Transportation -II

Submitted By :
Ammad Zahid
Roll No 10
Cu 513-A

Submitted To :

Cecos University Of IT & Emerging Sciences

 History of Roads:
In its most general sense, a road is an open, generally public way for the passage of
vehicles, people, and animals.  The earliest human road builders predate recorded
history by thousands of years. With the advent of modern man, road building became a
common sign of an advancing civilization. Covering these roads with a hard smooth
surface (pavement) helped make them durable and able to withstand traffic and the
environment.  Some of the oldest paved roads still in existence were built by the Roman
Empire. 

Classifying roads with respect to their period of construction they can be classified as
 Roman Roads(312 B.c )
 Tresaguet’s Construction ( 1775 A.D )
 Telford pavement ( 1830 A.D )
 Macadam pavement ( 1827 A.D )

1) Roman Roads( 312 B.C ) :

By in large, Roman roads were constructed during the Republican times - the oldest
road dates back to 312 B.C. At its height, the Roman road network consisted of over
100,000 km (62,000 miles) of roads, A typical Roman road structure consisted of four
basic layers.

 Summa Crusta (surfacing):  Smooth, polygonal blocks embedded in the

underlying layer.

 Nucleus:  A kind of base layer composed of gravel and sand with lime cement.

 Rudus:  The third layer was composed of rubble masonry and smaller stones
also set in lime mortar.

 Statumen:  Two or three courses of flat stones set in lime mortar.

2) Tresaguet’s Construction ( 1775 A.D ):

A French gentleman, who was then the inspector General of the roads in
France, named pierre Tresaguet made the road profile slightly higher in
the centre and lower towards the shoulder , what we recognize as chamber
today. He tried for proper maintenance and drainage of roads.

3) Telford Pavements (1830 A.D) :

Telford's pavement section was about 350 to 450 mm (14 to 18 inches) in depth and
generally specified three layers. The bottom layer was comprised of large stones 100
mm (4 inches) wide and 75 to 180 mm (3 to 7 inches) in depth (Collins and Hart, 1936). 
It is this specific layer which makes the Telford design unique On top of this were placed
two layers of stones of 65 mmmaximum sizefollowed by a wearing course of gravel
about 40 mmthick It was estimated that this system would support a load corresponding
to about 88 N/mm.

4) Metcalf Construction: (Macadam Pavements)( 1710 – 1810 )

Macadam pavements introduced the use of angular aggregates. In these angular

aggregate in two layers for a total depth of about 200 mm were placed . On top of this,
the wearing course was placed .Thus, the total depth of a typical Macadam pavement
was about 250 mm. The largest permissible load for this type of design has been
estimated to be 158 N/mm.
  Functional Classifications of Roads:
The functional classification of a road is the class, or group, of roads that the road
belongs to.
 Express Way
 Arterial Roads
 Collector Roads
 Local Roads

 Express Way:

Function of expressways is to cater for movement of heavy volumes of motor traffic at

high speeds. They are generally signal free by providing with grade separation at
intersections. Parking, loading and unloading of goods and pedestrian traffic are not
permitted on these roads.

 Arterial Roads:

Arterial roads generally provide the fastest method of travel and typically have low
accessibility from neighboring roads. They are usually designed with long-distance
travel in mind and are not as common as the other two functional classes of roads.

 Collector Roads:

Collector roads are the second most common and are used as a connection between
local roads and arterial roads. They provide a balance between access and mobility.

 Local Roads:

Local roads are the most common roads by far, but are also the slowest for travel. They
are designed specifically to have high accessibility and to connect to collector and
arterial roads, and are typically not used for through traffic.

 Road Patterns:
1. Rectangular/grid/block Pattern:

The rectangular/ block/ grid pattern is a plan where

the streets and roads are in the form of grids or
blocks running perpendicularly into each other thus
forming a grid or block. The North Nazimabad area
of Karachi in Pakistan is a factual example of this
type of pattern where the streets and roads run
at an angle of ninetydegree into each other.
Usually in this type of pattern
 the streets and roads are far away from each other and it takes a long time to reach the
center of the area or city.
This type of pattern is normally considered weak from the road safety point of view as
the vehicles meet at opposite directions at intersections. Usually the main road is wide
which passes through the centre of the area and other roads connecting to it are
narrow. This pattern is sufficiently easier to construct and maintain. This type of street
pattern has a good aesthetic view and the road geometry is easier to understand.

2. Radial Pattern:

In this type of pattern the network of roads is in the form of circles emanating from the
centre of the area. This pattern may be further classified into two types depending on its
layout.

i. Radial and Block Pattern:

This type of network is a combination of radial and block
pattern. A radial network of roads radiate from the center
outwardly with block pattern network of roads in between
the radial main streets
.

ii. Radial and Circular pattern:

In this type of road pattern the main roads radiate from the central
point and are connected together by concentric roads that are also
radiating outwardly.

iii. Radial and Grid Pattern:

It is a combination of radial and grid pattern. A radial network of roads
radiate from the center outwardly. The main radial streets are then
interconnected by providing grid pattern in between the main streets.
3. Hexagonal Pattern:
This pattern is a network of roads that grow in such a manner in various
directions forming hexagons.

 Highway Location Principles:

 Curves & Grades should be blend to produce system that provide the easy flow
of traffic.
 Minimal disruption to historical Archeological and other land use activities.
 There are four stages in the process of locating a highway:
i. Office study of existing information
ii. Reconnaissance Location survey
iii. Preliminary Location Survey
iv. Final Location Survey

 Highway Alignment:
The fundamental Principle of route selection and Highway location is to achieve the
least overall cost of transportation which includes the cost of initial construction of
highway facility,its periodic maintenance and vehicle operation while at the same time
satisfying the environmental requirements.
The factors that should be kept in view while fixing the road alignment are listed below.

 The highway alignment should be as direct as possible between the towns to be

linked resulting in economy in construction and maintenance.

 The location of the highway ,should stay clear of obstruction , Places of worships,
Archeological monument, public Facilities like schools, hospitals playgrounds,
Fertile lands, and large industrial establishments.

 The present utility and service like overhead transmission lines ,water supply
lines should not as far as possible be shifted.

 The location should as far as possible facilitate easy grades and curvatures with
frequent crossing and recrossing of the railway line avoided.

 The site of the river crossing is an important obligatory point in selection of the
route if a particular bridge site is better ,the highway alignment may be shifted to
 suit the bridge site,since shifting of the bridge site would generally cause more
expenditure.
 The highway should as far as be located along the edges of properties rather
than through their middle so as to cause least interference to cultivation and to
avoid the need of frequent crossing of the highway.

 The highway location should be part and parcel of the surrounding landscape.
There should be least adverse effects of highway construction on the
environment.

 The location should be close to the sources of embankment and pavement

materials so that the haulage of these overlong distances is avoided and the cost
minimized. Highway alignment if possible should permit balancing of te cost of
the cut and fill for the formation.

 Marshy and low lying land , areas having poor drainage and having very poor
embankment material, areas liable to flooding, areas susceptible to subsidence
due to mining operation should as far as possible be avoided and the preffered
location is one which pass through areas having better type of soil.

 Highways through villages and towns increase traffic hazards and cause delay
and conjestion.

 If the hill is to be surrounded for on highway alignment. There are special

problems and considerations of location of highways in hilly areas, which should
be looked into.

 Engineering Surveys for Highway Location:

While fixing the alignments, the following types of surveys are conducted.
Office study or Map Study
Reconnaissance Survey
Preliminary Survey
Determination of central line in the design office
Final Location Survey

We will consider these separately.

1) Office study or Map Study:

This survey is mostly done in the design office taking into consideration the topography
and other features of the area from where the road is to be passed. During this survey
all the possibilities of the location of road and other such features i.e Bridges is
considered and approximated.
The main objective of this survey are as follows:
 o Alignment avoiding valleys. Ponds and lakes is decided.
o Approximation of location of bridge is done.
o Possibility of crossing through a mountain pass.
o Alternate routes in case of hills.

2) Reconnaissance Survey:

A field survey team inspects and study the topographical survey sheets ,geological and
meteorological maps and photographs if available. It begins with the study of all
available maps. the main objective of reconnaissance survey is to examine the general
character of the area for the purpose of determining the most feasible route or routes for
further detailed investigations.
After study of the topographical features of the map a number of feasible alignments in
a general way are selected keeping in view the following points.

 Consideration of all control points i.e. major cities, towns having shortest length
and most economical compatible with the requirements of gradients and
curvature in a general way.

 Avoidance as far as possible of marshy grounds, steep terrain and unstable hilly
features.

 Important towns and villages should be connected , at the same time ,

environment should be preserved and ecological balance must be maintained.

3) Preliminary Survey:

Preliminary Survey stage is very important. It is a relatively large scale instrument

survey conducted for the purpose of collecting all the physical information which has the
bearing on the proposed location of a new highway or on improvements in existing
highway. In the case of new roads it consists of running an accurate traverse line along
the route previously selected on the basis of reconnaissance survey.
while running the traverse line the information should be collected regarding the
following points.
 The character of the embankment foundations, particularly necessary in areas
having deep cutsto achieve the grade.
 Any particular construction problem of the area , area prone to landslides ,
settlement of the slopes, etc.
 The highest subsoil water level and the variation between the maximum and
minimum so also the maximum and minimum rain fall and its duration.
 The main objective of the Preliminary Survey are as follows.
 To survey the various alternate alignments proposed after the reconnaissance
survey and to collect all the necessary details of topography, drainage and soil.
 To compare the different proposals in view of the requirements of a good
alignment.
 Estimate quantity of earth work.
  Finalize best element.

4) Determination of the centre line in the design office:

This step is actually a fore runners to the final location survey and involves the following
operations.
 Making use of the map from the Preliminary Survey ,few alternative alignments
for the final central line of the road are drawn and the one satisfying engineering
and economical requirements.
 For the selected alignment a trial grade line is drawn, taking into considerations
railways crossings, drainage crossing etc. in the case of improvements on
existing road the existing road levels should be kept in view.
 For the selected alignment, a study of the horizontal alignment in conjunction
with the profile is carried out and adjustments made in both.

5) Final location Survey:

The purpose of the final location survey is to layout the final centre line of the road in the
field based on the alignment selected in the design office. The two operations involved
in the survey are the staking out of the final centre line of the road by means of a
continous theodolite survey and detailed leveling.the final centre line of the road should
be fixed by stakes at 50 m intervals in plain and rolling terrain and 20 m interval in hilly
terrain.

 Special Considerations for Alignment of Hill Roads.

The main factors to be considered while deciding the alignment of hill roads are
discussed.

1) Length:
The cost of construction of hill road per kilometer length is comparatively veyy
high. It should therefore be ensured that length of the road connecting two
stations should be minimum possible, adopting gradients along its most of the
length.

2) Altitudeof the Road :

At lower altitudes, larger numbers of cross drainage works are required to be
constructed. Whereas at higher altitudes, the road pavement may witness
snowfall during winter. This is why the alignment of hill roads should preferably
be provided at an altitude between 900m to 1500 m above M.S.L . At higher
altitude ,the alignment ,if found necessary , should be provided on the hill slopes
exposed to sun. the hill slopes which are subjected to high winds should never
be selected unlessand until there is no other alternative.
 In northern hemisphere, southern slopes of the hills are more suitable than
northern slopes which remain in shades and are usually subjected to high winds.

3) Saddles or Passes:
While locating the counter gradient of the proposed alignment of a hill road on a
contour map, it should cross the hill range through saddles. Though length of the
road is increased, the heavy cost of cutting through rocks is avoided. Due to
increased length , ruling gradients can be suitably adjusted.

4) Geology Of Hill slopes:

Cutting through solid hard rocks is very expensive. The alignments of roads may
be suitably deviated to avoid such areas.

5) Tunnels:
Drilling of tunnels is very expensive. The long tunnels need ventilation as well as
lighting arrangements. As far as possible, tunnels should be avoided and
restored to only if other auitable alternative is not possible.

6) Valleys:

While deciding the alignment for crossing a river valley, due consideration should
be given to avoid construction of a number of bridges on its atributaries.

7) Geometric Standards:
The alignments of the hill roads should be selected on the hill slopes which easily
provide recommended geometric standards i.e.gradients, curve , sight distances.
Hair pin bends on roads should be avoided and if found necessary these should
be on gentle, stable and slopes. To have proper geometric standards, it might be
necessary to change alignment at number of places.

8) Camping Sites:
At inetermittent distance, the alignment of the hill road should pass through
gentle slopes where suitable camping sites could be developed for military in
case of necessity.

9) Stability Of hill slopes:

While deciding the alignment of hill roads, it should be ensured that the slopes
are stable and not very steep. The area is not prone to land slides and
settlements. This factor is of special importance in hills having sedimentary
rocks.