Module 6 – Torsion Holy Angel University

School of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Civil Engineering

Highway Engineering
Module 1 – History of Highways and its Development

Objective At the end of this module, students will have

A profound understanding in the history of Transportation and Highway Engineering

Content This lecture is focused on the following

Introduction to Highway Engineering
History of Highway Engineering
History of Highway in the Philippines

Activitie During the module, students will perform the graded activities to
measure their progress during the course. Quizzes, seatwork,
s assignment, problem set computations, recitation, and research
work are the examples of such graded activities.

Readings N.J. Garber, L.A. Hoel, 2012, Traffic and Highway Engineering (4th
Edition)

Instructor : Engr. Michael John O. Septimo / Neal Lorenzo P. Castillo Page 1 of 6`

INTRODUCTION TO HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
Road transport is one of the most common mode of transport.
Roads in the form of trackways, human pathways etc. were used
even from the pre-historic times. Since then many experiments
were going on to make the riding safe and comfort. Thus road
construction became an inseparable part of many civilizations
and empires. In this chapter we will see the different generations
of road and their characteristic features. Also we will discuss
about the highway planning in the Philippines.

HISTORY OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

The history of highway engineering gives us an idea about the roads of ancient times. Roads in Rome were
constructed in a large scale and it radiated in many directions helping them in military operations. Thus they
are considered to be pioneers in road construction. In this section we will see in detail about Ancient roads,
Roman roads, British roads, French roads etc.

Roman Roads
British Roads

Ancient Roads French Roads

Ancient Roads

The first mode of transport was by foot. These human pathways would have been developed for specific
purposes leading to camp sites, food, streams for drinking water etc. The next major mode of transport was
the use of animals for transporting both men and materials. Since these loaded animals required more
horizontal and vertical clearances than the walking man, track ways emerged. The invention of wheel in
Mesopotamian civilization led to the development of animal drawn vehicles. Then it became necessary that
the road surface should be capable of carrying greater loads. Thus roads with harder surfaces emerged. To
provide adequate strength to carry the wheels, the new ways tended to follow the sunny drier side of a path.
These have led to the development of foot-paths. 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.

Roman Roads
The earliest large scale road construction is attributed to Romans who constructed an extensive system of
roads radiating in many directions from Rome. They were a remarkable achievement and provided travel
times across. Europe, Asia minor, and north Africa. Romans recognized that the fundamentals of good road
construction were to provide good drainage, good material and good workmanship. Their roads were very
durable, and some are still existing. Roman roads were always constructed on a firm - formed subgrade
strengthened where necessary with wooden piles. The roads were bordered on both sides by longitudinal
drains. The next step was the construction of the agger. This was a raised formation up to a 1 meter high and
15 m wide and was constructed with materials excavated during the side drain construction. This was then
topped with a sand leveling course. The agger contributed greatly to moisture control in the pavement. The
pavement structure on the top of the agger varied greatly. In the case of heavy traffic, a surface course of
large 250 mm thick hexagonal flag stones were provided. A typical cross section of roman road is given in
Figure 2:1 The main features of the Roman roads are that they were built straight regardless of gradient and
used heavy foundation stones at the bottom. They mixed lime and volcanic puzzolana to make mortar and
they added gravel to this mortar to make concrete. Thus concrete was a major Roman road making
innovation.

French Roads
 The next major development in the road construction occurred during the regime of Napoleon. He developed
a cheaper method of construction than the lavish and locally unsuccessful revival of Roman practice. The
pavement used 200 mm pieces of quarried stone of a more compact form and shaped such that they had at
least one flat side which was placed on a compact formation. Smaller pieces of broken stones were then
compacted into the spaces between larger stones to provide a level surface. Finally the running layer was
made with a layer of 25 mm sized broken stone. All this structure was placed in a trench in order to keep the
running surface level with the surrounding country side. This created major drainage problems which were
counteracted by making the surface as impervious as possible, cambering the surface and providing deep side
ditches. He gave much importance for drainage. He also enunciated the necessity for continuous organized
maintenance, instead of intermittent repairs if the roads were to be kept usable all times. For this he divided
the roads between villages into sections of such length that an entire road could be covered by maintenance
men living nearby.

British Roads

The British government also gave importance to road construction. The British engineer John Macadam
introduced what can be considered as the first scientific road construction method. Stone size was an
important element of Macadam recipe. By empirical observation of many roads, he came to realize that 250
mm layers of well compacted broken angular stone would provide the same strength and stiffness and a
better running surface than an expensive pavement founded on large stone blocks. Thus he introduced an
economical method of road construction.

The mechanical interlock between the individual stone pieces provided strength and stiffness to the course.
But the inter particle friction abraded the sharp interlocking faces and partly destroy the effectiveness of the
course. This effect was overcome by introducing good quality interstitial finer material to produce a well-
graded mix. Such mixes also proved less permeable and easier to compact.
Modern Roads

The modern roads by and large follow Macadam’s construction

method. Use of bituminous concrete and cement concrete are
the most important developments. Various advanced and cost-
effective construction technologies are used. Development of
new equipments help in the faster construction of roads. Many
easily and locally available materials are tested in the
laboratories and then implemented on roads for making
economical and durable pavements.

HISTORY OF HIGHWAY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Early 1900s: Transportation is dependent on trails, water ways, railroads, earth roads and partially graveled
roads.
Year 1868: The Bureau of Public Works and Highways were organized under a civil engineer known as
“Director General”
 Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo provided for the creation of four (4) Departments in the government, one of
which was the DEPARTMENT OF WAR AND PUBLIC WORKS.
 its functions as builder and maintainer of roads, bridges and other public works structures
 Department of War (Department of National Defense)

Post World War II: The new and independent government of the Philippines continued the rehabilitation and
construction of roads through reparation and war damages paid by the Japanese government. Other financial
support and aids are provided by the US government for the innovation of roads and bridges. The American
Government were the ones who initiated the development of roadways making connections between towns,
cities and provinces the country.

Year 1898: The public works and activities were placed under the U.S. Army engineers

Year 1902: creation of the Department of Commerce and Police which gave birth to the
◦ Bureau of Engineering (Construction of public works)
 ◦ Bureau of Architecture (Construction of public buildings)

 Need for a more extensive road network that would penetrate the rural areas. In order to achieve that
end, provincial boards were created with authority to collect double cedula taxes to finance the
construction of provincial roads and bridges. In addition, the national government appropriated
P1,700,000 as aid to such constructions.

Year 1910: The first appearance of motor vehicles in the Philippine highways.

 Roads and bridges had to be kept in good condition at all times. Naturally, there was a need for
funds to keep the roads passable the whole year round.

Year 1921: To raise such needed funds, motor vehicles and drivers plying the highways were required to
register with fee
Year 1954: In relation to road and bridge construction and maintenance, the Bureau of Public Highways was
created and placed under the Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications.
 This provided for a more effective management of the Philippine Highways under a Commissioner.
 Active plans & programs were formulated & implemented.

Year 1981: Ministry of Public Works and Highways (MPWH)

 The Ministries of Public Works and Public Highways were merged for a more effective and sustained
implementation of infrastructure projects.

Marcos Era: During his first term as president, he initiated ambitious public works projects on roads, bridges,
schools, health centers, irrigation facilities, and urban beautification projects that improved the quality of life of
Filipinos.

Marcos’ Achievements
 San Juanico Bridge
 Manila North Diversion
 Marcos Highway

Year 1960 – 1980: Automobile Age, cars are no longer a luxury but a necessary in transporting people and
goods. During this decade, roads construction is a matter of priority of the government.

“The nation is on wheels”

Year 1987: Department of Public Works and Highways

 As the primary engineering and construction arm of the government

 They are responsible for the planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructures such
as roads and bridges, flood control systems, water resource development projects and other public
works in accordance with national objectives
 Major highways and expressways were constructed through the financial and loans from foreign
bank.
 But with this improvement, vehicles started clogging the roadways causing various traffic problems.
 In 2007, there were about 5.53 million registered motor vehicles with registration increasing at an
average annual rate of 4.55%