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Bicol University College of Engineering

Civil Engineering Department

HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT
BY:

ENGR. JEFFERSON M. CIPRIANO, MET

Associate Professor II

The first mode of transport was by foot. These human pathways

A highway is considered

would have been developed for specific purposes leading to camp
sites, food, streams for drinking water etc.

a conduit that carries  The next major mode of transport was the use of animals/pack
animals, crude sleds were develop for transporting both men and
materials.
vehicular traffic from one  The invention of wheel in Mesopotamian civilization led to the
development of animal drawn vehicles. Then it became necessary

location to another. 
that the road surface should be capable of carrying greater loads.
After the invention of wheel, animal drawn vehicles were
developed and the need for hard surface road emerged. Traces of
such hard roads were obtained from various ancient civilization
dated as old as 3500 BC. The earliest authentic record of road
was found from Assyrian empire constructed about 1900 BC.

Highway engineering deals with provisions  Another stone surface roads were also found in the Mediterranean
island of Crete, similarly constructed as those in the Western
for meeting public needs for highways; Hemisphere by the Mayans, Aztecs and the Incas of Central South
environmental impact of highways; America.
 The earliest large scale road construction is attributed to Romans
budgeting, planning, design, construction, who constructed an extensive system of roads radiating in many
maintenance, and rehabilitation of directions from Rome. Their roads were very durable, and some
are still existing after more than 2000 years .
highways; access to and exit from
highways; economics and financing of
highway construction; traffic control; and
safety of those using or affected by the use
of highways.
Greek Road

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 The next major development in the road construction occurred The modern roads by and large follow Macadam’s construction
during the regime of Napoleon. The significant contributions were method.
given by Jerome Tresaguet (1716-1796) the famous French  Use of bituminous concrete and cement concrete are the most important
developments.
engineer who introduce new methods of construction and
 Various advanced and cost-effective construction technologies are used.
maintenance of stone roads in 1764 and a typical cross section of Development of new equipment help in the faster construction of roads.
this road is given in Figure 2:2. He developed a cheaper method of  Many easily and locally available materials are tested in the laboratories and
construction. He also improved the crown, the drainage, and the then implemented on roads for making economical and durable pavements.
grade of the road, including the stone foundation by reducing the
depth of broken stones to 25 mm.

 Thirty years later, a Scottish Engineer  In the early part of 1900, transportations in the country depended
born in Westminster Abbey, Thomas largely on trails, waterways, railroads, earth roads and partially
Telford (1757-1834),president and graveled roads. Highways in the Philippines at that time is nothing
founder of the Institute of Civil Engineer, more than a dream to most Filipinos.
introduced some improvements in the
 The American government initiated the development of roadways
construction methods of Jerome
in the Philippines connecting towns, cities and provinces. The
Tresaguet. The road foundation course
popular Macadam road types was introduced. It gained wide
of Telford was made of stones having 3
acceptance because of the abundant supply of stones and gravel.
inches minimum thickness, 5 inches
breadth and 7 inches height. Smaller  After the Second World War, the new Independent Philippine
stones were driven by mauls on top government, continued the rehabilitation and construction of roads
Thomas Telford, the
voids and trued the surfaces by and bridges, through the reparations and war damages paid by the
"Colossus of the Roads"
breaking the projecting points. Telford Japanese government. Other financial grants and aids received
in early 19th century
employed a flat sub-grade, providing from the U.S. government were used in the construction and
Britain
slight crown using stones of varying rehabilitation of roads and bridges.
sizes.

 England followed the ongoing highway  Fifty years later, major highways and expressways were
development started by France. It was constructed through the financial assistance and loans from
another Scottish engineer, John Loudon foreign banks.
McAdam, who designed the first modern
 The year 1960 to early part of 1980 was considered an automobile
roads. He developed an inexpensive
age. Cars were no longer regarded as luxury item but a necessity
paving material of soil and stone
in transporting people and goods, a necessity for survival.
aggregate (known as macadam). His
Government new concept of development is to get the farmers out
road building method was simpler than
of the mud. It was during this decade that road construction
Telford's, yet more effective at protecting
becomes a matter of priority of the government under the slogan.
roadways: he discovered that massive
"This Nation is on Wheels".
foundations of rock upon rock were John Loudon McAdam
unnecessary, and asserted that native (1756–1836)
soil alone would support the road and
traffic upon it, as long as it was covered
by a road crust that would protect the
soil underneath from water and wear.

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Highways are vitally important to a Objective of Highway Planning:

 To plan a road network for efficient and safe
country’s economic development. traffic operation, but at a minimum cost. Here the
The construction of a high quality cost of construction, maintenance and renewal
road network directly increases a of pavement layers and the vehicle operation
coast are given due consideration.
nation’s economic output by  To arrive at the road system and the lengths of
reducing journey times and costs, different categories of roads which could provide
making a region more attractive maximum utility and could be constructed within
the available resources during the plan period
economically. under consideration.

 To fix up date wise priorities for development of

each road link based on utility as main criterion
for phasing the road development programme.
 To plan for future requirements and
improvements of roads in view of the anticipated
HIGHWAY PLANNING developments.
 To work out financing systems.

Highway planning is a basic need for highway Three inseparable sets of inputs
development 1. Economic – deals with the questions of
 Of great importance when the funds available resources.
are limited whereas the total requirement is
2. Financial – the question of who pays and who
much higher
spends, how much and where?
 Utilization of available funds has to be made in
a systematic and planned way. 3. Political and Administration – this involves
 Developing countries like the Philippines decision making.

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1. Financial resources are either short or long ranged The roads can be classified as follows in the order
implementation by the agencies functions like of increased accessibility and reduced speeds:
construction, operations, and maintenance.
2. Recognition of the legislative and administrative desire
and constraint.
3. Tentative priorities based on economic analysis, critical
situations, present and future expected level of traffic,
and claims based on political subdivisions.
4. Providing continuity of route system and coordination
with other transportation mode.
5. Selection of projects based on availability of labor and
materials, including climatic conditions.

6. Scheduling the project implementation in coordination Freeways

with other agencies, acquiring right of way and making  A freeway is a divided highway with fully controlled
final plan and specifications. access.
7. Budgetary reserve to cover emergencies like floods  Access to a freeway is made without use of at-grade
and other natural disasters. intersections.
 Most freeways are four lanes, two lanes each direction,
but many freeways widen to incorporate more lanes as
they enter urban areas.
 Access is controlled through the use of interchanges,
and the type of interchange depends upon the kind of
intersecting road way (rural roads, another freeway
etc.)

The roads can be classified into: Expressways

 They are superior type of highways and are
1. Functional – based on speed and designed for high speeds (120 km/hr is
accessibility common), high traffic volume and safety.
2. Jurisdictional – Road is classified with  They are generally provided with grade
respect to the entity (private, municipal, separations at intersections. Parking, loading
state, or federal) responsible for their and unloading of goods and pedestrian traffic is
construction, maintenance, and operation. not allowed on expressways

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Arterials Philippine Road Classification

 Arterials are highways that provide direct service to By virtue of Executive Order No. 180, series of
major population centers. 1948 signed by then Philippine President Elpidio
 It is a general term denoting a street primarily meant for Quirino road classification in the Philippines
through traffic usually on a continuous route.
 They are generally divided highways with fully or
partially controlled access. Parking, loading and
unloading activities are usually restricted and
regulated.
 Pedestrians are allowed to cross only at
intersections/designated pedestrian crossings.

Local streets National Highway

 Local roads connect various regions of a  Main traffic routes connecting provincial capitals with important
commercial centers, national airports, national seaports, and
municipality and tie into the system of national parks and roads of military importance, which may be
collectors. so designated by the President, upon favorable
recommendation of the Secretary of Public Works and
 A Local Street is the one which is primarily Communications.
intended for access to residence, business or  Today national highway is further classified into three types by
abutting property. the Department of Public Works and Highways under the
Philippine Highway Act (Republic Act No. 917) signed by
 It does not normally carry large volume of traffic President Elpidio Quirino on June 20, 1953 and the series of
and also it allows unrestricted parking and memorandums issued by the Department between 2009 and
pedestrian movements.
Schematic of a rural highway network serving towns, villages, and cities. 2014. They are the national primary roads, national secondary
and national tertiary road.

Collector streets
 Collectors provide direct service to towns and
link up with arterials.
 These are streets intended for collecting and
distributing traffic to and from local streets and
also for providing access to arterial streets.
 Normally full access is provided on these
streets. There are few parking restrictions
except during peak hours.
Schematic of a rural highway network serving towns, villages, and cities.

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Provincial Roads Rectangular:

 Connect Cities and Municipalities without traversing National  also called grid or block pattern.
Roads.  the whole area is divided into grids or blocks running
 Connect National Roads to Barangays through rural areas. perpendicularly into each other.
 All roads connecting one municipality with another  The advantage for this pattern is that this pattern is
municipality the terminal to be the public plazas; all roads sufficiently easier to construct and maintain.
extending from a municipality, or from a provincial or
national road to a public wharf or railway station and any  This type of street pattern has a good aesthetic view
other road which may be so designated by the Secretary of and the road geometry is easier to understand.
Public Works and Communications upon the request of the  But this pattern in terms of safety is not convenient
Provincial Board concerned and upon favorable because at the intersections, the vehicles face each
recommendation of the Director of Public Works. other at opposite directions.

Municipal and City Roads Radial:

 Roads within the Poblacion  the area is divided into network of roads in the form of
a circle or ellipse and from the center, roads emanate
 Roads that connect to Provincial and National forming like a star.
Roads  Divides further into three patterns.
 Roads that provide inter-Barangay connections  Star Block Pattern
to major Municipal and City Infrastructure  Star Circular Pattern
 Star Grid Pattern
without traversing Provincial Roads
 The advantage of this type is that it reduces the
possibility of congestion at the roundabouts because
the traffic can effortlessly join.

 Roadway patterns are very essential in the Radial:

development of the settlements of a city
(Jamal, 2017)Roads that connect to Provincial
and National Roads
 highway development that integrated road
patterns make it easier for people to reach their
destination.

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Hexagonal Pattern: Highway alignment is the position of the centerline of the

 In this pattern, the entire area is provided with a highway on the ground in a three-dimensional coordinate
network of roads formatting hexagonal figures. system. It includes the horizontal and vertical alignment:
1. Vertical alignment specifies the elevation of points along a
 At each corner of the hexagon, three roads meet the
roadway. The elevation of these roadway points is usually
built-up area boundary by the sides of the hexagons is determined by the need to provide an acceptable level of driver
further divided in suitable sizes. safety, driver comfort, and proper drainage (from rainfall
 Travel time and distance are kept to a minimum. runoff).Drainage
2. Horizontal alignment specifies the direction of the highway in
the x-z plane. The critical aspect of horizontal alignment is the
horizontal curve, with focus on design of the directional
transition of the roadway in a horizontal plane. The horizontal
curve provides the transition between two straight (or tangent)
sections of roadway. Roadside Development

READ DESIGNING THE HIGHWAY/GEOMETRIC DESIGN

OF HIGHWAYS FOR OUR NEXT GRADED RECITATION
Minimum Travel Pattern:
 The town is satisfied by sector centers, suburban
 Consistency.  The grade line.
facilities, and neighborhood centers, all of which are
 Functional & Administrative  Right of way.
connected to the city center by a highway that takes classification of Highways  Road alignment.
the shortest time to reach.  Design speed,  Widening of curves.
 Also, the shortest roads interconnect the city center  Cross Section of Typical  Islands.
with neighboring and suburban centers. The alignment Highway,  Types of interchange.
of the road is made straight to shorten it.  Road Shoulder.  Highway intersection.
 Cut or Fill slope.  Freeway entrance and exit.
 Cross Slope.
 Highway Median.

Before a highway alignment is finalized in

highway project, the engineering survey are to be
carried out. The various stages of engineering
surveys are:
1. Map study (Provisional alignment
Identification)
2. Reconnaissance survey
3. Preliminary Location Survey
4. Final location and detailed surveys