Highway Geometric Design

Is the design of the visible dimensions of a

highway with the objective of forming or shaping
the facility to the terrain and the behavior of drivers
and vehicles.
Deals with features of location, alignment, profile, cross
section, intersection and highway types.
Design objectives
 Safety
 Economy
 Capacity
 Comfort
 Aesthetic
 Environmentally Compatible Design 1
Features controlling the geometric design
of a highway: (Basic Design Parameters)
• Road functional classification
• Terrain - topography and physical features
• Land Use
• Traffic Volume (traffic related issues)
 vehicular characteristics
 driver performance
 traffic operating characteristics

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 Functional Classification
• Functional classification is the process by which
streets and highways are grouped into classes,
or systems, according to the character of
service they are intended to provide.

• The major consideration in classifying roadways

into functional classes is mobility and access

Classification
• Arterials - Mobility
• Collectors – Mixed function (distribution/collection)
• Local/Streets – Social interaction, NMT facilities,
cyclist paths 3
 Functional Classification Concept
Arterials
• direct, relatively high-speed service
• longer trips
• large traffic volumes
• mobility emphasized; access limited
Collectors
• bridge between arterials and local roads
• link small towns to arterials
• collect traffic from local roads
Local roads
• direct access to individual homes and farms.

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Arterials
higher mobility
low degree of access

Collectors
balance between mobility
and access

Locals
lower mobility
high degree of access
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 Administrative and Functional
Classification - Tanzania
In Mainland Tanzania, the existing classification is
partly based on administrative aspects of the facility
and partly on functional aspects. The existing network
is classified in accordance with the Road Act of 2007,
i.e.:

 National roads
 Class A ~ Trunk Roads
 Class B ~ Regional Roads

 District Roads
 Class C ~ Collector roads
 Class D ~ Feeder roads 7
 Class E ~ Community roads
 Functional Classification - Tanzania
Functional Class and Design Class - Tanzania

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The Role of Functional Classification in the Design
Process

Design Spee d Horizonta l/Vertical

Alignm ent

Func tional Class ificat ion

Cros s S ection

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Range of Design Speeds for Road
Classes

Source: Tanzania Road Geometric Design Manual – MoW, 2011

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 Area (Land use) Definition
Urban and rural areas have fundamentally different
characteristics as to density and types of land use,
density of street and highway networks, nature of
travel patterns, and the way in which all these
elements are related in the definitions of highway
function.

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 Hierarchy of Functional Systems
Rural areas Urbanized areas Small Urban areas
Principal arterials Principal arterials Principal arterials
Minor arterial roads Minor arterial streets Minor arterial streets
Collector roads Collector streets Collector streets
Local roads Local streets Local streets

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 Terrain (Topography and Physical
Features)
 The character of the terrain have a pronounced
effect upon the longitudinal features of the highway,
and frequently upon the cross-sectional features.
 Geological conditions may also affect the location
and the geometrics of the highway.
 Climatic, soil, drainage, and
environmental conditions may affect the profile of a
road relative to existing ground.
Terrain Types
 Flat
 Rolling
 Mountainous 13
 Terrain Types
 Flat
Highway sight distances are generally long or can be
made to be so without construction difficulty or major
expense
 Rolling
Natural slopes consistently rise above and fall below the
road or street grade, and occasional steep slopes offer
some restriction to normal Hz and Vt roadway alignment
 Mountainous
Changes in the elevation of the ground with respect
to the road are abrupt, and benching and side hill
excavation are frequently needed to obtain acceptable
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horizontal and vertical alignment.
 TRAFFIC VOLUME – traffic related issues
 Vehicular characteristics
 Driver performance
 Traffic operating characteristics

What are the important vehicular characteristics to be

considered in design?
 Length
 Width
 Height
 Wheelbase
 Weight
 Acceleration/deceleration
 Speed
 Tire friction 15
Vehicular Design Characteristics
Length Parking stall length

Width Lane width

Parking stall width
Lateral Clearance

Height Vertical Clearance

Minimum vertical curve length

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Vehicular Design Characteristics
Wheelbase Lateral clearance on curves
Intersection turning radius

Weight Structural design of surface

Structural design of bridges

Acceleration / Maximum grade

deceleration Minimum vertical curve length
Horizontal curve radius

Speed Horizontal curve radius

Minimum vertical curve length
Maximum super-elevation
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 Design Vehicle
• Is a vehicle selected to represent all vehicles on the highway.
Its weight, dimensions, and operating characteristics will be
used to establish the geometric standards of the highway,
such as radii of turning roadways

• Current policy states that the vehicle that should be used in

design for normal operation is the largest one that represents
a significant percentage of the traffic for the design year.
Four classes of design vehicles:
Passenger cars (which includes compact cars, SUV’s, minivans,
vans, and pick-up trucks)
Buses
Trucks
Recreation vehicles
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19
Design Vehicle

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 Vehicle Performance
• Acceleration and deceleration rates of vehicles
are often critical parameters in determining
highway design.
• These rates often govern the dimensions of
such design features as intersections, freeway
ramps,
• climbing or passing lanes, and turnout bays for
buses.

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TRAFFIC VOLUME – traffic related issues
 Vehicular characteristics
 Driver performance
 Traffic operating characteristics
Driver performance issues of interest are:
• perception-reaction time
• control movement time
• responses to the presentation of traffic control devices
• responses to the movements of other vehicles
• handling of hazards on the roadway, and
• how different segments of the driving population may differ
in performance

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These issues are important because they
have an effect on:
• lane keeping
• car following
• overtaking
• gap acceptance
• lane closures, and
• stopping and intersection sight distances

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 PIEV Theory
The driving task is a continuous series of sensory cues
that the motorist must monitor and respond to. The
perception of, and reaction to, a particular cue or
stimulus involves four distinct actions on the part of the
driver:
Perception: The recognition or realization that a cue or
stimulus exists that requires a response
Intellection or identification: The identification or interpretation of
the cue or stimulus
Emotion or decision: The determination of an appropriate
response to the cue or stimulus
Volition or reaction: The physical response that results from the
decision

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 Why is perception-reaction time important
in design?
• Used to determine safe stopping distance
• Used to determine minimum sight distance
• Used to determine the length of the yellow phase at a
signalized intersection

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 What is the distance traveled during
perception-reaction time?
Distance (d) = Speed (v) x time (t)
ft
ft/sec sec

Example:
Given: t = 2.5 sec, v = 70 mph
Find: d
Solution: d = 1.47 v . t
d = 1.47 x 70 x 2.5 27
 What are the factors affecting human
characteristics?
Driver Personality
Age
Fatigue
Alcohol or Drugs
Physical Impairments

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 Important Concepts in Design

The Concept of Driver Expectancy

Drivers generally expect things to operate in certain ways
based on knowledge and experience. When a driver’s
expectancy is violated, either the driver takes longer to
respond properly, or he/she may respond poorly or wrongly.

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TRAFFIC VOLUME – traffic related issues
 Vehicular characteristics
 Driver performance
 Traffic operating characteristics
Traffic characteristics that affect the geometric design
features are:
• Volume
• Composition
• Speed

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 TRAFFIC VOLUME
Average Annual Daily Traffic, AADT
The total yearly volume in both directions of travel divided by
365 days.
Average Daily Traffic, ADT??
Design Hourly Volume, DHV
Normally estimated as the 30th highest hour two-way
traffic volume for the design year selected

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TRAFFIC VOLUME

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 TRAFFIC VOLUME
K - Factor
For design purposes, K-factor is generally chosen as 30th hourly
volume expressed as the ratio of DHV to AADT in percent

For design, the K factor often represents the proportion of AADT

occurring during the 30th peak hour of the year. If the 365 peak hour
volumes of the year at a given location are listed in descending order,
the 30th peak hour is 30th on the list and represents a volume that is
exceeded in only 29 hours of the year

For rural facilities, the 30th peak hour may have a significantly lower
volume than the worst hour of the year,

In urban cases, where traffic is frequently at capacity levels during the

daily commuter peaks, the 30th peak hour is often not substantially
different from the highest peak hour of the year. 33
 TRAFFIC VOLUME
K - Factor
For design purposes, K-factor is generally chosen as 30th
hourly volume expressed as the ratio of DHV to AADT in
percent

D - Factor
D-factor is the percentage of traffic in the predominant
direction during the design peak hour
DDHV
The directional design hourly volume to be used in
determining number of lanes required is given by
DDHV = AADT . K . D
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 TRAFFIC VOLUME

Facility K-Factor D-Factor

Type
Rural 0.15 – 0.25 0.65 – 0.80

Suburban 0.12 – 0.15 0.55 – 0.65

Urban 0.07 – 0.12 0.50 – 0.60

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 Example
The projected AADT on a highway is
47,000 vehicles per day. If the
directional distribution is 60:40, what
is the impact of choosing K=7% over
K=12%?
DDHVK1 2 % AADT . K12% . D 47000 x 0.12 x 0.6 3,384 vph
DDHVK 7 % AADT . K 7% . D 47000 x 0.07 x 0.6 1,974 vph
Difference 1,410 vph

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 TRAFFIC VOLUME
Composition of Traffic
The proportion of trucks and buses is another characteristic
which affects the location and geometrics of highways. Types,
sizes and horsepower are taken into account.

Design Speed
Is the selected speed used to determine the various design
features of the roadway including:
• maximum tangent lengths
• minimum radius of curves
• spiral lengths
• maximum grades
• required parameters for vertical curves
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Design Speed

Is the selected speed used to determine the

various design features of the roadway
including:
• maximum tangent lengths
• minimum radius of curves
• spiral lengths
• maximum grades
• required parameters for vertical curves
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 Factors influencing choice of design
speed
• Character of the terrain
• Extent of manmade features (land use)
• Economic considerations (as related to
construction and right-of-way costs)
• Functional classification of the highway
• Environmental considerations

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 Capacity as a Design Control
• Is the maximum number of vehicles which have a
reasonable expectation of passing over a section
of a lane or a roadway during a given time period
under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.

• Knowledge of highway capacity is essential to

properly match a planned highway to traffic
demands
• Capacity encompasses the relationship between
highway characteristics and conditions, traffic
composition and flow patterns, and the relative
degree of congestion
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 Capacity
Is the maximum number of
vehicles which have a
reasonable expectation of
passing over a section of a lane
or a roadway during a given
time period under prevailing
roadway and traffic conditions.
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 Capacity
Capacity encompasses the
relationship between
highway characteristics and
conditions, traffic
composition and flow
patterns, and the relative
degree of congestion 42
 Level of Service
• The level of service concept places various traffic
flow conditions into 6 levels of service. These levels
of service, designated A through F, from best to
worst, cover the entire range of traffic operations
that may occur.
The factors that may be considered in evaluating
level of service include:
• speed and travel time
• traffic interruptions or restrictions
• freedom to maneuver
• safety
• driving comfort and convenience
• economy 43
Level of Service
The factors that may be considered in
evaluating level of service include:
• speed and travel time
• traffic interruptions or restrictions
• freedom to maneuver
• safety
• driving comfort and convenience
• economy
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 HCM Levels of Service
Level of Service General Operating Conditions

A Free flow

B Reasonably free flow

C Stable Flow

D Approaching unstable flow

E Unstable flow

F Forced or breakdown flow

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Service Flow Rates

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Freeways
 LOS

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Signalized Intersections
 LOS

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Unsignalized Intersections
 What about environmental
conditions?
Snow
Fog
Rain
Dust storm

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Design Safety Implications

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 Class Exercise
• Determine design standards for an arterial
road in rural setting, rolling terrain with
Design Hour Volume 2809 vph f which 20
percent are trucks (1 truck = 3pcs) and
PHF 0.90.

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