Chapter Three: Geometric Design of Highways

Course Contents:
 Introduction of geometric design

 Road standard in Nepal

 Design control and criteria

 Elements of geometric design

 Elements horizontal elements

 Elements of vertical elements

3.1. Introduction of geometric design: Highway geometric design refers to the calculations and
analysis made by designers to fit the highway to the topography of the site while meeting the safety,
service, and performance standards. Elements of the highways that are visible to the drivers and road users
are called geometric elements. However, the engineer must also take into consideration the social and
environmental impacts of the highway geometry on the surrounding facilities. Speed, safety, and comfort
are the three important factors controlling the design features. The geometric design of highways does not
include the design of structural elements of roads, pavement design, stability of the foundation, and design
of drainage facilities. The geometrics of highways should be designed to provide optimum efficiency in
traffic with maximum safety at a reasonable cost. The design of such features is highly influenced by
traffic, driver behavior and psychology, and vehicle characteristics. Usually, highway geometric design has
the following objectives:
 Determine, within the allowance permitted by the design standard and right-of-way, the routing of
the proposed highway.
 Incorporate, within the design standard, various physical features of the road alignment to ensure
that drivers have a sufficient view of the road (and obstacles) ahead for them to adjust their speed of
travel to maintain safety and ride quality.
 Provide a basis for the highway engineers to evaluate and plan for the construction of a section of
the proposed highway.
Objectives of Geometric Design of Highways: The important design considerations while
performing the design of highways are:
 The design of the highway should be safe and efficient during day and night time or during good or
bad weather.
 The design should work for fluctuating traffic volume on daily basis, and for future anticipated
traffic.
 The geometric design of the road should conform to the design speed, the characteristics of the
vehicle, and the drivers using the road.
 The future traffic, vehicle, and drivers are considered during the geometric design of roads.
 The conditions under which the vehicle is expected to move are considered by the designer.
 The design must give a pleasing and attractive view of the road.
 The design must be complete, with signals, traffic signals, roadside treatment, etc.
  The design is made simple for ease of construction and the user’s point of view. Do not provide too
many cross-sections or different surfaces for roads.
 The maintenance cost must be minimum as possible.
Geometric Design of Highways deals with the following elements:
 Cross-section elements
 Sight distance considerations
 Horizontal alignment details
 Vertical alignment details
 Intersection elements
 Road and roadside facilities details
3.2. Introduction to Road Standard in Nepal:
The administrative classification of roads is intended for assigning national importance and level of
government responsible for overall management and methods of financing for roads. According to this
classification, roads are classified into National Highways, Feeder Roads, District Roads, and Urban
Roads. In Nepal, the overall management of National Highways and Feeder Roads comes within the
responsibility of the Department of Roads (DOR). These roads are collectively called Strategic Roads
Network (SRN) roads.
Summary Of Road Length (SRRN)
Road Classification BT GR ER Total UC PL
National Highway 6836.45 1116.36 3226.12 11178.92 487.24 3050.11
Feeder Road(Major) 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mid-Hill Road 0 0 0 0 0 0
Postal Road 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 6836.45 1116.36 3226.12 11178.92 487.24 3050.11
BT=Bituminous Road
GR=Gravel Road
ER=Earthen Road
UC=Under Construction
PL=Planned Road

The urban road networks, as seen in the urban areas, are of the uneven type having various design
standards. Since the roads are being constructed by different governmental bodies, there is no uniformity in
the section for each type of road as each agency has its own standards before the implementation of Nepal
Urban Road Standard (NURS-2076). The traffic lanes and the width of carriageway are also not defined
and highly mismanaged. The roads especially the footpaths are encroached by the street vendors, parking,
and other amenities in urban areas. Lack of parking space in the urban areas led to the parking of vehicles
on the roads itself which further make congestion on the existing road. This results in congestion and
ultimately traffic jams within the urban road network. Another distinctive feature is the footpath which is
either absent or provided inappropriately in the network. All the street utilities like railings and street lights
are installed directly on the footpath irrespective of its available clear width. The present road network does
not consider non-vehicular traffic movement. While in the designing stage, the access for the differently-
abled person along with movement for the non-motorized vehicles should also be accommodated. The
absence of the above-mentioned features urges to establish a standardized road network. Hence it becomes
a prime necessity to publish a common Urban Road Standard which could be referred to any type of
agency/professionals interested to build the road network within the urban areas. Nepal Urban Road
Standards-2076 (NURS-2076) shall apply to all urban roads being constructed within the urban areas of
Nepal. These standards may be relaxed by the Government of Nepal to meet special circumstances. Road
network is the major urban infrastructure in terms of its required financial resources, land consumption,
and landuse planning in the urban area. Furthermore, the aesthetic appearance of the city is mainly
dependent on the urban road pattern. The growth of the urban area is mainly guided by the urban road
hierarchy their alignment. In this context, growing urbanization in Nepal is a major challenge for the urban
planner as well as municipal authorities. Such a situation has created a challenging situation for the safe
movement of vulnerable road users especially pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles leading to poor road
safety situations The recent situation demands safer travel and accessibility to all while considering urban
mobility. Urban mobility and accessibility mainly depend upon the urban road network planning and their
technical parameters. With the objectives of achieving consistency in road design and construction, Nepal
Road Standard, (NRS) was introduced. According to the four administrative classifications given in Nepal
Road Standard-2070, the urban road is one of them but, these standards were applicable only for the design
of strategic roads and are not applicable to address all the urban needs. Therefore, it became very essential
to develop the ‘Nepal Urban Road Standard’. The standard incorporates major technical as well as planning
aspects for urban roads. Classifications of urban roads, design criteria, elements of cross-section, and site
clearance are major parts of this standard. For the purpose of geometric design urban roads are classified
into four categories considering the function of the road and traffic level which are Arterial roads-Path,
Sub-arterials roads-Sadak, Collector roads-Marg, and Local roads-UpaMarg. The Urban Roads are
managed by the Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads (DOLIDAR).

After the implementation of the federal system, the local road is managed by the local government which is
called Local Roads Network (LRN) roads. Nepal Road Standards 1971 (Second Revision in 2014) is
applicable to all strategic roads in rural areas being constructed within Nepal. There is a backlog of
maintenance on more than 50,943 km of rural roads under the Local Road Network. As a result, a large
proportion of the roads are in ‘poor’ condition and beyond routine maintenance. These roads require
reconstruction/rehabilitation.

3.3. Design control and criteria: Highway geometrics are greatly affected by many factors. The
most prominent factor for the geometric design is the type or category of a highway to be designed. Basic
design parameters are taken into consideration as per the highway class. The following are the major
factors that control the geometric design:
 Nature of terrain: The geometric design of a highway is significantly influenced by terrain
conditions. The economy dictates the choice of different standards for different types of terrains.
The terrain is classified by the general slope of the country across the highway alignment. NRS
recommends the following classification of terrain: The location and geometric design elements
such as gradients, sight distance, cross-sections, the radius of curvature, speeds, etc. of a highway
are affected by topography, physical features, and land use.

Class Terrain type Percent cross-slope

1 Plain 0 to 10
2 Rolling >10 t0 25
3 Hilly/mountainous >25 to 60
4 Steep >60
Table 3.1: Terrain Classification
 Functional classification of the road: The first step in the design process is to define the function
that the road facility is to serve. The level of service required to be fulfilled by the road for the
anticipated volume and composition of traffic is used as a guide for classification. It provides a
rational and cost-effective basis for the selection of design speed and geometric criteria within the
range of values available to the designer (for the specified functional classification).
Roads generally serve a multitude of purposes:
 As through route - for long-distance traffic
 As local route – for local traffic
  In urban and rural areas –urban roads/rural roads
 For fast and slow vehicles – 2 wheels to 10+ wheels
 As for servicing/accessing roads
 For use by pedestrians
 For parking areas
 Design traffic volume and composition and traffic capacity: The geometric design has been
greatly influenced by traffic volume, traffic composition, and traffic capacity. The following traffic
study should be conducted to find the traffic data.
 Traffic volume – Annual average daily traffic(AADT), Average Daily Traffic (ADT)
 Directional distribution – the percentage of traffic volume flowing in each direction
 Traffic composition – the percentage of different types of vehicles in the traffic stream – different
types of vehicles are converted into passenger car units to design a road width
 Traffic projection – using the design period of a road (5-20 years)a reliable traffic projection should
be made considering the current traffic, normal traffic growth, diverted traffic, converted traffic,
change of destination traffic, development traffic, and Induced traffic.
Design Capacity in both
directions
S/N Highway Category
(PCU/
Veh./hr Veh/day
day)
1 Single lane black-topped
Plain terrain 100 1000 2000
Rolling terrain 90 900 1800
Mountainous terrain 90 900 1800
Steep terrain 70 700 1400
2 Single lane water-bound
Plain terrain 90 900 1800
Rolling terrain 80 800 1600
Mountainous terrain 75 750 1500
Steep terrain 40 400 800
3 Intermediate lane black-topped
(carriageway 5 to 6 m)
Plain terrain 300 3000 6000
Rolling terrain 285 2850 5700
Mountainous terrain 260 2600 5200
Steep terrain 225 2250 4500
4 Two-lane black topped
Plain terrain 750 7500 15000
Rolling terrain 500 5000 10000
Mountainous terrain 350 3500 7000
Steep terrain 250 2500 5000
5 Four-lane divided carriageway
Plain terrain 5000 50000 100,000
Rolling terrain 4000 40000 80000
Table 3.2: Traffic Capacity as per the NRS 2070
 Road users characteristics:
Design vehicles: Most important controls in the geometric design of highways are the physical
characteristics and the proportions of vehicles of various sizes using the highway. Therefore, it is
appropriate to examine all vehicle types, establish general class groupings, and select vehicles of
representative size within each class for design use. These selected vehicles, with representative
weight, dimensions, and operating characteristics, used to establish highway design controls for
accommodating vehicles of designated classes, are known as design vehicles. For purposes of
geometric design, each design vehicle has larger physical dimensions and a larger minimum turning
radius than most vehicles in its class.

Dimensions and weights of vehicles influence the road design to great extent. The vehicle characteristics
affecting the road design are the width of the vehicle, the height of the vehicle, the overall length of the
vehicle, vehicle loads, and vehicle speed. The maximum dimensions of road vehicles that have been
recommended by the IRC are as follows:
Dimensions Vehicle type Maximum dimensions, m

Width All 2.5

Height Single decked vehicle 3.8 – 4.2
Double decked vehicle 4.75
Length Single unit with two-axle 11.00
Single unit with more than two-axle 12.00
Tractor semi-trailer combination 16.00
Tractor Trailer combination 18.00
Table 3.4: Dimension of the vehicle as per IRC
Weight of the vehicles: The weight of the vehicles is usually expressed in terms of axle loads
which is the total load transmitted to the road by all wheels whose centers are located between two
parallel vertical planes and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. IRC suggests that a
single axle load should not exceed 10.2 tonnes (102 kN) and for tandem-axle 18 tonnes (180 kN).
The gross load of any vehicle or combination of vehicles should not exceed the weight worked out
by the following formula:

Where, W is the gross weight of the vehicle in kg, L is the distance between the extreme axles in m.

Minimum turning Paths (at 15 kmph): The principal dimensions affecting design are the
minimum centerline turning radius (CTR), the out-to-out track width, the wheelbase, and the path
of the inner rear tire. The turning template of a typical passenger car is shown in the figure below
(AASHTO, Guidelines)
Vehicular performance: Acceleration and deceleration rates of vehicles are often critical
parameters in determining highway design. These rates often govern the dimensions of such design
features as intersections, freeway ramps, climbing or passing lanes, and turnout bays for buses.

Vehicular pollutions (Noise, emission): As each vehicle travels along the highway, it emits
pollutants into the atmosphere and transmits noise to the surrounding area. The highway designer
should recognize these impacts and evaluate them in selecting appropriate transportation
alternatives.
Driver performance: An appreciation of driver performance is essential to proper highway design
and operation. The suitability of a design rests as much on how safely and efficiently drivers are
able to use the highway as on any other criterion. When drivers use a highway designed to be
compatible with their capabilities and limitations, their performance is aided. When a design is
incompatible with the capabilities of drivers, the chance for driver errors increases, and crashes or
inefficient operation may result.
The driving task encompasses a number of discrete and interrelated activities. When grouped by
performance, the components of the driving task fall into three levels: control, guidance, and
navigation. These activities are ordered on scales of the complexity of the task and importance for
safety. Simple steering and speed control are at one end of the scale (control). Road-following and
continuation of safe-path in response to road and traffic conditions are at midlevel of the scale
(guidance). At the other end of the scale are trip planning and route following (navigation).
Primacy relates the relative importance to the safety of competing information. Control and
guidance information is important because the related errors may contribute directly to crashes.
Navigation information has a lower primacy because errors may lead to inefficient traffic flow, but
are less likely to lead to crashes.
Driver expectancies are formed by the experience and training of drivers. Situations that generally
occur in the same way, and successful responses to these situations, are incorporated into each
driver’s store of knowledge. Expectancy relates to the likelihood that a driver will respond to
common situations in predictable ways that the driver has found success in the past. Expectancy
affects how drivers perceive and handle information and modify the speed and nature of their
responses. The total reaction time of the driver is composed of perception time and brake reaction
time. The NRS recommends the total reaction time of a healthy driver is 2.5-sec during the running
of the vehicle.
 Pedestrian considerations: Interactions of pedestrians with traffic are a major consideration in
highway planning and design. Pedestrians are a part of every roadway environment, and attention
should be paid to their presence in rural as well as urban areas. Therefore pedestrian consideration
is a must for the geometric design of highways. The walking speed, walkway capacities, level of
service of pedestrian walkways, pedestrians at intersections, and consideration of disabled persons
of pedestrian traffic should be considered.
Bicycle facilities: The bicycle has become an important element for consideration in the highway
design process. During the design of highway cross-section and other components, bicycle facilities
should be considered along the urban and settlements. The following aspects should be considered
related to the bicycle users.
 Safety for bicycle users,
 Types of the carriageway for bicycle-way,
 Bicycle-safe drainage grates
 Adjusting manhole covers to the grade
 maintaining a smooth, clean riding surface
 Design speed: Highways should be designed to operate at a speed that satisfies nearly all drivers.
Because only a small percentage of drivers travel at extremely high speeds, it is not economically
practical to design for them.
Operating speed: Operating speed is the speed at which drivers are observed operating their
vehicles during free-flow conditions. The 85th percentile of the distribution of observed speeds is
the most frequently used measure of the operating speed associated with a particular location or
geometric feature.
Running speed: The speed at which an individual vehicle travels over a highway section is known
as its running speed. The running speed is the length of the highway section divided by the running
time required for the vehicle to travel through the section. The average running speed is the sum of
the distances traveled by vehicles on a highway section during a specified time period divided by
the sum of their running times.
The Design speed is a selected speed used to determine the various geometric design features of the
roadway. The assumed design speed should be a logical one with respect to the topography,
anticipated operating speed, the adjacent land use, and the functional classification of the highway.
It is defined as the maximum approximately uniform speed that will be adopted by the majority of
drivers. It is the basic parameter that determines all other geometric design features. NRS
recommends the following values of design speed:

Highway type Terrain Design speed, Km/h

National highway Level 120

Rolling 80
Mountainous 50
Steep 40
Feeder Road Level 100
Rolling 60
Mountainous 40
Steep 30
Table 3.3: Design Speed recommended by NRS 2070
The design speed should preferably be uniform along a given highway. But if changes in design
speed become unfavorable due to variations in terrain, the design speed should be changed
gradually by introducing successive sections of increasing/decreasing design speed so that the road
users get conditioned to the change by degrees.
 Economic Considerations: Highway economics is concerned with the cost of a proposed
improvement and the benefits resulting from it. Final design decisions on the proposed projects
are supported by the economic analysis.
 Environmental Considerations: A highway necessarily has many effects in addition to
providing traffic service to users. It is essential that the highway be considered as an element of
the total environment. The term “total environment,” as used here refers to the totality of
humankind’s surroundings: social, physical, natural, and synthetic. It includes the human,
animal, and plant communities and the forces that act on all three. The highway can and should
be located and designed to complement its environment and serve as a catalyst to environmental
improvement.
 Safety consideration: Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to
prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. The third level is about reducing
the crash risk which involves applying the road design standards and guidelines (such as from
AASHTO), improving driver behavior and enforcement. The following should be adopted for
the geometric design of highways:

 Provision of Road Safety Audit (RSA)

 Policy formation
 Highways should be designed to minimize driver decisions and to reduce unexpected
situations.
 The number of crashes increases with an increase in the number of decisions required of
the driver.
 Access control
 Speed factor for the crash
 Drivers’ characteristics
 Curves (radius) and crashes
 Median barriers
 Shoulder width
 Long tangents on highways (may result in the sleep cases by monotonous in driving)

3.4. Elements of Geometric Design: Geometric design of highways deals with the following
elements of highway design.
1. Elements cross-section
 Pavement surface & characteristics
 Traffic lane, carriageway, shoulder
 Camber
 Extra widening of the pavement
 Super-elevation
 Sight distance across the road
2. Elements of horizontal alignment
 Review of turning angle
 Horizontal curvature
 Transition curve
 Sight distance along with the road plan
3. Element of vertical alignment
 Gradient
 Vertical curves
 Sight distance along with the road profile
Elements of cross-section: The features of the cross-section of the highway influence the
operating parameter, the life of the pavement, and riding comfort and safety. Of these, pavement
surface characteristics affect both of these. Camber, kerbs, and geometry of various cross-sectional
elements are important aspects to be considered in this regard. Elements of the cross-section are
explained in this chapter.
 Figure 1.1: Typical Cross-section in embankment

Figure 3.2 Typical Cross-section of Highway in Cutting

Figure 3.3 Typical Cross-section of Urban Street

Figure 3.4. Cross-sectional elements of road

Pavement Surface & Characteristics: Pavement type depends upon various factors such as funds
and materials available, traffic volume and composition, climatic condition, and construction
technology. Important surface characteristics of pavements are friction, unevenness, light-reflecting
characteristics, and drainage of the surface.
Friction: Friction between vehicle tyre and pavement surface effect of the operating speed and
distance required in stopping and accelerating the vehicle. When a vehicle negotiates the horizontal
curve, the lateral friction developed counteracts the centrifugal force and thus governs the safe
 operating speed. The coefficient of friction or the skid resistance offered by the pavement surface
under various driving and surface conditions is important for safety. When the wheel slides without
revolving, a skid occurs. Similarly, when centrifugal force is greater than counteracting force the
lateral skid takes place. When a wheel revolves more than the corresponding longitudinal
movement along the roads, slip occurs. Slipping usually occurs in the driving wheel of the vehicle
when the surface is slippery. For the calculation of stopping sight distances, NRS recommends the
coefficient of friction as: 0.42 at the speed of 20 km/h and 0.28 at the speed of 120 km/h. The
coefficient of side friction for the super-elevation is taken as 0.17 and 0.12 for the speed of 30
km/h and 120 km/h respectively. The ranges of coefficients are distributed uniformly for other
values of speed.
Pavement unevenness: smooth or even pavement surfaces offer high operating speeds. The
pavement surface should be maintained with minimum possible unevenness so that the desired
speed can be attained in conformity with other geometric standards. Pavement unevenness also
affects vehicle operation cost, comfort and safety, and wear and tear of tyres and other moving
parts. Pavement unevenness is measured in terms of unevenness index, which is a cumulative
measure of vertical undulations of the pavement surface recorded per unit horizontal length
(cm/km).
Light-reflecting characteristics: The light-reflecting characteristics of the pavement surface
increase the night visibility. The glare is caused by the reflection headlight considerably high on a
wet pavement surface than a dry surface.
Carriageway width and number of the lane: The Width of the carriageway or the width of the
pavement depends on the width of the traffic lane and the number of lanes. The Width of a traffic
lane depends on the width of the vehicle and the clearance. Side clearance improves operating
speed and safety. The maximum permissible width of a vehicle is 2.44 and the desirable side
clearance for single lane traffic is 0.68 m. This requires a minimum lane width of 3.75 m for a
single-lane road. However, the side clearance required is about 0.53 m, on both sides and 1.06 m in
the center. Therefore, a two-lane road requires a minimum of 3.5 meters for each lane. The
desirable carriageway width recommended by NRS is given in the table below.

Width of the carriageway

Single lane Intermediate lane Two lanes Multilane carriageway (width per lane)

3.75 5.5 (5.0-6.0)

7.0 3.5
Table 3.5: Width of carriageway as per NRS 2070
 Figure 3.1: Width of the carriageway
Number of traffic lane: The number of the traffic lane is the function of Design hourly volume
and the capacity of the traffic lane. The number of traffic lanes can be found by using the formula
below:

Where, N is the design hourly traffic volume, veh/hr; C is the traffic capacity of a single lane; V is
design speed Kmph; S is the average spacing of vehicles in m.
Similarly, carriageway width can be calculated by using the following relationship. It is that strip of
road which is considered for the movement of vehicular traffic.

Where Tw is the width of the traffic lane; n is the number of the traffic lanes.

Right of way: Right of way (ROW) or land width is the width of land acquired for the road,
along its alignment. It should be adequate to accommodate all the cross-sectional elements of the
highway and may reasonably provide for future development. To prevent ribbon development along
highways, control lines and building lines may be provided. A Control line is a line that represents
the nearest limits of future uncontrolled building activity in relation to a road. A building line
represents a line on either side of the road where no building activity is permitted at all. The right of
way width is governed by:
 Width of formation: It depends on the category of the highway and width of roadway and road
margins.
 Height of embankment or depth of cutting: It is governed by the topography and the vertical
alignment.
 Side slopes of embankment or cutting: It depends on the height of the slope, soil type, etc.
 Drainage system and their size depends on rainfall, topography, etc.
 Sight distance considerations: On curves etc. There is a restriction to the visibility on the inner
side of the curve due to the presence of some obstructions like building structures etc.

NRS recommends the minimum width of the Right of the way as in the table below.

Type of Road Minimum Right of way, m Building line, m

National Highway 50 (25m on either side of the road centerline) 62

Feeder Road 30 (15m on either side of the road centerline) 42
District Road 20 (10m on either side of the road centerline) 32
The reserved land is needed for the extra width of land for the construction of roadside facilities.
Land acquisition is not possible later, because the land may be occupied for various other purposes
(buildings, business, etc.)
Kerbs: Kerbs indicate the boundary between the carriageway and the shoulder or islands or
footpaths. Different types of kerbs are shown in the figure below (IRC recommendation).
Low or mountable kerbs: These types of kerbs are provided such that they encourage the traffic to
remain in the through traffic lanes and also allow the driver to enter the shoulder area with little
difficulty. The height of this kerb is about 10 cm above the pavement edge with a slope that allows
the vehicle to climb easily. This is usually provided at medians and channelization schemes and also
helps in longitudinal drainage.
Semi-barrier type kerbs: When the pedestrian traffic is high, these kerbs are provided. Their height
is 15 cm above the pavement edge. This type of kerb prevents encroachment of parking vehicles, but
at acute emergency it is possible to drive over this kerb with some difficulty.
Barrier-type kerbs: They are designed to discourage vehicles from leaving the pavement. They are
provided when there is a considerable amount of pedestrian traffic. They are placed at a height of 20
cm above the pavement edge with a steep batter.
Submerged kerbs: They are used on rural roads. The kerbs are provided at pavement edges between
the pavement edge and shoulders. They provide lateral confinement and stability to the pavement.

Figure 3.4: Different types of kerbs

Road margins: The various elements are included in the road margins such as shoulders,
parking lane, frontage road, driveway, cycle track, footpath, guard rail, and embankment slope.
Shoulder: Shoulder is the portion of the roadway on either side of the carriageway way which is
periodical can be used for overtaking, parking, or repairing vehicles, fixing traffic signs and signals,
and stacking construction materials. A well-maintained shoulder increases the lifetime of pavement.
NRS recommends the shoulder width as given in the table below.

Type of carriageway Total shoulder width; m (both sides included)

 Two and four lanes (black-topped) 4.0 to 6.0
Single-lane (surface dressed) 4.0 to 5.0
Single-lane (gravelled surface) 3.0 to 5.0

Picture 3.5: Road shoulder

Note: Lateral slops on shoulder 5% for gravel and 8% for turf.
Bus bays: Bus bays are provided by recessing the kerbs for bus stops. They are provided so that
they do not obstruct the movement of vehicles in the carriageway. They should be at least 75 meters
away from the intersection so that the traffic near the intersections is not affected by the bus bay.

Service roads or frontage roads: give access to access-controlled highways like freeways
and expressways. They run parallel to the highway and will be usually isolated by a separator and
access to the highway will be provided only at selected points. These roads are provided to avoid
congestion in the expressways and also the speed of the traffic in those lanes is not reduced.

Lay-byes: are provided near public conveniences with guide maps to enable drivers to stop clear
off the carriageway. Lay-byes should normally be of 3.0 m width and at least 30 m length with 15
m end tapers on both sides.

Driveways: connect the highway with a commercial establishment like fuel stations, services
stations etc. The driveways should be properly designed and located, fairly away from an
intersection. The radius of the driveway curve should be kept as large as possible, but the width of
the driveway should be minimized to reduce the length of the crosswalks.

Cycle tracks: are provided in urban areas when the volume of cycle traffic on the road is very
high. The minimum width for cycle track should be kept 2 m and it may be increased by 1 m for
each additional cycle lane.

Footpaths or sidewalks: are exclusive "Right of Way" to pedestrians, especially in urban

areas. They are provided for the safety of the pedestrians when both the pedestrian traffic and
vehicular traffic is high. The minimum width is 1.5 meters and may be increased based on the
traffic. The footpath should be either as smooth as the pavement or smoother than that to induce the
pedestrian to use the footpath.
NRS recommendation for sidewalk: In urban areas, the sidewalk should be provided as per the
number of pedestrians estimated for the future. Usually, a 60 cm width should be provided for a
pedestrian density of 30 pedestrians/min, subject to a minimum sidewalk of 2.5 m on each side of
the carriageway.

Guard rails: are provided at the edge of the shoulder when the road is constructed in fill so that
the vehicles are prevented from running off the embankment, especially when the height of the fill
exceeds 3 m.
Embankment slopes: should be as flat as possible for the purpose of safe traffic movement and
also for aesthetic reasons. However, from the slope stability point of view, a steeper slope may be
possible, it may be kept as flat as permitted by economic considerations.

Drainage: The pavement surface should be absolutely impermeable to prevent seepage of water
into the pavement layers. Further, both the geometry and texture of the pavement surface should
help in draining out the water from the surface in less time.
Camber: Camber or cant is the cross slope provided to raise the middle of the road surface in the
transverse direction to drain rainwater from the road surface. The objectives of providing camber
are:
 Surface protection especially for gravel and bituminous roads
 Sub-grade protection by proper drainage
 Quick-drying of pavement which in turn increases safety
A too steep slope is undesirable for it will erode the surface. Camber is measured in 1 in n or n%
(Example: 1 in 50 or 2%) and the value depends on the type of pavement surface. The amount of
camber mainly depends upon the amount of rainfall in the area and the type of road surface. The
values suggested by NRS for various categories of pavement are given in the table below. The
common types of camber are parabolic, straight, or a combination of them.
Disadvantages of steep camber
 The transverse tilt of vehicles
 Uncomfortable during traveling
 Unequal wear and tear of tyres
 Discomfort when crossing the crown during overtaking operation
 Formation of cross ruts due to the rapid flow of water
 The tendency of most of the vehicles to travel along the centerline.
NRS recommendation for the values of camber is given in the table below:

Type of road surface Camber, %

Earthen 5
Gravel 4
Bitumen (rural area) 3
Bitumen (urban area) 2.5

Figure 2 Straight line camber

Note: If camber is 1 in n; then take n=1/n. For example, camber is 1 in 50; then, n=1/50

Figure 3 parabolic type of camber

Note: If camber is 1 in n; then take n=1/n. For example, camber is 1 in 50; then, n=1/50

Figure 4 Composite type of camber

Numerical Example: A bituminous road has a 7m wide carriageway calculate the height of crown
above edge level. Similarly, calculate the height of the road surface from edges at the one-fourth
width of the carriageway above edge level. Take both cases as i) straight line and ii) parabolic
camber.
3.5. Elements of Horizontal Alignments:
The alignment should enable consistent, safe, and smooth movement of vehicles operating at design
speeds. It is hence necessary to avoid those sharp curves and reverse curves that could not be
conveniently negotiated by the vehicles at design speed. Improper design of horizontal alignment of
roads would necessitate speed changes resulting in increased vehicle operation cost and higher
accident rate.

Sight distance: For operating a motor vehicle safely and efficiently, it is of utmost importance
that drivers have the capability of seeing clearly ahead. Therefore, a sight distance of sufficient
length must be provided so that the drivers can operate and control their vehicles safely.
 The sight distance available from a point is the actual distance along the road surface, in which a
driver from a specified height above the carriageway has visibility of stationary or moving objects.
In other words, sight distance is the length of road visible ahead to the driver at any instance.
Restriction to sight distance may be caused at horizontal curves, by objects obstructing vision at the
inner side of the road or at vertical summit curves, or at intersections. Sight distance required by
drivers applies to both geometric designs of highways and for traffic control.
There are four types of sight distance situations to be considered in the design:
1. Stopping or absolute minimum sight distance
2. Decision Sight distance: The distances needed for decisions at complex locations
3. Safe overtaking or passing sight distance, and
4. Safe sight distance for entering into uncontrolled intersections

The standards for sight distance should satisfy the following three conditions:
 A driver traveling at the design speed has sufficient sight distance or length of road visible ahead to
stop the vehicle, in case of any obstruction on the road ahead, without collision
 A driver traveling at the design speed should be able to safely overtake, at reasonable intervals, the
slower vehicle without causing obstruction or hazard to the traffic of opposite direction
 A driver entering an uncontrolled intersection (particularly an un-signalized Intersection) has
sufficient visibility to enable him to take control of his vehicle and to avoid collision with another
vehicle.
Apart from the three situations mentioned above, the following sight distances are considered by the
IRC in highway design:
Intermediate sight distance: This is defined as twice the stopping sight distance. When
overtaking sight distance cannot be provided, intermediate sight distance is provided to give limited
overtaking opportunities to fast vehicles.
Headlight sight distance: This is the distance visible to a driver during night driving under the
illumination of the vehicle headlights. This sight distance is critical at up-gradients and at the ascending
stretch of the valley curves.
Stopping Sight Distance (SSD): The minimum sight distance available on a highway at any spot
should be of sufficient length to stop a vehicle traveling at design speed, safely without collision with
any other obstruction. The absolute minimum sight distance is therefore equal to the stopping sight
distance, which is also sometimes called non-passing sight distance.
The sight distance available on a road to a driver at any instance depends on
 Features of the road ahead,
 Height of the driver’s eye above the road surface.
 Height of the object above the road surface.

The features of the road ahead which affect the sight distance are the horizontal alignment and
vertical profile of the road, the traffic condition, and the position of obstructions. At vertical summit
curves, the height of the drivers' eye and the object above road level are more important factors
affecting the visibility. The height of an object to be considered for stopping a vehicle depends on
what might be a source of danger to the moving vehicle. For the purpose of measuring the stopping
sight distance or visibility ahead, NRS has suggested the height of eye level of drivers as 1.0 m and
the height of the object as 0.10 m above the road surface.
IRC recommendation: stopping distance available at a summit curve is that distance measured along
the road surface at which an object of height 0.15 m can be seen by a driver where the eye is at a
height of 1.2 m above the road surface.
The distance within which a motor vehicle can be stopped depends upon the factors listed below:
 The total reaction time of the driver
 Speed of vehicle
 Efficiency of brakes
 Frictional resistance between the road and the tyres
 The gradient of the road, if any

Total reaction time

The reaction time of the driver is the time taken from the instant the object is visible to the driver to
the instant the brakes are effectively applied. The amount of time gap depends on several factors.
During this time the vehicle travels a certain distance at the original speed or the design speed. Thus
the stopping distance increases with increases in reaction time of the driver. The total reaction time
may be split up into two parts.
 perception time
 brake reaction time
The perception time is the time required for a driver to realize that brakes must be applied it is the
time from the instant the object comes on the line of sight of the driver to the instant he realizes that
the vehicle needs to be stopped. The perception time varies from driver to driver and also depends
on several other factors such as the speed of the vehicle, the distance of an object, and other
environmental conditions. The brake reaction also depends on several factors including the skill of
the driver, the type of the problems, and various other environmental factors. Often the total brake
reaction time of the driver is taken together.
PIEV Theory: According to this theory the total reaction time of the driver is split into four parts,
viz. time taken by the driver for:
(1) Perception: Perception time is the time required for the sensation received by the eyes or ears to
be transmitted to the brain through the nervous system and spinal cord in other words, it is the time
required to perceive an object or situation.
(2) Intellection: Intellection time is the time required for understanding the situation. It is also the
time required to compare the different thoughts, regrouping and register the new sensation
(3) Emotion: Emotion time is the time elapsed during emotional sensation, and disturbance such as
fear, anger, or any other emotional feeling such as superstition with reference to the situation.
Therefore the emotional time of a driver is likely to vary considerably depending upon the problems
involved.
(4) Volition: Volition time is the time taken for the final action

It is also possible that the driver may apply brakes or take any avoiding by the reflex action, even
without thinking. The PIEV process has been illustrated in the above figure.
The PIEV time of a driver depends on several factors such as physical and psychological characteristics
of the driver, type of the problem involved, environmental condition of temporary factor (e.g. motive
of the trip, travel speed, fatigue consummation of alcohol c.) The total reaction time of an average time
driver may vary from 0.5 seconds for simple situations to as much as 3 to 4 seconds or even more in
complex problems.
Speed of vehicle
The stopping distance very depends very much on the speed of the vehicle. First, during the total
reaction time of the driver the, distance moved by the vehicle will depend on the speed. Second, the
braking distance or the distance moved by the vehicle after applying the braking, before coming to a
stop depends also on the initial speed of the vehicle hence it is evident that the higher the speed, higher
will be the stopping distance.

Efficiency of brakes
The braking efficiency is said to be 100 percent if the wheels are fully locked preventing them from
rotating on application of the brakes. This will result in 100 percent skidding which is normally
undesirable except in utmost a skidding vehicle. Hence to avoid a skid, the braking forces should not
exceed the frictional force between the wheels and tyres.
Frictional resistance between road and tyres
The frictional resistance developed between road and tyres or the skid resistance depends on the type
and condition of the road surface and the tyres. The braking distance increases with a decrease in skid
resistance. For the calculation of stopping sight distances, NRS recommends s coefficient of friction as:
0.42 at the speed of 20 km/h and 0.28 at the speed of 120 km/h.

Analysis of stopping distance

The stopping distance if a vehicle is a sum of:
 The distance traveled by the vehicle during the total reaction time known as lag distance and
 The distance traveled by the vehicle after the application of the brakes, to a dead stop position is
known as the braking distance.
Lag distance
During the total reaction time or PIEV time, the vehicle may be assumed to proceed forward with a
uniform speed at which the vehicle has been moving and this speed may be taken as the design speed.
If ‘v’ is the design speed in m/sec and ‘t’ is the total reaction time of the driver in seconds, then the lag
distance will be ‘v.t’ metres.
The total reaction time of driver depends on a variety of factors and a value of 2.5 sec is considered
reasonable for most situations. The NRS has recommended the value of reaction time 2.5 secs for the
calculation of stopping distance.
Braking distance
The coefficient of friction ‘f’ depends on several factors such as the type and condition of the pavement
surface and tyres. Also, the value of 'f' decreases with increase in speed. Assuming a level road, the
braking distance may be obtained by equating the work done in stopping the vehicle and the kinetic
energy.
If F is the maximum frictional force developed and the braking distance is l, then work done against
friction force in stopping the vehicle is F x l = f W l, where W is the total weight of the vehicle.
The kinetic energy at the design speed of v m/sec will be

Here, l = Braking distance; v = speed of vehicle, m/sec; f = Design coefficient of friction; g =

acceleration due to gravity, 9.8 m/sec2.

Stopping distance at slopes

When there is an ascending gradient of say, + n% the component of gravity adds to the braking
action and hence the braking distance is decreased. The component of gravity acting parallel to the
surface which adds to the braking force is equal to W sin ά = W tan ά = Wn/100.

As the stopping sight distance SSD required on descending gradient is higher, it is necessary to
determine the critical value of the SSD for the descending gradient on the roads with gradient and
two-way traffic flow.
The minimum stopping sight distance hence should be equal to the stopping distance in one-way
traffic lanes and also in two-way traffic roads when there are two or more traffic lanes. On roads
with restricted width or on single-lane roads when the two-way movement of traffic is permitted,
the minimum stopping sight distance should be equal to TWICE the stopping distance to enable
both vehicles coming from opposite directions to stop. The SSD should invariably be provided
throughout the length of all roads and hence this is also known as absolute minimum sight distance.
When the stopping sight distance for the design speed is not available on any section of a road, the
speed should be restricted by a warning sign and a suitable speed-limit regulation sign. However
this should be considered only as a temporary measure and wherever possible, the stretch of the
road should be re-aligned or the obstruction to visibility removed so as to provide at least stopping
sight distance for the design speed.

Figure 5 Different cases of stopping sight distance

The safe stopping distance values calculated in a similar manner for various design speeds and
recommended by NRS are given in Table below.

Design speed, Minimum stopping sight

km/h distance, m
120 200
100 145
80 110
60 85
50 65
40 45
30 30
20 20

Based on the total perception and brake reaction time of 2.5 sec and coefficient of friction from 0.42
at 20 kmph to 0.28 at 120 km/h, the increase in stopping sight distance on down-grades shall be as
follows:
Design speed, increase per 1 % grade, m
 km/h
120 6.0
100 4.5
80 3.0
60 1.5

Numerical Example:
Calculate the safe stopping sight distance on a national highway in rolling terrain at an ascending
gradient of 3%. Assume relevant data as per NRS recommendation.

Overtaking Sight Distance (OSD): A real traffic flow is the movement of different types of
vehicles, having different speeds. In such a situation, it is necessary for fast-moving vehicles to
overtake or pass the slow-moving vehicles. It may not be possible to provide the facility to overtake
slow-moving vehicles throughout the length of a road. In such cases, facilities for overtaking slow
vehicles with adequate safety should be made possible at suitable intervals along the road.
The minimum distance open to the vision of the driver of a vehicle intending to overtake a slow
vehicle ahead with safety against the traffic of opposite direction is known as the minimum
overtaking sight distance (OSD) or the safe passing sight distance available. The overtaking sight
distance or OSD is the distance measured along the centre of the road which a driver with his eye
level 1.2 m above the road surface can see the top of an object 1.2 m above the road surface.

The following factors should be considered for the analysis of minimum overtaking sight distance.
 Speeds of overtaking vehicle, overtaken vehicle and the vehicle coming from the opposite
direction, if any.
 Distance between the overtaking and overtaken vehicles; the minimum spacing depends on the
speeds.
 Skill and reaction time of the driver
 Rate of acceleration of overtaking vehicle
 Gradient of the road, if any

Analysis of Overtaking Sight Distance: The figure shows the overtaking maneuver of vehicle A
traveling at design speed and another slow vehicle B on a two-lane road with two-way traffic. Third
vehicle C comes from the opposite direction. The overtaking maneuver may be split up into three
operations, thus dividing the overtaking sight distance into three parts, d1, d2, and d3.
a) d1 is the distance traveled by overtaking vehicle A during the reaction time t sec of the driver from
position A1 to A2.
b) d2 is the distance traveled by vehicle A from A2 to A3 during the actual overtaking operation, in
time T sec.
 c) d3 is the distance traveled by on-coming vehicle C from C1 to C2 during the overtaking operation of
A, i.e. T secs.
Certain assumptions are made in order to calculate the values of d1, d2, and d3.
In Figure A is the overtaking vehicle originally traveling at design speed v m/sec; B is the overtaken or
slow-moving vehicle moving with uniform speed vb m/sec; C is a vehicle coming from the opposite
direction at the design speed v m/sec. In a two-lane road the opportunity to overtake depends on the
frequency of vehicles from the opposite direction and the overtaking sight distance available at any
instant.
I. It may be assumed that vehicle A is forced to reduce its speed to the speed vb of the slow vehicle B
and moves behind it allowing a space s, till there is an opportunity for safe overtaking operation.
The distance traveled by the vehicle A during this reaction time is d1 and is between the positions
A1 and A2. This distance will be equal to meter, where t is the reaction time of the driver in
second. This reaction time t of the driver may be taken as 2 seconds as an average value, as the aim
of the driver is only to find an opportunity to overtake.

II. From position A2 , the vehicle A starts accelerating, shifts to the adjoining lane, overtakes the
vehicle B and shifts back to its original lane ahead of B in position A3 in time T sec. The straight
distance between position A2 and A3 is taken as d2. The minimum distance between position A2
and B1 may be taken as the minimum spacing s of the two vehicles while moving with the speed v b
m/sec. The minimum spacing between vehicles depends on their speed and is given by the
empirical formula.

The minimum distance between B2 and A3 may also be assumed equal to s as mentioned above. If the
taken by vehicle A for the overtaking operation from position A2 to A3 is T second, the distance
covered by the slow vehicle B traveling at a speed of vb m/sec.

Thus the distance, =

Now the time T depends on the speed of overtaken vehicle B and the acceleration of overtaking vehicle
A. This time T may be calculated by equating the distance d2 to, using the general formula for the
distance traveled by a uniformly accelerating body with initial speed vb m/sec and ‘a’ is the acceleration
in m/sec2.

III. The distance traveled by vehicle C moving at design speed v m/sec during the overtaking operation
of vehicle A i.e. during time T is the distance d2 between positions C1 to C2 .

Hence,
 Thus the overtaking sight distance

In case the speed of overtaken vehicle vb is not given, the same may be assumed as vb = (v – 4.5) m/sec and
v is the design speed in m/sec.
The acceleration of the overtaking vehicle is to be specified. Usually, this depends on the type of the
vehicle, its condition, load, and speed. As a general guide, the table is given below may be used for finding
the maximum acceleration of vehicles at different speeds. The average rate of acceleration during overtaking
maneuver may be taken corresponding to the design speed.

Speed; Speed; Max. overtaken

km/hr m/sec acceleration (a);
m/sec2
25 6.93 1.41
30 8.34 1.30
40 11.10 1.24
50 13.86 1.11
65 18.00 0.92
80 22.20 0.72
100 27.80 0.53

At overtaking sections, the minimum overtaking distance should be (d1 + d2 + d3 ) when two-way traffic
exists. On divided highways and on roads with one-way traffic regulation, the overtaking distance needs to
be only (d1 +d2) as no vehicle is expected from the opposite direction. On divided highways with four or
more lanes, IRC suggests that it is not necessary to provide the usual OSD; however, the sight distance on
any highway should be more than the SSD, which is the absolute minimum sight distance.
Effect of grade in overtaking sight distance
Appreciable grades on the road, both descending as well as ascending, increase the sight distance required
for safe overtaking. In down-grades though it is easier for the overtaking vehicles to accelerate and pass the
overtaken vehicle may also accelerate and cover a greater distance ‘b’ during the overtaking time.
On up-grades, the acceleration of the overtaking vehicle will be less and hence passing will be difficult; but
the overtaken vehicle like heavily loaded trucks may also decelerate as steep ascends and compensates to
some extent the passing sight distance requirement. Therefore the OSD at both ascending and descending
grades are taken as equal to that at level stretch. However, at grades the overtaking sight distance should be
greater than the minimum overtaking distance required at level.
Overtaking Zones
It is desirable to construct highways in such a way that the length of road visible ahead at every point is
sufficient for safe overtaking. This is seldom practicable and there may be stretches where the safe
overtaking distance cannot be provided. In such zones where overtaking or passing is not safe or is not
possible, signposts should be installed indicating “Overtaking Prohibited” before such restricted zones
start But the overtaking opportunity for vehicles moving at design speed should be given at frequent
intervals. These zones which are meant for overtaking are called overtaking zones.

The OSD and pavement width should be sufficient for safe overtaking operations. Signposts should be
installed at a sufficient distance in advance to indicate the start of the overtaking zones; this distance may
be equal to (d1 + d2) for one-way roads and (d1 +d2 + d3) for two-way roads. Similarly, the end of the
overtaking zones should also be indicated by appropriate signposts installed ahead at the distance specified
above. The minimum length of overtaking zone should be three-time the safe overtaking distances i.e., 3
(d1 + d2) for one-way roads and 3 (d1 + d2 + d3) for two-way roads. It is desirable that the length of
overtaking zones is kept five times the overtaking sight distance.

Figure 6 Overtaking Zone

Criteria for Sight Distance Requirements on Highway
The absolute minimum sight distance required throughout the length of the road is the SSD which should
always be provided at all places. On horizontal curves the obstruction on the inner side of the curves should
be cleared to provide the required set back distance and absolute minimum sight distance. The common
obstruction to clear vision on horizontal curves is buildings and other structures, trees, advertisement
boards, cut slopes, etc. On vertical summit curves, the sight distance requirement may be fulfilled by the
proper design of the vertical alignment. At uncontrolled intersections, sufficient clearances to the sightlines
may be given to provide for SSD.
Intermediate Sight Distance
Sufficient overtaking sight distance should be available on most of the road stretches. On horizontal curves,
the overtaking sight distance requirements cannot always be fulfilled especially on a sharp curves, if the
safe overtaking sight distance requirements are high. In such cases overtaking should be prohibited by
regulatory signs. In the case of vertical summit curves, it is possible to provide the sight distance
requirements by suitably designing the vertical alignment. At stretches of the road where required
overtaking sight distance cannot be provided then Intermediate Sight Distance, ISD equal to twice SSD
may be provided. The measurement of the ISD may be made assuming both the height of the eye level of
the driver and the object to be 1.2 meters above the road surface.
Sight Distance at Intersections: It is important that on all approaches of intersecting roads, there is a clear
view across the corners from a sufficient distance so as to avoid collision of vehicles. This is all the more
important at uncontrolled intersections. The sight line is obstructed by structures or other objects at the
corners of the intersections. The area of unobstructed sight formed by the lines of vision is called the sight
triangle.
 Figure 7 Sight Distance at intersection

The design of sight distance at intersections may be based on three possible conditions:
a) Enabling the approaching vehicle to change speed: The sight distance should be sufficient to enable
either one or both the approaching vehicles to change speed to avoid collision. The vehicle
approaching from the minor road should slow down. The total reaction time required for the driver
to decide to change speed may be assumed as two second and at least and more second will be
needed for making the change in speed. Hence the two sides AC and BC of the sight triangle along
the intersection approaches up to the conflict point C should be at least equal to the distance
covered by a vehicle traveling at design speed in two seconds.

b) Enabling approaching vehicle to stop: In this case, the distance for the approaching vehicle should
be sufficient to bring either one or both of the vehicles to a stop before reaching a point of collision.
Hence the two sides AC and BC of the sight triangle should each be equal to the safe stopping
distance. In almost all uncontrolled intersections one of the two cross roads is a preference highway
or a through road or a major road. Thus it is the responsibility of the drivers on the minor road who
would cross or enter this main road, to stop or change speed to avoid collision. The traffic of the
minor road is generally controlled by an appropriate traffic sign. In such a case the sight distance
for a minor road should be at least equal to the SSD for the design speed of that road. The sight
distance requirement of stopping is higher than that of condition (a) above and hence is safe as
vehicles can stop if necessary.

c) Enabling stopped vehicle to cross a main road: This case is applicable when the vehicles entering
the intersection from the minor road are controlled by stop sign and so these vehicles have to stop
and then proceed to cross the main road. In such a situation, the sight distance available from the
stopped position of the minor road should be sufficient to enable the stopped vehicle to start,
accelerate and cross the main road, before another vehicle traveling at its design speed on the main
road reaches the intersection. The time T required for the stopped vehicle to cross the main road
would depend upon (a) reaction time of the driver (b) width of the main road (c) acceleration, and
(d) length of vehicle. Thus the minimum sight distance to fulfill this condition is the distance
traveled by a vehicle on the main road at design speed during this time ‘T'.

From safety considerations, the sight distance at uncontrolled intersections should therefore fulfill
all the above three conditions. The highest of the three values may be taken at un-signalized
intersections at grade, except at rotaries. The IRC recommended that at controlled intersections,
sufficient visibility should be provided such that the sight distance of each road is at least equal to
the SSD corresponding to the design speed of the road. If the sight triangle available is less than the
 desired minimum size due to unavoidable reasons, the vehicles approaching the intersection may be
warned or controlled by suitable signs.
At rotaries, the sight distance should be at least equal to the safe stopping distance for the design
speed of the rotary. At signalized intersections, the above three requirements are not applicable.
At priority intersections where a minor road crosses a major road, the traffic on the minor road may
be controlled by a stop or give-way signs to give priority to the traffic on the major road. The
visibility distance available along the minor road should be sufficient to enable the drivers to stop
their vehicles. The visibility distance along the major road depends upon the time required for the
stopped vehicles approaching from the minor road to evaluate the gaps between the vehicles on the
major road, to accelerate, and to cross the major road safety.

Horizontal Curves: A horizontal highway curve is a curve in plan to provide change in direction
to the central line of a road. When a vehicle traverses a horizontal curve, the centrifugal force acts
horizontally outwards through the center of gravity of the vehicle.
The centrifuge force developed depends on the radius of the horizontal curves and the speed of the
vehicle negotiating the curve. This centrifuge force is counteracted by the transverse frictional
resistance developed between the tire and the pavement which enables the vehicle. Centrifugal force P
is given by the equation:

Here;
P = centrifuge force, kg
W = weight of the vehicle, kg
R = radius of the circular curve, m
v = speed of vehicle, m/sec
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/sec2
The ratio of the centrifugal force to the weight of the vehicle, P/W is known as the centrifugal ratio
or the impact factor. The centrifuge ratio is thus equal to v2/gR.
The centrifugal force acting on a vehicle negotiating a horizontal curve has two effects;
 Tendency to overturn the vehicle outwards about the outer wheels and
 Tendency to skid the vehicle laterally, outwards.
The analysis of stability of those two conditions against overturning and transverse skidding of the
vehicles negotiating horizontal curves without Super-elevation are given below:
(i) Overturning effect
The centrifugal force that tends the vehicle to overturn about the outer wheels B on horizontal curve
without Super-elevation is illustrated in Figure 14. The overturning moment due to centrifugal force
P is P. h; this is resisted by the restoring moment due to weight of the vehicle W and is equal to
W.b/2, where h is the height of the centre of the gravity of the vehicle above the road surface and b
is the width of the wheel base or the wheel track of the vehicle.
 Figure 8 Overturning due to Centrifugal Force

The equilibrium condition for overturning will occur when P.h = W.b/2, or when P/W = b/2h. This
means that there is danger of overturning when the centrifugal when the centrifugal ratio P/W or
v2 /gR attains a values of b/2h.
(ii) Transverse skidding effect
The centrifugal force developed has also the tendency to push the vehicle outwards in the transverse
direction. If the centrifugal force P developed exceeds the maximum possible transverse skid
resistance due to the friction, the vehicle will start skidding in the transverse direction. Refer Figure
15. The equilibrium condition for the transverse skid resistance developed is given by:

Figure 9 Skidding Effect due to Centrifugal Force

In the above relation, f is the coefficient of friction between the tyre and the pavement surface in the
transverse direction, RA and RB are normal reactions at the wheels A and B such that (RA + RB) is
equal to the weight W of the vehicle, as no Super-elevation has been provided in this case.
Since P = f W, the centrifugal ratio P/W is equal to ‘f ‘. In other words, when the centrifugal ratio
attains a value equal to the coefficient of lateral friction (f) there is a danger of lateral skidding.
Thus to avoid overturning and lateral skidding on a horizontal curve, the centrifugal ratio should
always be less than b/2h and also ‘f’.
 The vehicle negotiating a horizontal curve with Super-elevation has to fully depend on the
coefficient of friction ‘f’ to resist the lateral skidding. The centrifugal force may be enough to cause
overturning or lateral skidding of the vehicle if either the speed of the vehicle is high or the radius
of the curve is less. In such a case the vehicle would skid and not overturn if the value of ‘f’ is less
than b/2h. On the other hand the vehicle would overturn on the outer side before skidding if the
value of b/2h is lower than ‘f’. Thus the relative danger of lateral skidding and overturning depends
on whether f is lower or higher than b/2h.
If the pavement is kept horizontal across the alignment, the pressure on the outer wheels will be
higher due to the centrifugal force acting outwards and hence the reaction RB at the outer wheel
would be higher. The difference in pressure distribution at inner and outer wheels has been
indicated in Figure 15. When the limiting equilibrium condition for overturning occurs the pressure
at the inner wheels becomes equal to zero.

Super-elevation: In order to counteract the effect of centrifugal force and to reduce the tendency
of the vehicle to overturn or skid, the outer edge of the pavement is raised with respect to the inner
edge, thus providing a transverse slope throughout the length of the horizontal curve, this transverse
inclination to the pavement surface is known as Super-elevation or cant or banking. The Super-
elevation ‘e’ is expressed as the ratio of the height of the outer edge with respect to the horizontal
width. From Figure 16 it may be seen that Super-elevation.

In practice, the inclination Ө with the horizontal is very small and the value of tanӨ seldom
exceeds 0.07. Therefore the value of than Ө is practically equal to sinӨ.
Hence, e = tan Ө = sin Ө = E/B which is measured as the ratio of the relative elevation of the outer
edge, E to width of pavement, B.

Figure 10 Analysis of Super-elevation

If e is the Super-elevation rate and E is the total super elevated height of outer edge, the total rise in outer
edge of the pavement with respect to the inner edge = NL = E = eB.
Analysis of Super-elevation
The force acting on the vehicle while moving on a circular curve of radius R meters, at speed of v m/sec are
a) the centrifugal force P = Wv2/gR acting horizontal outwards through the centre of gravity,
 b) the weight W of the vehicle acting vertically downloads through the CG
c) The frictional force developed between the wheels and the pavement surface counteracts
transversely along the pavement surface towards the center of the curve.

The centrifugal force is thus opposed by the corresponding value of the friction developed and by a
component of the force of gravity due to the Super-elevation provided. Figure 16 shows the cross-section
of pavement with all the force acting on the vehicle resolved parallel and perpendicular to the inclined road
surface. Considering the equilibrium of the component of forces acting parallel to the plane, (P cos Ө) the
component of centrifugal force is opposed by (W sin Ө) the component of gravity and the frictional forces
FA and FB.
For equilibrium conditions,

The limiting equilibrium is reached when the full values of the frictional forces are developed and the
values of FA and FB reach their maximum value of f x RB and f x RA respectively where ‘f’ is the
coefficient of lateral friction and RA and RB are the normal reactions at wheels A and B.

Therefore,

Dividing by W cosӨ,

The value of coefficient of lateral friction, ‘f’ is taken as 0.15 for design purposes. The value of tan Ө or
transverse slope due to Super-elevation seldom exceeds 0.07 or about 1/15. Hence the value of f tan Ө is
about 0.01. Thus the value of (1- f tan Ө) in the above equation is equal to 0.99 and may be approximate to
1.0.

Therefore,

But

Therefore

Where,
e = rate of Super-elevation = tan Ө
f = design value of lateral friction coefficient = 0.15
v = speed of the vehicle, m/sec
 R = radius of the horizontal curve, m
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/sec2
If the coefficient of friction is neglected or assumed equal to zero, i, e. if f = 0, the equilibrium Super-
elevation required to counteract the centrifugal force fully will be given by:

If Super-elevation is provided according to this formula, the pressures on the outer and inner wheels will be
equal; but this will result in a very high value of Super-elevation. As a considerable role is played by the
lateral frictional resistance in counteracting the centrifugal force, it is always taken into account. In places
where Super-elevation is not provided due to practical difficulties, i, e. where e = 0 and f=v 2 / gR, and the
frictional force has to fully counteract the centrifugal force. In some types of intersections it is not possible
to provide Super-elevation and in such cases, the friction counteracts the centrifugal forcefully; with no
Super-elevation, the allowed speed of vehicle negotiating a turn should be restricted to the condition,

It is possible that at some intersections, a negative Super-elevation is unavoidable.

Numerical Example:
The radius of a horizontal circular curve is 100 m. The design speed is 50 kmph and the design coefficient
of lateral friction is 0.15.
a) Calculate the super-elevation required if full lateral friction is assumed to develop
b) Calculate the coefficient of friction needed if no super-elevation is provided
c) Calculate the equilibrium super-elevation
Maximum super-elevation
The value of Super-elevation needed increases with increase in speed and with decrease in radius of the
curve, for a constant value of coefficient of lateral friction ‘f’. However, it will be necessary to limit the
maximum allowable Super-elevation to avoid very high values of ‘f’. This is particularly necessary when
the road has to cater for mixed traffic, consisting of fast and slow traffic.
In the case of heavily loaded bullock carts and trucks carrying less dense materials like straw or cotton, the
center of gravity of the loaded vehicle will be relatively high and it will not be safe for such vehicles to
move on a road with a high rate of Super-elevation. Because of the slow speed, the centrifugal force will be
negligibly small in the case of bullock carts. Hence to avoid the danger of toppling such loaded slow-
moving vehicles, it is essential to limit the value of maximum allowable Super-elevation. IRC recommends
the maximum values of super-elevation as:
 emax = 7% in plain and rolling terrain and in snowbound areas
 emax = 10% on hill roads not bound by snow
 emax =4% on urban roads

Minimum super-elevation
A suitable value of cross slope (camber) is provided to the road surface for the purpose of efficient surface
drainage. If the calculated value of Super-elevation is equal to or less than the camber of the road surface,
then the minimum Super-elevation to be provided on the horizontal curve may be limited to the camber of
the surface. Thus after the elimination of the crown, a uniform cross slope equal to the camber is
maintained from the outer to the inner edge of the pavement at the circular curve. In very flat curves with a
large radius, the centrifugal force developed will be very small and in such cases, the normal camber may
be retained on the curves. Though this practice will cause a negative Super-elevation on the outer half of
the pavement due to the normal camber, the centrifugal force together with this negative Super-elevation
would be considerably less than the allowable friction coefficient on such curves. The IRC
recommendation gives the ratio of horizontal curves beyond which normal cambered section may be
maintained and no Super-elevation is required for curves. The radius of curves corresponds to the design
speed which does not require super-elevation if given in the table below.

Design speed Radius (meter) of horizontal curve for camber of :

(Kmph) 4% 3% 2.5% 2% 1.7%
20 50 60 70 90 100
25 70 90 110 140 150
30 100 130 160 200 240
35 140 180 220 270 320
40 180 240 280 350 420
50 280 370 450 550 650
60 470 620 750 950 1100
80 700 950 1100 1400 1700
100 1100 1500 1800 2200 2600

Super-elevation design
Design speed is major factor for the design of super-elevation. Design of Super-elevation for mixed traffic
conditions is complex problem, as different vehicles ply on the road with a wide range of speeds. To super
elevate the pavement up to the maximum limit so as to counteract the centrifugal force fully, neglecting the
lateral friction is safer for fast moving vehicles. But for slow-moving vehicles, this may quite inconvenient.
On the contrary, to provide the lower value of Super-elevation thus relying more on the lateral friction
would be unsafe for fast-moving vehicles. As a compromise and from practical considerations it is
suggested that the Super-elevation should be provided to fully counteract the centrifugal force due to 75
percent of the design speed, (by neglecting lateral friction developed) and limiting the maximum Super-
elevation to 0.07 (expect on hill roads, not bound by snow where the maximum allowable value is 0.1).
Steps for super-elevation design
Step 1: The super-elevation for 75% of design speed is calculated neglecting friction

Step 2. If the calculated value of “e” is less than 7% or 0.07 the value so obtained is o.k.
If the value of “e” exceeds 0.07 then provide the maximum super-elevation = 0.07 and proceed
with steps 3 or 4.
Step 3. Check the “f" for the maximum value of e= 0.07
 If the value of “f” thus calculated is less than 0.15 the super-elevation is (e=0.07) safe for the
design speed.
If not follow step 4.

Step 4. The allowable speed (va m/sec) at the curve is calculated by considering the design coefficient of
lateral friction and the maximum super-elevation,

If the va > vdesign so e = 0.07

va < vdesign the speed is limited to the va

Numerical Example 1:
A two lane road with design speed 80 kmph has horizontal curve of radius 480m. Design the rate of super-
elevation for mixed traffic. By how much should the outer edge of the pavement be raises with respect to
the centerline. Assume the width of the pavement at the horizontal curve is 7.5m.
Numerical Example 2:
The design speed of a highway is 80kmph. There is a horizontal curve of radius 200m. Calculate the super-
elevation needed to maintain this speed. If the maximum super-elevation of 0.07 is not to be exceeded,
calculate the maximum allowable speed on this horizontal curve. The safe limit of the coefficient of friction
is 0.15.
Methods of introducing (building) super-elevation
Roads on a straight path are usually provided with a camber on both sides from the crown or the centerline
of the road. But on curves, this road has to be super elevated; i.e outer edge has to be raised with respect to
the inner edge. Thus it is required to change the cambered section into a super elevated one. This can be
achieved in two stages:
i. Firstly, the crown of the cambered section is eliminated,
This may be done by two methods. In the first method, the outer half of the cross slope is rotated about the
crown at the desired rate such that the surface falls on the same plane as the inner half and the elevation of
the centre line is not altered.
 Figure 11 Elimination of crown of the cambered section

The outer half the cross slope is brought to level or horizontal (by rotating about the crown line) at the start
of the transition curve or at tangent point T.P. See cross section at B. Subsequently the outer half is further
rotated so as to obtain uniform cross slope equal to the camber, as shown in cross section C. Thus no point
on the curve will have a negative Super-elevation at the outer half of the pavement event at the start of the
transition curve.
In the second method of eliminating the crown, known as a diagonal crown method, the crown is
progressively shifted outwards, thus increasing the width of the inner half of the cross-section
progressively. This method is not usually adopted as a portion of the outer half of the pavement has
increasing values of negative Super-elevation on to a portion of the outer half, before the crown is
eliminated.
ii. Secondly, super-elevation is gradually attained to its full value at the start of the circular
curve.
When the crown of the camber is eliminated, the Super-elevation available at this section is equal to the
camber. But the Super-elevation to be provided at the beginning of the circular curve may be greater than
the camber (in many cases when the design Super-elevation is more than the minimum). Hence the
pavement section will have to be rotated further till the desired super-elevation is obtained.
There are two methods of rotating the pavement cross-section to attain the full Super-elevation after the
elimination of the camber.
a) Centerline rotation: By rotating the pavement cross-section about the centerline, depressing the inner
edge, and raising the outer edge each by half the total amount of Super-elevation, i.e. by E/2 with
respect to the center.

Figure 12 Rotation of pavement section to attain full super-elevation

b) Inner edge rotation: By rotating the pavement cross section about the inner edge of the pavement
section raising both the centre as well as the outer edge of the pavement such that the outer edge is
raised by the full amount of super-elevation, E with respect to the inner edge.
 Figure 13 Crowned pavement revolved about centerline
c)Outer edge rotation: It consists of progressively revolving the straight line slope about the outer edge
thereby depressing the center line and inner edge gradually.

Figure 14 Methods of attaining super-elevation

As recommended by the NRS "Full super-elevation will be achieved in the length of the transition curve
revolving the pavement around the center line of the pavement."
The Super-elevation should be attained gradually over the full length of transition curve so that the design
Super-elevation is available at the starting point of the circular curve. In cases where transition curve
cannot be provided for some reason, two-third of the Super-elevation may be attained at the straight portion
before the start of the circular curve and the balance one-third at the beginning of the circular curve.
The vertical profiles of the inner edge, centre line and outer edge by the two methods of rotation are shown
in Figure 20. It may be seen that in the centerline method of rotating pavement section the vertical profile
of the pavement center is not altered throughout the horizontal curve. But by rotating about the inner edge,
the levels of both the center line and that outer edge are raised above the original vertical profile.
The Super-elevation is introduced by raising the outer edge the pavement at a rate not exceeding 1 to 150 in
plain and rolling terrain and 1 in 60 on mountainous and steep terrain as per recommendations of the Indian
Road Congress. Hence the length of transition curve needed to introduce the total Super-elevation E will
depend on the rate of introducing Super-elevation and value of E. thus the length of transition curve needed
to introduce a total Super-elevation E at a rate of 1 in 150 will be 150 E, if the pavement is rotated about
the inner edge.
Radius of Horizontal Curve
Radius of the horizontal curve is responsible to develop the centrifugal force for a certain speed of vehicle.
Radius of the curve should be kept high to keep the centrifugal force within the low limit. The centrifugal
force which is counteracted by the Super-elevation and lateral friction is given as:

In this equation, the maximum allowed Super-elevation rate has been fixed as 7 percent or 0.07 and the
design coefficient of lateral friction ‘f’ is taken as 0.15.

Hence,

If the design speed is decided for a highway, then the minimum radius to be adopted can be found from the
above relationship.
Thus the ruling minimum radius of the curve for ruling design speed v m/sec is given by:

When the minimum design speed v’ m/sec is adopted instead of ruling design speed v m/sec, the absolute
minimum radius of horizontal curve Rmin is given

In the above equations, v is ruling design speeds, in m/sec and v’ is the minimum design speed, in m/sec. If
the minimum design speed (v') is not mentioned it can be taken as (v' = v - 4.45).

Widening of Pavement on Horizontal Curves:

Extra widening refers to the additional width of carriageway that is required on a curved section of a road
than required width on a straight alignment. This widening is done due to the following reasons:
An automobile has a rigid wheelbase and only front wheels can be turned; when this vehicle takes a turn to
negotiate a curve, the rear wheel do not follow the same path as that of front wheels. This phenomenon is
called as off tracking. Normally, the rear wheels follow the inner path of the curve as compared with those
of corresponding front wheels. The off tracking depends upon the length of the wheelbase and turning
angle or the radius of the curve negotiated.
 Figure 15 Mechanical Widening due to 'off Tracking'
a) In the case of higher speeds when super elevation and lateral friction developed are fully able to
counteract the outward thrust due to the centrifugal force, some transverse skid may occur and the
rear wheel may take paths on the outside of those traced by the front wheels on the horizontal
curves.
b) The paths traced by the wheels of trailers is also likely to be either side of the central path,
depending on the speed, rigidity of the universal joints and pavement roughness.
c) Psychological tendency of the driver is such that in curves (especially in cutting or in the areas with
obstruction inside) they prefer to take the outer lane for greater visibility.
d) While two vehicles cross or overtake at horizontal curve there is a psychological tendency to
maintain greater clearance between the vehicles, than on straights to increase speed.
In such way extra widening on the horizontal curve (We) depends on the following factors:
 Length of wheel base
 Radius of the curve
 Psychological factor which is the function of speed and radius of the curve.
Generally, extra widening on the horizontal is provided on the horizontal curves when the radius is less
than about 300 m.

Analysis of extra widening:

Extra widening on horizontal curve is divided into two parts: mechanical and psychological widening.
Mechanical Widening: Mechanical widening (Wm) is provided to account the off tracking due to the
rigidity of wheels. Analysis of the mechanical widening is performed as per the figure 21.
R1 – Radius of the path traversed by the outer rear wheel, m
R2 - Radius of the path traversed by the outer front wheel, m
Wm – Mechanical widening, m
l – Length of the wheelbase, m

Wm OC  OA OB  OA R2  R2

OAB, OA2 OB 2  OA2
2
R1 R22  l 2
R1 R2  Wm
( R2  Wm ) 2 R22  l 2
2 3 2
R2  2 R2Wm  Wm R2  l 2
l 2 Wm (2 R2  Wm )
l2
Wm 
2 R2  Wm
l2
Wm  ( Approximately )......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ....( xii )
2R

Here, R is the mean radius of the curve. Mechanical widening calculated above is required for one vehicle
negotiating a horizontal curve having n traffic lanes. The total mechanical widening required is given by:

Psychological widening: Extra width of pavement is also provided for psychological reasons such as
to provide greater maneuverability of steering at high speeds, to allow for the extra space requirements for
the overhangs of vehicles and to provide greater clearance for crossing and overtaking vehicles on the
curve. An empirical formula has been recommended by the IRC for finding the additional psychological
widening Wps which is dependent on the design speed and the radius of the curve.

where, V is the design speed in kmph and R is the radius of the curve in m.
Hence the total widening We required on horizontal curve is given by:

Methods on introducing extra widening

The widening is gradually introduced staring from the beginning of the transition curve or the tangent point
and progressively increased at uniform rate, till the full value of designed widening 'We' is reached at the
end of transition curve where full values of super elevation is also provided. The full value of extra width
(We) is continued throughout the length of the circular curve and then decreased gradually along the length
of the transition curve. Usually We is equally distributed i.e We/2 on inner and outer sides of the curve. But
the sharp curves on the hill roads the extra widening We may be provided in full on inside of the curve.
On the horizontal curve without transition curve, two-thirds of the widening is provided at the end of the
straight section i. e before the start of the circular curve and remaining one-third widening is provided on
the circular curve beyond the tangent point as in the case of super-elevation. In such cases the widening is
provided on inside of the curve.

Figure 16 Extra Widening of Carriageway on horizontal Curve

Figure 17 Extra Widening of carriageway on sharp curve

Numerical examples:
Find the total width of the pavement on a horizontal curve for a national highway to be aligned along a
rolling terrain with the ruling minimum radius. Assume necessary data.

V = 100 km/h; normal width = 7 m; number of lanes= 2; wheel base = 6m; emax= 0.07; f = 0.15

Design of Horizontal transition curve:

Transition curve is provided to change the horizontal alignment from straight to circular curve gradually
and has a radius which decreases from infinity at the straight end (tangent point) to the desired radius of the
circular curve at the other end (curve point). There are five objectives for providing transition curve and are
given below:
 To introduce gradually the centrifugal force between the tangent point and the beginning of the
circular curve, avoiding sudden jerk on the vehicle. This increases the comfort of passengers.
 To enable the driver turn the steering gradually for his own comfort and security,
  To provide gradual introduction of super elevation, and
 To provide gradual introduction of extra widening.
 To enhance the aesthetic appearance of the road.

In a good highway alignment it should be possible to maintain the design speed along each horizontal
curve. Thus at first curve of the radius is first designed as mentioned above paragraphs then a suitable
shape of the transition curve is selected and its length is determined. The ideal shape of the transition curve
should be such that the rate of introduction of centrifugal force or the rate of change of centrifugal
acceleration should be consistent. This means that the radius of the transition curve should consistently
decrease from infinity at the tangent point to the radius R at the end of transition curve of length Ls. In an
ideal transition curve the length (L s), should be inversely proportional to the radius R. The spiral transition
meets the criterion.
Different types of transition curves are spiral or clothoid, cubic parabola, and lemniscate. The general
shape of these curves is shown in the figure below. All these curves follow almost same path up to
deflection angle of 4 degree, and practically there is no significant difference even up to 9 degree. In all
these curves the radius decreases as the length increases. But the rate of change of centrifugal acceleration
is not constant for lemniscates and cubic parabola, especially at deflection angles higher than 4 degrees. In
a spiral curve, the radius is inversely proportional to the length and the rate of change of centrifugal
acceleration is uniform throughout the length of the curve. Thus the spiral curve fulfills the condition of the
ideal transition curve.
Length of transition curve
The length of the transition curve should be determined as the maximum of the following three criteria:
 Rate of change of centrifugal acceleration
 Rate of introduction of designed super-elevation
 Minimum length by IRC empirical formula

Figure 18 different types of transition curves

1. Rate of change of centrifugal acceleration: At the tangent point, radius is infinity and hence
centrifugal acceleration (v2/R) is zero as the radius is infinity. At the end of the transition, the radius R has
minimum value Rmin. Hence the centrifugal acceleration is distributed over the length of transition curve
(Ls). The centrifugal acceleration should be developed such that it will not cause discomfort for the
passengers of a vehicle travelling at the design speed. It is obvious that larger the length of transition, lower
will be the rate at which the centrifugal acceleration is introduced.
Let the length of transition curve be Ls meter. If t =Ls/v is the time taken in second to traverse this transition
length at uniform design speed of v m/sec. the maximum centrifugal acceleration of v2/R is introduce in
time t through the transition length Ls and hence the rate of change of centrifugal acceleration C is given
by:

Hence the length of transition curve Ls can be calculated:

Where, v = speed m/sec

R = radius of circular curve
C = rate of change of centrifugal acceleration m/sec3
The maximum allowable value of the rate of change of centrifugal acceleration without causing discomfort,
is dependent on the speed and varies inversely with the radius. IRC recommendation for the value of C for
the design speed V km/h.

[0.5<C<0.81]

2. Rate of introduction of super-elevation: In the open areas with sufficient space for roadway
clearance is not desirable to raise the out edge of road at a larger rate than 1 in 150. In case of built up and
hilly areas, rate of rise of outer edge may be taken as 1 in 100 and 1 in 60 respectively.
Let W be the normal width of the carriageway and We extra widening at the circular curve. Hence, the total
width of carriageway at the circular curve is (W+We). If the e is the rate of super-elevation based on 75 %
of design speed, then the total rise of outer edge with respect to inner edge is equal to E = e(W+We). If the
pavement if rotated about the center line after neutralizing the camber then the maximum amount by which
the outer edge is raised at a circular curve with respect to center is E/2. If the rate of introducing the super-
elevation is 1 in N then the length of transition curve is given by:

Figure 19 Length of transition curve and super-elevation

Similarly, if the pavement is rotated about the inner edge, the length of the transition curve is given
by:
3. Using empirical formula: according to the IRC recommendation the length of transition curve Ls
should be not less than the value given by the following equation for the terrain classification.
a) in the case of plain and rolling terrain:

b) in the case of hilly and steep terrain:

The length of transition curve should be higher of the three above values mentioned above.
Where, C = rate of change of centrifugal acceleration; V = speed km/h; v = speed, m/sec; R radius of the
circular curve, m; N = rate of introducing super-elevation; e = super-elevation; W = normal width of
pavement; We = extra widening of the pavement.

Numerical example:
A highway with 2 lanes, each 3.5m wide has o.4 of extra-widening at a horizontal curve of radius 150 m.
Design the length of transition curve if design speed is 65 kmph. Desired rate of introducing super-
elevation is 1 in 80. Assume pavement is rotated about the inner edge.

Setback distance on horizontal curve:

In the design of horizontal alignment, the sight distance along the inner side of the curve should be
considered. There may be sight obstruction like buildings, cut slopes, or trees on the inner side of the curve
should be removed to provide adequate sight distance.
As mentioned above the absolute minimum sight distance, i. e. safe stopping sight distance should be
available at every section of the highway.
a) Case Lc > S
Lc is the length of curve which is greater than the sight distance S. The angle subtended by the arc of
length S at the center is . The sight distance is measured along the center line of the road and the angle
subtended at the center is equal to S/R radians.
Therefore half central angle is given by:

The distance from the obstruction to the centre is:

Therefore the set-back distance in the case of narrow (single lane roads) roads the required m is given
by:
 Figure 20 Set-back distance (Lc > S)
In the case of wide roads (two or more lanes), if the distance d is the distance between the center line of the
road and the center line of the inside lane in meter, the sight distance is measured along the middle of the
inner side lane and the set-back distance, m is given by:

Where

b) Case Lc < S
If the sight distance (S) required is greater than the length of the curve (Lc), then the angle subtended at
the center is determined with reference to the length of circular curve Lc and the set-back distance is
worked out in two parts as given below:

Figure 21 Set-back distance (Lc < S)

From the geometry of the figure, set-back distance is
The clearance of obstruction up to the set-back distance is important when there is cut slope on the inner
side of the horizontal curve.

Numerical example:
A national highway with design speed 80 kmph has a horizontal curve of radius equal to the minimum
ruling radius. Design all the geometric features of this curve, with suitable data. Specify the minimum set-
back distance from the center line of the two lane highway on the inner side of the curve up to which the
building should not be constructed. Assuming the length of the circular curve is greater than the sight
distance.

Design of Vertical Alignment

Vertical alignment is the profile of centerline of the road. It consists of grades and vertical curves, and its
influence on the speed, acceleration, deceleration, stopping distance, sight distance and comfort in the
vehicle movement at high speeds.
The vertical alignment of a road has great influence upon the construction cost, the operating cost of
vehicles using the road, and in combination with the horizontal alignment also on the number of accidents.
The vertical alignment should always be designed to the highest standard consistent with the topography
and economy. The two major aspects of the vertical alignment are vertical curvature, which is governed by
sight distance and comfort criteria, and gradient, which is related to the vehicle performance and level of
service.
Gradients need to be considered from the standpoint of both length and steepness, and the speed at which
heavy vehicles enter the gradient. Roads and streets should be designed to encourage uniform operation
throughout. Design speeds are used as a means toward this end by correlation of various geometric features
of the roads. Design criteria have been determined for many highway features, but few conclusions have
been reached on the appropriate relationship of roadway grades to design speed. Vehicle operating
characteristics on grades are discussed and established relationships of grades and their lengths to design
speed are developed below.
Gradient:
Gradient is the rate of rise or fall along the length of the road with respect to the horizontal. It is expressed
as the ratio of 1 in x (1 vertical unit to x horizontal units). Some time is also expressed as a percentage. The
ascending gradients are given positive sign and are denoted as +n and descending gradient are given
negative sign and are denoted as –n. The angle which measures the change of direction at the intersection
of two grades is called deviation angle N, which is equal to the algebraic difference between the two
grades.
 Figure 22 Measurement of gradients

Types of gradients: Gradients are divided into following categories:

Momentum grade: The momentum grades are those grades on which the momentum gained by the
vehicles at the beginning of a steep climbing section is used to overcome the road resistance due to grade.
In fact any minor ascending grade may be referred as momentum grade if the same is overcome by vehicle
with its initial momentum.

Ruling gradient: The ruling gradient is the maximum gradients within which the designer attempts to
design the vertical profile of road. Gradients up to the ruling are adopted as normal course in design of
vertical alignment and accordingly the quantities of cut and fill are balanced. Hence, ruling gradient is also
called as “Design gradients”. Selection of ruling gradient for the purpose of design is very complex job as
several factors should be considered. It depends upon the type of terrain, length of grade, speed, presence
of horizontal curve, and vehicle tractive force.

Limiting gradient: In some cases of unfavorable topography, it is necessary to adopt steeper gradients
than ruling gradients, which are known as limiting gradients. Length of such gradients should be limited.

Exceptional gradient: In some extra ordinary situations, it is necessary to provide exceptional

gradients to provide still steeper gradients at least for short stretches and in such cases the steeper gradient
up to exceptional gradient may be provided. However, exceptional gradient is strictly limited only for short
distance not more than 100m.

Critical Length of gradient: The maximum length of ascending gradient which a loaded truck can
operate without undue reduction in speed is called critical length of grade for a design. A reduction in
speed about 25 kmph may be considered reasonable limit. The critical for design depends on several factors
such as size, power, load and grade ability data of the truck, its initial speed at the beginning of the
ascending grade and the desirable limit of the minimum speed at the end of the grade so as to avoid
unreasonable interference with the movement of other vehicles.
 Size and power of a representative truck or truck combination to be used as a design vehicle along
with the grade-ability data for this vehicle : A loaded truck, powered so that the weight/power ratio
is about 120 kg/kW [200 lb/hp], is representative of the size and type of vehicle normally used for
design control for main highways.
 Speed at entrance to critical length of grade: The average running speed as related to design speed
can be used to approximate the speed of vehicles beginning an uphill climb. This estimate is, of
course, subject to adjustment as approach conditions may determine. Where vehicles approach on
nearly level grades, the running speed can be used directly. For a downhill approach it should be
increased somewhat, and for an uphill approach it should be decreased.
Critical length of grades for the truck with 120kg/kW (200lb/hp) and entering speed of 110 kmph is given
in the figure below.

Figure 23 Critical length of grades

Maximum values of gradient recommended by NRS at different terrains are given in the table below.
Minimum gradient: It is desirable to have a certain minimum gradient on road from drainage point of view.
NRS recommends the minimum gradients on hill roads shall be 1% to facilitate better drainage. The
gradients shall be eased by 0.5% for every 500m above mean sea level.

National Highways Terrain type

Mountain Rolling Level
Max. average gradient 5% 4% 3%
Max. grade 8% 6% 5%
Max. length of grade in excess of av. grade 150m 210m 250m
Min. length of recovery 210m 300m 600m
At grade specified @3% @2% @2%
Feeder Roads
Max. average gradient 7% 6% 5%
Max. grade 10% 8% 7%
Max. length of grade in excess of av. grade 120m 180m 210m
Min. length of recovery 150m 150m 300m
At grade specified @3% @3% @2%
District Roads
Max. average gradient 7% 6% 5%
Max. grade 12% 10% 7%
Max. length of grade in excess of av. grade 100m 120m 100m
Min. length of recovery 150m 150m 150m
At grade specified @4% @3% @3%

Compensation of grades on Horizontal Curve: At horizontal curves, due to the turning angle
of vehicles, the curve resistance developed is equal to If there is a horizontal curve in
addition to the gradient, there will be increased resistance to friction due to both gradient and curve. It is
necessary that in such cases the total resistance due to grade and curve should not normally exceed the
resistance due to the maximum value of the gradient specified. When sharp horizontal curve is to be
introduced on a road which has already the maximum permissible gradient, then the gradient should be
decreased to compensate for the loss of tractive effort due to the curve. This reduction in gradient at the
horizontal curve is called grade compensation, which is proposed to balance the extra tractive effort
involved at the curve. This is calculated from the relation:

Grade compensation, percentage , subject to a maximum value of 75/R

Where R-radius of the circular curve; m

According to the IRC the grade compensation is not necessary for gradient flatter than 4%.

Numerical Example:
While aligning a hill road with a ruling gradient of 6%, a horizontal curve of radius 60 m is encountered.
Find the compensated gradient at the curve.

Vertical curves:
Due to the change in grades in the vertical alignment of highway, it is necessary to introduce vertical
curves at the intersection of different grades to smoothen out the vertical profile. Vertical curves should be
simple in application and should result in a design that is safe and comfortable in operation, pleasing in
appearance, and adequate for drainage. The major control for safe operation on crest (summit) vertical
curves is the provision of ample sight distances for the design speed.
For driver comfort, the rate of change of grade should be kept within tolerable limits. This consideration is
most important in sag vertical curves where gravitational and vertical centripetal forces act in opposite
directions. The vertical curves used in highway may be classified into Summit curve or crest curve and
Valley curve or sag curve.
Summit curves:
Summit curves with convexity upwards are formed in any one of the case illustrated in the figure below.
The deviation angle between the two interacting gradients is equal to the algebraic difference between
them.

Figure 24 Vertical Summit Curves

When a fast moving vehicle travels along a summit curve, the centrifugal force will act upwards, against
gravity and hence a part of pressure on the tyres and spring of the vehicle suspension is relieved. There is
no problem of discomfort to passengers on summit curves, particularly because the deviation angles on
roads are quite small.
The only problem in designing the summit curve is to provide adequate sight distances. The stopping sight
distance or the absolute minimum sight distance should be provided at all sections of the road so also on
summit curves. As far as possible safe overtaking sight distance or at least intermediate sight distance,
equal to twice the stopping sight distance should also be available on these curves.

Types of summit curves:

Let the two vertical tangents having the grade i 1 and i2 intersect at PVI. A quadratic parabolic curve of
length L, whose equation is to be established in terms of grade and length is inserted in this PVI. In the
case of vertical curves the angle of deviation are always very small and curves are very flat, following
assumptions may be made;
 The curve is so flat that: length of curve is equal to length of chord which is ultimately equal to the
length of its horizontal projection.
 Two portion of the curve on either side from PVI along the two tangents are equal i. e for any value
of i1 and i2 the point of vertical intersection bisects the curve in equal parts.
 Angles made by the tangents with the horizontal are very small and the tangents of these angles are
equal to the angles themselves in radians.
 The curve is so flat within the limit of vertical curves used in profile that the portion of parabola
may be substituted by a circular curve of certain radius R.
The design of the summit curve is governed by the consideration of sight distance, transition curves are not
necessary. The deviation angles in vertical curves are very small a simple parabola is nearly congruent with
a circular arc, also a parabola is very easy for arithmetic calculation for computing ordinates. The use of
simple parabola as summit curve is found to give good riding comfort too. Because of these reasons in
actual practice a simple parabolic curve is used as summit curve instead of circular arc.

Figure 25 Geometry of the vertical curve

Design of Summit curve:
The general equation of the parabolic summit curve is given by:

The deflection angle of the curve N = n1 + n2

Let T1 and T2 be the start and end of the curve. For the parabola, any point P on the curve at a horizontal
distance x from T 1 is at a vertical distance of y from the grade line. From the property of the parabola,

Figure 26 Summit curve

At the end point of the curve, T2; x = Land

Then

Figure 27 Length of summit curve for SSD

H is the height of driver’s eye above road surface; h - is the height of object above road surface. While
designing the length of the parabolic summit curve, it is necessary to consider the stopping sight distance
(SSD) and overtaking sight distance separately.
A. Length of summit curve for safe stopping sight distance (SSD)
There may be two different cases for the determination of length of summit curve.
a) When L > SSD
From the property of the parabola;

Figure 28 Length of summit curve (L>S)

We know,

Then,

h1 = H is height of driver's eye level and h2 = h height of the object above road surface, then length of
summit curve is equal to

Where, L = length of summit curve, in meter; S = stopping sight distance SSD, in meter; N = deviation
angle (equal to algebraic sum of the differences in grades; H = height of eye level of driver above road
surface, in meter (H = 1.2 m); h = height of object above road surface, in meter (h = 0.15 m); [According
to NRS: H = 1.0 m & h = 0.10 m]

b) L < SSD
 Figure 29 Length of summit curve (L<S)
From the geometry of the figure 39:

Differentiating w.r.t. x:
Putting the values of n1 and n2

The general equation for the length of the parabolic summit curve, when it is less than the sight distance is
given by:

For designing the length of vertical summit curve providing, for stopping or absolute minimum sight
distance, first safe stopping sight distance is found either by the calculation or by the given value in the
standard.
The minimum radius of the parabolic summit curve may be calculated from the relation

B. Length of summit curve for safe overtaking sight distance (OSD) or intermediate sight
distance. (ISD=2 OSD)
There may be two cases as in the previous condition:
a) The length of curve is greater than the overtaking sight distance or intermediate sight distance (L >
S)
In the case of the overtaking sight distance, the values of height of the drivers eye level (H) and height of
object (h) are equal. Then the length of the vertical curve is given by;

b) When the length of the curve is less than sight distance (L< S)
Similarly as in the previous case, length of the summit curve is given by putting the H is equal to h in the
equation below:

Length of summit curve while L<S is given by:

While designing a vertical curve, according to the safe OSD or ISD the values of OSD is calculated or
taken from the standard values of OSD. Then the length of the summit curve is calculated.
Numerical Example:
Design a vertical curve for the following data: i1= +2.5%, i2= -1.2%, OSD = 245m, height of driver's eye
from the road surface=1.22m.

Valley Curves:
Valley curve or sag curves are vertical curves with convexity downwards. They are formed when two
gradients meet as illustrated in figure below in any of the following four ways:
 When a descending gradient meets another descending gradient,
 When a descending gradient meets a flat gradient,
 When a descending gradient meets an ascending gradient,
 When an ascending gradient meets another ascending gradient,

Figure 30 Types of Valley Curve

Design consideration of Valley Curve:

There is no restriction to sight distance at valley curves during day time. But visibility is reduced during
night. In the absence or inadequacy of street light, the only source for visibility is with the help of
headlights. Hence valley curves are designed taking into account of headlight distance. In valley curves, the
centrifugal force will be acting downwards along with the weight of the vehicle, and hence impact to the
vehicle will be more. This will result in jerking of the vehicle and cause discomfort to the passengers. Thus
the most important design factors considered in valley curves are:
 Impact-free movement of vehicles at design speed and
 Availability of stopping sight distance under headlight of vehicles for night driving.

For gradually introducing and increasing the centrifugal force acting downwards, the best shape that could
be given for a valley curve is a transition curve. Cubic parabola is generally preferred in vertical valley
curves. During night, under headlight driving condition, sight distance reduces and availability of stopping
sight distance under head light is very important. The head light sight distance should be at least equal to
the stopping sight distance. There is no problem of overtaking sight distance at night since the other
vehicles with headlights could be seen from a considerable distance.
 Figure 31 Design controls for Valley Curve
Length of Valley Curve:
The valley curve is made fully transitional by providing two similar transition curves of equal length. The
transitional curve is set out by a cubic parabola y = bx3 where b = 2N/3L 2. The length of the valley
transition curve is designed based on two criteria:
a) Comfort criteria: that is allowable rate of change of centrifugal acceleration is limited to a
comfortable level of about 0.6 m/sec3.
b) Safety criteria: that is the driver should have adequate headlight sight distance at any part of the
curve.

Figure 32 Length of Valley Curve

Comfort criteria
The length of the valley curve is based on the rate of change of centrifugal acceleration that will ensure
comfort. Let c is the rate of change of acceleration, R the minimum radius of the curve, v is the design
speed and t is the time, then c is given as:
We know the length of transition curve:

Minimum radius (R) at any point on the curve is

Therefore:

After cross multiplication:

Or,
Total length of the Valley curve is

Safety criteria (head light sight distance)

Length of the valley curve for headlight distance may be determined for two conditions:
 length of the valley curve greater than stopping sight distance and
 Length of the valley curve less than the stopping sight distance.

Case 1: Length of valley curve greater than stopping sight distance (L > S)
The total length of valley curve L is greater than the stopping sight distance SSD. The sight distance
available will be minimum when the vehicle is in the lowest point in the valley. This is because the
beginning of the curve will have infinite radius and the bottom of the curve will have minimum radius
which is a property of the transition curve. The case is shown in figure below.

Figure 33 Case I: L > S

Where N is the deviation angle in radians, h is the height of headlight beam, is the head light beam
inclination in degrees and S is the sight distance. The inclination is approximately 1 degree.
From the geometry of the figure, we have:

If the average height of the headlight is taken as h1 = 0.75 m and the beam angle is one degree then the

length of Valley curve is given by:

Case 2: Length of valley curve smaller than stopping sight distance (L < S)

The length of the curve L is less than SSD. In this case the minimum sight distance is from the beginning
of the curve. The important points are the beginning of the curve and the bottom most part of the curve. If
the vehicle is at the bottom of the curve, then its headlight beam will reach far beyond the endpoint of the
curve whereas, if the vehicle is at the beginning of the curve, then the headlight beam will hit just outside
the curve. Therefore, the length of the curve is derived by assuming the vehicle at the beginning of the
curve.
 Figure 34 Case II: L< S

From the geometry of the figure;

Or,
Substituting the value of h = 0.75m and angle of headlight beam = 1 degree.
Then Length of curve:

The lowest point in the valley curve is to be located for providing the cross drainage facility. The lowest
point on the valley curve will be one of the bisector of the angle between the grades, if the gradients on
either side are equal. When the gradients are not equal, the lowest point lies on the side of the flatter grade
and this point is at the distance Xo.

Where, Xo is the lowest point of the curve.

Numerical Example:
A valley curve is formed with a descending grade of 3% meeting with ascending grade of 2.5%. Design the
length of valley curve to fulfill both comfort and headlight sight distance requirements for a design speed
of 80 Kmph. Assume allowable rate of change of centrifugal acceleration C=0.6m/s 3.

Coordination of Vertical and Horizontal Alignments:

The overall appearance of a highway can be enhanced by the combination of the horizontal and vertical
alignments. Plan and profile of the road should not be designed independently. Proper coordination in this
respect will ensure safety and overall aesthetics.
The degree of curvature should be in proper balance with the gradients. Straight alignment or flat
horizontal curves at the expense of steep or long grades, or excessive curvature in a road with flat grades,
do not constitute balanced designs and should be avoided.
Vertical curvature superimposed upon horizontal curvature gives a pleasing effect. Such the vertical and
horizontal curves should coincide as far as possible and their length should be more or less equal.
Sharp horizontal curves should be avoided at or near the apex of pronounced summit curve vertical curves
from safety consideration.

TUTORIALS

1. General:
A. Design criteria:

1. Determine the capacity of a single lane pavement for the design speed of 60 kmph. The average
length of the car is 5m. The perception – brake reaction time has to be taken as 2.5 sec. The
coefficient of friction can be assumed to be 0.6.
B. Camber:

1. In a region of heavy rainfall a district road of WBM pavement is to be constructed. If the width of
road is 3.75m, find the height of crown with respect to edge. What would be the height of crown
with respect to the edges if 7.5 m width bituminous concrete pavement is to be constructed?
2. The width of pavement is 7.0 m. If the centerline of the road has an elevation 412.23m, find the
elevation of the road edge of the pavement and the center of lane if:
a) Straight line camber is provided
b) Parabolic camber is provided
3. The centerline of a double lane road has an elevation of 320.5 m as recorded from longitudinal
profile. The camber is 2.5% and cross fall of the shoulder is 5%. Calculate the elevation of road surface
at the center of lane edges of the pavement and road edge if the shoulder is 1.5 m wide and i) straight
line camber is provided ii) parabolic camber is provided. Take the lane width equal to 3.5m.

C. Super-elevation:

1. Calculate the elements of circular curve for with radius R = 400m. The deviation angle is 45 0. Give
a neat sketch showing all elements calculated.
2. Super elevation provided to the road surface at a horizontal curve is 5%. How much should be the
outer edge of the pavement is raised against the inner one if the pavement width is 7m and is rotated
about the inner edge?
3. The radius of horizontal circular curve is 140m. The design speed is 60kmph and the coefficient of
lateral friction is 0.15.
a) Calculate the super elevation required if full lateral friction is assumed to develop
b) Calculate the coefficient of friction needed if no super elevation is provided.
c) Calculate the equilibrium super elevation if the pressure on inner and outer wheels should be
equal.
4. The design speed of the road is 80kmph. There is horizontal curve of a radius R=100m on a certain
locality. Calculate the super elevation needed to maintain this speed, if the maximum super
elevation of 1:15 should not exceed. Calculate the maximum comfortable speed.
5. Calculate the super elevation required on a road curve of 240m radius. The road is operating
dominantly in mixed traffic condition. The design speed is 80 kmph. The coefficient of friction is
0.15. The road is passing through the rolling terrain.
6. How much should be the edges of the pavement be raised with respect to the centre line on a two
lane road design to cater for mixed traffic at a speed of 65kmph a horizontal curve of radius 160m if
the super-elevation is obtained by rotating the pavement with respect to the: a) centre line
b)inner edge
7. Calculate the maximum permissible speed on a horizontal curve of radius 125m of highway design
for a 65kmph to carry mixed traffic, if the super elevation is not exceed 7%.
8. The radius of a horizontal curve is 100m. The design speed is 50kmph. Assuming required data and
calculate:
a. The super elevation required, if full lateral friction is to develop.
b. The coefficient of friction needed if no super elevation is provided and
c. Equilibrium super elevation if the pressure on inner and outer wheel should be equal.
9. The radius of horizontal circular curve is 100m. The design speed is 60kmph. The coefficient of
lateral friction is 0.17.
a. Calculate the super elevation if full lateral friction is called into play.
b. Calculate the coefficient of friction needed if no super elevation is provided.
10. Calculate the values of ruling minimum and absolute minimum radius of horizontal curve of a NH
in plain terrain. Assume ruling design speed and minimum design speed values as 100 and 80 kmph
respectively.
11. At a horizontal curve in certain locality, the pavement due to certain restriction cannot be super
elevated. Calculate the radius of the curve line of the outer lane of that road if the vehicle along that
curve should move with the speed equal to100kmph and camber 2.5%.
12. Calculate the minimum radius of the circular curve required for a road with a design speed of
90kmph. Assume other data suitably.
13. Super elevation of 5% is provided to the road surface at a horizontal curve. How much the outer
edge of the pavement should be raised against the inner one if the pavement (7m wide) is rotated
about the inner edge
14. Prove that a vehicle moving along the outer lane of the road section with a horizontal curve of
R=40m, with a speed of 100kmph, will overturn if there is a chamber of 2.5%
15. The design speed of a highway is 80kmph. There is a horizontal curve of radius 140m on a certain
locality. Calculate the super elevation needed to maintain this speed. What should be the restricted
speed to have a comfortable journey?

D. Transition Curves:

16. A highway with 2 lanes, each lanes 3.5m wide has 0.4m of extra width at a horizontal curve of
radius R=150m. Design the length of transition curve if the design speed is 65kmph. Desired rate of
introducing super elevation is 1 in 80.
17. The radius of a circular curve of two-lane highway with a design speed of 70 kmph is 220m.
Assuming extra widening is not necessary; calculate the length of transition curve and shift of the
curve. Assume other suitable data.
18. A transition curve is provided to connect a circular curve with a straight section of a road. If the
design speed of the road is 100 kmph and radius of circular section is 250m, determine the length of
transition curve for comfort and for introducing super elevation at your suitably selected desirable
rate. The width of the pavement at straight section is 7.0 m and length of wheelbase of the vehicle is
6.0m.
19. Calculate the length of transition curve and required shift if the design speed is 60 kmph. The radius
of circular curve is 220m. An allowable rate of change of centrifugal acceleration is 60 cm/sec3.
Allowable rate of change of super elevation is 1 in 120. The pavement width including extra
widening is 7.2m.
20. A national highway passing through rolling terrain in heavy rainfall area has a horizontal curve of
radius 150m. Design the length of transition curve if the sped is 65 kmph. Desired rate of
introducing super elevation is 1 in 80.
21. Calculate the amount of extra width required on a horizontal curve of radius 300m on a two-lane
highway. The design speed is 80 kmph. Assume wheel base length is 6.1 m.
 22. Calculate the amount of extra widening to be done in a horizontal curve of radius 150m for the road
for the road with design speed of 100 kmph. The road has 6 lanes and the length of wheel base is
8.0 m.
23. While aligning a road in a buildup area with mixed traffic, it was necessary to provide a horizontal
curve of maximum radius R=320m. Design the following geometric features assuming the
following data or else suitable. Design speed= 65kmph. Length of wheelbase =6.1m, pavement
width = 10.5m.
a) Super elevation

a) extra widening
b) Transition curve

2. Sight Distance

1) Calculate the minimum sight distance required to avoid head on collision with a car approaching
from the opposite direction if both the cars are speeding at 60km/hr. Use a total perception and
brake reaction time of 2sec. coefficient of longitudinal fraction 0.40 and brake efficiency 50%. The
section of the road under consideration has a grade 10%.
2) Calculate the minimum sight distance for a design of 50km/hr, for

a) Two way traffic in a two lane road,

b) Two way traffic in a single lane road &

c) One way traffic in a two lane road. Assume all data suitably.

3) Calculate the values of i) Head light sight distance & ii) Intermediate sight distance for a highway
with a design speed of 80km/hr.

3. Overtaking sight distance

1) A vehicle moving at a speed of 70 km/hr decided to overtake another slow moving vehicle.
Calculate safe overtaking sight distance. Consider
A) Two lane road with two way traffic

b) Two lane with one ways traffic, take acceleration = 2.5km/hr/sec

2) The speed of overtaking & overtaken vehicle is 60km/hr & 40km/hr respectively on a two way
traffic road. If the acceleration of the overtaking vehicle is 3.6km/hr/sec

a) Calculate the safe overtaking sight distance.

b) Determine the minimum length of overtaking zone.

3) What will be the safe OSD for a vehicle moving at a speed of 70km/hr, to overtake a vehicle at a
speed of 30km/hr?
 a) Double lane two way traffic road?

b) Four lane road with two traffic separator?

4. Extra widening

1) Calculate the amount of extra width required on a horizontal curve of radius R= 300m on a two lane
highway. The design speed is 80km/[Link] wheel base= 6.1m
2) Calculate the amount of extra widening to be done in a horizontal curve of a radius 150m for the
road with design speed of 100km/hr. The road has 6 lanes & the length of wheel base is 8m.
3) Find the total width of a pavement on a horizontal curve for a new national highway to be aligned
along a rolling terrain with a ruling minimum radius.

5. Set back Distance

1) A four lane divided carriage has a curve 1000m along & a radius of 550m. The safe stopping sight
distance is 250m. Calculate the minimum set back distance from the inner edge of a road to the
edge of building to ensure safe visibility. The pavement width per lane is 3.5m.
2) The radius of centre line of circular curve is 650m & the sight distance required is 400m, the length
of curve is 300m. Find out the set back from an obstruction to the centerline.

6. Vertical Curves
Grade compensation

1) The ruling gradient in a road is 4% or 1 in 25 & the radius of the horizontal curve is 100m.
Determine the compensated gradient on the curve.
2) The grade along the inner edge of the road is 6%. The carriageway is 7m wide. If the carriageway is
to be super elevated to a maximum of 6.7% at the rate of 1 in 100 entirely within a 75m along
transition curve, determine the actual grade along the outer edge of the pavement. Assume other
data suitable if required.
Vertical Curve

3) Calculate the elements of vertical curves from the following data.

Ascending grade= 5%

Descending grade=2%

Radius= 10,000m

Give a neat sketch showing all elements.

3. An ascending grade of 4% meets with 0 grade section. The radius of vertical curve is 2500m.
Calculate N, T, and L & distance to the highest from the tangent point.
4. Design a vertical curve for the following data: i1= +2.5%, i2= -1.2%, OSD = 245m, height of
driver's eye from the road surface=1.22m.
5. A 2% gradient meets a -0.25% gradient at a chainage of 1085m & at the reduced level of 76.55m, if
the sight distance be 304.8m determine the length of the vertical curve & the reduced levels of the
tangent points & the height point on the curve. Assume that the eye level of the river eye is 1.143m
& the height of the obstruction is 0.1m.
6. A parabolic vertical summit curve connects a +4.5% grades with -3.0% grades on a single lane with
two way traffic rural highway at station 10+525 and elevation of 1212.6m above the mean sea level.
The curve should be designed to provide the inter-visibility of a truck & car aimed to prevent head
on collision. Locate the starting highest & end point of the vertical curve. Calculate the elevation of
road at all these points along the curve & at a 60m right & left from the point of vertical
intersection. Height of the driver eye from the road surface for the truck ascending along 4.5%
grade is 1.3m & that of car is 1.1m, reaction time for both drivers is 2.5 sec & coefficient of friction
is 0.4. The truck is approaching at 40km/hr while the car is approaching at 80km/hr.
7. Design the total length of the valley curve at the junction of the descending gradient of 1 in 40 & an
ascending gradient of 1 in 30 if the speed is 100km/hr. So as to fulfill both comfort condition &
head light sight distance for night driving. Locate the lowest point & the end of the curve point too.
Calculate their elevation of the beginning of the curve is 312.56m above sea level. Assume other
necessary data reasonably.
8. An ascending gradient meets the descending gradient; the grades are 5% & 4% respectively. Locate
the chainage at the beginning & end of the vertical curve. Calculate the elevation of the road at a
distance of every 300m on either side of the point of the vertical intersection (PVI). The elevation &
chainage of PVI is 500.50m & 5+050 respectively. Assume R= 10,000m.
9. A vertical valley curve connects a -3% grades with +4.5% grades on a rural highway at station
6+525m & elevation 411.6m above the mean sea level. The curve should be designed at to provide
the visibility of the road surface to a distance of 250m at night time. Locate the starting lowest &
end point of vertical curves. Calculate the elevation of road at all these points along the curve & at a
distance of 50m left & right from the point of vertical intersection. Assume the head light beam
angle & height of the head light from the road surface for the design vehicle is 2º & 0.6m
respectively.
10. A descending grade tangent of 4% meets with an ascending grade tangent of 2%. The radius of
vertical curve is 10000m. Elevation & chainage of BVC is 200m & 40+000, respectively. Calculate
the elements of vertical curve. Locate the chainage & elevation of PVI. EVC & the lowest point.
11. A vertical summit curve is to be designed when two grades, +1/50 & -1/40 meet on a highway. The
stopping sight distance & overtaking sight distance required are 200m & 650m respectively. But
due to site condition the length of vertical curve has to be restricted to a maximum value of 800m if
possible. Calculate the length of summit curve needed to fulfill the requirements of
a) Stopping sight distance
b) Overtaking sight distance or at least intermediate sight distance & discuss the result.