HIGHWAY ENGINEERING I

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Instructor: Mesfin D.
Addresses:

Office No: 6105, wing_6, varnero blg, JiT, JU

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 Course Number CEng 3201
Course Title Geometric Design of Highways
Course Objectives
▪ Understand the basic stages of highway planning and
development process and have an understanding on project
selection.
▪ Able to identify possible options for the proposed project road
and evaluate these in terms of technical, financial and economic,
environmental, social and strategic terms.
▪ Able to design the geometric features (horizontal, vertical and
cross- section) of the highway that meet the needs of road users.
▪ To compute the earthwork quantities and able to provide
economical movement of excavated materials.
▪ To design drainage facilities for surface and sub surface water.
▪ To have understanding on interchanges and intersections.

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Introduction
Chapter 1:Highway Planning and 3.6 Highway Cross-section Elements
Development Process 3.6.1 Lanes and Median
1.1 Introduction to Highway Planning 3.6.2 Shoulders and Sidewalks
1.2 Stages of Highway Development 3.6.3 Pedestrian crossings and Facilities
Chapter 2: Highway Alignment and Chapter 4: Earthwork Quantities and
Route Selection Mass Haul Diagram
2.1 Highway Alignment Guidelines 4.1 Cross-sectional Elements
2.1.1 Principles of Highway Center line 4.2 Methods of Earthwork Estimation
2.2 Guidelines for Route location 4.2.1 Calculation of Areas and Volumes
2.2.1 Reconnaissance survey 4.3 Mass Diagram and Balancing
2.2.2 Preliminary Location Survey Procedures
2.2.3 Final Location Survey Chapter 5: Highway Drainage- surface
Chapter 3: Geometric Design of and sub-surface drainage
Highways 5.1 Importance of highway drainage
3.1 Design Controls and Criteria 5.1.1 Runoff Estimation Methods
3.1.1 Functional Classification of 5.2 Design of surface drainage systems
Highways 5.2.1 Urban Drainage Design 5.2.2
3.2 Elements of Geometric Design Rural Drainage Design
3.2.1 Sight distance 5.3 Strategies for Subsurface Drainage
3.3 Horizontal Alignment Design System
3.4 Vertical Alignment Design 5.3.1Estimation of Sub-surface
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3.5 Combinations of horizontal and Drainage
Introduction
Chapter 6: Intersections and Attendance Requirements
Interchanges A student must attend at least 85 % of
6.1 Types of intersections and interchanges the Lecture classes and 100% the
6.2 Geometrical Components of software practice and tutorial classes.
Intersections and Interchanges Literature / Reference
6.3 Geometric design of Intersections • Books (latest editions):
6.3.1 Roundabouts ▪ Rogers M. (2016) Highway
6.3.2 Intersections Engineering, 1st Edition, J. Wiley and
6.3.3 Interchanges Sons
6.3.4 Level Crossings ▪ Brocken rough L. Roger and
Chapter 7: Geometric design Software Boedecker J. Kenneth (2009), Highway
Engineering Handbook, 3rd Edition,
• Mode of delivery: Lectures, tutorials, McGraw-Hill
Design software Practice (In-Roads, ▪ Garber J. Nicholas and Hoel A. Lester
MX Roads etc..), class works, (2010), Traffic and Highway
assignments, Quizs etc. Engineering, 4th Edition, CEngage
• Assessment Method: Continuous Learning ▪ etc
Assessment (tests, design projects • Design Manuals
(software based), Assignments, quiz’s ▪ Geometric Design Manual (2013),
etc.) 50% Ethiopia Road Authority
•4 Written Final Examination (Final ▪ Geometric Design for Highway and
Introduction 5/28/23
50%) Streets – AASHTO (2011)
 Transportation Engineering (TE)
The application of technology and scientific principles
to the planning, functional design, operation, and
management of infrastructure for any mode of
transportation in order to provide for the safe, rapid,
comfortable, convenient, economical, environmentally
compatible movement of people and goods.
An infrastructure which serves to move
people and good is known as
transportation system

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 TE…
Components of Transportation system

3. Control component: highway administration, local

Mode of transportation
o Land : highway, rail
o Air: domestic, international
o Water: inland, coastal, ocean
o Pipelines: oil, gas, other
o Belt conveyors
o Ropeways/ Cable
o etc
Highways are the most dominant mode of
transport in most countries of the world including Ethiopia.
Highways are vitally important for economic growth of a
country especially for developing countries like Ethiopia.
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 Highway Engineering
Engineering discipline branching from civil
engineering that involves the planning, design,
construction, operation, and maintenance of
roads, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and
effective transportation of people and goods.

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Areas of highway transportation engineering

Planning of streets and highways

Geometric design of road facilities

Traffic operations and control

Traffic safety

Maintenance of road facilities and controls

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 Highway Engineering Division

Basically divided into four parts, namely

o Geometry of highway

o Pavement engineering

o Highway maintenance

o Transportation planning

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 Geometry of Highways
The dimensions and layout of visible features of the highway
It includes:
o Road cross-sections
o Horizontal alignment
o Vertical alignment
o Intersections
o Interchanges
o Earthwork estimations
o Drainage structures
o Sight distance
o etc

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Pavement Engineering
The design and maintenance of the surface and foundation
layers of any part of a roadway
It includes:
o Material design
• Material selection
• Material testing (material quality)
o Thickness design
• Selection of layer type & thicknesses (SC
(structural class) & traffic load)
• Architecture of roadway (user information)
o Material survey
• Search for quarry site
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Highway Construction, Operation, Maintenance
and Rehabilitation
Construction-construction of roadway systems
Operation-the construction of any part of the authorized
works which will involve interference with a highway or
the traffic in a highway
Maintenance-the action of keeping a road or highway in
a state of good repair
Rehabilitation-needed to restore the pavement
surface to the required level of service

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 Transportation Planning
 Planning required in the operation, provision and management of
facilities and services for the modes of transportation mathematical
solution ( by optimizing)
 It includes effective use of transportation system, determination of
overall level of service (LOS)& mathematical solution using
optimization techniques

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History of Highway/Road Engineering
 Traces of early roads have been found since the recorded history
of the man kind.
 The first and oldest mode of travel is obviously was foot path.
 Before the invention of wheel, people used to move on foot, thus
creating foot paths.
 Men and material must have been transported either on backs of men
or animals.
 The historical road development can be divided into the following era:
o Ancient roads
o Roman roads
o French roads
o British roads
o Modern roads

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 Ancient Roads
 The first mode of transport was by foot.
 The next major mode of transport was animals for transporting both
men and materials.
 Because of the loaded animals require more horizontal and vertical
clearances than the walking man, track ways emerged.
 The invention of wheel in Mesopotamian civilization led to the
development of animal drawn vehicles.
 Then it became necessary that the road surface should be capable of
carrying greater loads.
 These have led to the development of foot-paths.

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 Roman Roads
1. The roads were straight and
durable, built on hard stratum.
2. Total thickness was as high as
0.75-1.2 m
3. They mixed lime and volcanic
pozzolona to make mortar & they
added gravel to this mortar to
make concrete.
4. Concrete was a major Roman
road making innovation.
5. Roman are a pioneer of road
construction.
6. The applon way was constructed
for 580km length

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French Roads
 Occurred during the regime of
Napoleon.
 Piere-Tresaguet developed in France
in 1964
 Thickness of construction was 30cm.
 Sub-grade prepared by hand laying
large foundation stones.
 Submerged kerb stones were given.
 Broken stones were filled at the
center and compacted.
 Top wearing course was smaller
stones for 5cm at edge and
increasing at center.
 Slope 1:45 was provide for drainage.
 Shoulders with crown drain.

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British Roads
John Macadam in
England in 1827.
Sub-grade drainage was
improved.
Heavy foundation was
not necessary.
Cross slope 1:36
Total thickness is 25cm.
Uniform thickness for
subbase and base course

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Modern Road
 In 18th century, improved construction methods for road again began
to develop. Mr. Pierre Tresaquet developed an improved method of
construction in 1764 in France.
 At the time when Mr. Pierre Tresaquet was busy in developing his
construction method, Mr. John Metcalf was engaged in his
development in England.
 Metcalf constructed about 290km road in Northern region of England.
Since Metcalf was blind, his work was not recorded and thus got lost.
 Telford and Macadam were the pioneers in road development in
England. Telford believed in using heavy foundation stones over
the soil subgrade, while Macadam advocated the use
of compacted crushed aggregate layer at the bottom.
 Macadam’s method of road construction
is still in use and is named after his name.

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Cont’d.…
 The famous road designers in 18th century
o Pierre Tresaquet
o John Metcalf
o Thomas Telford
o John Macadam

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Road in Ethiopia
 Ancient period (17th and 18th century)
o Traditional shoulder porter age
o There were a number of small roads trails
 2nd Italian occupation period (1896-1936)
o Eritria to Addis Ababa road (1903)
o Addis to Addis-Alem road
o 1st asphalt road in Addis
o Total road built 6500km in length and 2500km of them are single
asphalt surface treatment (after 5 year occupation)
o Drainage structures
o Stone masonry
o Three tunnels
 Free Ethiopia (1947 onwards)
o ERA establishment (1951)

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 Cont’d…
Paved and gravel road (2009)
oAsphalt: 90,336km
ogravel,: 11,023km
1st expressway (2006)
oAddis Ababa ring road
• Four lane limited access divided highway
2nd expressway (2014)
oAddis to Adama
oSix lane limited access divided highway
oLength 80km and width 30m
3rd expressway (currently under construction)
oMojo-Hawassa

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 Classification of Highways
Depending on legal control
o Private road
o Public road
o Combined road
Depending on surface types
o Paved
o Unpaved
Depending on geometric design
o Divided
o Undivided

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Cont’d…
Depending on service function
o Freeways and arterials
o Local roads
o Collector roads
Depending on traffic volumes
o high and low
o Freeways and arterials
o Local and collector
Depending on Location
o Urban highway
o Rural highways

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 ERA road classification
Depending on function and AADT
o A Class: Trunk Roads
o B Class: Link Roads
o C Class: Main Access Roads
o D Class: Collector Roads
o E Class: Feeder Roads.
Other considerations
o Demography,
o Agriculture including livestock, mines and quarries,
o Industry and international borders

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 Question?

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