MODULE 3 view of the road (and obstacles)

The design of highways necessitates the ahead for them to adjust their
determination of specific design elements, which speed of travel to maintain
include the number of lanes, lane width, median safety and ride quality.
type (if any) and width, length of acceleration and 3) Provide a basis for the highway
deceleration lanes for on- and off-ramps, need for engineers to evaluate and plan
truck climbing lanes for steep grades, curve radii for the construction of a section
required for vehicle turning, and the alignment of the proposed highway.
required to provide adequate stopping and passing
sight distances. It mainly concerns with the elements (2) DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS -----------------
of the highways that are visible to the drivers and To meet the objective of fitting the
users. However, the engineer must also take into highway to site topography and yet satisfy the
consideration the social and environmental impacts safety, service and performance standards,
of the highway geometry on the surrounding the following considerations have to be
facilities. Also, many of these design elements are properly addressed in the design process:
influenced by the performance characteristics of o Design speed
vehicles. o Design traffic volume
o Number of lanes
MODULE 3 | LESSON 1: DESIGN CRITERIA FOR o Level of service (LOS)
HIGHWAYS o Sight distance
o Alignment, super-elevation, and
grade
The geometry of the curves must
o Cross section
accommodate the dimensions and operating
o Lane width
characteristics of the design vehicles, the ride
o Horizontal and vertical clearance
comfort of drivers (and passengers), the
The above factors are interactive as
corresponding road type, design volume, and
drivers react to the combination of them (and
speed. These are the features that either decide the
among themselves) to produce the
input to the design or form the basis for checking the
observable operational performance of the
design output. The design of horizontal and/or
highway.
vertical curves must provide sufficient sight
distances for different types of vehicle maneuvers
(3) DESIGN PROCESS -----------------------
for the purpose of safety.
A highway designer is concerned
with at least FOUR MAJOR AREAS OF DESIGN
(1) DESIGN OBJECTIVES ---------------------
AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF PROJECT PLANNING
HIGHWAY GEOMETRIC DESIGN refers to the
AND DESIGN PHASES:
calculations and analyses made by
1) Location design
transportation engineers (or designers) to fit
2) Alignment design
the highway to the topography of the site
3) Cross sectional design
while meeting the safety, service and
4) Access design
performance standards. It mainly concerns
with the elements of the highways that are
1. LOCATION DESIGN
visible to the drivers and users. However, the
It takes place at the earlier stage of
engineer must also take into consideration
project planning. It refers to the macro-level
the social and environmental impacts of the
routing of a planned highway connecting
highway geometry on the surrounding
two points through the existing highways,
facilities.
communities, natural terrain.
INPUTS:
Usually, highway geometric design has the
lane-use aerial photographs
following objectives:
master plan
1) Determine, within the allowance
existing and projected population
permitted by the design distribution
standard and right-of-way, the survey maps aerial photographs
routing of proposed highway. maps of existing infrastructure
2) Incorporate, within the design geology, ecological, biological, and
standard, various physical environmental information
features of the road alignment to
ensure that drivers have sufficient
 Inputs are also sought from civil 4. ACCESS DESIGN
engineers, planners, economists, ecologists, Access design deals with how
sociologists, environmental experts, and vehicles will enter and exit the highway,
lawyers. With all the necessary inputs, which involves the design of on-ramps, off-
several potential routes are drawn up by the ramps, interchanges, and intersections. It
designer on a contour map (e.g., on a scale ensures that access points are placed at
of 1:10,000). The designer then goes through safe and efficient intervals to avoid traffic
the various iterative and consultative steps congestion and maintain smooth traffic
with the stake holders to modify and select flow. Proper access design improves
the most feasible layout. The consultative highway safety by reducing conflict points
process is perhaps the most time consuming, and accidents that can occur when
which may take several months. A more vehicles merge into or exit from traffic.
detailed site survey is then carried out to Balancing access with maintaining highway
locate the key control points of the speed and capacity is crucial for the overall
alignments, in terms of geo-coordinates and functionality of the highway.
elevations. The designer then proceeds with
the detailed alignment, cross sectional and (4) DESIGN CONTROL ----------------------
access design.
4.1. ROAD TYPES
2. ALIGNMENT DESIGN The basic functional types of roads are
ALIGNMENT refers to the horizontal and locals, collectors, arterials and freeways. TWO
vertical layout of the highway. MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS IN THE CLASSIFICATION
o HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT deals with OF HIGHWAY FUNCTIONAL TYPES are:
the path the road takes when 1. access to land use
viewed from above, involving curve 2. mobility
radius, superelevation, design On the two extremes, the design of local
speed, and straight segments. streets emphasizes access with little
o VERTICAL ALIGNMENT focuses on the consideration for mobility, while the design of
elevation profile of the road freeways emphasizes mobility with limited
involving the grades, vertical curves, access. The design of collectors and arterials falls
and sight distances. in between, with collectors emphasizes more for
For instance, designers aim to avoid access and arterials favors mobility.
sharp curves or steep slopes that could pose
safety risks or increase vehicle fuel 4.2. DESIGN VEHICLES
consumption. It also considers sight Key controls in highway geometric design
distances, drainage, and structural stability. are the physical and dynamical characteristics
of vehicles using the highway. Considering the
3. CROSS SECTIONAL DESIGN many types of vehicles in the traffic stream, it is
It involves determining the shape and necessary to establish several classes of
dimensions of the road at various points vehicles, and select a representative vehicle
along its length. It ensures adequate safety, within each class for design use. These selected
drainage, and structural stability. This vehicles are termed DESIGN VEHICLES, and their
involves designing the roadway's cross- dimensions, weights & operating characteristics
sectional elements, such as lane widths, are essential in the establishment of DESIGN
shoulder widths, median width, CONTROL CRITERIA. For the purpose of highway
superelevation, drainage, structural design, geometric design, each design vehicle has
pavement types, and safety features. larger physical characteristics than most of the
vehicle in its class.
There are generally FOUR CLASSES OF
DESIGN VEHICLES:
1) passenger cars
2) buses
3) trucks
4) recreational vehicles
 1. PASSENGER CARS The information received by a driver needs time to
- *The passenger car category be processed before a response action takes place.
includes sport utility vehicles,
minivans, vans, and pickup trucks. A well-known study on the brake-reaction
- These are standard cars used for time has been made by Johannson and Rumar
personal transportation, including (1971).
compacts, subcompacts, sedans, o They reported that when an event is
pick-up trucks, SUVs, minivans, and expected, the driver’s reaction time has an
full-size vans. average value of 0.6 sec.
2. BUSES o For an unexpected event, the average
- These include city, intercity, school reaction time is 0.8 sec.
and articulated buses which require o The average brake-reaction time of a driver
larger turning radii and space for (including decision time), is 2.5sec. This is
safe maneuvering and dependent on the driver’s alertness.
loading/unloading passengers.
3. TRUCKS BRAKE-REACTION TIME is important in
- Ranges from delivery trucks to large determining sight distance in highway geometric
freight trucks, impacting road design design. Driver expectancies are built up over time,
elements like lane widths and bridge with consistent road design. Unusual or unexpected
load capacities to accommodate geometric design or event always leads to longer
their size and weight. reaction and response time. Geometric design of
4. RECREATIONAL VEHICLES highway should be in accordance w/ driver’s
- It includes motorhomes and travel expectation. In recent years, there has been
trailers, which require specific design increased concern for older drivers. The percentage
considerations for turning and of older drivers among the driving population has
parking due to their size and weight. increased over the years. Older drivers tend to have
longer reaction time da-drive pa kasi, and this
The highway designer should exercise his should be reflected in the design.
judgment (judger ka kunwari) in selecting the
appropriate design vehicle for design control, 4.4. DESIGN VOLUME
based on the intended use of the facility. For A highway should be designed for a traffic
example, the design vehicle from the passenger car volume and characteristics of the traffic stream it
category is adequate for the design of parking lots serves. The volume and vehicle composition directly
and their access roads. On the other hand, a city affect the number of lanes, lane width, alignments
transit bus should be used for the design of a street and grades. The design volume and vehicle
in the city along bus route, with little or no truck composition are normally given. These figures are
traffic. Turning radius limits the design of horizontal normally the projected numbers given by a
curves. transportation planning tool. The volume may come
in the form of average daily traffic or peak-hour
IMPORTANT VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS THAT traffic.
AFFECT THE MINIMUM TURNING RADIUS ARE: In any case, it is recommended that the
• minimum center line turning radius, design volume should be taken as the 30th highest
• wheelbase, hourly volume that a highway is expected to handle
• track width, and in a year. AASHTO (2001) has provided several
• out-of-track width factors for converting average daily traffic into 30th
highest hourly volume.
4.3. DRIVER CHARACTERISTICS Vehicle of different sizes and weights have
Design of a highway should consider users, different performance characteristics. A truck is
especially drivers’ performance limits. There are equivalent to several passenger cars. In geometric
limits to a driver’s vision, perception, reaction, design, the passenger car equivalent factor is
concentration, and comfort that could impact the dependent on the grade and other factors. For
highway safety and operating efficiency. When geometric design, all vehicles are classified into
driving, most drivers receive information visually passenger cars and trucks. Trucks are defined as
from their views of the roadway alignment, markings vehicles having more than 4000 kg of gross vehicle
and signs. They do receive other information weight and having dual tires on at least one rear
through vehicle feedback from the suspension axle. Truck traffic is expressed as the percentage of
system and steering control, and roadway noise. total traffic during the design hour.
4.5. DESIGN SPEED object in the roadway and stop their vehicle before
The design speed is the speed selected to be colliding with the object.
used in the design calculations, in determining the The available sight distance on a roadway
geometric dimensions of the highway. The selected should be long enough to enable a vehicle
design speed should be consistent with the traveling at or near the design speed to stop before
functional classification of the highway, its reaching a stationary object in its path. Although
surrounding land use, topography and driver’s greater lengths of visible roadway are desirable, the
anticipated operating speed. The designer should sight distance at every point along a roadway
adopt a highest practical speed that will result in a should be at least that needed for a below-average
conservative geometric design. driver or vehicle to stop.
o A design speed of 110 km/h should be used Stopping sight distance can be determined
for freeways, expressways, and other rural as the sum of two distances, namely:
highways. 1) REACTION DISTANCE (the distance a
o Urban arterials should have design speeds of vehicle travels from the moment a driver
between 30 to 70 km/h. sees the object until the driver applies
o The lower range of design speed should be the brakes) and;
used for residential streets, collectors, and 2) BRAKING DISTANCE (the distance a
downtown crowded areas, vehicle travels from the moment the
o while speeds in higher range are applied to brakes are applied until the vehicle
suburban arterials. comes to a complete stop)
The actual operating speed of an arterial
depends on the spacing of the intersections and The equation to compute stopping sight
types of traffic control. The selected design speed distance without vehicle skidding is
should be in increment of 10 km/h.

MODULE 3 | LESSON 2: DRIVER’S VISUAL DESIGN

ELEMENTS V, the design speed
a, the constant deceleration rate
G, the grade (in decimal, positive value for
Sight distance is the length of highway a driver upgrade, and negative value for downgrade)
g = 9.81 m/sec2
needs to be able to see clearly. Sight distance is one
of the important areas in highway geometric
AASHTO recommends that t=2.5 sec and
design. For safety of highway operations, the
a=3.4 m/sec2 be used in determining the minimum
designer must provide sight distances of sufficient
stopping sight distance.
length along the highway that most drivers can
control their vehicles to avoid collision with other
vehicles and objects that conflict with their path.
Three types of sight distances are to be considered
in the design of highway alignments and segments:
stopping, decision, and passing sight distance.

1. SIGHT DISTANCE
Sight distance is the roadway ahead that is
visible to the driver. Various sight distance criteria
exist in highway geometric design to provide drivers
with sufficient warning of potential obstacle or
conflict ahead.

1.1. STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE (SSD)

Stopping sight distance (SSD) reflects a
distance within which a driver can effectively see an
 For roads having positive grades, braking speed, path or direction on rural, suburban, and
distance can be calculated by the following urban road may be calculated from
equation: d = Vt
AASHTO (2001) recommends a range of
10.2 ≤ t ≤ 14.5 sec

db, Braking distance on grade, m

V, Design Speed, km/h
a, Deceleration rate, m/s2
G, Grade, rise/run, m/m

The stopping distances needed on upgrades

are shorter than on level roadways; those on 1.2.1. TYPES OF DECISION SIGHT DISTANCE
downgrades are longer. The AASHTO stopping sight Decision sight distance is different for urban
distances for various downgrades and upgrades are
versus rural conditions and for stopping versus
shown in Table 2. Passenger cars can use grades as maneuvering within the traffic stream conditions.
steep as 4.0 to 5.0 percent without significant loss in Consequently, there are FIVE DIFFERENT CASES FOR
speed below that normally maintained on level DECISION SIGHT DISTANCE AS FOLLOWS:
roadways. Operation of passenger cars on a 3.0
1. Avoidance Maneuver A:
percent upgrade has only a slight effect on their Stop on Rural Road – (t = 3.0 sec)
speeds compared to operations on level terrain. On 2. Avoidance Maneuver B:
steeper upgrades, speeds decrease gradually with
Stop on Urban Road – (t = 9.1 sec)
increases in the grade. On downgrades, passenger 3. Avoidance Maneuver C:
car speeds generally are slightly higher than on level Speed/Path/Direction Change on
terrains. Trucks generally increase speed by up to 5.0 Rural Road – (t between 10.2 and
percent on downgrades and decrease speed by
11.2 sec)
7.0 percent or more on upgrades as compared to 4. Avoidance Maneuver D:
their operation on level terrains. Speed/Path/Direction Change on
Suburban Road – (t between 12.1
and 12.9 sec)
5. Avoidance Maneuver E:
Speed/Path/Direction Change on
Urban Road – (t between 14.0 and
14.5 sec)

I.2. Decision Sight Distance (DSD)

Decision sight distance (DSD) is the distance
needed for a driver to detect and perceive an
obstacle or information, and select an appropriate
maneuver. 1.3. PASSING SIGHT DISTANCE ON TWO-LANE ROAD
This is important when a driver is PASSING SIGHT DISTANCE (PSD) is the
approaching a traffic control device, or posted distance that drivers must be able to see along the
information signs. Because decision sight distance is road ahead to safely and efficiently initiate and
for drivers to a maneuver or evasive action rather complete passing maneuvers of slower vehicles on
than just to stop, it is greater than stopping sight two-lane, two-way highways using the lane normally
distance. The decision sight distance for change in reserved for opposing traffic.
 PSD is a consideration along two-lane roads AASHTO recommends that
on which drivers may need to assess whether to 30 ≤ d3 ≤ 90 m for 56 ≤ v ≤ 100 km/h
initiate, continue, and complete or abort passing
maneuvers. In the US, many roads are two-lane, d4 is the distance traveled by the opposing vehicle
two-way highways on which faster vehicles during the passing maneuver during time t 1+ t2:
frequently overtake slower moving vehicles. In order AASHTO recommends that the opposing vehicle
to secure a safe passing maneuver, the passing may be assumed to travel with speed v, and d4 may
driver should be able to see a sufficient distance be taken as
ahead, clear of traffic, to complete the passing
maneuver without cutting off the passed vehicle
before meeting an opposing vehicle.

Therefore, PASSING SIGHT DISTANCE (PSD) is

considered an important factor in both the design
of two-lane, two-way (TLTW) highways and the
marking of passing zones (PZ) and no-passing zones
(NPZ) on two-lane, two-way highways. The
efficiency of traffic operation of many TLTW
highways depends on how often faster drivers are
able to pass slower drivers. For example, where
faster drivers encounter a slower driver but are
unable to pass, vehicle platoons are built up, and
cause a decrease in the level of service and
inversely affect safety, fuel consumption and
emissions. The capacity of a two-lane, two-way
road is increased if a large percentage of the
roadway’s length can be used for passing
maneuvers. 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 PSD is the
sum.

where d1 is the initial maneuver distance, which is

the sum of distances traveled during perception
and reaction time plus the initial period of 1.4 CRITERIA FOR MEASURING SIGHT DISTANCE
acceleration until the vehicle encroaches the Other than stopping sight distance, decision
passing lane. The corresponding time for this initial sight distance and passing sight distance, it is
maneuver is t1: d1 is given by the expression: assumed that an object of specific size or height is
continuously visible to the driver. The distance is
dependent on the height of the driver’s 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 driver’s line of sight.
in which v is the average speed of the passing
These have effect on the design of horizontal and
vehicle, and m is the relative speed of the past and
vertical curve, which will be covered later
passing vehicles, and a is the average acceleration.
For sight distance calculations, the following
d2 is the distance traveled while the vehicle is
values usually apply:
occupying the passing lane. The corresponding
o Height of the driver’s eye above road
time is t2.
surface = 1.080 m for passenger cars,
2.330 m for trucks
o Height of object: 600 mm for stopping
sight distance, 1.080 m for passing sight
d3 is the clearance length, for margin of safety
distance
between the passing and opposing vehicles.
 The governing equation is

e = rate of super-elevation, in decimal;

f = side friction factor between the tire and the pavement surface;
v = vehicle speed
R = radius of horizontal curve
g = gravitational constant = 9.81 m/sec²

1.5 HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT

The objectives of horizontal alignment
design are to provide a smooth transition between
two straight road sections that also provide proper
cross-sectional drainage, ensure vehicle/driver
safety while traveling at a design speed. Vehicle
safety is safeguarded by providing adequate
stopping sight distance and incorporating provision
The designer should use the above
to prevent vehicle overturning and skidding.
governing equation to select a suitable
o The simplest curve that connects the
combination of e and R that satisfies v.
tangents of two straight road sections is a
There are, however, practical limitations of e
curve with a single, CONSTANT RADIUS.
and f:
The above discussion has so far assumed
• Firstly, e ≤ 0.12 (almost 1 in 8).
that the radius of the curve has been
High e value should only be used on
determined. The radius of a horizontal curve
low volume road, and when no snow
(R) depends on the design speed, super
or ice exists.
elevation, friction factor, and sight distance
• Most common values are e ≤ 0.04 to e ≤ 0.06
as discussed below.
Studies have shown that f depends
on tire and pavement conditions
1.6 RADIUS HORIZONTAL CURVE
and v; with higher speeds
If there are sight obstructions (such as walls,
corresponding to lower f.
cut slopes, buildings, and barriers) on the inside of
• AASHTO recommends the use of f = 0.10 for
horizontal curves and their removal to increase sight
v = 110 km/h to f = 0.15 for v = 60 km/h.
distance is impractical, a design may need
When the product of e and f
adjustment in the highway alignment. For general
becomes negligible, the above
use in design of a horizontal curve, the horizontal
equation may be re-written into
sight line is a chord of the curve, and the stopping
conservative form of
sight distance is measured along the centerline of
the inside lane around the curve. The design of
horizontal curves should be based on a
combination of design speed, curvature, and super
elevation, subject to the laws of physics and
limitations of human comfort and tolerance.
When a vehicle w/ weight W is traveling at
speed v in a horizontal curve w/ radius R; the
vehicle, driver & passengers experience a
centripetal force of magnitude Wv2/(gR) towards
the center of the curvature. This acceleration is to
some extent countered by the force exerted by the
weight onto itself (N) and the frictional force
between the tire and pavement (F). Figure shows
the cross-sectional view on the forces experienced
by a vehicle.