— A hill road is usually defined on the basis of terrain

— Terrain types:
— Hill road-one which passes through terrain with cross
slope of 25% or more.
— There are sections along hill road with cross slope less
than 25%, esp when the road follows river route.
— It is the overall terrain that must be considered.
Why hill road
— Nepal area=140,000 sq km approx
— 66% covered with thinly populated hills, mountains
— 90% population reside in hilly areas and depend on
agro products
— Waterways, railways, airways- difficult
— For transport, economy, social reasons– justify the
construction of road.
Design & construction problems
— characterized by a highly broken relief with widely
differing elevations and steep slopes—increase in
length
— Complex geology- different rock bed- geology differs
from place to place– assessment for road foundation
— Environmental impact- removal of vegetation etc-
stable slope may change to unstable slope
— Variation in hydro- geological condition [ground water
condition] vary from place to place– may lead to
damages after construction
— New earth fill for road embankment may overload the
relatively weak underlying soil layer– may trigger
slides
— Requires installation of various types of special
structures- cost may rise upto 50 -60% of total
construction
— Steep slopes– high speed of surface runoff-provision of
erosion protection works
— Construction along small stretches– different
construction technology may be needed
— Special safety precaution during construction
— precipitation [rain and snow] , velocity of wind etc
need considerations
Special consideration in hill road
— Alignment through hilly areas is slightly different from
aligning through a flat terrain.
— For the purpose of efficient and safe operation of
vehicles through a hilly terrain special care should be
taken while aligning the highway.
— Alignment should be- short, easy, economical & safe
— Stability of the slopes:
for hilly areas, the road should be aligned through the
side of the hill that is stable. The common problem
with hilly areas is that of landslides. Excessive cutting
and filling for road constructions give way to
steepening of slopes which in turn will affect the
stability.
— Hill side drainage:
Adequate drainage facility should be provided across
the road. Attempts should be made to align the roads
in such a way where the number of cross drainage
structures required are minimum. This will reduce the
construction cost.
— Special geometric standards
The geometric standards followed in hilly areas are
different from those in at terrain. The alignment
chosen should enable the ruling gradient to be
attained in minimum of the length, minimizing steep
gradient, hairpin bends and needless rise and fall.
— Temperature- lower temp in hill –drop by 0.5 degree
per 100m rise- slopes facing south and north
— Rainfall- heavy rainfall affects construction and
maintenance
— Wind-high wind velocity contribute to damage –
weathering of rocks, blowing away binding material in
valley
— Geological condition
Route location
— Hill road follow twist and turns- curves
— Location of alignment varies for sections along valley
and mountain pass
— Alignment through valley- river route, mountain-
ridge route
— A hill road may be only river route, ridge route or
combination of both
River Route Ridge Route
Most frequent Gentle slope Steep gradient, sharp curves including hair
pin bends
Serves rural settlement situated next to the Expensive rock works, successive
water course mountain pass
Low vehicle operation cost Route climbs up continuously from the
valley till mountain pass and descends
down
Availability of construction material and Construction of special structures, tunnels,
water snow fences etc
Involves numerous horizontal curves, Are most stable
construction of large bridges
Special retaining protection on hill sides
River training works may be extensive- toe
cutting etc
Alignment Survey
— Reconnaissance-
— Tentative alignment after map study-
topographical, geological and
meteorological
— Trace cut-
route selected in step 1 is translated on the ground to
provide an access for subsequent detailed survey. A 1-
1.2 m wide track is constructed with easier gradient
— Detailed survey
— Fixing of bench marks
— Cross section and longitudinal sections –
15 m on straight, 30 m at sharp curves
— Design of horizontal curves and hair pin
bends
— Soil investigation, geology, hydrology
study
Geometric Design of hill road
— Width of pavement
— gradient
— Camber/ cross fall
— Sight distance
— Super elevation
— Radius of horizontal curves
— Widening at curves
— Setback distance
— Transition curves
— Vertical curves
— Hair pin bends
Special Structures in hill road
— Structures that are extensively used in hill roads
— Are used to retain soil mass
— Increase the stability of road embankment slopes and
natural hill slopes
— Accommodate road bed in steep slope
— River training and erosion control
— Prevent bed scour, toe cutting by rivers
— Types
Retaining structures
Drainage
Slope protection works
Retaining walls
— Are constructed for the propose of retaining or
supporting a vertical or nearly vertical earth bank
— Cost nearly 20% of total cost
— Constructed under situations like
— To support a road either wholly or partly on fill
— To support the toe of a slope that has failed or likely to
fail
— When width can not be extended due to property line or
other reason
— As revetment wall to prevent erosion on steepy slopes
Classification of retaining walls
— Material-dry masonry, stone filled gabion, mortar
masonry, pcc, Rcc

— Structural- gravity, cantilever

— Location- hill or valley side

Design of retaining walls
— Selection of the type of wall
— Material for construction
— Backfill material
Design Procedure

— Analyze the soil profile

— Establish surcharge load
— Select type and tentative proportion of wall
— Compute earth pressure
— Analyze structural stability
— Analyze foundation stability
— Design structural elements
— Select drainage in backfill
— Predict settlement and movement of wall
Drainage
Refer ch 5
— Management of surface water
— Cross drainage structures
— Causeway
— Culvert
— Sub surface water management
Slope protection structures
— Refer ch on drainage
— Designed specially to fight against slope erosion and
slope failure
— Methods comprise of drainage control and surface
treatment –vegetation, slope covering- geotextiles
MAJOR ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

— There are a large number of ecological problems

associated with road construction in hilly areas, some
of these can be summarized as below:
— Deforestation:
The association between deforestation and slope
instability has been a subject of considerable research.
Deforestation brings about erosion and soil movement
— Disturbance of geological strata:Operations like
blasting excavation, chipping of mountain slopes to
come to desired accessibility, are involved during road
construction in hill areas. These operations creates
geological disturbance in the
— Hill face disturbance: Natural inclination of hill face is
disturbed by road cutting operation.
— Drainage pattern interruption: Velocity of run-off at
the down hills increase to a very large extent due to
construction of bridges and culverts on the road as
well as due to cutting for getting proper
communication systems.
— Water resources disturbance:
Natural water resources get disturbed due to blasting
which is used during road construction activities.
Moreover, improper disposal of fuel, lubricants used in
the process contaminates the surface and ground
water.
— Siltation problem:
A large quantity of excavated material disposed on
the down hill slopes is carried by the river that gets
accumulated in the dams and reservoirs and reduce
their
— Destruction to flora and fauna:
Wild life gets disturbed due to blasting, hauling of
machineries, shriveling sound o road rollers and noise
of moving vehicles on the up-gradient. Destruction of
key habitats such as resting sites.
— Pollution:
Tremendous pollution is created due to accumulation
of debris down hill. Moreover, heating of bitumen
through hot mix plants produces a large number of air
pollutants like oxides of sulphur, nitrogen and carbon.
— Destruction of medicinal wealth:
the hill areas possess various kinds of medicinal
properties. Hundreds of plants have ethno botanical
importance.