Module 1 Introduction to Highway and Railroad Engineering

Introduction
Transportation has always been an important aspect of human civilization. In this
module, the student will learn the overview and development in transportation sectors
including the different modes of transportation, characteristics of road transport. This
module will also explain the transportation engineering profession and the scope of
highway and railroad engineering, which is the focus of this course

Topic 1: The Development and Significance of Transportation

Transportation is a means in which people and goods are moved from one place to
another. It is considered as the circulatory system of a society. The increasing
transportation demand forsystematized mobility of people, goods and services as part of
rural development and urbanization all over the country indicates the need to increase
specialists for the transportation sector. One of the advocates of transportation,
Prof. Rodrigue, in his book on transportation geography, highlighted how
transportation shapes the development of the world. The economic and social
development of people evolve with how transportation is being shaped in its locale. To
quote: The unique purpose of transportation is to overcome space, which is
shaped by a variety of human and physical constraints such as distance, time,
administrative divisions, and topography. Jointly, they confer friction to any
movement, commonly known as the friction of distance (or friction of space). In an ideal
world, transportation would come at no effort in terms of cost and time and would have
unlimited capacity and spatial reach. Under such circumstances, geography would
not matter. In the real world, however, geography can be a significant constraint
to transport since it trades space for time and money and can only be partially
circumscribed. The extent to which this is done has a cost that varies significantly
according to factors such as the length of the trip, the capacity of modes and
infrastructures, and the nature of what is being transported. Transport geography can
be understood from a series of eight core principles:

1.Transportation is the spatial linking of derived demand.

2.Distance is a relative concept involving space, time, and effort.
3.Space is at the same time the generator, support, and a constraint for mobility.
4.The relation between space and time can converge or diverge.
5.A location can be central, where it generates and attracts traffic, or an intermediate
element where traffic transits through.
6.To overcome geography, transportation must consume space.
7.Transportation seeks massification but is constrained by atomization.8.Velocity is a
modal, intermodal, and managerial effort.

Topic 2: Different Modes of Transportation

The earliest form of transportation is by foot. Now, transportation may vary from land
travel to space travel. Listed below are some examples of different modes of
transportation:

1.Land
a.By foot
b.Animal-pulled wagons
c.Bicycl
ed.Cars
e.Buses
f.Trains
2.Water
a.Boats
b.Ships
c.Submarines
d.Hovercrafts (fig. 1.2.1)
3.Air
a.Airplanes
b.Helicopters
4.Others
a.Ski lifts (cable transport) (fig. 1.2.2)
b.Spacecrafts (space transport)

With recent concerns of mobility specifically in urban areas, mode of

transportation is being reviewed and revisited by transport experts and travel
enthusiasts. Figure below presents the New Reverse Traffic Pyramid presented by
Bicycle Network in Australia. This pyramid aims to suggest an approach to city and
urban planning that appropriately prioritizes active travel and aims to decrease the
congestion and pollution of a car-centric city.
Topic 3: Different Transportation Infrastructures

The innovation of modes of transportation comes hand in hand with different

transportation infrastructures. The following are examples of common transportation
infrastructures:

●Roads
-Highways
-Walkways
-Bicycle lanes
-Bridges
-Tunnel
●Railways
●Stations
●Ports
●Airports

In the Philippines, the road infrastructures are managed and monitored by the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The DPWH is mandated to
undertake (a) the planning of infrastructure, such as national roads and bridges, flood
control, water resources projects and other public works, and (b) the design,
construction, and maintenance of national roads and bridges, and major flood control
systems. The Department of Transportation (DOTr), on the other hand, focuses on
other modes of transportation such as railway (PNR, MRT, and LRT), airport, and ports
(PPA).

Topic 4: Transportation Engineering: Evolution and Its Specialization

Application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional

design, operations and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order
to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally
compatible movement of people and goods. -Institute of Transportation Engineering
(ITE)Transport engineers plan, design and operate the large public and private
infrastructure systems that connect our physical world. -University of New South Wales
(UNSW), AustraliaTransportation engineering is the application of technology and
scientific principles to the design, operation, planning and management of
transportation infrastructure, mobility service, traffic, and travelers for various travel
modes, in order to providefor the safe, efficient, rapid, comfortable, convenient,
economical, and environmentally sustainable movement of people and goods. -
Columbia University, New York
Evolution

Mobility of people can be traced as early as the paleolithic age when people sought to
travel to different continents. Pathways created by animals are also considered as
the start of transportation networks. Evidence showed how humans followed animal
tracks for walking which eventually evolved into a clear path for humans to move from
one location to another. With the introduction of the wheel about 7,000 years ago, the
larger, heavier loads that could be transported showed the limitations of dirt paths that
turned into muddy bogs when it rained. The earliest stone paved roads have been
traced to about 4,000 B.C. in the Indian subcontinent and Mesopotamia (see
figure).

The roadway construction, on the other hand, can be traced to Roman

civilization wherein roads are made of blocks of rocks embedded on soil and are used
as carriageways. The Romans developed techniques to build durable roads using
multiple layers of materials atop deep beds of crushed stone for water drainage. Some
of those roads remain in use more than 2,000 years later, and the fundamental
techniques form the basis of today's roads

.Modern road-construction techniques can be traced to a process developed by

Scottish engineer John McAdam in the early 19th century. McAdam topped multi-layer
roadbeds with a soil and crushed stone aggregate that was then packed down
with heavy rollers to lock it all together. Contemporary asphalt roads capable of
supporting the vehicles that emerged in the 20th century built upon McAdams' methods
by adding tar as a binder.

The actual process of road building has changed dramatically over the past
century,going from large gangs of workers with picks and shovels to enormous
specialized machines. Rebuilding existing roads starts with peeling up existing
pavement, grinding it and dumping it straight into trucks for reuse later as aggregate for
new roads. After grading the surface, pavers come in and lay down fresh, continuous
sheets of asphalt followed directly by the rollers.

In the pre-industrial revolution, transport technology was mainly limited to harnessing

animal labor for land transport and to wind for maritime transport. Initially, ships
were propelled by rowers, and sails were added around 2,500 BCE as a
complementaryform of propulsion. Most of the technical innovations that modified the
transportation sector took place in a short period of industrial era, mainly between
1760 and 1800. It was during this industrial revolution that massive modifications of
transport systems occurred in two major phases: the first, centered along with the
development of canal systems and the second, centered along railways. This
period marked the development of the steam engine, an external combustion engine
that converted thermal energyinto mechanical energy, providing an important
territorial expansion for maritime and railway transport systems.

Figure 4.2 demonstrates the evolution of different transportation sectors from the
18th century.

Subdisciplines in Transportation Engineering

Traffic Engineeringis the subdiscipline of transportation engineering that addresses

the planning, design and operation of streets and highways, their networks, adjacent
land uses and interaction with other modes of transportation and their terminals (ITE)

Highway Engineering involved in the planning, design, construction, operation, and

maintenance of roads, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and effective transportation
of people and goods.

Railway Systems Engineering a field of engineering which deals with the design,
construction, and operation of all railway systems. This specialization is a multifaceted
science as it involves different engineering disciplines such as mechanical
engineering, computer engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering,
production engineering and industrial engineering.

Airport Engineering is the field responsible for engineering standards and research
for design, equipment, and airfield development at civil airports. It is also responsible for
airport data, safety-related airport airspace issues, and facilitating innovative
methods of improving airport infrastructure

Ports and Harbor Engineering handle the design, construction, and operation of ports,
harbors, canals, and other maritime facilities. Recently, this is also termed as navigation
engineering, a civil engineering specialty that involves the life-cycle planning, design,
construction, operation, and maintenance of safe, secure, reliable, efficient, and
environmentally sustainable navigable waterways (channels, structures, and support
systems) used to move people and goods by waterborne vessels.