Debre Birhan University School of Engineering

Civil Engineering Department, 2014/5

Highway EngineeringI CENG 3172

GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS

Mulualem M.
 Introduction
Geometric design is the stage of road design process where the dimension
and layouts of roads are related to the needs of drivers and vehicle
operation.
The safe, efficient and economic operation of highway is largely
determined by the geometric design.
The following are factors to be considered in geometric design:
The road should aim at long service year
Due consideration should be given to avoid faulty designs which may
need large costs of rectify.
Design should be consistent with standard
Design should include items such as road signs, lighting, intersection,
etc.
The design should also consider safety elements.
The design should consider both initial construction costs and operation
2 costs. 10/16/2017
 Introduction (contd)
In developing countries, pedestrians, animal-drawn carts, etc., are often
important components of the traffic mix, even on major roads.
Lorries and buses often represent the largest proportion of the motorized
traffic, while traffic composition in the industrialized countries is dominated
by the passenger car.
As a result, there may be less need for high-speed roads in developing
countries
Traffic volumes on most rural roads in developing countries are also
relatively low.
Thus, providing a road with high geometric standards may not be
economical, since transport cost savings may not offset construction costs.
In countries with weak economies, design levels of comfort used in
industrialized countries may well be a luxury that cannot be afforded.
3 10/16/2017
 Introduction (contd)
When developing appropriate geometric design standards for a particular
road in a developing country, the first step should normally be to identify
the objective of the road project.
It is convenient to define the objective in terms of three distinct stages of
development as follows:
Stage 1 Provision of access
Stage 2 - Provision of additional capacity
Stage 3 Increase of operational efficiency
Developing countries, by their very nature, will usually not be at stage 3 of
this sequence; indeed most will be at the first stage.
However, design standards currently in use are generally developed for
countries at stage 3 and they have been developed for roads carrying
relatively large volumes of traffic.
4 10/16/2017
 Design Controls and Criteria
The elements of design are influenced by a wide variety of design controls,
engineering criteria, and project specific objectives. Such factors include the
following:
Roadway type
Projected traffic volume and composition
Required design speed
Topography of the surrounding land
Human sensory capacities of roadway users
Vehicle size and performance characteristics
Traffic safety considerations
Environmental considerations
Right-of-way impacts and costs
5 10/16/2017
 Design Controls and Criteria (contd)
Driver Characteristics
The drivers performance limits that could impact the highway safety
and operating efficiency are:
drivers vision,
perception and reaction (PIEV),
concentration, and
comfort
Driver expectancies are built up over time, with consistent road
design.
Unusual or unexpected geometric design or event always leads to
longer reaction and response time.
The geometric design of highway should be in accordance with the
drivers expectation.
6 10/16/2017
 Design Controls and Criteria (contd)
Design Speed
The assumed design speed for a highway may be considered as the
maximum safe speed that can be maintained over a specified section of
a highway when conditions are so favorable that the design features
govern.
The choice of design speed will depend primarily on the surrounding
terrain and the functional class of the highway.
Other factors determining the selection of design speed include traffic
volume, costs of right-of-way and construction, and aesthetic
consideration.
It is therefore recommended that the basic parameters of road
7 function, terrain type and traffic flow are defined initially. 10/16/2017
 Design Controls and Criteria (contd)
TrafficVolume
Information on traffic volumes, traffic composition and traffic loading
are important factors in the determination of the appropriate standard
of a road.
The traffic has a major impact on the selection of road class, and
consequently on all geometric design elements.
For low volume roads the design control is the Average Annual Daily
Traffic (AADT) in the design year.
The design year is usually selected as year 10 after the year of opening
to traffic.

8 10/16/2017
 Design Controls and Criteria (contd)
DesignVehicle
The dimensions of the motor vehicles that will utilize the proposed facility
also influence the design of a roadway project.
The width of the vehicle naturally affects the width of the traffic lane;
the vehicle length affects the turning radius;
the vehicle height affects the clearance of the various structures.
Vehicle weight affects the structural design of the roadway.
There are generally four classes of design vehicles: (1) passenger cars, (2)
buses, (3) trucks, and (4) recreational vehicles.
The design engineer will select for design the largest vehicle that is expected
to use the roadway facility in significant numbers on a daily basis.
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 Design Controls and Criteria (contd)
DesignVehicle (contd)
Overall (m) Overhang (m) Min.
Design
Wheelbase Design
Design Vehicle Vehicle
(m) Turning
Designation Height Width Length Front Rear
Radius (m)
4x4 Utility
DV1 1.3 2.1 5.8 0.9 1.5 3.4 7.3
Vehicle
Single Unit
DV2 4.1 2.6 11.0 1.5 3.0 6.5 12.8
Truck
Single Unit
DV3 4.1 2.6 12.1 2.1 2.4 7.6 12.8
Bus
Semi-Trailer
DV4 4.1 2.6 15.2 1.2 1.8 13.2 13.7
Combination
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 Design Controls and Criteria (contd)
Topography
The geometric design elements of a road depend on the transverse terrain
through which the road passes. Transverse terrain properties are categorized
into four classes as follows:
FLAT/LEVEL: Flat or gently rolling country, which offers few obstacles
to the construction of a road, having continuously unrestricted
horizontal and vertical alignment (transverse terrain slope up to 5%).
ROLLING: Rolling, hilly or foothill country where the slopes generally
rise and fall moderately and where occasional steep slopes are
encountered, resulting in some restrictions in alignment (transverse
terrain slope from 5% to 25%).
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 Design Controls and Criteria (contd)
Topography (contd)
MOUNTAINOUS: This class of terrain imposes definite restrictions on
the standard of alignment obtainable and often involves long steep
grades and limited sight distance (transverse terrain slope from 25% to
50%).
ESCARPMENT: We refer to escarpment situations inclusive of
switchback roadway sections, or side hill transverse sections where
earthwork quantities are considerable, with transverse terrain slope in
excess of 50%).

12 10/16/2017
13 10/16/2017
 Highway functional classification
The roads can be classified in many ways.
The classification based on speed and accessibility is the most generic
one.
Note that as the accessibility of road increases, the speed reduces.

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 Highway functional classification

Functional Road Classifications (Rural Roads)

Road Types

Arterial / Trunk Collectors / Local / Feeder

Roads Links Roads

Mobility
Accessibility

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 Highway functional classification
Functional Road Classifications, generally

Access roads are the lowest level in the network hierarchy, includes
local roads and streets. Vehicular flows will be very light and will be
aggregated in the collector road network.
Collector roads have the function of linking traffic to and from rural
areas, either direct to adjacent urban centers, or to the arterial road
network. Traffic flows and trip lengths will be of an intermediate level
and the need for high geometric standards is therefore less important.
Arterial roads are the main routes connecting national and
international centers. Trip lengths are likely to be relatively long and
16 levels of traffic flow and speed relatively high. 10/16/2017
 Highway functional classification

17 10/16/2017
 Highway functional classification
Functional Road Classifications
Ethiopia USA UK Denmark
Trunk Arterial Principal Trunk C.I: Nat. & Int.
Link Arterial Minor Link C. I CII: Major Reg.
Main Access Collectors Link C. II CIII: Regional
Collectors Locals Link C. III CIV: Locals
Feeders

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 Design Carriag Design Speed (km/hr)
Road Functional Design Surface
Flow e Way Rollin Mount. Escarp. Urban
Classification Standard Type Flat
(AADT) (m) g
T
R 10000-
Dual
U DS 1 Paved 120 100 85 70 50
N 15000
2x7.3
K
L DS 2 5000-10000 Paved 7.3 120 100 85 70 50
I
N DS 3 1000-5000 Paved 7.0 100 85 70 60 50
M K
A DS 4 200-1000 Paved 6.7 85 70 60 50 50
I
C N
O DS 5 100-200 Unpaved 7.0 70 60 50 40 50
L A
L
E C DS 6 50-100 Unpaved 6.0 60 50 40 30 50
C C
F T E
O S DS 7 30-75 Unpaved 4.0 60 50 40 30 50
E R S
S
E DS 8 25-50 Unpaved 4.0 60 50 40 30 50
D
E DS 9 0-25 Unpaved 4.0 60 40 30 20 40
R
19 10/16/2017
DS 10 0-15 Unpaved 3.3 60 40 30 20 40
 Sight Distance
Sight distance is the roadway ahead that is visible to the driver.

The drivers ability to see ahead contributes to safe and efficient

operation of the road.
Ideally, geometric design should ensure that at all times any object on
the pavement surface is visible to the driver within normal eye-sight
distance.
However, this is not usually feasible because of topographical and
other constraints, so it is necessary to design roads on the basis of
lower, but safe, sight distances.
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 Sight Distance (contd)
The common sight distances of interest in geometric design:
Stopping sight distance;
Passing sight distance;
Intersection sight distance; and
Decision sight distance.

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 Sight Distance (contd)
Stopping Sight Distance: SSD
SSD is the minimum sight distance required by the driver in order to be
able to stop the car before it hits an object on the highway.
It is of primary importance to the safe working of a highway.

SSD is the distance traveled during a drivers brake reaction time plus the
braking distance for the vehicle to come to a complete stop.

where: d1 - the distance moved from the instant the object is sighted
to the moment the brakes are applied
d2 - the distance traversed while braking (braking distance)
22 10/16/2017
V in km/hr and t in sec.
 Sight Distance (contd)
Passing/Overtaking Sight Distance: PSD
In a two-lane road, the sight distance required when pulling out to
the opposing lane to pass a slow moving vehicle is critical in
determining where no-passing zone should exist.
The passing sight distance is the sum (from the figure below
empirically):

Where d1 is the initial maneuver distance

d2 is the distance traveled while the vehicle is occupying the
passing lane.
d3 is the clearance length, for margin of safety between the
passing and opposing vehicles.
d4 is the distance traveled by the opposing vehicle during the
23
passing maneuver during time t1+t2 10/16/2017
 Sight Distance (contd)
Passing Sight Distance: PSD

24 10/16/2017
 Sight Distance (contd)
Passing Sight Distance: PSD

v is the average speed of the passing vehicle, and m is the

relative speed of the passed (overtaken) and passing vehicles,
and a is the average acceleration

AASHTO recommends d3 b/n [30,90] m for speed [56,100]

in km/h.

25 10/16/2017
 Sight Distance (contd)
Decision Sight Distance: DSD
Often a driver may encounter an unexpected road feature.
The sight distance required for a driver to make decisions and
successfully execute required maneuvers at complex locations is
DSD.
This is important when a driver is approaching a traffic control
device, or posted information signs. Because decision sight distance is
for drivers to a maneuver or evasive action rather than just to stop, it
is greater than stopping sight distance.
DSD = V*t
AASHTO recommends a range of 10.2 <= t<= 14.5 sec.

26 10/16/2017
 Sight Distance (contd)
Criteria for Measuring Sight Distance
It is assumed that an object of specific size or height is continuously
visible to the driver.
The distance is dependent on
the height of the drivers eye above the road surface,
the object height (or size) above the road surface, and
the height and lateral position of sight obstructions within the
drivers line of sight.
These have effect on the design of horizontal and vertical curve.
For sight distance calculations, the following values usually apply:
Height of the drivers eye above road surface = 1.08/1.07 m for
passenger cars, 1.8 m or 2.330 m for trucks.
Height of object: 600 mm (equivalent to tail light) for stopping
27 sight distance, 1.30 m for passing sight distance. 10/16/2017
28 10/16/2017
 Geometric Design Elements

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 Geometric Design Elements
The basic elements of geometric design are: the horizontal
alignment, the vertical alignment and the cross-section.
Horizontal and vertical alignment should not be designed
independently.
They complement each other and proper combination of horizontal
and vertical alignment, which increases road utility and safety,
encourages uniform speed, and improves appearance, can almost
always be obtained without additional costs.

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 Cross-Section Elements
The cross-sectional elements in a highway design pertain to

those features that deal with its width.

Right- Of Way
The right of way is the total land area acquired for the construction of

a highway.

The width should be sufficient to accommodate all the elements of

the highway cross section, any planned widening of the highway, and
public-utility facilities that will be installed along the highway.

31 The desirable minimum for two-lane arterials is 84 ft. 10/16/2017

 Cross-Section (contd)
Travel Lanes
They are part of carriageways intended for streams of traffic in both

directions which are demarcated by road markings.

The width of a travel lane has significant effect on the driving speeds

of the vehicles on that lane, and the passing vehicles on adjacent lanes.

This also affects the highway capacity and level of service.

The width of a lane is measured from the pavement marking on both

sides. In general, lane widths vary from of 2.7 to 3.75 m.

32 10/16/2017
33 10/16/2017
 Cross-Section (contd)
Cross slope
It is provided to raise middle of the road surface in the transverse direction
to drain off rain water from road surface.
Undivided highways on tangents, or on flat curves, have two types of cross
slope designs:
a crown or high point in the middle and a cross slope downward toward
both edges;
a high point at one edge, and a cross slope across slope across the entire
width.
The cross-fall should be sufficient to provide adequate surface drainage.
10/16/2017
34
35 10/16/2017
 Cross-Section (contd)
Shoulders
A shoulder is the part of the highway near the edges of the paved
surface that is designed to provide structural lateral support for the
pavement.
A shoulder also provides additional space for drivers to make
corrective actions, for stopped vehicles and for bicycle use, to
increase sight distance on horizontal curves, and to provide clearance
for placement of road signs and guardrails.
The ideal width of a shoulder is 3.0 m
Frequently used shoulder width of 1.80 to 2.40 m do provide
sufficient clearance for vehicles on the outermost lane, but large
vehicles may have to take evasive action.
36 10/16/2017
37 10/16/2017
 Cross-Section (contd)
Medians
A median strip or central reservation divides all motorways/dual
carriageways.
Its main function is to make driving safer for the motorist by limiting
locations where vehicles can turn right (on dual carriageways),
completely separating the traffic travelling in opposing directions and
providing a space where vehicles can recover their position if for
some reason they have unintentionally left the carriageway.

38 10/16/2017
 Cross-Section (contd)
Curbs
A curb is a steep raised element of a roadway that provides the
following functions:
Drainage control,
Roadway edge delineation,
Right-of-way control,
Channelization of road,
Parking control, and
Delineation of pedestrian walkways.
Curbs are used extensively in low-speed urban streets, but not on
high-speed rural highways and freeways.
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