Federal Republic of Ethiopia

Ethiopian Roads Authority

HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Road Network Definition Manual

February 2005

DMO Capacity Building Project

Financed by DFID
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
Capacity Building Project

Quality Statement

This document is to be used for the purpose for which it is intended. The Manual is intended to be
the Manual for the Road Network Definition. This Manual should not be read alone but should be
read in the context of the Maintenance Management System with ERA. This document should be
reviewed and revised on a regular basis to ensure that it is up-to-date with the existing system.
The Quality Assurance details in the table below should be updated as and when the document is
updated. All Revisions to the Document must be listed in the Revisions Section of this table.

File: Prepared by:

RoadNetworkDefinition AEJ Patterson
Report Name: Reviewed by:
Road Network Definition Manual
Version: Approved for issue by:
Final AEJ Patterson
Date of Issue: Project manager:
18 March 2004 AEJ Patterson
File Name:
…\Reports\MMS\[Link]
…\Reports\MMS\[Link]
Revisions: Date:
Draft reformatted and issued as Final 18 March 2004
Final reviewed and amended for approval 07 February 2005
Final plus revision to Section 4 17 February 2005

Road Network Definition i WSPimc – Scott Wilson

Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
Capacity Building Project

Table of Contents

Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... i

1. Background ...................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Objectives ............................................................................................................. 1

2. Basic Principles ............................................................................................................... 2

3. Road Network Functions ................................................................................................. 3

3.1 Sub-Division Definition .......................................................................................... 3

3.2 Road Network Definition Functions ....................................................................... 5

3.3 Sub-Division Functions ......................................................................................... 5

4. Organisational and Structural Issues............................................................................. 6

5. Diagrams........................................................................................................................... 7

Road Network Definition i WSPimc – Scott Wilson

Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
Capacity Building Project

1. Background

This document forms part of the documentation on the Maintenance Management System and
the Pavement Management System.

The future development of ERA is aligned with the requirements of RSDP (Road Sector
Development Program) which calls for decentralisation, devolution and commercialisation of road
maintenance activity. The Road Network Definition must form the core of the road network
information systems that are being developed in ERA. All other road management functions
would integrate with this definition of the road network.

This document describes the road network definition and management process which will ensure
that the road network definition and referencing is consistent within ERA and its operations. This
will assist ERA as a whole, so that they will be able to manage the road network effectively and
efficiently from a common database.

1.1 Objectives

The objectives of the road network definition are to provide ERA with a central system to manage
the road network. Management requires information on the item being managed and requires
functions to allow management to manage the item. Therefore to manage the road network a
process must be in place to ensure that consistent referencing is in place.

The road network definition is central to all road management systems in ERA.

The road network definition is controlled by the Network Management Division. They will have
complete control over the road network in terms of names, classification, numbering, definition
etc.

All new or additional roads added to the network will be approved by the Network Management
Division before being published for use by the road management systems.

The road network definition provides the mechanism for dividing the network into lengths for
management purposes. These sub-divisions of the network may be different for the various
management functions such as the Pavement Management System and the Maintenance
Management System but must all be inter-referential, to allow the reporting of data held in
different systems to be to the same reference point.

Road Network Definition 1 WSPimc – Scott Wilson

Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
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2. Basic Principles

A “Road” is a road which forms part of the “Network”, it joins two centres of importance or/and
creates a route. This document is not seen as the place to define the “Road”, that is the function
of the Road Classification system. The base definition of the “Road” will be the road number and
road name as defined in the Road Classification. This is seen as the basic road definition
attribute as it also reflects the importance and therefore the priority of the road within the road
network.

A “Road” will be defined with the following required attributes:

a) Road Number – a unique reference defined in the Road Classification system

b) Road Name – a unique From [place] To [Place] description. The [place] will normally be the
town/city at the start and end of the “Road”. It may be the locality or junction name if there is
no local town/city.
c) From Km – This is the start of the road and will normally be 0. The From Km is the defined
start of the road no matter what organisation is responsible for it. This will enable the system
to define responsibility for the entire length of the road and assets along it. The start of the
road and therefore the direction of the road will be as the description given in the Road
Classification.
d) To Km – This is the end of the road and along with the From Km will be used to define the
total length of the road. As with the From Km definition the To Km will normally be to the end
of the road.
e) Class – The classification of the road. This is the official classification.

All of the above attributes are required before a “Road” can exist and be entered into the system.
This implies that the “Road” has a defined classification.

An optional attribute will be the Network Name. This will allow several networks to be stored, ie
the Regional Road Network and the Federal Road Network. Planning for future updates to the
networks by transfer of roads between networks would then be feasible. However data for the
Federal Road Network will be maintained by ERA, other road networks will remain the
responsibility of the relevant authority.

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Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
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3. Road Network Functions

The system will require functions to manage the network of “Roads” and to disseminate network
data to other reliant systems.

To enable management of the road network the roads will have to be divided into manageable
sub-divisions (SD). These sub-divisions will vary depending on the requirement of the reliant
systems. The Maintenance Management System may require roads divided into maintainable
lengths within an administrative area or district, the Pavement Management System may require
the road divided into homogeneous lengths dependent on surface type, traffic, terrain etc.
Therefore an important function within the Road Network Definition is the division of the roads
into sub-divisions. This sub-division must ensure that the integrity of the road network is
maintained and must ensure that the data can consistently referenced.

The current sub-divisions of the road network are into “Links” for the Pavement Management
System and into “Segments” for the Maintenance Management System. The “Review of the
Road Network Definition” report describes the conflicts that occur between these two systems.
Therefore it is important that the dividing function within the Road Network Definition system is
consistent and does not permit conflicts to occur.

The basic premise, stated above, is that the “Road” is the basic element of the road network, all
other divisions of the road network are based on the “Road”. This implies that any sub-division of
a “Road” can only refer to that “Road” and not to several “Roads”.

3.1 Sub-Division Definition

Any sub-division will have the following attributes:

a) Name – “Segment”, ”Link” ie the name of the sub-division collection. This is a unique “name”
that describes the collection. In the existing case this will be “Link” for the Pavement
Management System and “Segment” for the Maintenance Management System.
b) ID – the unique identification of the sub-division. This will be the “Link” or “Segment” number.
Effort should be made to make the numbering consistent within any Sub-Division definition.
c) From Place – the name of the start of the sub-division. The most convenient and self
explanatory name should be used wherever possible.
d) To Place – the name of the end of the sub-division. For contiguous sub-divisions the To
Place will be the same as the From Place of the next sub-division.
e) Road No – the “Road” on which the sub-division lies. This is required, it is not possible to
assign a sub-division to a non-existent “Road”.
f) From Km – the km of the start of the sub-division. This km is the km on the “Road” from the
start of the “Road”. i.e. Each “Road” starts at Km 0.
g) To Km – the km of the end of the sub-division. This km is the km on the “Road”.

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Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
Capacity Building Project

h) SD From Km – the km of the start of the Sub-division in the sub-division referencing method.
i.e. for NMD “Links” this would be the same as the “Road” From Km, for the MMS
“Segments” this would be the km from the central reference point. Currently the central
reference point is Menilik Square near Piazza in Addis Ababa. [Note: this may be an optional
requirement which may become redundant with a rationalisation of the referencing system.]
i) SD To Km – the km of the end of the Sub-division in the sub-division referencing method. Ie
for PMS “Links” this would be the same as the “Road” To Km for the MMS “Segments” this
would be the km from the central reference point. [Note: See note for “SD From Km”]

Note: That final two points will only apply if ERA choose to keep the current Segment referencing
system, i.e. a Segments start km is its distance from a central point in Addis Ababa. This
referencing system should be reviewed in line with previous recommendations on the road
network definition and sustainability.

All of the above are required attributes.

Additional attributes could be:

a) Maintenance Agency – the agency/authority responsible for the maintenance of the sub-
division. (eg District) This may not be a required attribute for all sub-divisions.
b) Terrain – the terrain type that applies for the sub-division.
c) Alignment – the alignment type that applies for the sub-division.
d) Climate – the climate type that applies for the sub-division.
e) Carriageway Type – the carriageway type that applies for the sub-division. Ie single lane,
dual carriageway.
f) Environment – the environment in which the sub-division resides. This could be the overall
situation in which sub-division lies, ie Urban, Rural etc.
g) Other attributes may be defined and stored, the sub-division will normally determine the
attributes stored.

Note that it is possible that many of the above attributes would be stored in other systems and
not in the Road Network Definition. However it would seem sensible to store the above basic
data against the main network collection. Where items vary along a sub-division it may be more
appropriate to store those above items in an Inventory module as the attributes may vary along a
sub-division.

All sub-divisions, of a particular type, must be consecutive; they cannot overlap or be separated
by some distance. Therefore the total length of the sub-divisions must be the same as the total
length of the road network.

The basic premise for sub-division creation is that a sub-division is based on some homogeneity.
In the case of the existing systems the “Links” in the Pavement Management System are based
on surface type and traffic, in the Maintenance Management System the “Segments” are
maintenance lengths within a DMO Section office. As stated above, all sub-divisions must be
sub-divisions of only one “Road”.

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Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
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3.2 Road Network Definition Functions

The basic functions within the Road Network Definition are:

a) Create – Create a new “Road”. This can only be created into an existing Network and must
contain all the required data fields before it can be created and added to the system.
b) Amend – Amend/Edit the data for an existing “Road”. Data can be amended, if the overall
length of the “Road” changes there must be controls to ensure that associated data is not
lost. i.e. if a “Road” is increased in length it must be decided whether the data for the sub-
divisions be stretched to fit the new length or a new sub-division added to fill the gap. If a
“Road” is decreased in length will the data be compressed or removed for the removed
length of “Road”?
c) Delete – Delete the “Road”. A “Road” can only be deleted if there is no other data held
against that “Road”. Data held against the “Road” must be archived before deleting the
“Road”.

A record of actions carried out on the “Road” will be stored to provide an audit trail.

3.3 Sub-Division Functions

The basic functions within the sub-division function are:

a) Create – Create a new “Sub-division”. This can only be created on an existing “Road” and
must contain all the required data fields before it can be created and added to the system.
b) Amend – Amend/Edit the data for an existing “Sub-division”. Data can be amended, if the
overall length of the “sub-division” changes there must be controls to ensure that associated
data is not lost. i.e. if a “Sub-division” is increased in length will the data for the existing sub-
division be stretched to fit the new length or new data added to fill the gap. If a “Sub-division”
is decreased in length will the data be compressed or removed for the removed length of
“sub-division”. If the end or start of a “Sub-division” is changed then the user must amend the
“sub-divisions” either side of the amended “sub-division” to ensure that the network is
contiguous.
c) Delete – Delete the “Sub-division”. A “Sub-division” can only be deleted if there is no other
data held against that “Sub-division”. Data held against the “Sub-division” must be archived
before deleting the “Sub-division” or added to another “Sub-division” or “Sub-divisions”.

A record of actions carried out on the “sub-division” will be stored to provide an audit trail.

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Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
Capacity Building Project

4. Organisational and Structural Issues

The fundamental element of any road management system is the road network. This must be
defined in a logical manner and must be managed and controlled.

The Network Management Division will store and control the network definition. All the systems
in ERA which use Road Network Definition data must directly or indirectly reference the road
network definition.

Access to certain functions within the Road Definition System must be controlled, ensuring that
“Roads”, “Sub-divisions” etc do not get deleted without authorisation.

Road Network Definition 6 WSPimc – Scott Wilson

Revision Date: 17/02/2005 Status: Final 2 [Link]
District Maintenance Organisations Ethiopian Roads Authority
Capacity Building Project

5. Diagrams

The following diagrams illustrate the definitions and terms used in this document.

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Km 123 Town “C”

To km

Town “B”
“Road”

Network = “Federal”
Road No eg A2, B23, D3
Km 0 Road Name = “A” – “C”
From Km = 0
To Km = 123
Class = eg Trunk, Link, Access etc

Town “A” From km

Figure 1 - A "Road"

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Addis Ababa

Km 123 Town “C”

“Road”

300km Location ‘F’

SubDivision = eg Link, Segment
Town “B” ID = eg A2-2, 303/1
“SubDivision”
From = Location ‘E’
To = Location ‘F’ (ie Town ‘B’)
Location ‘E’ To Km – km 40 Road No eg A2, B23, D3
From Km = 20 (km on Road)
To Km = 40 (km on Road)
Km 0 [in direction of Road]
SDFromKm = 320 (km in SD reference)
SDToKm = 340 (km in SD reference)
[in direction of SD reference]
From Km – km 20 Other Optional Attributes as required
Town “A”

Figure 2 - A "SubDivision" (ie Link, Segment)

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Revision date: 17/02/2005 Final [Link]
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Km 1071 – Axum
“Road”
Network “Federal”
RoadNo RoadName FromKm ToKm Class
A2 Addis – Axum 15 1071 Trunk
B22 = “Road” A2 = “Road” B22 Woldia – Woreta 0 299 Link

B22 Direction A2 Direction Sub-Divisions

Name=”Link”
Seg 205/7 ID From To RdNo FrKm ToKm SDFKm SDTKm
Seg 202/6 A2-6 Dessie Woldia A2 430 550 430 550
Seg 205/8
A2-7 Woldia Waja A2 550 616 550 616
Km 142 – Felakit ……..
Seg 202/5 B22-1 Woldia GashenaB22 0 120 0 120
District Boundary B22-2 Gashena Felakit B22 120 142 120 142
Link A2-7
B22-3 Felakit D/Zebit B22 142 163 142 163
Segment 602/6
…….
Link B22-2 A2 Km 520 – Woldia
Link B22-3 Link B22-1 B22 Km 0 - Woldia
Name=”Segment”
ID From To RdNo FrKm ToKm SDFKm SDTKm
Km 163 – D/Zebit 202/1 Wuchale Merssa A2 460 490 460 490
202/2 Merssa Woldia A2 490 520 490 520
Segment 202/2 Link A2-7 ……..
202/5 Woldia Dilb B22 0 43 520 563
202/6 Dilb Estayish B22 43 80 563 600
205/7 Estaytish Gashena B22 80 112 600 632
Km 490 – Merssa 205/8 Gashena Felakit B22 112 142 632 662
602/6 Checheh Felakit B22 187 142 762 807
Segment 202/1
…….

Km 460 – Wuchale Km 430 – Dessie

Km 0 – Addis Ababa

Figure 3 - Sample Road Network Definition (note the data for Segments 205/8 and 602/6)

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