Cross Sectional Elements of A Road

Cross Sectional Elements of a Road
Overview:
The features of the cross-section of the pavement influences the life of the pavement as well as the riding comfort and safety. Of these, pavement surface characteristics affect both of these. Camber, kerbs and geometry of various cross-sectional elements are important aspects to be considered in this regard.
Pavement surface characteristics

For safe and comfortable driving four aspects of the pavement surface are important; the friction between the wheels and the pavement surface, smoothness of the road surface, the light reflection characteristics of the top of pavement surface, and drainage to water.
Unevenness
It is always desirable to have an even surface, but it is seldom possible to have such a one. Even if a road is constructed with high quality pavers, it is possible to develop unevenness due to pavement failures. Unevenness affect the vehicle operating cost, speed, riding comfort, safety, fuel consumption and wear and tear of tyres. Unevenness index is a measure of unevenness which is the cumulative measure of vertical undulations of the pavement surface recorded per unit horizontal length of the road. An unevenness index value less than 1500 mm/km is considered as good, a value less than 2500 mm.km is satisfactory up to speed of 100 kmph and values greater than 3200 mm/km is considered as uncomfortable even for 55 kmph.
Light reflection
White roads have good visibility at night, but caused glare during day time. Black roads has no glare during day, but has poor visibility at night Concrete roads has better visibility and less glare It is necessary that the road surface should be visible at night and reflection of light is the factor that answers it.
Drainage
The pavement surface should be absolutely impermeable to prevent seepage of water into the pavement layers. Further, both the geometry and texture of pavement surface should help in draining out the water from the surface in less time.
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Camber (Cross slope)

Camber or cant is the cross slope provided to raise middle of the road surface in the transverse direction to drain off rain water from road surface. The objectives of providing camber are: Surface protection especially for gravel and bituminous roads Sub-grade protection by proper drainage Quick drying of pavement which in turn increases safety Too steep slope is undesirable for it will erode the surface. Camber is measured in 1 in n or n% (Eg. 1 in 50 or 2%) and the value depends on the type of pavement surface. The values suggested by GUIDELINES for various categories of pavement are given in Table 1. Table 1: GUIDELINE Values for camber. Surface Heavy Light Type Rain Rain Concrete/Bituminous 2% 1.7 % Gravel 3% 2.5 % Earthen 4% 3.0 %
Width of carriage way

Width of the carriage way or the width of the pavement depends on the width of the traffic lane and number of lanes. Width of a traffic lane depends on the width of the vehicle and the clearance. Side clearance improves operating speed and safety. The maximum permissible width of a vehicle is 2.44 and the desirable side clearance for single lane traffic is 0.68 m. This require minimum of lane width of 3.75m for a single lane road. However, the side clearance required is about 0.53 m, on either side and 1.06 m in the center. Therefore, a two lane road require minimum of 3.5 meter for each lane.
Kerbs
Kerbs indicate the boundary between the carriage way and the shoulder or islands or footpaths. Low or mountable kerbs : This type of kerbs are provided such that they encourage the traffic to remain in the through traffic lanes and also allow the driver to enter the shoulder area with little difficulty. The height of this kerb is about 10 cm above the pavement edge with a slope which allows the vehicle to climb easily. This is usually provided at medians and channelization schemes and also helps in longitudinal drainage. Semi-barrier type kerbs : When the pedestrian traffic is high, these kerbs are provided. Their height is 15 cm above the pavement edge. This type of kerb prevents encroachment of parking vehicles, but at acute emergency it is possible to drive over this kerb with some difficulty. Page 2
Shoulders
Shoulders are provided along the road edge and are intended for accommodation of stopped vehicles, serve as an emergency lane for vehicles and provide lateral support for base and surface courses. The shoulder should be strong enough to bear the weight of a fully loaded truck even in wet conditions. The shoulder width should be adequate for giving working space around a stopped vehicle. It is desirable to have a width of 4.6 m for the shoulders. A minimum width of 2.5 m is recommended for 2-lane rural highways.
Service roads
Service roads or frontage roads give access to access controlled highways like freeways and expressways. They run parallel to the highway and will be usually isolated by a separator and access to the highway will be provided only at selected points. These roads are provided to avoid congestion in the expressways and also the speed of the traffic in those lanes is not reduced.
Cycle track
Cycle tracks are provided in urban areas when the volume of cycle traffic is high. Minimum width of 2 meter is required, which may be increased by 1 meter for every additional track.
Footpath
Footpaths are exclusive right of way to pedestrians, especially in urban areas. They are provided for the safety of the pedestrians when both the pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic is high. Minimum width is
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1.5 meter and may be increased based on the traffic. The footpath should be either as smooth as the pavement or more smoother than that to induce the pedestrian to use the footpath.
Right of way
Right of way (ROW) or land width is the width of land acquired for the road, along its alignment. It should be adequate to accommodate all the cross-sectional elements of the highway and may reasonably provide for future development. To prevent ribbon development along highways, control lines and building lines may be provided. Control line is a line which represents the nearest limits of future uncontrolled building activity in relation to a road. Building line represents a line on either side of the road, between which and the road no building activity is permitted at all. The right of way width is governed by: Width of formation: It depends on the category of the highway and width of roadway and road margins. Height of embankment or depth of cutting: It is governed by the topography and the vertical alignment. Side slopes of embankment or cutting: It depends on the height of the slope, soil type etc. Drainage system and their size which depends on rainfall, topography etc. Sight distance considerations : On curves etc. there is restriction to the visibility on the inner side of the curve due to the presence of some obstructions like building structures etc. Reserve land for future widening: Some land has to be acquired in advance anticipating future developments like widening of the road.
The importance of reserved land is emphasized by the following. Extra width of land is available for the construction of roadside facilities. Land acquisition is not possible later, because the land may be occupied for various other purposes (buildings, business etc.)
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Cross Sectional Elements of A Road

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Cross Sectional Elements of a Road

Pavement surface characteristics

Camber (Cross slope)

Width of carriage way

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