOS = C
LOS and Capacity determination
Collect input data:
Geometric data (shoulder, lane width,
terrain, grade, access points, passing zone)
Demand volume (veh/h, PHF, HV(T & RV),
directional split)
Highway class (I, II, or III)
Base free-flow speed (BFFS) or field
measurements
Estimate Free-Flow speed

𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑆 − 𝑓𝐴 (Equation 4.3)

Where:

FFS = free-flow speed for the facility, km/h

BFFS =base free-flow speed for the facility, km/h (estimated from the
similar facility types)
𝑓𝐿𝑆 = adjustment for lane and shoulder width, km/h (see Table 4.3)
𝑓𝐴 = adjustment for access point density, km/h (see Table 4.4)
Example
Calculate the estimated free flow speed of a class III two lane highway
segment if the BFFS is known to be 80 kmph, lane width are 3.3 m,
shoulder widths are 1.2 m, and access point density of the analysis
segment is 9 points per km.

Solution
FFS = 80 – 2.8 – 6 = 71.2 kmph
Average Travel Speed (ATS)

𝐴𝑇𝑆𝑑 = 𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 0.0125 𝑣𝑑,𝐴𝑇𝑆 + 𝑣𝑜,𝐴𝑇𝑆 − 1.6 𝑓𝑛𝑝,𝐴𝑇𝑆 (Equation 4.7)

Where:
𝐴𝑇𝑆𝑑 - average travel speed in the direction of analysis, km/h.
𝐹𝐹𝑆 - free-flow speed, km/h
𝑣𝑑,𝐴𝑇𝑆 - demand flow rate for ATS determination in the direction of analysis, pc/h
𝑣𝑜,𝐴𝑇𝑆 - demand flow rate for ATS determination in the opposing direction, pc/h
𝑓𝑛𝑝,𝐴𝑇𝑆 - adjustment for ATS determination for the percentage of "No Passing" zones in the
analysis direction (mi/h) (see Table 4.7)
Demand Flow Rate (based on ATS)
𝑉𝑖
𝑣𝑖,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = (Equation 4.4)
𝑃𝐻𝐹×𝑓𝑔,𝐴𝑇𝑆 ×𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆
Where:
𝑣𝑖,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = demand flow rate ‘i’ for ATS estimation (pc/h)
𝑖 = ‘d’ (analysis direction) and ‘o’ (opposing direction)
𝑉𝑖 = demand volume for direction ‘i’, veh/h
𝑓𝑔,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = grade adjustment to ATS (Table 4.5a or Table 4.5b)
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = heavy vehicle adjustment factor, from Equation 4.5
PHF = Peck hour factor (both directions of flow combined)

Heavy Vehicle Adjustment factor for ATS estimation

1
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = (Equation 4.5)
1+𝑃𝑇 𝐸𝑇 −1 +𝑃𝑅 (𝐸𝑅 −1)

Where:

𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆 - heavy vehicle adjustment factor for ATS estimation

𝑃𝑇 - proportion of trucks in the traffic stream (decimal)
𝑃𝑅 - proportion of RVs in the traffic stream
𝐸𝑇 - passenger car equivalent for trucks (see Tables 4.6a & 4.6b)
𝐸𝑅 - Passenger car equivelant for Recreational Vehicles (RVs) (see Table 4.6a &4.6c)
Tables for ATS based

𝑓𝑔,𝐴𝑇𝑆
Tables for ATS based
Example 4.2
Input data is as follows:
Volume = 1600 veh/h (two-way)
Percent truck = 14
Percent RV = 4
PHF = 0.95
Rolling terrain
Percent directional split = 50/50
50% no-passing zones in the analysis segment (both direction)
Access points =12 per km
BFFS = 106 kmph
Lane width = 3.3 m
Shoulder width = 1.2 m

Determine the LOS and Capacity for Class I – two-lane highway.

Solution
Step 1: Estimate FFS

Base Free Flow Speed =106 kmph

Shoulder = 1.2m; lane with = 3.3 m
Access points = 12 per km

𝐹𝐹𝑆 = 𝐵𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 𝑓𝐿𝑆 − 𝑓𝐴

𝑓𝐿𝑆 = 2.8 (from Table 4.3)
𝑓𝐴 = 8.0 (from Table 4.4)

FFS = 106 – 2.8 – 8.0 = 95.2 km/h

Step 2: Compute demand adjustment for ATS

𝑉𝑑 = 𝑉𝑜 = 1600/2 = 800 vpd ( directional split = 50:50)

Rolling terrain; PHF =0.95

𝑓𝑔,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = 0.99 (from Table 4.5a for Rolling terrain)

𝐸𝑇 = 1.4 (from Table 4.6a)

𝐸𝑅 = 1.1 (from Table 4.6a)

1
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = (Equation 4.5)
1+𝑃𝑇 𝐸𝑇 −1 +𝑃𝑅 (𝐸𝑅 −1)

1
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = = 0.943
1 + 0.14 1.4 − 1 + 0.04(1.1 − 1)
𝑉𝑖
𝑣𝑖,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = (Equation 4.4)
𝑃𝐻𝐹×𝑓𝑔,𝐴𝑇𝑆 ×𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆

800
𝑣𝑑,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = = 902 pc/h = 𝑣𝑜,𝐴𝑇𝑆
0.95×0.99×0.943
Step 3: Estimate ATS

𝐴𝑇𝑆 = 𝐹𝐹𝑆 − 0.0125 𝑣𝑑 + 𝑣𝑜 − 1.6 𝑓𝑛𝑝

From Table 4.7, for 𝑣𝑜,𝐴𝑇𝑆 = 902 pc/h; FFS=95.2 km/h (or 60mile/h); 50% no-passing
zones )

𝑓𝑛𝑝 = [(0.9+0.7)/2+(1.1+0.9)/2] / 2 = 0.9

ATS = 95.2 – 0.0125 (902+902) – 1.6x 0.9 = 71.2 km/h

(1 mile/h = 1.6 km/h)

Percent Time-Spent-Following (PTSF)

Once the demand flows from estimating PTSF, and BPTSF are
computed, the PTSF is estimated using Equation 4.11

𝑣𝑑,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹
𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹𝑑 = 𝐵𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹𝑑 + 𝑓𝑛𝑝,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 (Equation 4.11)
𝑣𝑑,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 + 𝑣𝑜,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹

Where:

𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹𝑑 - percent time spent following in the analysis direction (%)

𝐵𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹𝑑 - base percent time spent following in the analysis direction, computed from
Equation 4.10
𝑣𝑑,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 - demand flow rate in analysis direction for the estimation of PTSF (pc/h)
𝑣𝑜,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 - demand flow rate in opposing direction for the estimation of PTSF(pc/h)
𝑓𝑛𝑝,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 - adjustment to PTSF for the percentage of no-passing zones in analysis
segments (%) (Table 4.11)
Demand Flow Rate (based on PTSF)
𝑉𝑖
𝑣𝑖,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = (Equation 4.8)
𝑃𝐻𝐹×𝑓𝑔,𝑃𝑇𝐹𝑆 ×𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹
Where:
𝑣𝑖,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = demand flow rate ‘i’ for PTSF determination (pc/h)
𝑖 = ‘d’ (analysis direction) or ‘o’ (opposing direction)
𝑉𝑖 = demand volume for direction ‘i’, veh/h
𝑓𝑔,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = grade adjustment for PTSF determination (see Table 4.8a or Table 4.8b)
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = heavy vehicle adjustment factor, from Equation 4.7

Heavy Vehicle Adjustment factor

1
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = (Equation 4.9)
1+𝑃𝑇 𝐸𝑇 −1 +𝑃𝑅 (𝐸𝑅 −1)

Where:
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 - heavy vehicle adjustment factor for PTSF determination
𝑃𝑇 - proportion of trucks in the traffic stream (decimal)
𝑃𝑅 - proportion of RVs in the traffic stream
𝐸𝑇 - passenger car equivalents for trucks (see Table 4.9a or 4.9b)
𝐸𝑅 - passenger car equivalents for Recreational Vehicles (RVs) (see Table 4.9a or 4.9b)
Tables for PTSF based
Tables for PTSF based
Table 4.11 No-Passing adjustment factor (𝒇𝒏𝒑,𝑷𝑻𝑺𝑭 in %) for determination of PTSF
Base percent time-spent-following (BPTSF)
The base percent time-spent-following (BPTSF) applies to base
condition is estimated by Equation 4.10
𝑏
BPTSFd = 100(1 − exp(𝑎. 𝑣𝑑,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 )) (Equation 4.10)

Where:
a, b = calibration constants drawn from Table 4.10, and all other terms are as
previously defined.
All other terms are as previously defined.
Example 4.2
Input data is as follows:
Volume = 1600 veh/h (two-way)
Percent truck = 14
Percent RV = 4
PHF = 0.95
Rolling terrain
Percent directional split = 50/50
50% no-passing zones in the analysis segment (both direction)
Access points =12 per km
BFFS = 106 kmph
Lane width = 3.3 m
Shoulder width = 1.2 m

Determine the LOS and Capacity for Class I – two-lane highway.

Step 4: Compute demand adjustment for PTSF

𝑓𝑔,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 1.00 (800 vph; Rolling; from Table 4.8a)

ET = 1.0 (Table 4.9a)

ER = 1.0 (Table 4.9a)

1
𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 1+0.14 =1 (Equation 4.9)
1−1 +0.04(1−1)

𝑉𝑖
𝑣𝑖,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 𝑃𝐻𝐹×𝑓 (Equation 4.8)
𝑔,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 ×𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹

800
𝑣𝑑,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 0.95×1.00×1.00 = 842 pc/h

800
𝑣𝑜,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 0.95×1.00×1.00 = 842 pc/h
Step 5: estimate PTSF

BPTSFd = 100(1 − exp(avdb )) (Equation 4.10)

a = -0.0046 and b = 0.832 (v =842 pc/h, from Table 4.10)

BPTSFd = 100(1 − exp(−0.0046 × 8420.832 ))=71.3%

vd,PTSF
PTSFd = BPTSFd + fnp,PTSF (Equation 4.11)
vd,PTSF + vo,PTSF

For v = 842+842 =1684 pc/h; directional split= 50:50, 50% no passing zone

(from Table 4.11; for 50:50 split and flow of 1684 pc/h; no passing zone = 50%;
i.e., (23.8 + 26.2)/2=25 for 1400 & (15.8+17.4)/2=16.6 for 2000)

𝑓𝑛𝑝,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 25- (25-16.6)[(1648-1400)/(2000-1400)] = 21.5

PTSFd = 71.3 + 21.5 (842/(842+842)) = 82.1 %

Percent of free-flow speed (PFFS)
PFFS value is only applied to Class III two-lane highways, and not
used in the determination of LOS for Class I or Class II highways.
The PFFS is estimated by using Equation 4.12 as follows:

𝐴𝑇𝑆𝑑
𝑃𝐹𝐹𝑆 = (Equation 4.12)
𝐹𝐹𝑆

Where all terms are as previously defined.

For example 4.2

𝐴𝑇𝑆𝑑 71.2𝑥100
𝑃𝐹𝐹𝑆 = = = 75%
𝐹𝐹𝑆 95.2
Determination of Capacity
Capacity based on ATS:
𝐶𝑑𝐴𝑇𝑆 = 1,700 𝑓𝑔,𝐴𝑇𝑆 𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆 (Equation 4.13)

Capacity based on PTSF:

𝐶𝑑𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 1,700 𝑓𝑔,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 (Equation 4.14)

Class I two-lane highway – both capacities must be computed, and the lower value
represent the capacity.
Class II two-land highway – only the PTSF based capacity is computed

Class III two-land highway – only the ATS based capacity is computed
Step 6: Determination of LOS and Capacity

a) LOS
ATS = 71.2 km/h LOS = D (from Table 4.2)
PTSF = 82.1% LOD = E (Table 4.2)
LOS is E.

a) Capacity
Based on Average Travel Speed (ATS)
𝐶𝑑𝐴𝑇𝑆 = 1700 𝑓𝑔,𝐴𝑇𝑆 𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝐴𝑇𝑆
𝐶𝑑𝐴𝑇𝑆 = 1700 x 0.99 x0.943 = 1587 veh/h

Based on Percent time-spent following (PTSF)

𝐶𝑑𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 = 1700 𝑓𝑔,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹 𝑓𝐻𝑉,𝑃𝑇𝑆𝐹
𝐶𝑑𝐴𝑇𝑆 = 1700 x 1.00 x1.00 = 1700 veh/h

The highway capacity = 1587 vph (select the lower value)

Design and operational treatments
Many two-lane highways carry low traffic, but a few
of them can experience a number of operational
safety problems
The following treatments can be used:
1. Realignment to improve passing sight distance
2. Use of paved shoulders
3. Use of passing lanes at intervals in each direction
4. Truck or heavy vehicle claiming lanes
5. Three lane road way section with reversible center lane
6. Special intersection treatments
4.16 Planning highways
4.16. Multilane highways
𝑉
𝑣𝑝 = (Equation 4.15)
𝑃𝐻𝐹 ×𝑁 × 𝑓𝐻𝑉 × 𝑓𝑝
Where
𝑣𝑝 - passenger car equivalent flow rate (pc/h/ln - i.e., passenger cars/hour/lane)
𝑉 - hourly volume (veh/h)
𝑁 - Number of lanes
𝑓𝐻𝑉 - heavy-vehicle adjustment factor
𝑓𝑝 - driver population factor
𝑃𝐻𝐹 - Peak-hour factor

The adjustment factor 𝑓𝑝 can be taken as 1 when familiar drivers are expected to use
the highway facility.
4.16.1 Multilane highways
In planning of a highways, a common practice is to use a design
hour-volume (DHV) that is between the 10th and 50th highest-
volume hours of the year, depending on the type and location of the
roadway (e.g., urban freeway, multilane highway), local traffic data,
and engineering judgment.

Perhaps the most common hourly volume used for road way design
is the 30th highest of the year.
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
73
1
7
13
19
25
31
37
43
49
55
61
67

79
85
91
97
103
109
115
121
Directional design hourly-volume
In practice, the K-value is used to convert annual
average daily traffic (AADT) to the nth highest hourly
volume.

Therefore K is defined as
𝐷𝐻𝑉
𝐾=
𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇
Where:
K – factor used to convert annual daily traffic to a
specified annual hourly volume
DHV – design hourly-volume (typically the 30th highest
annual hourly volume, i.e., K=0.12), and
AADT – roadway’s annual average daily traffic in veh/day

𝐷𝐷𝐻𝑉 = 𝐾 × 𝐷 × 𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇
Where:

DDHV – directional design hourly-volume (typically the 30th highest annual hourly volume)
K – factor used to convert annual daily traffic to a specified annual hourly volume
D – directional distribution factor to reflect the proportion of peak-hour traffic volume travelling in
the peak direction
AADT – roadway’s annual average daily traffic in veh/day
Example 4.3
A multilane highway is to be design as a passenger car only facility on level
terrain for an AADT of 20,000 vehicles per day. It is estimated that the
highway will have a free-flow speed of 90kmph. The peak hour factor is
estimated to be 0.90 with 60% of the peak-hour traffic travelling in the peak
direction. Assuming Figure 4.5 applies, determine the number of lane
required to provide at least LOS B using the following:

a) The highest annual traffic volume

b) The 30th annual traffic volume
Table 4.12: A typical LOS Criteria for multilane highways

Criterion A B C D E
FFS = 100 km/h
Maximum density (pc/km/ln) 6.8 11.2 16.2 21.7 24.9
Maximum v/c 0.30 0.46 0.70 0.90 1.00
Maximum flow rate (pc/h/ln) 655 1080 1550 1980 2200
FFS = 90 km/h
Maximum density (pc/km/ln) 6.8 11.2 16.2 21.7 25.5
Maximum v/c 0.29 0.47 0.68 0.88 1.00
Maximum flow rate (pc/h/ln) 600 990 1430 1850 2100
FFS = 80 km/h
Maximum density (pc/km/ln) 6.8 11.2 16.2 21.7 26.7
Maximum v/c 0.27 0.45 0.65 0.85 1.00
Maximum flow rate (pc/h/ln) 545 900 1300 1710 2000
FFS = 70 km/h
Maximum density (pc/km/ln) 6.8 11.2 16.2 21.7 28.0
Maximum v/c 0.26 0.43 0.62 0.82 1.00
Maximum flow rate (pc/h/ln) 490 810 1170 1550 1900

Source: based on Mannering, Washburn & Kilareski 2013

Solution
(a)
From the Figure 4.5 the K value for the highest annual traffic volume is 0.15.
𝐷𝐷𝐻𝑉 = 𝐾1 × 𝐷 × 𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇
= 0.15 x 0.6 x 20,000 = 1800

The next step is to determine the maximum service flow rate that can be
accommodated at LOS B for FFS of 90km/h on multilane highway.
From Table 4.12 the maximum service flow rate at LOS B for the FFS of
90km/h is 990 pc/h/ln.
That is the number of lanes should be decided to satisfy the maximum flow
condition.
This facility is to be designed as passenger car only facility on level terrain,
therefore by assuming familiar drivers, the values for the factors can be
𝑓𝐻𝑉 = 1.0 and 𝑓𝑝 = 1.0.
Iteration1
Assuming a 4 lane highway (two-lanes for each direction)
1800
𝑣𝑑 = = 1000 pc/h/ln
0.90 ×2 ×1.0 ×1.0
This value is higher than 990, therefore need to allocate more lanes.

Iteration2
Assuming a 6 lane highway (three-lanes for each direction)
1800
𝑣𝑑 = = 667 pc/h/ln
0.90 ×3 ×1.0 ×1.0
This value is less than 990 and satisfies the maximum flow requirements.
Therefore a six-lane highway is required to maintain the required LOS B.
b).
From the Figure 4.5 the K value for the 30th highest annual traffic volume is 0.12.
DDHV = K1 × D × AADT
= 0.12 x 0.6 x 20,000 = 1440

Iteration 1: Assuming a 4 lane highway (2-lanes for each direction)

1440
𝑣𝑑 = = 800 pc/h/ln
0.90 ×2 ×1.0 ×1.0

This value is less than 990 and satisfies the maximum flow requirements. Therefore a
4-lane highway is required to maintain the required LOS B.
4.16.2 Two-lane rural highways
Example 4.4
A section of new two lane two way rural road in rolling terrain need to be planned for an annual
average daily traffic volume of 6000 vehicles per day, with the design hour volume being 11% of
the annual average daily traffic.
Estimate the likely level of service during the design hour.
What is the maximum annual average daily traffic that can be handled if the level of service is
not to fall below C during the design hour?

Solution
This is a planning purpose analysis, and the results can be read directly from table 4.13.
From table 4.13, in rolling terrain, with a K value of 0.11 the volume of 6000 vehicles per day lies
within the level of service D range.

Also, from table 4.13, the maximum annual average daily traffic that can be handled at level of
service C is 4700 vehicles per day.
End Module 4