Section 5: Aesthetics of Transportation System Elements

Overview
An aesthetically pleasing setting is one in which each element of the design is in harmony
with all others. This simple principle is the foundation of aesthetic design for transportation
facilities. A transportation corridor is a complex composition of functional elements, each
designed to meet a specific task. To meet the goal of visual harmony the design
characteristics of individual elements must be coordinated to provide a clear sense of
order, clarity, and continuity.

Visual Design Elements

The following visual design elements collectively establish the architectural and visual
framework of transportation facilities and most directly affect perceptions of the facility and
the surrounding environment:

 material

 color

 texture

 pattern

 form

TxDOT districts are encouraged to develop corridor-specific plans to coordinate the

aesthetic properties of materials, colors, textures, patterns, and form, particularly within
key urban corridors of the district. The vehicles for accomplishing this are the Landscape
and Aesthetics Assessment and the Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan.

Material. With the possible exception of landform, the materials used to build a
transportation facility exercise the greatest impact on the aesthetic and visual quality. The
materials palette of transportation is broad and includes common structural materials such
as concrete, steel, asphalt, rock, and soil. However, the palette also includes plant
materials, which are used for erosion control, slope stabilization, and reforestation as well
as contributing to the aesthetic quality of the facility.

Materials generally possess native design traits that cover all of the other design elements
of color, texture, pattern, and form. Therefore the selection of a material often sets the
character of the other design elements. For this reason material selection should always
be done with some consideration of the aesthetic properties and how they will fit into the
adjacent landscape.

Color. Color is generally associated with a material. Concrete for example has a native
color of mottled warm gray to off white. This color is not particularly objectionable but
when the dominant material of a transportation facility is concrete such as a typical urban
freeway, it becomes visually dull and monotonous. Color can be added using surface
finishes.

Texture. Texture is the apparent roughness or smoothness of a surface. Texture can be

an important element in creating visual variety within a transportation corridor. Some
materials such as glass or steel have a smooth texture that is difficult to change. However,
materials such as concrete can be easily textured by manipulating how it is placed and
finished. The use of texture is often a good alternative when the use of color is not
desirable or cost effective.

Pattern. Pattern is usually the result of a finishing technique or the placement of modular

units. Some common elements of the transportation design palette that generally have a
strong visual pattern that will impact the visual quality are retaining walls, bridge and
guard rails, modular pavements, and some illumination hardware. When materials have
strong pattern characteristics they should be coordinated with other elements of the
corridor to achieve visual harmony.

Form. Most structural elements of a transportation corridor have distinct form

characteristics. In general transportation facilities that move vehicles have very sinuous
geometries as opposed to the more rigid geometric forms of the built environment. These
flowing forms tend to be visually compatible with the natural landscape. In urban settings
the curvilinear geometry of bridges and transportation rights-of-way do not fit easily into
the rigid grid-like form of the city. The mismatch in geometry often results in unanticipated
or undesirable edge conditions where the two geometric types meet.

In the ground plane the sinuous curves of horizontal alignments needed for safety and
mobility result in a ragged patchwork of small, usually triangular parcels. These are often
too small to use effectively and can be very difficult to maintain. Designers should be
conscious of these conditions and avoid the creation of maintenance problems. Selling or
trading the land to adjacent properties when there is no need for the right-of-way is one of
the most practical solutions.

In vertical plane embankments, walls and bridge supports often create shaded areas that
tend to collect trash and become unsightly. Careful consideration of what happens under
structures and their proximity to adjacent properties is critical. Since the areas under
bridges do not receive direct sun, vegetation is seldom an appropriate ground surface
treatment.
 National Transport Policy: Government of India
The Ministry of Transport issued the policy which is known as National Transport Policy to safeguard
the rights of Transportation in India. Road Transport is vital to economic development, trade and
social integration, which rely on the conveyance of both people and goods .To conduct road transport
faster with integration of economy, National Transport Policy is initiated.

Objective:
 Road Infrastructure
 Public transport and requisite quality of service
 Quality and Productivity of goods transportation
 Ensure availability of adequate trained manpower
 Road Safety
 Accident Trauma Care
 Emphasis on energy efficiency, environmental conservation and social impact
 Increasing use of modern technology and research in road transport development
 Strengthen database collection and management system
Eligibility:
 All Public and Private Transport
Benefits:
 Road Infrastructure support
 Safety
 Modernization of transport facility

Policy Statements

In order to achieve a significant improvement in road safety, the Government of India is

committed to:

Raise Awareness about Road Safety Issues

The Government would increase its efforts to promote awareness about the various aspects of
road safety, the social and economic implications of road accidents and what needs to be done
to curb the rising menace of road accidents. This would enable and empower the different
stakeholders to play a meaningful role in promoting road safety.

Establish a Road Safety Information Database

The Government will provide assistance to local bodies, Union Territories and States to improve
the quality of crash investigation and of data collection, transmission and analysis. A National
Road Safety Information System will be established for providing continuity and policy guidelines
to this activity.

Ensure Safer Road Infrastructure

The Government will take measures to review standards pertaining to safety in the design of
rural and urban roads and bring them in consonance with international best practices keeping in
view Indian traffic conditions. Continuing application of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) under
a national framework to establish a safe and efficient transport system will be encouraged.

Safer Vehicles

The Government will take steps to ensure that safety features are built in at the stage of design,
manufacture, usage, operation and maintenance of both motorized and non-motorized vehicles
in line with international standards and practices in order to minimize adverse safety and
environmental effects of vehicle operation on road users (including pedestrians and bicyclists)
and infrastructure.

Safer Drivers

The Government will strengthen the system of driver licensing and training to improve the
competence and capability of drivers.

Ensure Safer Road Infrastructure

The Government will take measures to review standards pertaining to safety in the design of
rural and urban roads and bring them in consonance with international best practices keeping in
view Indian traffic conditions. Continuing application of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) under
a

Safety of Vulnerable Road Users

The design and construction of all road facilities (rural and urban) will take into account the needs
of non-motorized transport and the vulnerable and physically challenged in an appropriate
manner. The Government will seek to disseminate ‘best practices’ in this regard to town
planners, architects, and highway and traffic engineers.

National framework to establish a safe and efficient transport system will be encouraged.

Road Traffic Safety Education and Training

Road safety knowledge and awareness will be created amongst the population through
education, training and publicity campaigns. Road safety education will also focus on school
children and college going students, while road safety publicity campaigns will be used to
propagate good road safety practices among the community. The Government will encourage all
professionals associated with road design, road construction, road network management, traffic
management and law enforcement to attain adequate knowledge of road safety issues.

Enforcement of Safety Laws

The Government will take appropriate measures to assist various state and other governments to
strengthen and improve the quality of enforcement in order to ensure effective and uniform
implementation of safety laws. The Government will actively encourage the establishment and
strengthening of highway Patrolling on National and State Highways in cooperation with State
Governments and Union Territories as appropriate.

Emergency Medical Services for Road Accidents

The Government will strive to ensure that all persons involved in road accidents benefit from
speedy and effective trauma care and management. The essential functions of such a service
would include the provision of rescue operation and administration of first aid at the site of an
accident and the transport of the victim from accident site to nearby hospital. Hospitals alongside
the National Highways and State Highways would be adequately equipped to provide for trauma
care and rehabilitation.

HRD & Research for Road Safety

The Government will encourage increased activity in programmes of road safety research by
identifying priority areas, funding research in those areas adequately and establishing centers of
excellence in research and academic institutions. The Government will facilitate dissemination of
the result of research and identified examples of good practices through publication, training,
conferences, workshops and websites.

Strengthening Enabling Legal, Institutional and Financial Environment

for Road Safety

The Government will take appropriate measures to ensure that the required legal, institutional
and financial environment for road safety is further strengthened and a mechanism for effective
coordination of various stakeholders is put in place. The reforms in these areas would provide for
the active and extensive participation of the community at large, of the private sector, academia
and NGOs.

Implementation Strategy

Implementation Strategy The Government has decided to establish a dedicated agency viz. a
National Road Safety Board to oversee the issues related to road safety and evolve effective
strategies for implementation of the Road Safety Policy. The Government has also decided to
establish a National Road Safety Fund to finance road activities through the allocation of a
certain percentage of the cess on gasoline and diesel.

Government Initiatives
Some of the recent government initiatives are as follows:

 The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is expected to award road projects with a total length of
around 4,500 km worth Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.15 billion) in 2020.
 To widen and revamp 1.25-lakh km of roads government of India has approved the launch of Phase-III
of its rural road programme Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
 Under the Union Budget 2019-20, the Government of India has allocated Rs 1.12 trillion (US$ 15.48
billion) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
 30,000 kms of PMGSY roads have been built using Green Technology, Waste Plastic and Cold Mix
Technology, thereby reducing carbon footprint.
 The Government of India has set a target to complete one road projects every two days as a part of
100-day plan.
 As of October 2018, total length of projects awarded was 6,400 kms under Bharatmala Pariyojana
(including residual NHDP works).
 As of August 2018, a total length of 34,800 km road projects have been proposed to be constructed,
under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I.
 As of August 2018, Government of India has approved highway projects worth Rs 2 billion (US$ 29.83
million) to improve connectivity among Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Diu.

Achievements
Following are the achievements of the government in the past four years:

 As of November 2019, there were 9,242 PPP projects in India, of which 2,864 were related to roads and
bridges.
 A total of 65,000 km of roads and highways are to be constructed under Bharatmala Pariyojana.
 In the month of December 2018, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) touched a
record 31.87 kilometre per day average of national highway construction.
 The total national highways length increased to 122,434 kms in FY18 from 92,851 kms in FY14.
 The length of national highways awarded increased to 51,073 kms between FY15-FY18 from 25,158
kms in FY11-FY14.
 The construction of national highways increased to 28,531 kms between FY15-FY18 from 16,505 kms
between FY11-FY14.
 The construction of national highway per day increased to 26.9 kms per day in FY18 from 11.6 kms per
day in FY14.

Road Ahead
The government, through a series of initiatives, is working on policies to attract
significant investor interest. A total of 200,000 km national highways is expected to
be completed by 2022.
In next five years, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will able to generate
Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 14.30 billion) annually from toll and other sources.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has fixed an overall target to award
15,000 km projects and construction of 10,000 km national highways in FY19. A total
of about 295 major projects including bridges and roads are expected to be
completed during the same period.