CT-263

Highway & Transportation

Engineering

Lecture 1

Introduction to Highway & Transportation

Engineering
 Outline of Today’s Lecture
 Introduction to Transportation Engg. & Sys.

 Role of Transportation

 Modes of Transportation

 Choice of Mode of Transportation

 Characteristics of Road Transport

2
CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering
What is Transportation
Engineering???

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 3

 What is TRANSPORTATION
ENGINEERING…?
DEFINITION:

 Application of technology and scientific principles to the

 Planning,
 Functional Design,
 Operation & Management
of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to provide the safe,
efficient, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible movement of people and goods.

 Or simply, safe and efficient movement of goods and persons over

space/medium and time. A B

4
Transportation System
The transportation system consists of fixed
facilities, flow entities, and a control component.
 Fixed facilities: roads, intersections,
interchanges, service stations, etc.
 Flow entities: passenger cars, buses, trucks,
pedestrians, etc.
 Control component: highway administration,
local transportation agencies, transportation
engineering.

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 5

Transportation Engineering
Transportation engineering involves:

1. Planning
2. Design
3. Construction
4. Maintenance and Operation of transportation
facilities.

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 6

Transportation Engineering

2. Design:

The design aspects of transport engineering include the

sizing of transportation facilities (how many lanes/
capacity of facility), determining the materials and
thickness used in pavement designing the geometry
(vertical and horizontal alignment) of the roadway.

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 7

 Transportation Engineering
4. Operations and Management:
 It involve traffic engineering, so that vehicles move smoothly on
the road.
 Older techniques include signs, signals and markings.
 Newer technologies involve intelligent transportation systems
(ITS), including
1. Advanced traveler information systems (such as variable
message signs).
2. Advanced traffic control systems (such as ramp meters).
3. Vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) (i.e. study of a series of
techniques directly linking road vehicles to their physical
surroundings in order to improve road safety).
4. GPS (Global positioning system).
CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 8
 Role/Importance Of Transportation
 Contributes in the development of industry, economy and
culture.

 Its importance is comparable to the veins in the human body.

 Every commodity(goods) needs transport facilities, both at the

production as well as distribution stage.
 Often defined as the nation’s “lifeblood circulation system”
 Infrastructure supports the vast majority of people and goods.
 Basic mobility of all societal functions.
 Basic access to the most remote regions.

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 9

Modes Of Transportation
Major transportation subsystems/modes are:

 Land transportation: highway, rail

 Air transportation: domestic, international
 Water transportation: inland, coastal, ocean
 Pipelines: oil, gas, other

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 10

 Highway Engineering (Roadways)
Science that covers the building of roads and providing the adequate facilities to
the road users and safety of road vehicles is defined as highway engineering.

 It includes local roads (i.e. streets and village roads), collectors, arterials and
freeways/motorways.

 The only mode which can give maximum service and accessibility to one
and all.

 It has the maximum flexibility for travel with respect to route, direction, time
and speed of travel etc.

 It utilizes the three design controls which are the drivers, the vehicles, and the
roadways themselves.
CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 11
 Railroad Engineering (Railways)
The science which deals with laying of railway track for the movement of heavy
locomotives and vehicles including station yard is called railway engineering.

 Railways are steel tracks laid on the grounds.

 Developed both for long as well as short distances but more useful for longer
distances.

 Railway could serve as arteries while roadway as feeder for transportation system.

 A train could move at much higher speeds than road vehicles.

 Steel track can also take heavy axle load about 3 to 4 times heavier than the road.

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 12

 Port and Harbor Engineering
(Waterways)
The techniques used in development of docks and harbors on sea, river shores

for the departure and arrival of ships and other terminal facilities is called

harbor engineering.

 In waterways, ships and boats are used to transport people and goods.

 Speed of this system is the lowest among the four modes.

 It needs minimum energy to haul unit load through unit distance.

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 13

Airport Engineering (Airways)
The knowledge of development of an area for safe landing and take off of an

aircrafts i.e. including runway, taxi way, hangers, terminal building and control

devices are included under airport engineering.

 In airways, aircrafts and helicopters are used nowadays. Whereas, in old days

gas filled airships and balloons were used.

 Apart from saving time, it is the fastest and more comfortable system.

 But most costly among all the four modes. Thus confined to government

officials and rich peoples.

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 14

 Choice Of Mode Of Transportation
The choice of mode of transportation depends upon :

1. Length of the haul (Distance)

2. Weight and size of consignment (Parcels)

3. Traffic density

4. Nature of route

5. Quality of service

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 15

 Characteristics Of Road Transport
 Can serve the remotest(Distant) places of a vast country.
 Road transport is closest to people of all kind.
Can briefly be described as follow:
1. USES
Used by different kinds of vehicles like animal drawn carts and carriages,
bicycles, rickshaws, motor cycles, cars, buses, trucks etc.
2. INVESTMENT/ FUNDS
Less investment is required by the government.
3. FREEDOM FOR USERS
Roadway offers complete freedom to its users.
Flexibility of changes in direction, speed and timings of travel.
4. SAVING IN TIME AND MONEY
Road transport is cheaper and save time incase of short distance travel.
5. DEGREE OF ACCIDENTS
Subjected to high degree of accidents.
CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 16
 END

CT-263 Highway & Transportation Engineering 17