Mekelle University
EiT-M
School of Civil Engineering
Road & Transport Engineering
Highway Engineering I – CENG 3182
Chapter- Two
Highway Alignment and Route Survey
By: Abinet G.
.
Contents
• Introduction
• Highway alignment
• Route survey
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Introduction
• As discussed in chapter one, one of the transportation
plans/projects is constructing a new road. Once the
decision is made, a stage by stage engineering works will
be conduct. Thus, the project work starts at fixing the
road alignment between the origin and destination.
• Therefore, Highway alignment and Route Survey are the
processes applied, where the final location of the road is
specified and design outputs are prepared for the
construction stage.
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Highway Alignment
• The position or the layout of the centre line of the highway on the
ground is called an alignment, and it includes;
– Horizontal alignment consists of straight paths and curves
– Vertical alignment consists of grades and curves
• Improper alignment of a road facility results in capital loss, initially
in construction cost, maintenance costs, increase in vehicle
operation cost, and increase in accident.
• Once the road is aligned and constructed, it is not easy to change
the alignment due to increase in cost of adjoining land and
construction of costly structures by the road side.
• Hence careful considerations while finalizing the alignment of a
new road is needed.
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…Contd.
• Basic requirements of an ideal alignment between two
terminals should be:
– Short
• A straight alignment would be the shortest, though
there may be several practical considerations which
would cause a deviation from the shortest path
– Easy
• Easy to construction
• Easy to maintain
• Easy for operation with easy grades and curves
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…Contd.
– Economical
• Design should be optimum in construction cost,
maintenance cost, and operation cost
– Safe
• Safe enough for construction and maintenance from the
view point of stability of natural slopes, embankments,
cut slopes, and foundations
• Safe for traffic operations with ease geometric features
such as sharpness of curves, grades, side slopes etc.
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Factors Controlling Highway Alignment
A straight alignment is not always possible due to various
difficulties such as topography. Hence, the various factors
controlling while selecting an alignment are:
1. Obligatory Points
– Points through which an alignment should pass
– Chosen Bridge Site, Intermediate town to be accessed
between the terminals, a mountain pass (tunnels) etc.
– Points through which an alignment should not pass
– Areas requiring costly structures, highly developed
expensive areas, marshes and low laying lands subject to
flooding, hilly terrain where there is a possibility of land
slides, Religious or Historic places etc.
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…Contd.
2. Traffic
– The alignment should suit the traffic requirements
– Present and future travel patterns should be observed &
forecasted
3. Geometric Constraints
– Design factors such as max. gradient, minimum radius of
curve, minimum available sight distance, maximum
allowable super-elevation, etc. should be within the limits
of allowable design values which are governed by the
expected traffic design speed.
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…Contd.
4. Economy
– Total cost including initial construction cost, maintenance
cost, and operation cost should be minimum
• Example :
– Deep cuttings, high embankments, number of bridges
that need to be constructed, etc. increases the initial
cost of construction and avoid them
5. Other considerations
– Drainage considerations, Soil characteristics, Hydrological
factors, Political considerations and Aesthetics
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Special considerations on Hilly Roads
• Slope Stability
– a common problem in hill roads is land slide. Special care
should be taken to choose the side that is more stable
• Drainage
– Numerous hill-side drains to adequately drain the water
across the road should be provided
– But, attempts should be made to align the road where the
number of cross-drainage structures are minimized
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…Contd.
• Geometry
– Different standards of grades, curves, sight distances,
speeds and other related features are followed in hill roads
• Resisting Length
– In order to move loads along the route, the resisting length
should be kept as low as possible. Thus, the ineffective rise
and excessive fall should be kept minimum
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Route Survey
• A process of locating a path of a road to fix the road
alignment is called Route Survey.
✓ The stages of the Highway Location Survey/Engineering
Survey are:
▪ Desk (Map) study
▪ Reconnaissance surveys
▪ Preliminary surveys
▪ Final location & detailed surveys
▪ Drawing and Specification
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Desk/Map Study
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…Contd.
• By careful study of the map, up to five alternative
alignments can be suggested in the office subjected to
further investigation in later stages.
• The alternative alignments can be located on the map
from the following details available on the map
• Avoiding valleys, ponds, etc.;
• Avoiding river bends where bridges should not be located;
• Keeping in view of geometric standards (e.g. avoiding steep
topographies, etc.
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Reconnaissance Surveys
Reconnaissance Surveys: is a rapid field survey to inspect the
physical characteristics of the area along the proposed alignments
selected on the map.
Purpose
o To verify conditions as determined from the desk study
o A survey party inspects a fairly broad stretch of land along the
proposed routes identified on the map during the desk study and
collects all relevant details not available on the map
o Helps to decide the most feasible routes for detailed studies
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…Contd.
The following are some of the details to be collected:
• Valleys, ponds, lakes, marshy land
• Approximate values of gradient, length of gradients
• Number & type of cross-drainage structures, max. flood level
• Soil survey, Sources of construction materials, water & location
of stones
• Number of population in the proposed alternatives
o Form the details collected, the proposed alignments may be
altered or changed in this study. As a result, a few alternative
alignment may be chosen for further study. i.e. two or three
alternative routes
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Preliminary Survey
• This survey conducted along all alignments recommended after
reconnaissance survey to reach to the best alignment using advanced
field equipment like Theodolite or Total Station.
Main objectives
▪ Primary traverse: obtain length, gradients
▪ Topographic features: all topographic features along the route are recorded
▪ Leveling work: To the centerline profile and typical cross section
▪ Hydrological data: to estimate the number, type and size of cross drainage
structures
▪ Soil survey: To estimate the quantity of earthwork, material and other
construction aspects
▪ Benefit of each route: number of settled population along each route
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…Contd.
• The preliminary survey may be carried out by one of the
following two methods:
– Modern: Aerial Survey – using photo interpretation
techniques, information on topography, soil, geology, etc.
can be obtained
– Conventional: a survey part carries out surveys using the
require field equipment taking measurements, collecting
topographical and other data and carrying out soil survey
• After all, the most suitable alignment is selected from the
various alternative routes.
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…Contd.
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Final Location and Detail Survey
The purpose of the final location is to fix the centerline of the
best selected alignment on the ground and to collect additional
data for the preparation of the drawings.
Location Survey:
◊ Transferring the best alignment on to the ground using
transits theodolite
◊ Major and minor control points are established on the ground
and center pegs are driven
◊ Center line pegs are driven at suitable intervals, say 50m for
flat and rolling terrain and 20m for hilly terrain
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…Contd.
Detail Survey:
◊ Temporary bench marks are fixed at interval of 250m and at
all drainage and under pass structures.
◊ Earthwork calculation and drainage detail are to be work out
from the levelling book
◊ CBR value of the soil along the alignment may be determined
for pavement design
◊ Cross sectional levelling are taken at intervals of 50-100m in
flat, 50-75m in rolling, and 20m in hilly terrain.
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Drawing and Specification
• The data, after the necessary investigation and final location survey, is
sent to the design office to be used for
– geometric design, pavement design, and design of drainage and
other structures
– preparation of drawings, reports, and specifications.
• A complete sets of drawings for a road design includes:
– Site plan of proposed alignment
– Detailed Plan & Profile
– Cross-sections for Earth work
– Typical Roadway sections at selected locations (e.g. junctions)
– A mass-haul diagram
– Construction details of structures like bridges, culverts, ….
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Example: Alternative#1
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Alternative #2
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Alternative #3
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