MODULE 2 OVERVIEW

(CE 103 – Highway and

Railroad Engineering)
In this module, we will view the entire
transportation system of which one component includes
HIGHWAY the highways and streets and the railways. Giving
DEVELOPMENT AND emphasis on its development and planning towards an
efficient interconnection to all alternative modes of
PLANNING:
transportation.
IMPORTANCE,
CLASSIFICATION OF LEARNING OUTCOMES
ROADS, ROAD
PATTERNS, PLANNING
SURVEYS, HIGHWAY At the end of this module, you should be able to
ALIGNMENT AND define and recognize basic concepts of highway
SURVEYS development and planning

INTRODUCTION
Engr. Leo M. Sauro, D.M.
(+63)-9451136579 The movements of people and goods which is the
[email protected]
basis of transportation, always has been undertaken to
accomplish those basic objectives or tasks that require
transfer from one location to another. Good highways are
so interwoven with every phase of our daily activities that
it is almost impossible to imagine what life would be like
without them. We depend on highways for the movement
of goods, for travel to and from work, for services, for
social and recreational purposes, and for many other
activities necessary to the functioning of our complex
society.

LESSON 1: HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT AND

PLANNING: IMPORTANCE

Planning is a prerequisite for any engineering activity or

project; this is particularly true for the development of a
highway network or system in a country.

The objectives of highway planning are:

1. Planning a highway network for safe, efficient and
fast movement of people and goods.
2. Keeping the overall cost of construction and
maintenance of the roads in the network to a
minimum.

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 3. Planning for future development and anticipated
traffic needs for a specific design period.
4. Phasing road development programs from
considerations of utility and importance as also of
financial resources.

To fulfill these objectives, the following principles have

to be borne in mind:
1. The proposed road links should be a part of the
planned road network for the state/nation.
2. The importance of the road shall be based on the
traffic demand, and hence its type should fall under
the standard classification.
3. The maintenance needs of the roads should receive
prompt attention by setting aside funds for this
purpose.
4. Statutory provisions for traffic regulation should be in
place.

CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS

The classification of roads depends on the criterion

considered. They may be

all-weather roads if they can be used during all seasons

of a year;

fair-weather roads, if traffic is interrupted during

monsoon at course ways where water overflows for a few
hours.

Based on the type of carriage-way or the road pavement,

it may be a paved road with at least a water-bound
macadam layer; or it may be an unpaved road. Earth
roads and gravel roads fall in this category.

Superior paved roads have bituminous surface or

concrete surface for the carriage-way. A bituminous
road is also known as a black-top road.

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 Traffic volume, load transported per day, and the
location and function are important criteria for
classification of roads.—with categories of Primary,
Secondary and Tertiary roads.

Urban roads are classified based on their function

and location:

1. Expressways— for movement of heavy volume of

traffic.

2. Arterial streets—for connecting the central area

to expressways.

3. Sub-arterial streets—similar to arterial roads but

with less spacing.

4. Collector streets—for collection and distribution

of traffic through local streets in residential areas.

5. Local streets—to access private property like

residences, shops and industries. Traffic originates
here or ends here.

In this context, certain definitions are relevant:

1. Road – A convenient way over which vehicles may

lawfully pass for going from one place to another.

2. Service road – Used for servicing and as a means

of access to adjacent property; constructed parallel
to the main road adjacent to roadside buildings.

3. Street – A road within a town or a residential

locality with buildings on one or both sides.

4. Country road – Road connecting one place to

another on the country-side.

5. Urban road – A road within a town or a city.

6. Bypass road – A road constructed skirting a

village or a small town, taking off through a
highway and joining it after bypassing the
inhabited area; this helps through traffic to move
fast without having to enter the village or town.

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 7. Highway – Any public road or a street may be
called a highway.

8. Arterial road – Road passing within a city and

linking the state or national highway, with limited
access.

9. Freeway – An arterial highway with controlled

access crossing other roads at different levels.

10. Boulevard – Very wide road with avenue on its

either side; generally used for ceremonial
processions or considered as prestigious roads in
a city.

ROAD PATTERNS

Although road patterns in a country are historically

inherited, later additions can be planned bearing in mind
the requirements of the day.

Road patterns are of great use in urban highway

planning. The choice of a road pattern depends upon the
extent of land use or the distribution of residential,
industrial and business areas in a city, the nature of the
terrain, and the planner’s preferences.

The main patterns in use in urban areas are:

1. Grid Iron Pattern:

This is also known as rectangular or block pattern
and is perhaps the simplest (Fig. 1.5). The Romans
preferred it, as have the Americans who adopted it in
many of their cities. This is easy to set out in straight lines
and rectangular co-ordinates, and is suitable for flat
terrain.

The disadvantages of this pattern are

monotonously long streets and the inconvenience in
traffic operation. There are also certain advantages such
Source: as bypassing any road with traffic congestion and the
http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportati
on-engineering/highway-planning-intro- convenience of imposing one-way traffic, if necessary,
objectives-principle-process-necessity-and- making alternate streets with one- way traffic in opposite
directions.
importance/48327

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 2. Radial Pattern:
In this pattern, roads emanate from a central focal
area, which may be a business center or an important
public building. In order to ease the congestion in the
focal area, ring roads are provided; there can be several
such roads—inner, intermediate and outer—depending
on the requirements of the traffic.
The shape of a ring road may be round, square, or
elongated. Based on this, the pattern may be star and
grid, or star and circular. The star and grid pattern, or the
radial and block pattern has been the basis of the Nagpur
Road Plan, and it has been adopted in a number of
Source:
http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportati Indian cities (Fig. 1.6).
on-engineering/highway-planning-intro-
objectives-principle-process-necessity-and-
importance/48327
The star and circular pattern, also known as the radial
and circular pattern, has been adopted in certain cases,
although in a limited way. (Fig. 1.7)

3. Hexagonal Pattern:
The basic figure of the road network in this case is
a hexagon; each hexagon has at least one side common
with an adjacent pattern, as shown in Fig. 1.8.

The hexagonal pattern can be modified by dividing the

hexagon into six triangle units by link roads; this
facilitates travel from one place to any other place in the
area in the minimum possible time, compared to any
other pattern. This, in fact, is known as a ‘minimum travel
pattern’ and was used in certain cities to great advantage.

Source:
http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportati
on-engineering/highway-planning-intro-
objectives-principle-process-necessity-and-
importance/48327

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 PLANNING SURVEYS; HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT AND
SURVEYS

HIGHWAY PLANNING STUDIES:

Highway planning involves the assessment of the

length of road required for a given area, which may be a
city, district, state or a country; further, it includes the
preparation of a master plan for the area taking into
consideration future needs, and phasing the program in
annual or five-year plans, based on the priorities and
utility.
For assessing the required road length for the
area, field studies are to be carried out to collect the
necessary data.

These are:

(A) Economic Studies:

Details of the existing facilities, their utility,

distribution of the existing population in the area,
population growth trends, existing products in the
agricultural and industrial sectors, future trends of
development in these sectors, existing communication
and education facilities, and the per capita income are to
be collected.

(B) Road Use Studies:

Details of the existing road facilities, traffic volume

in vehicles per day, traffic flow patterns, classes of traffic
such as passenger cars, busses and trucks, loads
carried, average speeds, anticipated future trends of
traffic growth, and other traffic-related studies are to be
conducted.

(C) Engineering Studies:

These include study of the topography, soil, road

life and special problems, if any, relating to construction,
drainage and maintenance.

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 (D) Financial Studies:

Various financial aspects such as the sources of

funding, estimated revenue from taxes on vehicles, toll
tax, and indirect benefits of raising the living standards of
the people due to the proposed road network are
considered.
A systematic study of all these data will help the
planner in the preparation of a Master Plan to serve the
needs of the area for a specified design period of say, 20
to 25 years.

HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT:

The laying out of the center line of a proposed

highway on the ground is called its ‘alignment’. A new
road should be aligned carefully since any change in
alignment may not be possible or may be expensive at a
later stage, owing to increased land acquisition costs and
roadside structures constructed after the road has taken
shape.

Requirements of an Ideal Alignment:

1. Directness:
The aligned route between end points should be
as direct as possible and result in the minimum possible
length under the circumstances.

2. Ease of Construction, Maintenance and Operation:

The alignment should be such that it is easy to
construct, maintain and operate the highway. The curves
and gradients should be easy.

3. Safety:
Safety for the road-users should be the primary
consideration; the stability of natural slopes and man-
made slopes for embankments and cuttings should be
ensured to prevent possible accidents.

4. Economy:
The overall cost of construction and maintenance
of the road, as also the operation cost of the vehicles
should be as low as possible.

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 5. Special Considerations:
Depending upon the purpose of the highway and
the characteristics of the terrain, special considerations
may be needed as in the case of hill roads.

Horizontal Alignment:

This is the alignment of the roadway in the

horizontal plane; although it is ideal to have a straight
route between end points, it is practically impossible
owing to several constraints. A change in direction
necessitates the use of horizontal curves for smooth flow
of traffic.

Vertical Alignment:

Although it is ideal to have a roadway at the same

elevation throughout, this is almost impractical and
gradients or slopes along the length become mandatory.

A change in gradient calls for curves in the vertical

plane; vertical curves should be designed and
constructed for smooth flow of traffic based on several
criteria.

The alignment may be smoothened as shown in Fig. 2.1:

Source: http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportation-engineering/highway-planning-intro-
objectives-principle-process-necessity-and-importance/48327

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 Factors Controlling Alignment:

The selection of alignment of a proposed new

highway route will be based on a careful consideration of
the following factors:

1. Obligatory Points:
These are the points through which the alignment
has to necessarily pass for maximum utilization of the road
(Figure 2.2). While aligning a new highway route between
two end points, it would be necessary to make it pass
through places of importance. This may be based on the
population that can be served, or places of business or
industrial importance.

Source: http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportation-engineering/highway-planning-intro-
objectives-principle-process-necessity-and-importance/48327

2. Topographical Features:
Topographical features like a lake or a hillock may
require the alignment to be taken around them. In the case
of a big hill the option of constructing a tunnel through it for
maintaining a straight alignment can be considered. The
relative costs of these options have to be studied to finalize
the alignment.

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 Figure 2.3 shows a change in alignment around an
obstruction caused by a lake and a hillock.

Source: http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportation-engineering/highway-planning-intro-
objectives-principle-process-necessity-and-importance/48327

3. Geometric Design Aspects:

Factors such as radius of curve, longitudinal
gradients, sight distances, road intersections, design speed,
lateral friction, and super-elevation govern the alignment to
a considerable degree; radii of horizontal curves and
longitudinal gradients should facilitate easy maneuvering of
vehicles.

4. Cross-Drainage Needs:
The alignment should be such that bridges are
located at right angles to the direction of flow of the stream
or river (Fig. 2.4).

Source: http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportation-engineering/highway-planning-intro-
objectives-principle-process-necessity-and-importance/48327

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 5. Deviations Dictated by Circumstances:
Although a straight horizontal road is the best option,
it is highly monotonous for a driver; so, to divert attention on
a straight road and break the monotony, a slight bend or
curve may be created at least once in a kilometer or two to
make the driver alert. Obstructions such as places of
worship (such as established temples and churches),
monuments of historical interest, public buildings such as
hospitals and educational institutions and utility services like
water supply and sewerage lines and overhead
transmission lines may necessarily have to be bypassed.
This may dictate deviation in the alignment of the roadway,
leaving sufficient margin for these hindrances. Sometimes,
the alignment may have to be changed to bypass expensive
private property or agricultural or industrial area.

6. Proximity to Materials and Labor:

Proximity to the sources of materials for road-making
and the availability of cheap labor may be a criterion for
fixing the alignment.

7. Economic Considerations:
Before an alignment is chosen, two or three
alternative routes may have to be investigated and their
overall cost – initial outlay and maintenance cost over a
design period – compared. The route with the best economy
is then selected.

8. Political Considerations:
Sometimes, political considerations may dictate the
choice of alignment, setting aside even economic
considerations. Of course, the other important criteria have
to be necessarily borne in mind.

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 STUDENT ACTIVITY.

Below is a typical highway alignment and bridge

location problem. Discuss the factors / requirements
considered in coming up with the revised alignment from
the original/submitted alignment.

Note:

Use A4 size bond paper for your answer sheets. Submit your
Student Activity/Assessment (hardcopy and handwritten) to
* Engr. Leo M. Sauro @ 274 Hillside Drive UEP Zone III
* College of Engineering Faculty Room or
* thru the UEP municipal link or
* any mode that will be deemed safe for you and me,
on or before Sept 16, 2021.
(Pls indicate on your answer sheets your Name, Subject,
Module #, Activity #, type of exam , etc.)

SUMMARY

The objectives of highway planning are for safe,

efficient and fast movement of people and goods,
keeping the overall cost of construction and maintenance
of the roads in the network to a minimum, planning for
future development and anticipated traffic needs for a
specific design period and phasing road development
programs from considerations of utility and importance
as also of financial resources.

Page 12 of 13
 The classification of roads depends on the criterion
considered. They may be all-weather roads or fair-
weather roads, paved road or unpaved road, earth roads
and gravel roads. Paved roads may be further classified
as bituminous surface or concrete surface for the
carriage-way.

Urban roads are classified based on their function

and location as; expressways, Arterial streets Sub-arterial
streets, Collector streets, Local streets,

Road patterns are of great use in urban highway

planning. They are; Grid Iron Pattern, Radial Pattern and
Hexagonal Pattern.

Highway planning involves studies such as

Economic Studies, Road Use Studies, Engineering
Studies, Financial Studies, and Highway Alignment:

The laying out of the center line of a proposed

highway on the ground is called its ‘alignment’. Ideal
alignment requires; Directness, Ease of Construction,
Maintenance and Operation, Safety, Economy, Special
Considerations, Horizontal Alignment, and Vertical
Alignment.

The selection of alignment of a proposed new

highway route will be based on a careful consideration of
the following factors: Obligatory Points, Topographical
Features, Geometric Design Aspects, Cross-Drainage
Needs, Deviations Dictated by Circumstances, Proximity
to Materials and Labor, Economic Considerations, and
Political Considerations.

REFERENCES

Wright, Paul H., Dixon, Karen K. (2004). HIGHWAY

ENGINEERING. John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte. Ltd.

Garber, Nicholas J., Hoel, Lester A. (2012). TRAFFIC

AND HIGHWAY ENGINEERING. CENGAGE Learning
(Asia) Pte. Ltd.

http://www.engineeringenotes.com/transportation-
engineering/highway-planning-intro-objectives-principle-
process-necessity-and-importance/48327

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