CORPORATE AND ACADEMIC SERVICES

MODULE SPECIFICATION
Part 1: Basic Data
Module Title

Highway Engineering

Module Code
Owning Faculty

UBGMRW-20-M
Environment and Technology

Level
Field

M
Version 1
Geography and Environmental
Management

10

Module
Type

Contributes towards
MEng Civil Engineering
UWE Credit Rating

20

ECTS Credit
Rating

Pre-requisites

None

Co- requisites

None

Excluded
Combinations
Valid From

None

Module Entry
requirements
Valid to

None

1st May 2012

Standard

30th April 2017

CAP Approval Date

Part 2: Learning and Teaching
Learning
Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the design principles applying to
highway engineering (A1,A2,B).
2. Evaluate and draw on good practice and appropriate design standards to
develop a suitable design (A1,A2,B).
3. Select quality of highway materials and appropriate methods (A1,A2,B).
4. Identify equipment and quality control requirement (A1,A2,B).
5. Communicate and coordinate design information in the form of technical
drawings and reports (A2,B).

Syllabus Outline

Geometric Design: Highway functional classification, principle of highway

location, factors influencing highway design, sight distance, design of
alignment, horizontal & vertical curves, cross sections, super elevation,
pedestrian & bicycle facilities, use of Geometric design codes and guidelines,
and introduction to geometric design software.

Capacity Design: Highway capacity, design of two-lane roads, service flow

rate, volume/capacity ratio, level of service.

Pavement Analysis and Mechanistic Design: Types of pavements, structural

components of flexible pavements, estimation of design loads, Stresses and
strains in pavement, introduction of design guidelines, asphalt pavement
design, rigid pavement design, drainage design and drainage structures.

Highway Materials: Properties of soils, aggregate, and bitumen used in

highway construction, Standard specifications and test methods for road
construction materials, quality control and acceptance criteria.

Asphalt Mix Design : Volumetric properties of asphalt (volume- Mass Diagram)

Finding the optimum binder content using Marshall Mix design.

Construction methods: preparation of subgrade, embankments, earthwork in
cutting and filling, grade and level control, compaction, subbases, use of
natural materials, soil stabilization, bases, aggregate and bitumen bound base
types, surfacing, asphalt concrete, surface dressing, rigid pavement
construction, tests for quality assurance of construction, low cost construction
methods, use of appropriate technology and locally available marginal

materials, construction of drainage structures.

Highway Maintenance: Periodic and routine maintenance of roads. Failure
identification and remedial measures, rehabilitation methods, asphalt concrete
overlay, single and multiple surface dressing for periodic maintenance, sand
seals, fog seals, and slurry seals, pot hole repair and sealing cracks,

maintenance of road markings and road signs, maintenance of structures.

Site Management: Site management, safety at road works, cost control and
cost record, maintenance of plant and equipment, standards for inspection of
construction plant.

Contact
Hours/Schedule
d Hours

Road Asset Management: introduction to pavement management systems.

Student time will be allocated as follows:
Lectures: 48 hours
Tutorials/seminars: 24 hours
Directed learning: 48 hours
Summative assessment: 24 hours
Self directed learning: 56 hours
Total student hours: 200 hours

Teaching and
Learning
Methods

The module will be delivered by a series of lectures, tutorials and seminars.

Reading
Strategy

Students will be issued with extensive notes based on the lectures and tutorials and
will be expected to consult these. Any essential and recommended texts are indicated
clearly in the module specification. Students will be encouraged to explore other titles

Indicative
Reading List

held in the library on the subjects covered in this module.

The following list is offered to provide validation panels/accrediting bodies with an
indication of the type and level of information students may be expected to consult. As
such, its currency may wane during the life span of the module specification.
However, as indicated above, CURRENT advice on readings will be available via
other more frequently updated mechanisms.
Hoel, L.A., Garber, N.j. (2009). Traffic and Highway Engineering, 4th edition. Cengage

Learning.
Rogers, M. (2008). Highway Engineering, 2nd edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Salter, R.J. (1988). Highway Design and Construction, 2nd edition. Macmillan.
Watson, J. (1994). Highway Construction and Maintenance, 2nd edition. Longman.
Part 3: Assessment
Assessment Strategy

A three hour examination to evaluate the students understanding of the

subject matters. Project report to evaluate the ability of the student to apply
what is learnt and individual presentation to assess the the ability of the
student to communicate design information correctly and confidently.
Students individual presentation is assessed with the emphasis on individual
contribution to the project and students are given feedback on their design
based on progress presentations. Project report should be equivalent to 3000
words and should include relevant design drawings and data analysis.

Identify final assessment component and element

A1
A:

% weighting between components A and B (Standard modules only)

B:
75

25

First Sit
Component A (controlled conditions)
Description of each element
1.Examination (180 minutes)
2.Individual Presentation, 10 minutes

Element weighting
%

80
20

Component B
Description of each element

Element weighting
%

1.Project Report, 3000 words

100

2.(etc)
Resit (further attendance at taught classes is not required)
Component A (controlled conditions)
Description of each element
1.Examination (180 minutes)
2.Individual Presentation, 10 minutes

Element weighting
%

80
20

Component B
Description of each element

Element weighting
%

1.Project Report, 3000 words

100

2.(etc)
If a student is permitted an EXCEPTIONAL RETAKE of the module the assessment will be that indicated
by the Module Description at the time that retake commences.