TPG3700

Discussion Class – 03a of 7

Introduction to Geometric Design

Class no Date Time Topic

#1 21 February 17:00 to 18:30 Course Admin & Introduction

#2 22 Feb 17:00 to 18:30 Design of pretimed intersections

#3 23 Feb 17:00 to 18:30 Intro to GDs & Horizontal alignment

#4 05 March 19:00 to 20:30 Horizontal alignment
#5 06 March 19:00 to 20:30 Vertical alignment
#6 07 March 19:00 to 20:30 Vertical alignment
#7 08 March 19:00 to 20:30 Pavement structure design: TRH4

[email protected]
Senior Lecturer of Civil Engineering
23rd of Feb 2024
 What is Geometric Design?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Geometric_design_of_roads

Geometric design is defined as: the design of the visible elements of

the road [study guide] Name them?
Geometric design is defined as: establishment of a travel lane
configurations, alignment location, and all dimensions related to the
highway cross-section [Wright & Dixon]

Geometric design is defined as: determination of a three-dimensional

physical location through the calculation of horizontal and vertical
alignment of the highway centerline, based on variety of operational
considerations [Wright &Dixon]
 Why is Geometric Design Undertaken?
Geometric design is important to three broad groups

Client Road User Community at large

Client: pays for planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance

(example: Road authorities).

Road users: who are they? drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists and
road transport businesses. why geometric design is important to road users?
because they are interested in economic, safe and speedy movement of
people /goods, which can be achieved by proper geometric design of roads.

Community at large: road helps in generating wealth BUT poorly located

roads can lead to damage of local areas in the form of barriers and pollution.
 Road Classification
[Rural / Urban]
Urban road or highway. Characterized by
high traffic volumes moving at relatively low
speeds and pronounced peak flows. Usually
within an urban area but may also be a link
traversing an unbuilt up area between two
adjacent urban areas, hence displaying
urban operational characteristics {SANRAL}.

Rural road or highway. Characterized by low-volume high-speed

flows over extended distances. Usually without significant daily
peaking but could display heavy seasonal peak flows {SANRAL}.
 Road Functional Classification
What is functional classification?

Grouping streets & highways into classes or systems according to

the character of service they intended to provide.

Highway plays dual functions:

 Mobility
 Accessibility

Highway classes are different in:

 Purpose
 Level of importance

Adapted: Transportation Engineering & Planning,

Papacostas and Prevedouros
Road Functional
Classification
Commercial
Local roads Residential
Industrial
Provide access
to individual properties

Minor
Collectors
Major
Provide the link between Adapted: Highway Engineering, Wright & Dixon
local roads and arterials.
Minor
Arterials Deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways
Major or expressways, and between urban centers at
the highest level of service possible.
 Geometric Design Controls & Criteria
 Safety

 Design Vehicle

Traffic Characteristics
Principal design criteria
 Design Speed
 Traffic Composition (traffic mix)
 Projected Traffic Demand (volume)

 Human / Driver Performance

 Highway Capacity
 Topography of the Surrounding Land
All these factors are not
completely independent  Environment Issues
of one another  Cost and Financial Issues
 Access Control
 Pedestrians and Cyclists
 Design Controls & Criteria: Safety

Elements contributing Human Element

to highway accident
Highway Element
It is seldom that an accident
results from a single cause
Vehicle Element

Accident studies pointed out some factors that contribute to road accidents:
 Absence of access control.
 Speed (both high and low).
 Shoulder width, road alignment (grades and curvature).
 Roadside obstacles.
 Intersections (channelization improves safety).

What makes a road safe/safer?

 Vehicle Classes:
 Passenger car
Controls & Criteria: Design Vehicle  Buses
 Truck

A compilation of the 85th percentile values of the various parameters

of the vehicle type being designed for, e.g. length, width, wheelbase,
overhang, height, ground clearance {SANRAL}. Dimensions?
TRH17, Table 2.2.1
Also the largest vehicle
 Tread (track) width
likely to use the road
with considerable
frequency.

 Front overhang
+ acceleration / deceleration rate
How to select design vehicle? Refer to SANRAL Guidelines section3.4.4 Selecting
a design vehicle. In general, buses and heavy vehicles should be used as the design
vehicle for cross section elements, with the car as the design vehicle for the horizontal and
vertical alignment. For most major intersections along arterial roads or within commercial
areas, it is common practice to accommodate the semi trailer. The occasional larger vehicle
may encroach on adjacent lanes while turning but not on the sidewalk.
 Refer to TRH17: Section 2.2.3 & Figure
Cont. Controls & Criteria 2.2.2
Design Vehicle
Boundaries of turning paths of various
design vehicles are established by the
outer tread (track) of the front overhang
and the path of the inner rear wheel.
 Design Controls & Criteria: Design Speed
The maximum safe speed that can be maintained
over a specified highway section when condition are
so favourable.
The speed selected as the basis for establishing
appropriate geometric elements for a section of road
{horizontal & vertical curves?} {SANRAL}. How
selected? Functional class of the road & terrain
SANRAL

Posted Speed - is a speed limitation set for reasons

of safe traffic operations rather than for geometric
design considerations and is aimed at encouraging
drivers to travel at appropriate speeds for all prevailing
conditions {SANRAL}.
Posted speed < design speed?
http://www.thejournal.ie/s
peed-limits-are- Also check the speed terms: “running speed” &
changing-heres-how-
2000496-Mar2015/
“operating speed”
Cont. Design Controls & Criteria
Traffic Composition

Truck traffic is expressed as a percentage of the DDHV

How would the % of truck traffic influences
the geometric design of a highway?
 Design Controls & Criteria
Traffic Volume
Why need traffic volumes for geometric design? To determine the
number of lanes!

Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT): the number of vehicles

that pass a particular point on a roadway during a period of 24
consecutive hours averaged over a period of 365 days {difficult to
make continuous count for 365 days?!}.

Average Daily Traffic (ADT): the total volume during a given time
period, greater than 1 day and less than 1 year, divided by the number
of days in that time period.
AADT & ADT cannot be directly used in geometric design… why?
traffic patterns on highways are considerably variable during different
hours of the day we need to design for hourly volume and Not
daily volumes
Calculate Design Hourly Volume (DHV)
 Cont. Design Controls & Criteria
Traffic Volume
DHV is a future hourly volume that is used for design. It is usually the
30th-highest hourly volume of the design year. Usually 10 or 20 years

Obtain DHV for base year

and project it to design year DHV = k x AADT
DHV = k x ADT
k-factor is the proportion of AADT/ADT occurring during the peak hour for
an average weekday, ranges between 0.09 & 0.10
Highways with high peak periods and relatively low volumes during off-
peak may exhibit k-factor values greater than 0.10 {k-factor also obtainable
from graphs}
Importantly: DHV is for the total for both directions (DHV is a two-way
value) … we design per direction … so how can we distribute the traffic
between the two directions? Apply directional distributional factor!
Design Controls & Criteria: Traffic Volume

Example:
k = DHV/ADT
k = 15%
 Cont. Design Controls & Criteria
Traffic Volume
Directional distribution factor (D): the one-way volume in the main
direction of travel, expressed as a proportion of the volume in the two-
way design hour volume.
e.g. rural two-lane roads, D ranges from 0.50 to 0.70 (50 to 70% ) and is
typically assumed to be 0.60 (60%)

Directional Design Hourly Volume DDHV = k x ADT x D

DDHV = DHV x D
EXAMPLE 7-1 (Wright & Dixon)
For an urban highway with an ADT of 20,000 vehicles per day, determine the
design hour volume (DDHV) for the peak direction of travel assuming K= 0.10 and
D = 0.60.
Solution
DDHV = 20,000 x 0.10 x 0.60 = 1,200veh/h per direction
 Cont. Design Controls & Criteria
Projection of Traffic Volume
gx = (1+0.01i)x

Where: gx = growth factor, x = future year, i = annual growth rate.

ADT(design year) = ADT(base year) * gx

EXAMPLE
The estimated ADT for a rural road is10000 vehicles per day in the year 2017.
What would be the DDHV in 2027? (Assume k= 0.15, D = 0.60, annual traffic
growth rate 6%). Why need to estimate DDHV in 2027?
Solution
DDHV (2017) = 10000 x 0.15 x 0.60 = 900 veh/h per direction
DDHV (2027) = 10000 x 0.15 x 0.60 x (1.06)10 = 1,612 veh/h per direction

LOS of the road will reduce/ requires capacity analysis / we may need to widen the
road by adding more lanes / capacity to improve LOS (think about necessary
changes for the road widening
 Design Controls & Criteria
Human Factor in Highway Design Road-user

Human beings, including driver, bicyclist and pedestrian,

are major factor in highway traffic and must be understood
properly before they can be guided and controlled.

Environmental Ambient atmosphere,

conditions weather and visibility

Factors influencing Psychological Motivation (e.g. to business)/

road-user behaviour factors emotion / intelligence

Vision / auditory/ stability

Physical factors
sensation (vestibular) /
modifying factors
 Design Controls & Criteria
Driver Characteristics
Highway designed compatible to
driver capabilities and limitations Driver performance is aided

Highway designed incompatible  Chances for driver errors

to driver attributes  Potential for accidents
 Inefficient operation

 A driver gathers information from a variety of sources, uses it as

a basis for decision making, and then translates those decisions
into actions to control the vehicle.

 In order to make sound decisions, a driver must receive reliable

and understandable information to reduce uncertainty.
Cont. Controls & Criteria: Driver Characteristics
Activities involved in driving a motor vehicle may be grouped into three categories
or levels of performance: control level, guidance level and navigation level

Adapted: Wright & Dixon

 Cont. Design Controls & Criteria
Driver Characteristics
Five Basic Principles of Systematic
Driver perception-reaction time Presentation of Info Required by Drivers
is the time between perceiving  First things first - primacy.
(seeing, feeling, or hearing) a  Do not overload - processing channel
road situation and making an limitations.
initial response (Time needed to  Do it before they get on the road -a
initiate the physical response). priori knowledge.
Example: The "clock" begins when the  Keep them busy - spreading.
object or condition first perceived  Do not surprise them - expectancy.
(e.g. becomes visible) and stops when
the driver's foot touches the brake.
Factors influencing TRH17/ SANRAL/ AASHTO adopted perception-
perception – reaction time? reaction time of 2.5 sec. for design purposes

Driver eye height

(TRH 17)
Design Controls & Criteria: Capacity & LOS

Capacity analysis Highway Capacity Manual (HCM)

Why capacity analysis is necessary?

 Used in transportation planning studies to assess adequacy of
an existing highway / network
 Used to determine highway class, number of lanes and
minimum length of a weaving section
 Used to improve traffic operations (e.g. elimination of
bottleneck and alteration to highway)
 Design Controls & Criteria: Capacity & LOS
LOS A

Level of Service (LOS). A qualitative concept,

LOS A, B, C, D, E and F, which characterizes
acceptable degrees of congestion as
perceived by drivers (SANRAL)

LOS is controlled by the number of

LOS F
passenger cars per km/lane,
Example: LOS A ≤ 8 pcu/km/lane
LOS F≥42 pcu/km/lane.

How LOS enters into geometric design?

Number of lanes! Highway Capacity Manual, 2000
 Design Controls & Criteria Terrain classification
refers to ground contours
Terrain & cross-slope.
is where highway sight distances, as governed by
both horizontal and vertical restrictions, are generally
Level
long or could be made to be so without construction
difficulty or major expense (AASHTO)
The natural slopes consistently rise above and fall
below the highway grade with, occasionally, steep
Rolling slopes presenting some restrictions on highway
alignment {Trucks operate at lower speeds than
those of passenger cars} (SANRAL)

Longitudinal & transverse natural slopes are severe

Mountainous and changes in elevation abrupt {trucks operate at
crawl speeds over long distances} (SANRAL)
 Design Controls & Criteria
Environment Issues
Environment here refers to:
 Natural resources.
Manmade  Sites of historic, social, religious and cultural significance.
environment  Recreational assets.
 Human, plant and animal communities.

How environment influences geometric design of roads?

 The highway should be located and designed to avoid damage to
environment.
 Highway route selection should consider environment as one of the
design variables.
 Water course can influence the vertical profile of highway.
 Human settlement can influence horizontal alignment.
 Design Controls & Criteria
Cost & Finance

 Capital cost of construction

 Road reserve impact and cost
 Agency funding mechanism

Can you tell how the above aspects influence/controls

geometric design of roads?

Cost issues are considered in the context of

transportation planning.
 Design Controls & Criteria
Access Control/ Management

Regulated limitation of access is called access control.

Access control is defined as the management of the interference with

through traffic caused by traffic entering, leaving and crossing roads.

From geometric design viewpoint: access control can

physically be achieved by:
 using fences,
 raised road level,
 depressed road level
 Cont. Design Controls & Criteria
Safety Access Control/ Management
&
Mobility Preference is given to through traffic/ selected
access point/ no at-grade crossing/ high quality
Full access
of service/ improved safety/ traffic entering and
control leaving the road cause minimum interference
with through traffic/less accident potentials

Partial
Preference is given to through traffic to certain
Access access
degree/ some at-grade crossing is provided
control control

No control of access is provided/ interference

Driveway reduces capacity/ increases accident potential/
regulations erodes mobility function/ trade-off must be made
to serve through traffic and adjacent land uses
List techniques to improve safety for partial and
no control accesses: study guide 1/ page 297
 Design Controls & Criteria
Pedestrians & Bicyclists
How pedestrian and bicyclist controls the geometric design of
roads?
 Affect the utilization of a road’s reserve (R.O.W.) affects the design
 Require appropriate sidewalk and bicycle lanes. elements in the
traveled way.

Pedestrian facilities include: sidewalk, crosswalk, ramps for

handicapped, subways, over-bridges, separate signal phase
at intersections…etc.

Measures to enhance bicyclist safety and capacity

 Bicycle exclusive lanes.
 Paved shoulders or wide outside lane.
 Bicycle-safe drainage inlets.
 Manhole cover grade matching to road surface level.
 Smooth and clean riding surface.
 General Frame for
Highway Location
Survey

The work of the highway location

survey may include:
 Desk study,
 Reconnaissance survey,
 Preliminary survey, and
 Final location survey

Adapted from Wright & Dixon

 Principles of Highway Location
Principles of Highway Location: Refer to study guide page32 to 35

Sites of historical &

cultural significance

etc
Highway Location Technique
 Road Design Procedure
Approximate route choice / wide strip for
Initial mapping route alternatives / contour map 1:2500 /
intervals 1 or 2 m/ aerial or land surveys
Plot alternatives on base map/ longitudinal
Paper location of the center line profile & cross section for each alternative/
compare alter. (terrain, user cost, safety,
environ. Impact..etc/ choose an alternative
Final mapping for design Narrow strip of map 1: 1000/ map
includes control points

Tangent (straight sections), horizontal &

Calculation of alignment vertical curves.

Longitudinal profile/ cross sections /

Final design and plan preparation drainage/ right - of - way (ROW) lines/
traffic control etc.

Site staking of co-ordinate points, easily

Stake-out of alignment found/ well referenced/ chainage stations
10 m or 15 m apart.
Cross-section Elements

Adapted from SANRAL: Geometric Design Guidelines

 Cross-section Elements

Roads are categorized into: two-lane, three-lane, multilane

undivided, multilane divided, and limited-access highways

Refer to study guide 2 pages 328 and 329

Cross-section Elements – Divided Highways

Divided highways:
 Need not be of a constant cross
section.
 Median strip may vary in width
 Roads may be at different
elevations.
 Superelevation may be applied
separately on each set of lanes.
 In rolling terrain, considerable
savings may be gained in
Adapted from Wright & Dixon
construction costs by this
variation in the design.
 Cross-section Elements - Median
Highways are frequently divided by a median strip. Why need it? to provide
positive protection against a conflict with opposing traffic.
{Multilane highways should be divided (provide medians)}
Width of median?
 The width of median strips varies from 1.2 m 18 m (Check south African
standards)
 Median strip less than 1.2 m is discouraged, why? Troublesome at right-turns,
what if median strip larger than 1.2 m is not possible? Provide median strip
barrier to physically separate opposing traffic (minimize head-on-head collision)
 Median width at intersections should be reduced to accommodate right-turn
lane(s)
 Median of 18 m will allow for additional travel lane in future (good idea?)
 Median widths 18 m or wider are inadvisable at signalized intersection locations!
Why? because the extra time required for a vehicle to traverse the intersection
results in longer signal time (and creates unnecessary delays).
 Cross-section Elements - Shoulders
Purpose of shoulder ?
 It is necessary to provide shoulders for safe operation (allow vehicles to
leave travel lanes when stopping)
 Shoulders increase the effective width of the traffic lane (capacity analysis)
 Outer shoulder width? 3 m preferably 3.6 m is desirable for all heavily
traveled and high-speed highways.
 In mountainous areas the use of partial shoulders (less than 3 m) may be
permitted provided that a stopped vehicle would only protrude 0.3 to 1.2 m
into the adjacent travel lane

The slope of the shoulder should be greater than that of the pavement
 High-type surfacing slope from 2 to 6 percent
 Gravel shoulders slopes from 4 to 6 percent Why greater than
 Turf shoulders slopes from 6 to 8 percent pavement slope?
 Cross-section Elements – Pavement Crown
What is pavement crown? Raising of the centerline of the roadway
above the elevation of the pavement edges

What is the purpose of pavement crown?

Safety considerations

To drain water from pavement surface.

Structural considerations
Why its so important to drain water from road surface?
 Prevent/reduce water splash (safety of following vehicle)
 Prevent hydroplaning
 Prevent unacceptable reduction of skid resistance
 Prevent water ingress to structural layers of the pavement
 Cross-section Elements- Pavement Crown
Road with four or more traffic lanes it is desirable to provide a higher
rate of crown on the outer lanes, why? to expedite the flow of water
towards road edges.

One-way movement roads may not have a crown in the center of the
road but should include an appropriate cross-slope (2%). why? a crown
in the center interferes with lane-changing maneuvers. Same applies for
median separated roads
formed by intersecting tangent lines
How crowns are formed?
Curved lines (Circular or parabolic arcs)
Involves construction
that emanate from the road centerline
difficulties?
 Cross-section Elements- Guardrails
Purpose of guardrail? To reduce the severity of accidents in which
vehicles leave the road. How this is achieved? redirecting errant
vehicles & reducing damage to it
Guardrail locations are determined
Where to install guardrails? from plans but best determined from
field inspection
Where fills are over 2.4 m in height.
Where shoulder slopes are greater than 1V:4H.
 Locations where there is sudden change in alignment (curves).
 Where a greater reduction in speed is necessary.
 Locations with deep roadside ditches, or steep banks.
 Locations with fixed objects along road edges (e.g. electric towers).
 Cross-section Elements - Guardrails
 Where a guardrail is used, the width of the shoulders is increased
approximately 0.6 m to allow space for placing the posts.

W-beam guardrail Search google

for pictures or
Main types of guardrails Cable guardrail sketches to
visualize these
types
Posts can be steel, Box beam guardrail
concrete or wood

How guardrail system works?

 Use weak post, it collapses when struck, and the rail deflects and
absorbs the energy of the impact.
 Use strong posts, the rail should be supported away from the post to
provide extra energy-absorbing space upon impact
 Cross-section Elements – Crash Cushions
What is a crash cushion? It’s a vehicle - impact systems

Roadside safety installations which reduce the severity of single-vehicle

collisions with fixed objects, aims to enable vehicle occupant(s) to survive
the collision. Used around bridge piers and at points of road forks.

Empty steel drums

Search google
Light-weight cartridges for pictures or
Crash cushion systems sketches to
Water-filled flexible containers visualize these
types
Sand-filled flexible containers
 Cross-section Elements- Fences

o Used where motorists experience dangerous

Anti- glare fence glare from headlights of opposing vehicles
o The fence is made of light mesh / trees.
o Placed on the central median of high-speed roads

o Used to contain pedestrian traffic in location

where its dangerous to cross (e.g. freeways)
Pedestrian fence
o To channelize pedestrian traffic the fence should
be long enough to discourage pedestrian to cross
the particular road at other point.