CIVIL ENGINEERING

What is Transportation?

• Transportation refers to systems that are designed to move people and goods.
• It is a central part of how people live their lives, build economies, and interact with the
environment. Transportation is vital for the economic development of any region.
• It provides personal mobility, reduces travel time, and provides access to education, food,
recreation, and other essentials.
• The transportation system contains three essential components: the mode of
transportation, fuel type, and technology.
• The mode of transportation defines personal or goods mobility via car, bus, bicycle, train,
truck, pipeline, plane or ship, etc. across land, air, or sea routes. Fuel is the crucial element
that propels the transportation systems. It includes human and animal powers, petroleum,
coal, biofuel, electricity, renewable energy, etc.
• The systems for the storage and distribution of these fuels among transport vehicles
constitute an important part of the transport infrastructure.
Importance of Transportation
Road Transportation
Road transport means the transportation of goods and personnel from one place to
the other on roads.
The road is a route between two destinations, which has been either paved or worked
on to enable transportation by way of motorized and non-motorized carriages.
Road transportation is one of the two traditional modes of transportation.
The other one is the waterway transportation. Since the dawn of civilization animals
and animal-driven carts have been used for the transportation of goods and people.
However, during the past century, the mode of road transport became enormously
diversified with the inclusion of motorized vehicles such as a car, buses, trucks,
scooters, etc.
Today, the road transport sector alone accounts for about 87% of passenger traffic
and 60% of freight traffic movement in the country.
Advantages of road transport
• Road transportation offers maximum service flexibility in terms of availability and adaptability of a
vehicle of any type and any capacity, the route chosen, the time and the speed of travel, etc.
• In particular, for short-distance travel, road transport saves time.
• It can enable door-to-door delivery of goods and materials and provide a very cost-effective means of
cartage, loading, and unloading.
• Road Transport has the highest level of penetration into populated areas in any country. Sometimes
road transport is the only way for carrying goods and people to and from rural areas which are not
catered to by rail, water or air transport. Hence, the delivery of goods between cities, towns and small
villages is made possible only through road transport.
• Road Transport is considered one of the most cost-effective modes of transport. The investment
required in road transport is much less compared to other modes of transport such as railways and air
transport. Further, the cost of construction, operating costs, and maintaining roads are cheaper than
that of the railways, the other mode of surface transport.
• Road transport also acts as a feeder service to the railway, shipping, and air traffic.
 Limitations of road transport
• For instance, there are more chances of accidents and breakdowns in the case of road
transport. So, motor transport is not as safe as other means of transport.
• Road transport is also quite less organized in comparison with other modes. It is irregular
and undependable.
• Rates for road transportation are also unstable and unequal, while the speed of road
transport is slow and limited, which is a major drawback.
• Transporting bulky goods over long distances is also unsuitable and costly.
• In modern days, road transport has a serious negative impact on the environment. Building
roads requires the melting of tar or formulation of concrete, which may harm the
associated environment. Since roads have been a major enabler of motorized transport,
these vehicles also emit a lot of pollution in the form of Nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic
compounds, carbon monoxide, and various harmful air pollutants, including benzene, which
have adverse respiratory health effects and a serious threat to global warming.
Rail Transportation

Rail transport is also known as train transport. It is a means of transport, on

vehicles which run on tracks known as rails.
It is one of the most important, commonly used, and very cost-effective modes
of transportation over long distances.
It includes passenger trains, urban metro railways, and goods carriages.
The first public railway transportation system was introduced in 1825 in England
by the pioneer of railways, George Stephenson (1781-1843). Within a short
period, it was adopted by several countries throughout the world.
The first railway on the Indian sub-continent ran for a stretch of 32 km from
Bombay to Thane in 1843. This modest beginning in due course developed into
the fourth-largest network of railway lines next to the United States, China, and
Russia.
Advantages of rail transport
With time, rail transport has emerged as one of the most dependable modes of transport
in terms of safety. Trains are fast and the least affected by usual weather turbulence like
rain or fog, compared to other transport mechanisms.
Rail transport is better organized than any other medium of transport. It has fixed routes
and schedules. Its services are more certain, uniform and regular compared to other
modes of transport. Rail transport is also one of the fastest modes of land transport.
The system runs on metal (usually steel) rails and wheels. Thus, it has the inherent benefit
of lesser frictional resistance. This helps to attach more load in terms of wagons or
carriages to a single-engine.
Rail transport is one of the cheapest modes of transport, especially for carrying heavy
and bulky goods over long distances.
The carrying capacity of a train is larger for any other mode of surface transport. Further,
the carrying capacity is elastic that is it can be increased by just adding additional
wagons to the train.
Limitations of rail transport
One of the biggest constraints of rail transport is the heavy cost. Trains need high
capital to build and maintain and the cost is magnified when a whole rail network is
to be built. The cost of construction, maintenance, and overhead expenses are very
high compared to other modes of transport.

Rail transport is tied to a particular track. Hence, it cannot provide door-to-door

service. Further, the rail transport service is not flexible, as its routes and timings
cannot be adjusted to individual requirements.

Rail transportation may require intermediate loading or unloading due to the

unavailability of direct trains or due to gauge changes. Such, intermediate loading or
unloading involves greater cost, more wear and tear, and waste of time.
Water Transportation
In water transportation, the conveyance of people and goods takes place through the
vehicles that float on water.
This mode of transportation holds historical significance as the premier mode of
transportation that facilitated international trade cultural relations and intercontinental
movements.
Even today, it remains the primary mode of transportation for international trade
relations and accounts for around 80 percent of international trade in tons.
Water transport is the cheapest and oldest mode of transport. It operates on a natural
track such as stream, river, lake, sea, ocean, etc. and hence does not require huge
capital investment in the construction and maintenance of these tracks.
The cost of the operation of water transport is also very low. It has the largest carrying
capacity and is most suitable for carrying bulky goods over long distances.
Advantages of water transport
Water transport has the capacity of conveying bulky and heavy cargoes such as coal,
oil, minerals, etc.
It is the cheapest mode of transportation for bulkier cargo over a long distance. Its
operational expense is relatively cheap as it can transport a huge amount of cargo at
a time thus reducing per-unit cost.
Water transportation takes place through nature-gifted routes such as rivers, lakes,
seas, etc. therefore no additional expense is incurred to construct waterways like
roads or railways. Additionally, it allows for flexible service with little to no congestion.
Water transportation causes the lowest pollution among all modes of transportation
for the conveyance of the unit weight of cargo.
During natural calamities like floods and rains, rail and road transport may have been
disrupted. Hence, relief operations can be carried out through water transport.
Limitations of water transport

• It is also unsuitable for short-distance journeys, due to being costly and time-
consuming. It is the slowest mode of transport. Sometimes there are delays in
shipment at docks and locks, which hinders navigation. Poor weather conditions
might also cause this.
• Water transport is also risky as poor weather and sea storms may cause an accident
leading to significant economic loss and casualty.
• Vessel oil spillage, noise, smoke, and fumes cause pollution and endanger marine life.
• Water transport is not suitable for the transportation of perishable goods.
• Canals can also be very expensive to construct, maintain, as well as dredge.
Air Transportation
Air travel is a form of conveyance in vehicles such as helicopters, aeroplanes, jet planes,
balloons, or anything else that can sustain flight.
Air transport is the fastest-growing transportation for carrying passenger traffic. It has
grown at present to be the primary mode of international travel of peoples. Air
transportation is the preferred mode of transportation for valuable and high-end products.
Although, Air transportation’s share of world trade in goods is less than 1% measured by
weight but more than 35% by value. The air transport system generally consists of three
primary elements such as airports, airspace, and air traffic control (ATC) systems.
The airport represents the ground part of the system and is responsible for the
accommodation of the aircraft at the beginning and end of their flights, and serving the
passengers and freight cargo shipments. The organized and controlled airspace between
the airports represents the air part of the air transport system.
The ATC system guides aircraft while flying through the controlled airspace between
airports and during their ground movements at the airports. The ATC is responsible for
the prevention of conflicts that cause air traffic incidents and accidents, significant
aircraft delays, and additional airline and passenger costs.
Advantages of air transport

Air transport is the fastest mode of transport that can fly at a speed that is
sometimes more than the speed of sound. This, in turn, has resulted in a tremendous
saving of travel time.

It is the safest mode of transportation.

It can occur over both land and water without loss of time, unlike other modes of
transport.

The air transport can reach areas inaccessible by other means of transportation.

The air service is extremely useful in emergencies like floods, earthquakes, etc. for
airlifting the affected people, dropping packets, or assessing the gravity of the
situation.
Limitations of air transport

Hefty cost is incurred for the procurement, construction, operation, and

maintenance of aeroplanes, construction of airports, ATC systems, meteorological
stations, etc. The additional cost is involved in providing special training to the pilots.
Therefore, the operation cost for air transport is the most expensive among
different modes of transportation.
The weight-carrying capacity of aircraft is the lowest among all modes of transport.
As a result, the number of passengers traveling by air as well as the quantity of
freight cargo that can be accommodated is the smallest as compared to the other
modes of transportation. High cost to low capacity thus increases the per-unit cost
for air transport.
The operation of air transport is highly dependent on the weather. The landing and
taking off of an aeroplane is not possible in foggy or high wind conditions.
Pipe Transportation

Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of liquid, and gas through a system of pipes
known as pipelines.
Its route is practically unlimited as it can be laid on land or underwater. At present, it has become
the main mode of transportation for onshore oil, gas, and granular coal transportation.
The pipelines for conveying solid materials are mainly seamless steel pipes, and fluids are often
used for casings pipes. About 67 lakh km of pipeline has been laid in the world out of that 75% is
laid in three premier countries such as the USA, Russia, and Canada.
India has made a late start in this mode of transportation. The total pipe length in India at present
is about 36,000 km.
Advantages of pipeline transport

Pipeline transportation only needs to lay pipelines and build pumping stations. The
amount of earth and stone works is much smaller than that of road or railway
construction. Moreover, most of the plain areas are buried underneath and do not
require the acquisition of farmland and traverse through difficult terrains.
The transportation volume is large. For example, a coal pipe with a diameter of 720
mm can transport 20 million tons of coal a year, which is almost equivalent to the
single-direction conveying capacity of a single-track railway.
It can be transported continuously and transportation is not affected by the weather.
Further, the pipeline can take shortcuts due to which the transportation distance is
short.
It is a safe, reliable, pollution-free mode of transport. It consumes the lowest energy
among all modes of transportation.
As transportation takes place through a closed environment, the losses due to transportation are
much less compared to other modes of transport.
Limitations of pipeline transport

Though operational and maintenance costs are minimal, the capital cost for laying the
pipeline is much higher than other modes of transport.
It is not flexible, as it can be used in a limited area of work. Further, its capacity can
not be increased once it is laid.
The pipelines are more susceptible to enemy or terrorist attacks as they shall stop the
supply and halt the production activities thus jeopardizing the entire nation. Moreover,
it is difficult to make security arrangements for the entire pipeline.
Damages and leakages in the underground pipeline are difficult to detect and repair.
Additionally, leakages from the oil or gas pipeline may cause explosions and fires,
resulting in casualties, environmental damage, and material loss
 Types of Roads

The different types of roads can be grouped in the following methods:

• Depending on their usability throughout the year: all-weather road (usable

throughout the year) and fair weather road (usable only during certain months of the
year depending on weather conditions).
• Topography: Plain area roads and hilly roads.
• Traffic type: Pedestrian road, cycle track, and motorized roads
• Material of construction: earthen road, murram road, bituminous road, concrete road,
etc.
• Pavement type: paved road (provided with a hard pavement course) and unpaved
roads (not provided with hard pavement course, e.g., earthen roads and gravel roads)
• Based on location and function: Highway (road system connecting important towns
and industrial bases through the country), urban roads (road system within a particular
urban conglomeration), and rural roads (runs within a village or connects a group of
villages and to the nearest city centre).
Indian Road Transport System

• Road transport is the most important mode of transport in India that reaches every
corner of the country.
• It provides the basic infrastructural facilities to the agricultural and industrial sectors
alike. Roads have existed in India since the beginning of Indo-Aryan civilizations.
• Documented proofs are available to suggest that starting from the Mauryan period
various kings of India have prioritized road buildings.
• During the Mughal and subsequent British rule, a lot of progress was made. Most of
the present trunk routes follow their routes.
• During the time of independence, India had 4 lakh kilometres of roads out of which
about 1.5 lakh kilometres of roads were developed.
• Now India has the second largest road network system in the world with a total
length of the developed road of about 5 lakh kilometers.
• Out of this, the total length of the expressway is approximately 1600 km, the national
and state highway is approximately 132,000 km, and the rest are major district and
rural roads.
 Classification of Indian Roads
Depending on the location, function, importance, traffic volume, and earmarked administrative
jurisdictions Indian roads are classified into the following three categories:
Primary systems:
• The primary systems include all national highways and expressways in the country.
• These roads connect important towns and centres of economic activities on a national and regional
level.
• Primary systems approximately constitute 3% of India’s total road network but carry more than 40
percent of road traffic.
Expressway:
• Expressways are the high-speed (more than 120 km/hr) road network systems of India. Expressways
have superior facilities and design standards than any other national highway or state highway.
• These roads contain four or more lanes with divided carriageways, with access control at entry and
exit, grade separations at crossroads, and total fencing. Parking, loading, and unloading of goods and
pedestrian traffic is not allowed on expressways. Most of the existing expressways in India are toll
roads, i.e., fees are assessed for the passage of a vehicle through the road. Expressways are owned
by the central government or a state government depending on whether the route is a national
highway or state highway.
National Highway: These are the main highways running through the length and breadth of India
connecting major ports, important cities, state capitals, economic and industrial conglomerates,
foreign highways and the roads required for the strategic movement of defence forces. The National
Highway Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of Govt. of
India is responsible for the development, maintenance, and management of these roads.

Secondary systems: The secondary system includes all state highways and major district roads.
These roads connect cities, production, and market centres of a region or state. Secondary systems
act as the main feeders for routing traffic to primary roads.

State Highway: State highways are the major arterial roads within a state that connect district
headquarters, important cities, and economic centres within the state, national highways, and
highways of neighbouring states. These highways are built and maintained by respective state
governments through the state public works departments.
Major District Roads: Major district roads (MDR) are important roads within a district
that connect important town centres, block and tehsil headquarters, major production
centres, and highways passing through the district. These highways are maintained
through the state public works departments.
Tertiary systems: These include other district roads and village roads. It provides access
to properties and through routes within a district or village level. As secondary
connectors, they mainly feed traffic to secondary road systems.

Other District Roads: Other district roads (ODR) are the roads that connect villages to
important towns, districts, block and tehsil headquarters, and other main roads within a
district. These are rural roads managed by District councils (i.e., Zillah Parishad) primarily
under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme.

Village Roads: Village roads (VR) are the roads that connect a village or a group of
villages with each other and to the nearest roads of a higher category. These are
maintained by Panchayat Samitis through the PMGSY scheme.
Urban Road

• Urban roads are part of urban infrastructure. These roads are required for both intra-city
and intercity movement and render a much higher level of service compared to
Regional Roads, State Highways and National Highways.
• Quality of life in urban areas depends on efficient and effective urban Road systems in
addition to other infrastructural services such as water supply, sewerage, drainage,
electricity, telephones etc.
• An urban transportation network is required to facilitate the movement of people and
goods and therefore efficient network is necessary for their efficient movement.
• Urban roads being the most important mode of transportation, these are required to
establish a reliable, efficient and attractive transportation system for vehicles and
individuals.
Objectives of Urban Road

The objectives of urban roads are as follows:

● To facilitate communication of men and materials between the various

centres of the town.
● To provide air and light to the properties situated on their edges, and

● To provide space for laying the public utility services like water mains,
drainage pipes, electric cables, telephone lines, etc.
 Classification of Urban Roads

• Urban roads constitute the road systems, excluding the highways, within the limits of an urban area.
• The development and maintenance of the urban roads is the duty of respective urban authorities.
Urban roads are classified as arterial roads, sub-arterial roads, collector streets, and local streets.
Arterial and sub-arterial roads are meant for through traffic for the basic movements inside the town.
• The shape of these roads broadly sets the development pattern of the town. The sub-arterial road has
a lower level of traffic mobility than the arterial streets.
• The collector street provides access to the arterial streets, and they collect and distribute traffic from
and to local Streets.Apart from this, large urban areas may also contain through roads, bypass roads,
and ring roads.
• When a highway or main road passes through the congested portion of the town then it is called a
through road. It results in a sharp reduction in the speeds of vehicles and the smooth flow of traffic
on the through road.
• To maintain an easy flow of traffic on through roads and to give convenience and comfort to the road
users, a loop road is constructed on the highways that go around a town or village so that traffic
passing that town does not have to go through the town centre. Such a loop road is known as a
bypass road.
Urban Road Patterns
Basic Components of a Road
Cross Slope or Camber

Cross slope, also known as camber, refers to the transverse slope of the pavement or carriageway . It
facilitates drainage of rainwater from the road surface. Insufficient cross slope can lead to water
accumulation on the pavement, ultimately causing highway deterioration. The specific angle of the
slope depends on the road construction materials and the regional rainfall patterns, typically ranging
from 1 in 60 to 1 in 25.

Carriageway or Pavement
The carriageway or pavement represents the paved section of the highway designated for vehicle
traffic. Its width is determined by the number of traffic lanes and the desired lane width for
construction. A traffic lane is a designated path for a single line of traffic. Generally, for single lanes a
lane width of 3.75 meters is recommended. For pavements designed with two or more lanes, a width
of 3.5 meters per lane is provided.
Medians

Medians are traffic separators whose function is to prevent collisions between vehicles
travelling in opposite directions on adjacent lanes.

Kerbs
Road kerbs are the raised visible barriers at the edges of the road that separate the footpath or
median from the street or roadway. The materials used for road kerbs include natural stone, precast
concrete, and cast in-situ concrete. They are typically constructed on urban roads and serve various
purposes, such as providing a boundary between the footpath and pavement, preventing vehicles
from parking beside the road, providing structural support to the pavement, and facilitating the
longitudinal drainage system.
 Road Margins
Road margins encompass various elements, such as:

✔ Shoulders: These are provided along the road edge. This area serves the purpose of
accommodating vehicles that are compelled to be taken out of the pavement or the
roadway. These also act as a service lane for the vehicles that have broken down.

✔ Footpaths or Sidewalks: When the vehicular and pedestrian traffic is heavy, a special
area is allotted for the movement of pedestrians. The area is called footpaths or
sidewalks. This is provided to protect the pedestrian thus decreasing accidents.
✔ Parking Lanes: Parking lanes are provided on urban roads to accommodate parked
vehicles.

✔ Bus Bays: These are the designated spaces provided on urban roads for bus traffic to
onboard and deboard passengers.
Width of Roadway

The width of the roadway or the width of the formation is equal to the sum of the width of the
pavement (including the separators if any) and the shoulders.

Right of Way

The right of way refers to the width of land acquired for the road along its alignment.
The right of way is dependent on the importance of the road and the possibility of
future development
 Road Pavement
• A road pavement structure is made of multiple layers of processed and compacted
road materials, in different thicknesses, which together form a structure to support
the vehicle and provide a smooth riding quality.
• Two types of pavement are laid in India: rigid pavement and flexible pavement. In a
flexible pavement system, a layer of bituminous concrete is laid and compacted
over a bed of granular materials.
• Whereas, in a rigid pavement system, a layer of cement concrete (plain, or
reinforced) is laid and compacted over the bed of granular materials.
Flexible Pavement:
• A typical flexible pavement consists of a bituminous surface course over the base
course and sub-base course. The surface course may consist of one or more
bituminous or hot mix asphalt (HMA) layers.
• These pavements have negligible flexure strength and hence undergo deformation
under the action of loads. Due to this, it is named as flexible pavement
● Surface course: The surface course is the layer directly in contact with traffic loads and
generally contains superior quality materials. They are usually constructed with dense
graded asphalt concrete (AC). The functions of the surface course to provide a a smooth and
skid- resistant riding surface, and to prevent the entrance of excessive quantities of surface
water into the underlying base, subbase, and subgrade

● Binder course: This layer provides the bulk of the asphalt concrete structure. Its primary
purpose is to distribute the load to the base course. The binder course generally consists of
aggregates having less asphalt and doesn't require quality as high as the surface course, so
replacing a part of the surface course with the binder course results in a more economical
design.

● Base course: The base course is the layer of material immediately beneath the surface of
the binder course and it provides additional load distribution and contributes to the sub-
surface drainage It may be composed of crushed stone, crushed slag, and other untreated
or stabilized materials .
Sub-base course:
• The sub-base course is the layer of material beneath the
base course and the primary functions are to provide
structural support, improve drainage, and reduce the
intrusion of fines from the sub-grade in the pavement
structure If the base course is open-graded, then the
sub-base course with more fines can serve as a filler
between subgrade and the base course .
• A sub-base course is not always needed or used. For
example, a pavement constructed over a high-quality,
stiff subgrade may not need the additional features
offered by a sub-base course. In such situations, sub-
base courses may not be provided.
Subgrade:
• The topsoil or subgrade is a layer of natural soil prepared
to receive the stresses from the layers above.
• At any time, soil subgrade must not be overstressed. It
should be compacted to the desired density, near the
optimum moisture content.
Rigid Pavement

• Rigid pavements have high flexural rigidity

due to which they deflect very little under
loading due to the high modulus of elasticity
of their surface course.
• Compared to flexible pavement, rigid
pavements are placed either directly on the
prepared subgrade or a single layer of
granular or stabilized material. Since there is
only one layer of material between the
concrete and the subgrade, this layer can be
called a base or sub-base course.
Difference Between Flexible and Rigid Pavement