CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. General
Highway engineering is one of the most important branches of transportation
system. Highways have played a key role in the development and sustainability of
human civilization from ancient times to the present. Today, throughout the world,
highways continue to dominate the transportation system–providing critical access for
the acquisition of nature resources, industrial production, retail marketing and
population mobility. The influence of highway transportation on the economic, social
and political fabric of nations is far-reaching and, as a consequence, highways have
been studied for decades as a cultural, political and economic phenomenon. While
industrial needs and economic forces have clearly played an important part in shaping
highway networks, societies’ fundamental desire for access to activities and
affordable land has generated significant highway demand, which has helped define
and shape highway networks.
2.2. Civil Engineering Involvement in Transportation
Historically, the primary involvement of civil engineers in transportation has
been in the provision of physical facilities and the devising of operating strategies for
them. Consequently, most civil engineers working in the transportation field are
employed by facility-oriented organization. In addition, civil engineers have been
employed by railways, which provide their own physical facilities, and urban transit
operators, where the connection to civil engineering has been through both
transportation planning activities and the design of operation strategies. Most civil
engineering activity related to the provision of physical facilities is what might be
called physical civil engineering. This includes the design construction, and
maintenance of fixed transportation facilities and involves the full spectrum of civil
engineering specialties.
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A major highway project, for instance, will involve not only the sizing
and geometric design of the roadway, which is normally, thought of as a part
of
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transportation engineering, but also the design and construction of bridges and other
structures, which requires structural engineering; drainage design, which requires
hydraulic and hydrologic engineering; consideration of earthwork compaction and
slope stability, which requires geotechnical engineering; construction management;
and surveying. Figure illustrates this involvement. Similar complexity and breadth of
civil engineering involvement characterize other major transportation projects, such as
the construction of airports or urban rail rapid transit systems.
Most civil engineering activity related to planning and operation of the
transportation system, on the other hand, is what might e called systems engineering.
This involves transportation planning, including the analysis of transportation
demand; the analysis of system capacity and operating characteristics; and the design
of traffic control and operating strategies. The design of traffic control and operating
strategies. The design of traffic control and operating strategies includes highway
traffic engineering and operational design (that is, design of operating strategies) of
freight and mass transit systems. Transportation engineering is probably unique
among the civil engineering specialties in the importance of its systems engineering
aspects; since these are very important to the practice of transportation engineering
but may be unfamiliar to many students, they will be especially emphasized in what
follows.
2.3. Necessity of Highway Planning
In the present time, planning is a pre-requisition before taking up any
developmental program. This is true particularly in an engineering project and thus
also for highway development program. When total requirements are much higher,
than those can be provided by available funds, planning plays a vital role in fixing
priorities. The planning of highways is done to achieve the following objects;
(1) To plan road network for efficient and safe traffic operation at minimum
cost and the cost of construction, maintenance and renewal of pavement
layers and the vehicle operation costs are to be given due consideration.
(2) To provide a most suitable type of road with the available funds.
(3) To plan road system for future anticipated requirements by constructing
new roads and improving the existing ones.
(4) If the required road system cannot be constructed, phased program for
road development may be planned with available funds.
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(5) Highway planning helps fix priorities of roads. If all the required roads
cannot be constructed, the most important should be constructed first
with the available fund and within the plan period.
(6) Planning is also helpful to work out financing system of roads.
2.4. Object of Highway Planning
Thus, the object of highway planning is:
(1) Provide efficient, safe, economic, comfortable and speedy movement of
goods and people.
(2) To plan for anticipated future developments and social needs.
(3) To plan for a road system having maximum utility within the available
resource keeping in mind the fiscal, budgetary and other administrative
restraints.
(4) To phase the road development program from financial considerations.
(5) To evolve a financing system and recommend changes in tax
arrangements and budget procedures.
2.5. Principles of Highway Planning
In order to meet the above objectives, the following basic principles of
planning should be kept in view:
(1) The proposed road should form an integral part of the road network of
the nation.
(2) The importance of road should be determined only on the basis of traffic
demand.
(3) The roads should be free to all.
(4) The roads should form a part of development scheme.
(5) All roads should be given a due priority of maintenance over
construction.
(6) All roads should have provision of maintenance funds on sure and
sustained basis.
(7) All roads should have statutory provisions for traffic regulation.
2.6. Classification of Roads
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Roads can be classified according to the traffic volume, tonnage, location and
function they have to perform. According to the traffic volume, roads may be
classified as heavy, medium and light traffic roads. Classification according to
tonnage is done by the load in tones; a road can safely in its daily traffic. In both these
classification limits of traffic or tonnage should be clearly specified. Classification of
roads according to location and function is more acceptable and can be classified into
three classes as the following:
(1) Primary System
(2) Secondary System and
(3) Tertiary System
The Primary System consists of two categories of roads:
(a) Expressways and
(b) National Highways
Expressways are a separate class of highways with superior facilities and
design standards and are meant as through routes having very high volume of traffic.
The expressways are to be provided with divided carriageways, controlled access;
grade separations are roads and fencing. These highways should permit only fast-
moving vehicles.
National Highways are main highways running through the length and breadth
of the country, connecting major parts, foreign highways, capitals of large states and
large industrial and tourist center including roads repaired for strategic movements for
the defense of the country.
The Secondary System consists of two categories of roads:
(a) State Highways (SH) and
(b) Major District Roads (MDR)
State highways are the arterial routes of a state connecting with the national
highways of adjacent states, district headquarters and important cities within the state
and serving as the main arteries for traffic to and from district roads.
Major districts roads are important roads within a district serving areas of
production and markets, and connecting these with each other or with the main
highways.
The Tertiary System is rural roads and these consist of two categories of
roads:
(a) Other District Roads (ODR) and
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(b) Village Roads (VR)
Other District Roads are roads serving rural areas of production and
providing then with an outlet to market centers, talus headquarters, block
development
headquarters or other main roads.
Village Roads are roads connecting village or groups of villages with each
other and to the nearest roads of a higher category.
2.7. Design Considerations
Before any attempt is made to arrive at the geometric design standards to be
used for the design of highways, it is essential to know the basic considerations for
design. A good design must include both the present and future traffic requirement of
the area proposed to be served by the new facility.
The factors influencing the highway design are:
(1) Topography, physical and man-made features of the area
(2) Traffic volume
(3) Design speed
(4) Vehicle characteristics and vehicle design
(5) Safety expected on highways
(6) Road-user behavior.
2.7.1. Topography, Physical and Man-Made Features
The location of a highway and its geometric design elements are affected by
the topography, physical feature and land use of the area. Topography influences the
physical location of a highway. The design elements e.g., sigh distances, cross
section, speed, etc. are also affected by the physical features like hills, valleys, rivers,
etc. The topography of the area sometimes decides the types of a highway. The man-
made features of the area have a pronounced effect on the highway geometric.
2.7.2. Traffic Volume
Traffic volume is one of the most basic considerations in the design of roads.
Traffic volume is defined as the number of vehicles passing a given point during a
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specified period of time. It is usually expressed in vehicles per hour of vehicles per
day. The annual average daily traffic (AADT) is the total traffic throughout the year
divided by 365. The AADT volume is suitable as a basic for planning and
investigation to do with economic studies and for determining pavement and shoulder
widths.
2.7.3. Design Speed
The selection of the proper design speed is extremely important to the traveler
in selection alternate routes or transportation modes, for this choice sets the limits for
8 curvature, sight distance, and other geometric features. The choice of design speed
depends primarily on the surrounding terrain and function class of the highway. Other
considerations determining the selection of an assumed design speed are economic
factors based on traffic characteristics, costs of rights of way, and other pertinent
factors which may be of an aesthetic consideration. Approved design speeds at
30,40,50,60 and 70 mph, the selection of the proper design speed is extremely
important for this choice sets the limits for curvature, sight distance, and other
geometric features. Sudden changes in design speed along a highway should be
avoided, particularly on high-speed roads.
2.7.4. Vehicle Characteristics and Vehicle Design
It is essential to examine all the vehicle types and the proportion of various
sizes and their weights in order to arrive at design standards for use in various
geometric design elements since the physical characteristics of vehicles are positive
control in geometric design. The vehicle that represents the design standards will be
termed as design vehicle.
The width of the vehicle naturally affects the width of the travel lane; the
vehicle length has a bearing on roadway capacity and affects the turning radius; the
vehicle height affects the clearance of the various structures. Vehicle weight affects
the structural design of the roadway.
2.7.5. Safety Expected on Highways
Highways are designed for public use and thus it is essential that they should
be safe in operation, in addition to being convenient and economical. Pavement width
less than 18 feet has an accident rate 50% higher than that for pavements equal to or
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wider than 20 feet. Accident rate is less if the radii of the curves are large since the
chances of overturning or skidding are reduced. Similarly, longer sight distances
make the highways safer as compared to shorter sight distances.
In the design of new highways, attention should be paid to these design
elements and standards should be strictly adhered to. The standards of design for a
highway should be the same throughout.
2.7.6. Road User’s Behavior
Assessment of the road user’s personal likes and dislikes and his behavior has
a considerable effect on highway design. Factors that affect the road user’s behavior
of road users include the following:
(1) Psychological traits such as intelligences, learning, ability, motivation,
skills, disease and physical impairment.
(2) Physical abilities such as age, response of reaction.
(3) Medical factors such as the influence of drugs, alcohol, disease and
physical impairment.
In addition to the other design elements, attention has to be paid towards
devising means to increase the effectiveness of the safety measures adopted and
enforcing the users properly (Wright 1996).
2.8. Highway Alignment
The alignment of a highway is composed of vertical and horizontal elements.
The vertical alignment includes straight (tangent) highway grades and the parabolic
curves that connect these grades. The horizontal alignment includes the straight
(tangent) sections of the roadway and the circular curves that connect their changing
direction. The design of the alignment depends primarily on the design speed selected
for the highway. The least costly alignment is one that takes the form of the natural
topography. It is not always possible to select the lowest cost alternative because the
designer must adhere to certain standards that may not exist on the natural
topography. It is important that the alignment of a given section has consistent
standards to avoid sudden changes in the vertical and horizontal layout of the
highway. It is also important that both horizontal and vertical and horizontal layout of
the highway. It is also important that both horizontal and vertical alignments be
designed to complement each other, since this will result in a safer and more attractive
highway. Once factor that should be considered to achieve compatibility is the proper
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balancing of the grades of tangent with curvature of horizontal curves and the location
of horizontal and vertical curves with respect to each other.
2.9. Geometric Design
The geometric design of a highway deals with the dimensions and layout of
visible features of the highway such as alignment, sight distance and intersections.
The geometric of highway should be designed to provide optimum efficiency
in traffic operations with maximum safety at reasonable cost. The designer may be
exposed to either planning of new highway network or improvement of existing
highways to meet the requirements of the existing and the anticipated traffic.
It is possible to design and construct the pavement of a road but it is very
expensive and rather difficult to improve the geometric elements of a road in stages at
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 later stage.
Geometric design of highways deals with following elements:
(1) Sight distance considerations
(2) Horizontal alignment details
(3) Vertical alignment details
(4) Cross section elements
Under cross section elements, the considerations for the width of pavement,
formation and land, the surface characteristics and cross slope of pavement are
included.
The sight distance or clear distances visible ahead of a driver at horizontal and
vertical curves govern the safe movements of vehicles. The changes in the road
directions are made possible by introducing horizontal curves.
Superelevation is provided by raising the outer edge of pavement to counteract
the centrifugal force developed on a vehicle traversing a horizontal curve; extra
pavement width is also provided on horizontal curves.
In order to introduce the centrifugal force and the super elevation gradually,
transition curves are introduced between the straight and circular curves. The
gradients and vertical curves are introduced in the vertical alignment of a highway.
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Design of road intersection with facilities of safe and efficient traffic
movement needs adequate knowledge of traffic engineering. Highway geometrics are
greatly influenced by the topography, locality and traffic characteristics and the
requirements of design speed.
The factors which control the geometric design requirements are speed,
road user and vehicular characteristics, design traffic, traffic capacity and benefit-cost
considerations. However, speed is the factor, which is important governing most of
the geometric design elements of roads.
The geometric design of highways depends on several design factors. The
importance of these factors which control the geometric elements are:
(1) Design speed
(2) Topography
(3) Traffic factors
(4) Design hourly volume and capacity
(5) Environmental and other factors.
Design speed defined as “a speed determined for the design speed and
correlation of physical features of a highway that influence vehicle operation. It is the
maximum safe speed that can be maintained over a specified section of highway when
conditions are so favorable that the design speed features of highway govern”.
Approved design speeds are 50, 65, 80, 100 and 115 km/h. The selection of
the proper design speed is extremely important, for this choice sets the limits for
curvature, sight distance, and other geometric features. Sudden changes in design
speed along a highway should be avoided, particularly on high-speed roads.
The method used for design speed measurement is collecting spot speed data.
It refers to the speed of vehicle at one particular instant of time at a specified location.
Spot speed has a variety of uses. They can be used as evidence regarding the effect of
particular traffic flow construction such as intersections and bridges. They can be
used for geometric design purpose or improved or new facilities. Spot speeds are also
used in determining enforceable speed limits.
All moving at the same speed together with a second set of vehicles
superimposed in the first and also spaced uniformly but moving at constant speed, if
speed measurements are made on all vehicles within the fixed length of road at a
particular instant of time, then the average speed or space mean speed is given by;
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where there are m vehicles moving at speed V1 and n vehicles at speed V within this
length at any given time.
2.10. Highway Drainage
Provision of sufficient drainage is an important factor in the location and
geometric design of highways. Drainage facilities on any highway or street should
adequately provide for the flow of water away from the surface of the pavement to
properly designed channels. Inadequate drainage will eventually result in serious
damage to the highway structure. In addition, traffic may be slowed by accumulated
water on the pavement, and accidents may occur as a result of hydroplaning and loss
of visibility from splash and spray. The importance of enough drainage is recognized
in the amount of highway construction costs allocated to drainage facilities. About 25
percent of highway construction costs are spent for erosion control and drainage
structures, such as culverts, bridges, channels, and ditches.
2.11. Overview of Autodesk Civil 3D Software
Autodesk Civil 3D is a specialized civil engineering software that plays a
critical role in the planning, design, and analysis of roadway projects. In highway
geometric design, Civil 3D provides a comprehensive set of tools that allow engineers
to create accurate representations of horizontal alignments, vertical profiles, and
cross-sectional geometry in accordance with design standards such as AASHTO.
Moreover, Civil 3D supports the integration of survey data and terrain surfaces
to reflect existing ground conditions, which is essential when comparing the existing
roadway geometry with proposed improvements. Features such as superelevation
calculation and quantity takeoffs enhance the precision and efficiency of highway
design. In this thesis, Autodesk Civil 3D is used to develop a new design by creating
the horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, and cross-section design.