Books 2923 0

Licensed to: CengageBrain User
Traffic and
Highway
Engineering
THIRD EDITION
Nicholas J. Garber
Lester A. Hoel
University of Virginia
Australia • Canada • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States
Copyright 2002 Thomson Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.
Publisher: Bill Stenquist Cover Design: Lisa Henry

Marketing Team: Christopher Kelly and Mona Weltmer Cover Photo: Kathryn Hollinrake/Masterfile
Editorial Coordinator: Valerie Boyajian Interior Design: Carmela Pereira
Production Coordinator: Mary Vezilich Print Buyer: Vena Dyer
Production Service: RPK Editorial Services Typesetting: Bookwrights
Permissions Editor: Mary Kay Polsemen Printing and Binding: R.R. Donnelley & Sons—
Crawfordsville
COPYRIGHT © 2002 The Wadsworth Group. Brooks/Cole is an imprint

of the Wadsworth Group, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc.
Thomson Learning is a trademark used herein under license.
For more information about this or any other Brooks/Cole product, contact:
BROOKS/COLE
511 Forest Lodge Road
Pacific Grove, CA 93950 USA
www.brookscole.com
1-800-423-0563 (Thomson Learning Academic Resource Center)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used
in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping,
Web distribution, or information storage and retrieval systems—without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
For permission to use material from the work, contact us by

Web: www.thomsonrights.com
Fax: 1-800-730-2215
Phone: 1-800-730-2214
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garber, Nicholas
Traffic and highway engineering
Nicholas J. Garber, Lester A. Hoel—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes references and index.
ISBN 0-534-38743-8
1. Highway engineering 2. Traffic engineering. I. Hoel, Lester A. II. Title
TE145.G35 2001
625.7—dc21 2001052615
CHAPTER 1
The Profession of
Transportation Engineering
or as long as the human race has existed, transportation has consumed a considerable
F portion of its time and resources. The primary need for transportation is economic; it
has involved personal travel in search of food or work, travel for trade or commerce,
travel for exploration, conquest, or personal fulfillment, and travel for the improvement of
one’s status in life. The movement of people and goods, which is what is meant by trans-
portation, is undertaken to accomplish those basic objectives or tasks that require transfer
from one location to another. For example, a farmer must transport produce to market, a
doctor must see a patient in the office or in the hospital, and a salesman must visit clients
located throughout a territory. Every day, millions of workers leave their homes and travel
to factories or offices.
IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORTATION
Tapping natural resources and markets and maintaining a competitive edge over other
regions and nations are closely linked to the quality of the transportation system. The
speed, cost, and capacity of available transportation have a significant impact on the eco-
nomic vitality of an area and the ability to make maximum use of its natural resources.
Examination of most developed and industrialized societies indicates that they are noted
for their high-quality transportation services. Nations with well-developed maritime sys-
tems (such as the British Empire in the 1900s) once ruled vast colonies located around the
globe. In more modern times, countries with advanced transportation systems, such as the
United States, Canada, Japan, and those in Western Europe, are leaders in industry and
commerce. Without the ability to transport manufactured goods, raw materials, and tech-
nical know-how, a country is simply unable to maximize the comparative advantage it may
have in the form of natural or human resources. A country such as Japan, for example, with
4 Part 1 Introduction
little in the way of natural resources, relies heavily on transportation in order to import raw
materials and to export manufactured products.
Transportation and Economic Growth

Good transportation, in and of itself, will not assure success in the marketplace; however,
the absence of excellent transportation services will contribute to failure. Thus, if a society
wishes to develop and grow, it must have a strong internal transportation system as well as
excellent linkages to the rest of the world. Transportation is a derived demand, created by
the needs and desires of people to move themselves or their goods from one place to
another. It is a necessary condition for human interaction and economic survival.
The availability of transportation facilities can strongly influence the growth and de-
velopment of a region or nation. Good transportation permits the specialization of industry
or commerce, reduces costs for raw materials or manufactured goods, and increases com-
petition between regions, resulting in lower costs and greater choice for the consumer.
Transportation is also a necessary element of government services such as delivering mail,
defending a nation, and retaining control of its territories. Throughout history, transporta-
tion systems, such as those that existed in the Roman Empire and those that exist now in
the United States, were developed and built to ensure easy mobilization of armies in the
event of a national emergency.
Social Costs and Benefits of Transportation

The improvement of a region’s economic position by virtue of improved transportation
does not come without costs. Building vast transportation systems requires enormous
resources of energy, material, and land. In major cities, transportation can consume as
much as half of all the land area. An aerial view of any major metropolis will reveal vast
acreage used for railroad terminals, airports, parking lots, and freeways. Transportation has
other negative effects as well. Travel is not without danger; every mode of transportation
brings to mind some major disaster, be it the sinking of the Titanic, the disaster of the zep-
pelin Hindenburg, the infrequent but dramatic passenger air crashes, and the highway fatali-
ties that each year claim about 40,000 lives. In addition, transportation creates noise, spoils
the natural beauty of an area, changes the environment, pollutes air and water, and con-
sumes energy resources.
Society has indicated a willingness to accept some risks and some change of the natural
environment to gain the benefits of efficient transportation systems. A major task for the
modern transportation engineer is to balance society’s need for fast and efficient transpor-
tation with the costs involved so that the most efficient and cost-effective system is created.
In carrying out this task, the transportation engineer must work closely with the public and
with elected officials and must be aware of modern engineering practices to ensure that
the highest-quality transportation systems are built consistent with available funds and
accepted social policy.
Society also values many social benefits of transportation. Bringing medical and other
services to rural areas and enabling people to socialize who live some distance apart are only
a few of the benefits that transportation provides.
Chapter 1 The Profession of Transportation Engineering 5
Transportation in the United States

The importance of transportation in the United States is illustrated by several statistics.
Approximately 16 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is accounted for
by expenses related to transportation. In 1999, expenditures on transportation totaled
$1.48 trillion, representing a 51 percent increase over outlays in 1990. The percentage of
the GDP that is transportation-related has declined from a high of 20.0 percent in 1960,
reflecting increased competition created by deregulation of both freight and passenger
transportation. Almost 70 percent of petroleum used in the United States is for transporta-
tion. Highway transportation, in 1999, consumed 82.7 percent of all the petroleum used by
intercity transport modes. United States citizens travel an average of 1 h/day. Over 80 per-
cent of eligible drivers have driver’s licenses; they travel an average of 12,000 mi/year.
Transportation industries in the United States employ 11 percent of the workforce in jobs
as diverse as those of gas station attendants, airline pilots, truck drivers, highway construc-
tion workers, barge operators, pipeline welders, railroad train workers, bus drivers, and
highway patrol officers.
Figure 1.1 depicts the trends in transport employment between 1960 and 1998. Total
employment increased from 8.9 million to 14.3 million, while during the same period the
Figure 1.1 Transportation Employment (millions)

SOURCE: Transportation in America, 17th ed., Eno Transportation Foundation, Inc., Washington, D.C., 1999. Used
with permission.
percentage of transportation employment declined from 13.5 to 11.1 percent of total

employment.
OVERVIEW OF U.S. TRANSPORTATION HISTORY

Transportation in the United States could be the subject of a separate book. Transportation
history covers a 200-year period and involves the development of many separate modes of
transportation. Among the principal topics are travel by foot and horseback, automobile
and truck travel, the development of roads and highways, the building of canals and inland
waterways, the expansion of the West, the construction of railroads, the use of public trans-
portation such as bus and metro systems in cities, and the development of air transporta-
tion, including the aircraft, airports, and air navigation facilities that compose the system.
Population Changes
In its early years, the United States was primarily rural, with a population of about 4 mil-
lion in the late 1700s. Only about 200,000 (5 percent) lived in cities; the remainder inhab-
ited rural areas and small communities. That pattern remained until the early 1900s.
During the twentieth century, the urban population continued to increase such that at
present about 75 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban or suburban areas. Large
cities have been declining in population; increases have occurred in suburban areas. These
changes have a significant impact on the need for highway transportation.
Early Roadbuilding and Planning

During the eighteenth century, travel was by horseback or in animal-drawn vehicles on
dirt roads. As the nation expanded westward, roads were built to accommodate the settlers.
In 1794, the first toll road, the Lancaster Turnpike, was built to connect the Pennsylvania
cities of Lancaster and Philadelphia.
The nineteenth century brought further expansion of U.S. territorial boundaries, and
the population increased from 3 million to 76 million. Transportation continued to expand
with the nation. In 1808, Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, who served under Pres-
ident Thomas Jefferson, recommended a national transportation plan. Although his plan
was not officially adopted, it did develop a strong case for investing in transportation by the
federal government and was the basis for construction projects such as the Erie Canal. The
remainder of the nineteenth century saw considerable activity, particularly in canal and
railroad building.
The Short-Lived Canal Boom

An era of canal construction began in the 1820s, when the Erie Canal was completed and
other inland waterways were constructed. This efficient means of transporting goods was
soon replaced by the railroads, which were being developed at the same time. In 1840, the
number of miles of canal and railroads were equal (3200 mi), but railroads, which could be
constructed almost anywhere in this vast, undeveloped land at a much lower cost, super-
seded canals as a form of intercity transportation. Thus, after a short-lived period of intense
activity, the era of canal construction came to an end.
The Railroad Era

The dominant mode of transportation during the late 1800s was the railroad; railway lines
spanned the entire continent (the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869).
Railroads dominated intercity passenger and freight transportation from the late 1800s to
the early 1920s. Railroad transportation enjoyed a resurgence during World War II but has
steadily declined since then, owing to the competitiveness of automobile and truck trans-
port. Railroad mileage reached its peak of about 265,000 miles by 1915 but has reduced to
about 122,000 statute miles in 1999.
Transportation in Cities
Each decade has seen continual population growth within cities, and with it the demand
for improvements in urban transportation systems has increased. City transportation
began with horse-drawn carriages on city streets; these later traveled on steel tracks. They
were succeeded by cable cars, electric streetcars, underground electrified railroads, and bus
transportation. City travel by public transit has been largely replaced by the use of auto-
mobiles on urban highways, although new rapid transit systems have been built in San
Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
The Automobile and Interstate Highways

The invention and development of the automobile created a revolution in transportation
in the United States during the twentieth century. No facet of American life has been un-
touched by this invention; the automobile, together with the airplane, has changed the
way we travel within and between cities. Only four automobiles were produced in the
year 1895. By 1901, there were 8000 registered vehicles, and by 1910 over 450,000 cars
and trucks. Between 1900 and 1910, 50,000 miles of surfaced roads were constructed, but
major highway-building programs did not begin in earnest until the late 1920s. By 1920,
more people traveled by private automobile than by rail transportation. By 1930, 23 mil-
lion passenger cars and 3 million trucks were registered. In 1956, Congress authorized a
42,500-mile interstate highway network. Today, that network is virtually complete.
The Birth of Aviation

Aviation was in its infancy at the beginning of the twentieth century; the Wright brothers’
first flight took place in 1903. Both World War I and World War II were catalysts in the
development of air transportation. The carrying of mail by air provided a reason for gov-
ernment support of this new industry. Commercial airline passenger service began to
grow, and by the mid-1930s, coast-to-coast service was available. After World War II, the
expansion of air transportation was phenomenal. The technological breakthroughs that
developed during the war, coupled with the training of pilots, created a new industry that
replaced both oceangoing steamships and passenger railroads. A summary of the historical
highlights of transportation development is shown in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Significant Events in Transportation History

1794: First toll road, the Lancaster Turnpike, 1914: Panama Canal opens for traffic.
is completed. 1915–18: Inland waters and U.S. merchant fleet
1807: Robert Fulton demonstrates a steamboat play prominent roles in World War I freight
on the Hudson River. Within several years, movement.
steamboats are operating along the East 1916: Interurban electric-rail mileage reaches
Coast, on the Great Lakes, and on many peak of 15,580 mi.
major rivers.
1919: U.S. Navy and Coast Guard crew crosses
1808: Secretary of Treasury Albert Gallatin the Atlantic in a flying boat.
recommends a federal transportation plan to
1927: Charles Lindbergh flies solo from New
Congress, but it is not adopted.
York to Paris.
1825: Erie Canal is completed.
1956: Construction of the 42,500-mile Inter-
1830: Operations begin on Baltimore and state and Defense Highway System begins.
Ohio Railroad, first railroad constructed for
1959: St. Lawrence Seaway is completed,
general transportation purposes.
opening nation’s fourth seacoast.
1838: Steamship service on the Atlantic Ocean
1961: Manned spaceflight begins.
begins.
1967: U.S. Department of Transportation
1857: First passenger elevator in the United
established.
States begins operation, presaging
high-density urban development. 1969: Men land on moon and return.
1865: First successful petroleum pipeline is 1972: San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit
laid, between a producing field and a System is completed.
railroad terminal point in western 1981: Space shuttle Columbia orbits and lands
Pennsylvania. safely.
1866: Bicycles are introduced in the United 1991: Interstate highway system is essentially
States. complete.
1869: Completion of first transcontinental 1992: Intelligent transportation systems (ITS)
railroad. usher in a new era of research and
1887: First daily railroad service from coast to development in transportation.
coast. 1995: 161,000-mile National Highway System
1888: Frank Sprague introduces the first (NHS) is approved.
regular electric streetcar service in 1998: Electric vehicles are introduced as an
Richmond, Va. alternative to internal combustion engines.
1903: The Wright brothers fly first airplane 2000: New millennium ushers in a
120 ft at Kitty Hawk, N.C. transportation-information technology
revolution.
Transportation Facilities Today

The nation’s transportation system is now largely in place, having been built over a
period of 200 years. However, much of this system (particularly the physical facilities)
is becoming old and deteriorated. This is particularly true of the nation’s highway sys-
tem and railroads. The United States has constructed one of the most extensive trans-
portation systems in the world, and new developments will be focused on keeping the
existing system in serviceable condition and on improving the system’s capacity

through advanced technology. Environmental concerns will also have a strong influ-
ence as we attempt to improve air quality. Several initiatives that began in the 1990s
will influence the United States’ transportation system well into the twenty-first cen-
tury. These are the the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), the Strategic Plan for Intelli-
gent Vehicle-Highway Systems of 1992, and the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA-21).
The surface transportation legislation has provided funding of over $155 billion for
1992 through 1997, and $217 billion for 1998 through 2004. The purpose is to develop
a national intermodal transportation system that is economically efficient and environ-
mentally sound, provides the foundation to compete in a global economy, and moves
people and goods in an energy-efficient manner. Among the most important features
of the legislation are the designation of a national highway system, which comprises
approximately 161,000 miles of interstate and principal arterial highways, and funding
for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and prototype high-speed rail systems.
Nonhighway legislation also influences our nation’s highway program, particularly
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the CAAA. The CAAA are intended to
ensure that in areas experiencing air quality problems, the transportation systems are
designed to improve air quality as well as mobility. Thus, emphasis will be placed on
reducing auto emissions and devising programs to increase the use of public transit,
bicycling, walking, and multioccupant driving.
ISTEA authorized $660 million for the development of ITS, which involves the
integration of advanced technologies to alleviate congestion and to improve all aspects
of highway safety, productivity, and air quality. The essence of ITS is the use of in-
formation technology, including hardware, software, electronics, controls, and com-
munications. In 1992, a strategic plan was formulated to guide the development of these
technologies over the next 20 years. Among the areas of application envisioned are the
integration of the management of various roadway functions, such as freeway ramp
monitoring and signal control. Collection of real-time data will permit the rerouting of
drivers around accident sites, thus reducing costs of traffic congestion, and also provide
information to travelers regarding road and weather conditions and trip planning. It will
also provide collision warning systems and develop new automated highways. The
applications will be extended to commercial vehicles, public transportation, and trans-
port needs of rural areas. In each of these cases, information technology will be used for
automatic vehicle identification, route information, and fare collection. Many experi-
ments and demonstrations of ITS technology are being undertaken that will result in
new ways of managing and operating our nation’s transportation system.
EMPLOYMENT IN TRANSPORTATION
Transportation represents one of the broadest opportunities for employment because it in-
volves many disciplines and modes. In the United States in 1999 the number of miles of
paved roadway, for intercity travel was 832,000 and there were approximately 122,000
miles of railroads, 394,000 airway miles, 26,000 miles of inland waterways, and 177,000
miles of pipeline. This vast system of infrastructure and vehicles requires a significant
workforce to plan, build, operate, and maintain it.
Transportation services are provided within and between cities by rail, air, bus, truck,
and private automobile. The automobile is the major mode of travel between cities; the
movement of intercity passenger traffic by public carriers is mainly by air and, to a much
lesser extent, by bus and rail. Within cities, passenger travel is by personal automobile, bus,
and rail rapid transit. Freight movement is largely the province of trucking firms within cit-
ies, but truck, rail, water, and pipelines provide intercity freight movement over the conti-
nental United States. The professional skills required to plan, build, and operate this
extensive transportation system require a variety of disciplines, including engineering,
planning, law, and the economic, management, and social sciences.
The physical-distribution aspect of transportation, known as business logistics or
physical distribution management, is concerned with the movement and storage of freight
between the primary source of raw materials and the location of the finished manufactured
product. Business logistics is the process of planning, implementing and controlling the
efficient and effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from
origination to consumption as per customer requirements. An expansion of the logistics
concept is called supply chain management, a process that coordinates the product, infor-
mation, and cash flows to maximize consumption satisfaction and minimize organization
costs.
Vehicle design and manufacture is a major industry in the United States and involves
the application of mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering skills as well as those of
technical trained mechanics and workers in other trades.
The service sector provides jobs for vehicle drivers, maintenance people, flight atten-
dants, train conductors, and other necessary support personnel. Other professionals, such
as lawyers, economists, social scientists, and ecologists, also work in the transportation
fields when their skills are required to draft legislation, to facilitate right-of-way acquisi-
tion, or to study and measure the impacts of transportation on the economy, society, and
the environment.
Although a transportation system requires many skills and provides a wide variety of
job opportunities, we will concentrate on the opportunities for civil engineers. They are
responsible primarily for the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance
of the transportation system within the United States. It is the engineer’s responsibility to
ensure that the system functions efficiently from an economic point of view and that it
meets external requirements concerning energy, air quality, safety, congestion, noise, and
land use.
Specialties in Transportation Engineering

Transportation engineers typically are employed by the agency responsible for building
and maintaining a transportation system, such as the federal, state, or local government, a
railroad, or a transit authority. They also work for consulting firms that carry out the plan-
ning and engineering tasks for these organizations. During the past century, transportation
engineers have been employed to build the nation’s railroads, the interstate highway sys-
tem, rapid transit systems in major cities, airports, and turnpikes. Each decade has seen a
new national need for improved transportation services.
It can be expected that in the twenty-first century, heavy emphasis will be placed on
the rehabilitation of the highway system, including its surface and bridges, as well as on
devising means to ensure improved safety and utilization of the existing system through
traffic control, information technology and systems management. Highway construction
will be required, particularly in suburban areas. Building of roads, highways, airports, and
transit systems is likely to accelerate in less developed countries, and the transportation
engineer will be called on to furnish the services necessary to plan, design, build, and oper-
ate highway systems throughout the world. Each of the subspecialties within transporta-
tion engineering is described below.
Planning
Transportation planning deals with the selection of projects for design and construction.
The transportation planner begins by defining the problem, gathering and analyzing data,
and evaluating various alternative solutions. Also involved in the process are forecasts of
future traffic; estimates of the impact of the facility on land use, the environment, and the
community; and determination of the benefits and costs that will result if the project is
built. The transportation planner investigates the physical feasibility of a project and makes
comparisons between various alternatives to determine which one will accomplish the task
at the lowest cost, consistent with other criteria and constraints.
A transportation planner must be familiar with engineering economics and other
means of evaluating alternative systems. The planner also must be knowledgeable in statis-
tics and data-gathering techniques, as well as in computer programming for data analysis
and travel forecasting. The transportation planner must be able to communicate with the
public and with his or her client and have the ability to write and speak well.
Design
Transportation design involves the specification of all features of the transportation system
so that it will function smoothly, efficiently, and in accord with physical laws. The design
process results in a set of detailed plans that can be used for estimating the facility costs and
for carrying out its construction. For a highway, the design process involves the selection
of dimensions for all geometrical features, such as the longitudinal profile, vertical curves
and elevations, the highway cross section such as pavement widths, shoulders, right-
of-way, drainage ditches, and fencing. It also involves the design of the pavement itself,
including the structural requirements for base and subbase courses and the pavement
material, such as concrete or asphalt. Also involved in the design are bridges and drainage
structures, as well as the provision for traffic control devices, roadside rest areas, and land-
scaping. The highway designer must be proficient in civil engineering subjects such as soil
mechanics, hydraulics, land surveying, pavement design, and structural design. The high-
way design engineer is concerned primarily with the geometric layout of the road, its cross
section, paving materials, roadway thickness, and traffic control devices. Special appurte-
nances, such as highway bridges and drainage structures, usually are designed by specialists
in these areas.
The most important aspect of the highway designer’s work is to establish the standards
that relate the speed of the vehicle to the geometric characteristics of the road. A balanced
design is produced in which all elements of the geometry of the highway—its curve radii,
sight distance, superelevation, grade, and vertical curvature—are consistent with a chosen
design speed such that if a motorist travels at that speed, he or she can proceed safely and
comfortably throughout the entire highway system.
Construction
Transportation construction is closely related to design and involves all aspects of the
building process, beginning with clearing of the native soil, preparation of the surface,
placement of the pavement material, and preparation of the final roadway for use by traffic.
Originally, highways were built with manual labor assisted by horse-drawn equipment for
grading and moving materials. Today, modern construction equipment is used for clearing
the site, grading the surface, compacting the subbase, transporting materials, and placing
the final highway pavement. Advances in construction equipment have made possible the
rapid building of large highway sections. Nuclear devices for testing compaction on soil
and base courses, laser beams for establishing line and grade, and specialized equipment for
handling concrete and bridge work are all innovations in the construction industry. Large,
automatically controlled mix plants have been constructed; new techniques for improving
durability of structures and the substitutions for scarce materials have been developed.
Traffic Operations and Management

The operation of the nation’s highway system is the responsibility of the traffic engineer.
Traffic engineering involves the integration of vehicle, driver, and pedestrian characteris-
tics to improve the safety and capacity of streets and highways. All aspects of the transporta-
tion system are included after the street or highway has been constructed and opened for
operation. Among the elements of concern are traffic accident analyses, parking, loading,
design of terminal facilities, traffic signs, markings, signals, speed regulation, and highway
lighting. The traffic engineer works to improve traffic flow and safety, using engineering
methods and information technology to make decisions that are supported by enforcement
and education. Traffic engineers work directly for municipalities, county governments,
and private consulting firms.
Maintenance
Highway maintenance involves all the work necessary to ensure that the highway system is
kept in proper working order. Maintenance is work such as pavement patching, repair, and
other actions necessary to maintain the roadway pavement at a desired level of serviceabil-
ity. Maintenance also involves record keeping and data management for work activities and
project needs, as well as analyses of maintenance activities to determine that they are car-
ried out in the most economical manner. Scheduling of work crews, replacement of worn
or damaged signs, and repair of damaged roadway sections are important elements of
maintenance management. The work of the civil engineer in the area of maintenance in-
volves redesign of existing highway sections, economic evaluation of maintenance pro-
grams, testing of new products, and scheduling of manpower to minimize delay and cost.
The maintenance engineer must also maintain an inventory of traffic signs and markings
and ensure that they are in good condition.
The Challenge of Transportation Engineering

The transportation engineer is a professional who is concerned with the planning, design,
construction, operations, and management of a transportation system (Figure 1.2). As a
Operations and Management

Design Construction
Planning • Traffic
• Geometric • Surface Preparation
• Data Analysis • Maintenance
• Pavement • Grading
• Forecasting • Intelligent Transportation
• Drainage • Pavement
• Evaluation • Surveillance
• Structural • Bridges
• Control
Experience
Research and Development • Field
• Technology Transfer • Analysis
• Projects
Figure 1.2 The Profession of Transportation Engineering
professional, he or she must make critical decisions about the system that will affect the
thousands of people who use it. The work depends on the results of experience and re-
search and is challenging and ever-changing as new needs emerge and new technologies
replace those of the past. The challenge of the transportation engineering profession is to
assist society in selecting the appropriate transportation system consistent with its eco-
nomic development, resources, and goals and to construct and manage the system in a safe
and efficient manner.
SUMMARY
Transportation is an essential element in the economic development of a society. Without
good transportation, a nation or region cannot achieve the maximum use of its natural re-
sources or the maximum productivity of its people. Progress in transportation is not with-
out its costs, both in human lives and in environmental damage, and it is the responsibility
of the transportation engineer working with the public to develop high- quality transporta-
tion consistent with available funds and social policy and to minimize damage. Transporta-
tion is a significant element in our national life, accounting for 16.3 percent of the gross
national product and employing over 10 percent of the workforce.
The history of transportation illustrates that the way people move is affected by tech-
nology, cost, and demand. The past 200 years have seen the development of several modes
of transportation: waterways, railroads, highway, and air. Each mode has been dominant
during one period of time; several have been replaced or have lost market share when a
new mode emerged that provided a higher level of service at a competitive price.
The career opportunities in transportation that engineering students have are exciting.
In the past, transportation engineers planned and built the nation’s railroads, highways,
mass transit systems, airports, and pipelines. In the coming decades, additional system ele-
ments will be required, as will efforts toward maintaining and operating in a safe and eco-
nomical manner the vast system that is already in place. New systems, such as magnetically
levitated high-speed trains or ITS, will also challenge the transportation engineer in the
future.
The specialties in transportation engineering are planning, design, construction, traf-
fic management and operations, and maintenance. Planning involves the selection of pro-
jects for design and construction; design involves the specification of all features of the
transportation project; construction involves all aspects of the building process; traffic
management and operations involves studies to improve capacity and safety; and mainte-
nance involves all work necessary to ensure that the highway system is kept in proper
working order.
PROBLEMS
1-1 To illustrate the importance of transportation in our national life, identify a transportation-
related article that appears in a local or national newspaper. Discuss the issue involved and
explain why the item was newsworthy.
1-2 Arrange an interview with a transportation professional in your city or state (that is, some-
one working for a consulting firm, city, county, state transportation department, transit, or
rail agency). Inquire about the job he or she performs, why he or she entered the profes-
sion, and what he or she sees as future challenges in his field.
1-3 Keep a diary of all trips you make for a period of three to five days. Record the purpose of
each trip, how you traveled, the approximate distance traveled, and the trip time. What
conclusions can you draw from the data?
1-4 Identify one significant transportation event that occurred in your city or state. Discuss the
significance of this event.
1-5 Describe how transportation influenced the initial settlement and subsequent develop-
ment of your home city or state.
1-6 Describe your state’s transportation infrastructure. Include both passenger and freight
transportation.
1-7 What is the total number of miles in your state’s highway system? What percent of the
highway system is composed of Interstate highways?
1-8 Estimate the number of personal motor vehicles in your city or state. What is the total
number of miles driven each year? How much revenue is raised per vehicle for each
1 cent/gallon tax? Assume that the average vehicle achieves 25 mpg.
1-9 How many railroad trains pass through your city each week? What percentage of these are
passenger trains?
1-10 Review the classified section of the telephone directory and identify ten different jobs or
industries that are related to transportation.
1-11 Estimate the proportion of your monthly budget that is spent on transportation.
1-12 Identify an ITS project or application that is underway in your home state. Describe the
project, its purpose, and the way it is operated.
1-13 Most departments of transportation incorporate at least five major transportation engi-
neering subspecialties within their organization. List and briefly indicate at least three tasks
falling under each specialty.
1-14 There are many benefits related to our highway system, but there are also many costs, or
detrimental effects, that have come into focus in recent years. List four major detrimental
effects that are directly related to the construction and use of our highway transportation
system.
1-15 Cite four statistics that demonstrate the importance of transportation in the United States.
1-16 A state has a population of 17 million people and an average ownership of 1.5 cars per
person, each driven an average of 10,000 mi/year, at 20 mi/gal of gasoline (mpg). Officials
estimate that an additional $75 million per year in revenue will be required to improve the
state’s highway system, and they have proposed an increase in the gasoline tax to meet this
need. Determine the required tax in cents per gallon.
1-17 Review Table 1.1 and select a single event which in your opinion is the most significant.
Explain the importance of this transportation achievement.
ADDITIONAL READINGS
America’s Highways 1776–1976, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration, Washington, D.C., 1976.
Coyle, John J., Edward J. Bardi, and Robert A. Novack, Transportation, 5th edition, South
Western College Publishing Co., 2000.
Hoel, Lester A. “Historical Overview of U.S. Passenger Transportation” and Sussman,
Joseph M., “Transportation’s Rich History and Challenging Future—Moving
Goods.” Transportation Research Board Circular 461, National Research Council,
Washington, D.C., August 1996.
Transportation in America, 18th edition, Eno Transportation Foundation, Washington,
D.C., 2000.

Books 2923 0

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Books 2923 0

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Licensed to: CengageBrain User

Australia • Canada • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States

Publisher: Bill Stenquist Cover Design: Lisa Henry

COPYRIGHT © 2002 The Wadsworth Group. Brooks/Cole is an imprint

For permission to use material from the work, contact us by

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Transportation and Economic Growth

Social Costs and Benefits of Transportation

Chapter 1 The Profession of Transportation Engineering 5

Transportation in the United States

Figure 1.1 Transportation Employment (millions)

percentage of transportation employment declined from 13.5 to 11.1 percent of total

OVERVIEW OF U.S. TRANSPORTATION HISTORY

Early Roadbuilding and Planning

The Short-Lived Canal Boom

Chapter 1 The Profession of Transportation Engineering 7

The Railroad Era

The Automobile and Interstate Highways

The Birth of Aviation

Table 1.1 Significant Events in Transportation History

Transportation Facilities Today

Chapter 1 The Profession of Transportation Engineering 9

existing system in serviceable condition and on improving the system’s capacity

Specialties in Transportation Engineering

Chapter 1 The Profession of Transportation Engineering 11

Traffic Operations and Management

The Challenge of Transportation Engineering

Chapter 1 The Profession of Transportation Engineering 13

Operations and Management

Figure 1.2 The Profession of Transportation Engineering

Chapter 1 The Profession of Transportation Engineering 15

You might also like