TRAN3001

Highway Engineering Lecture 2

Definition and Purpose of Geometric
Design
Design Speed
Sight Distance
Cross Section
Vertical Alignment

Definition and Purpose of Geometric

Design

Geometric design is the design of

the
visible physical features of the road
and is concerned with:
safety
economy
comfort
aesthetics

Definition and Purpose of Geometric

Design
Proper geometric design will help to
reduce accidents and provide the
required capacity for traffic to flow
with the minimum of delay.
Although design standards vary
depending on the type of road (main,
secondary, etc.) the issues involved
in geometric design are similar for all
categories.

Design Speed
The design speed is the highest continuous speed
at which vehicles can travel safely on the road.
This is the speed that can be maintained with
favourable (dry) weather, driver (no impairment)
and traffic (low volume) conditions, as the
geometric design of the highway will be the
governing condition for safety.
Design speed is a design control, not a design
feature, that establishes the range of design
values for many of the geometric features of the
highway.

Design Speed (Contd)

Because of its effect on so much of a

highways design, the design speed is a very
important choice that a designer makes.
The selected design speed should take
account of the topography (level, rolling,
mountainous), anticipated operating speed
(more than or equal to the regulatory speed
limit), the adjacent land use (urban, or rural),
and the functional classification of the
highway (main road, secondary road, etc.).

Design Speed (Contd)

Higher design speeds, in excess of the
regulatory speed limit of 80 km/hr, are
recommended for dual carriageways running
through level, open countryside with lower
speeds for similar roads in hilly terrain.
Cities and other builtup areas have speeds
limits in the order of 30-50 km/hr and
conditions such as high traffic volumes,
parked vehicles and several intersections
mean that these limits will generally not be
exceeded.

Sight Distance
Sight distance is the length of
carriageway ahead that is visible to the
driver.
Two types of sight distance are to be
considered:
the safe stopping sight distance deals
with highway safety as this provides
drivers with enough sight distance to stop
their vehicles after spotting an unexpected
object on the road.

Sight Distance (Contd)

the safe passing sight distance deals
with highway efficiency as it provides
sufficient sight distance for drivers to
overtake slower vehicles (safely).
Safe stopping sight distance
A driver travelling at the design speed
must be able to see a sufficient distance of
roadway ahead to avoid collision with an
object unexpectedly appearing in his/her
traffic lane.

Sight Distance (Contd)

Safe stopping sight distance (Contd)
Calculations of the safe stopping sight distance
are based on evaluation of the distance
travelled while the driver perceives the object
(perception time) and applies the brakes
(reaction time) and the distance required for
the vehicle to stop.
In practice perception and reaction times are
combined to arrive at a suitable perceptionreaction time for the purposes of highway
design.

Sight Distance (Contd)

Safe stopping sight distance (Contd)
Perception-reaction distance
A safe value for perceptionreaction time, based
on measurement and recommendations from
international standards agencies such as
AASHTO (American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials) is 2.5
seconds.
The distance the vehicle travels (d1 m) is based
on the perception reaction time (t sec) and the
design speed (V km/h).

Sight Distance (Contd)

Safe stopping sight distance (Contd)
Perception-reaction distance (Contd)
Formula:
d1 (m) = t (sec) x v (m/sec)
= t x V x 1000/3600
= 0 .278 tV
Braking Distance
The distance required by a vehicle, travelling on a
level road, to stop after the brakes are applied
depends on its initial speed and the friction
between the wheels and the road.

Sight Distance (Contd)

Safe stopping sight distance (Contd)
Braking Distance (Contd)
The principle used in the calculation is the balance between the change in
kinetic energy and the work done by the frictional resistance.
Formula:
0.5 x W/g x v2 = uW x d2
d2 = 0.5 v2 /ug
= V2 /254u
u is the coefficient of friction and is in the order of 0.3 for safety considerations.

The safe stopping sight distance is the sum of the perception-reaction

distance (d1) and the braking distance (d2).

Sight Distance (Contd)

Safe passing sight distance
Sufficient sight distance must be provided
for faster vehicles to (safely) overtake
slower vehicles if the highway is to achieve
its design capacity (ability to accommodate
traffic).
Passing sight distance is applicable to two
or three lane highways as the overtaking
vehicle has to travel in a lane used by
vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.

Sight Distance (Contd)

Safe passing sight distance (Contd)
The visibility distance is the minimum sight
distance required for a vehicle to overtake safely
on two and three lane roads without interfering
with the speed of an oncoming vehicle travelling
at the design speed of the highway.
Ideally all highways should be continuously safe
for overtaking but this is usually not possible so
decisions have to be made regarding the
frequency of overtaking sections.

Sight Distance (Contd)

Safe passing sight distance (Contd)
Long stretches of road with no opportunity for
overtaking will likely cause motorists to take
the risk of overtaking a slow moving vehicle
at the first possible opportunity.
Passing sight distance requirements increase
as the design speed increases. For example
AASHTO requirements for a 30 mph (48 km/h)
design speed is 1090 ft (332 m) and for 50
mph (80km/h) is 1835 ft (559 m).

Cross Section
Drainage is a primary concern in the design of a road crosssection, which comprises the carriageway, shoulders and
drainage channels.
draincarriageway drain

shoulder

Typical Crown Cross Section

Cross Section (Contd)

The carriageway slopes down from the centreline to
the edge of the road. This convexity , which is seen
in the road cross section, is called the camber.
The main purpose of the camber is to drain the
rainwater from the surface of the road as quickly as
possible. A hard smooth surface will therefore
require less camber than a soft, rough surface.
The steeper the camber, the more inconvenient it is
for traffic. Typical values for camber range from 1
in 20 for unpaved roads to 1 in 60 for asphaltic
concrete surfaced roads and I in 80 for roads with
Portland cement concrete surface.

Cross Section (Contd)

Shoulders are necessary on all roads
carrying high speed traffic to deal with
emergency stops along the route.
For the purposes of major highway design
shoulder widths of 3m are recommended,
as this generally leaves enough of a gap
between the parked vehicle and the edge
of the road.
Shoulders widths provided on secondary
roads are as low as 0.6m.

Cross Section (Contd)

Shoulders must be capable of supporting
vehicles under all weather conditions.
Apart from the inconvenience of a vehicle
becoming stuck while using a poorly engineered
shoulder, there is the risk of skidding and
overturning when high speed vehicles drive onto
soft shoulders and try to decelerate.
The best but also the most expensive way to
provide a shoulder is to extend the pavement
structure beyond the edge of the carriageway.

Cross Section (Contd)

This not only stabilizes the shoulder, but also adds
structural strength to the carriageway. Additionally,
the shoulder can be used as a traffic lane when the
carriageway is undergoing routine or emergency
maintenance.
The surfacing of paved shoulders should be distinct
from the carriageway, otherwise drivers will tend to
use it as a regular traffic lane. For example,
different coloured stone chippings can be used.
Also, shoulder surfacing material can be less
expensive than what is used on the carriageway.

Cross Section (Contd)

The number of traffic lanes to be provided
depends on the volume and type of traffic
using the highway.
For new construction the minimum number of
lanes should be two, even where traffic is
expected to be light. This is for safety
considerations and ease of traffic flow.
For higher traffic volumes, four, rather than
three lane roads should be provided because
of the high accident potential of the latter.

Cross Section (Contd)

Four or more lanes allow vehicles to
overtake on lanes not used by
opposing traffic.
Usually highways with four or more
lanes are dual carriageways
separated by a median / central
reservation.
Recommended lane widths are 3.65
m and median widths at least 1.75
m.

Vertical Alignment
The vertical alignment of a road is shown by its
profile, which is a graph that has elevation as
its vertical axis and distance, usually measured
along the centerline, on the horizontal axis.

elevation
g1
g2 distance
Profile

Vertical Alignment (Contd)

The profile consists of grades, which are
straight lines (tangents) in the vertical plane
and vertical curves joining the different grades.
Gradients
Recommended maximum grades vary,
depending on the type of road. The effect of a
long, steep, uphill grade is to increase
operating costs and slow down vehicular traffic,
resulting in reduced highway capacity. This is of
particularly concern for the heavier commercial
vehicles using the road.

Vertical Alignment (Contd)

Steep uphill grades can be a cause of accidents
as drivers try to overtake slower moving
vehicles.
Steep downhill grades also present safety
concerns especially for heavier vehicles, as
drivers can have difficulty stopping or making
other emergency maneuvers.
AASHTO recommendations for maximum
gradients on high speed roads vary from 3-6%
depending on the terrain.

Vertical Alignment (Contd)

The minimum grade of a highway is
particularly important in locations
such as valleys and other low lying
areas.
While the camber of the road is
designed to drain its surface,
allowance is made for flow in the
longitudinal drainage channels by
providing a minimum grade of 0.3%.