TOPIC:- HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT IN HILLY AREAS

CIV204

NAME:-HARKAMAL SINGH
REG.NO:-10801881
ROLL.NO:-RB5803B51
CONTENTS
• HIGHWAY ALLIGNMENT

• REQUIRMENTS
• HILL ROADS-ENVIORNMENTAL CONCERNS

• DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HILL ROADS

• DRAINAGE

• MAJOR ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

• PROTECTIVE MEASURES AND CONCLUSIONS

• REFRENCES
HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT

The position or the layout of the central line of the highway on the ground is called
the alignment. Horizontal alignment includes straight and curved paths. Vertical
alignment includes level and gradients. Alignment decision is important because a
bad alignment will enhance the construction, maintenance and vehicle operating
costs. Once an alignment is _xed and constructed, it is not easy to change it due to
increase in cost of adjoining land and construction of costly structures by the
roadside.
And

Highway engineering is the process of design and construction of efficient and safe
highways and roads. It became prominent in the 20th century and has its roots in
the discipline of civil engineering. Standards of highway engineering are
continuously being improved. Concepts such as grade, surface texture, sight
distance and radii of horizontal bends and vertical slopes in relation to design
speed and in addition to road junction design (intersections and interchanges) are
all important elements of highway engineering. Most developed nations have
extensive highway networks.
We have seen the requirements of an alignment. But it is not always possible to
satisfy all these requirements.
Hence we have to make a judicial choice considering all the factors.
The various factors that control the alignment are as follows:
_ Obligatory points: These are the control points governing the highway
alignment. These points are
classi_ed into two categories.
Points through which it should pass and points through which it should not
pass. Some of the examples are:
{ bridge site: The bridge can be located only where the river has straight and
permanent path and also where the abutment and pier can be strongly founded. The
road approach to the bridge should not be curved and skew crossing should be
avoided as possible. Thus to locate a bridge the highway alignment may be
changed. { mountain: While the alignment passes through a mountain, the various
alternatives are to either construct a tunnel or to go round the hills. The suitability
of the alternative depends on factors like topography, site conditions and
construction and operation cost.
{ intermediate town: The alignment may be slightly deviated to connect an
intermediate town or
village nearby.
These were some of the obligatory points through which the alignment should
pass. Coming to the second category, that is the points through which the
alignment should not pass are: { religious places: These have been protected by the
law from being acquired for any purpose. Therefore, these points should be
avoided while aligning. { very costly structures: Acquiring such structures means
heavy compensation which would result in an increase in initial cost. So the
alignment may be deviated not to pass through that point.
{ lakes/ponds etc: The presence of a lake or pond on the alignment path would also
necessitate deviation of the alignment. _ Tra_c: The alignment should suit the tra_c
requirements. Based on the origin-destination data of the area, the desire lines
should be drawn. The new alignment should be drawn keeping in view the desire
lines, tra_c ow pattern etc.

_ Geometric design: Geometric design factors such as gradient, radius of curve,

sight distance etc. also govern the alignment of the highway. To keep the radius of
curve minimum, it may be required to change the alignment. The alignments
should be _nalized such that the obstructions to visibility do not restrict the
minimum requirements of sight distance. The design standards vary with the class
of road and the terrain and accordingly the highway should be aligned.
REQUIRNMENTS

Special consideration for hilly areas Alignment through hilly areas is slightly
di_erent from aligning through a at terrain. For the purpose of e_cient and safe
operation of vehicles through a hilly terrain special care should be taken while
aligning the highway. Some of the special considerations for highway alignment
through a hilly terrain is discussed below.

• _ Stability of the slopes: for hilly areas, the road should be aligned through
the side of the hill that is Stable . The common problem with hilly areas is
that of landslides. Excessive cutting and _lling for road constructions give
way to steepening of slopes which in turn will a_ect the stability.

• _ Hill side drainage: Adequate drainage facility should be provided across

the road. Attempts should be made to align the roads in such a way where
the number of cross drainage structures required are minimum.

• This will reduce the construction cost._ Special geometric standards: The
geometric standards followed in hilly areas are di_erent from those in at
terrain. The alignment chosen should enable the ruling gradient to be
attained in minimum of the length, minimizing steep gradient, hairpin bends
and needless rise and fall. _ Ine_ective rise and fall : E_orts should be made
to keep the ine_ective rise and excessive fall minimum.
HILL ROADS – ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

• Hills are of great importance to the country. Traditionally, hills have

served as the sentinels guarding the country and checking invasion. They
are endowed with great forest wealth and a variety of wild life. They are
the sources of water in the major river systems of the country, sustaining
large population and agricultural activity. The hill regions usually exhibit
a variety of climatic, geological and ecological characteristics and
because of their unique character, hill roads require special attention in
planning, design, construction and maintenance.

• India has a long experience of constructing hill roads. Based on the

expertise available, the Indian Roads Congress brought out a standard
(IRC: 52) on Alignment, Survey and Geometric Design of Hill Roads in
1973, which has been revised twice. The IRC had also organized a
Seminar on Hill Roads at Nainital in July, 1985 wherein several
Technical Papers from eminent professionals on seven Themes, viz.,
Survey and alignment of roads in hilly regions; Environmental
considerations in selection of alignment of roads in hilly regions; Design
of hill roads including retaining structures; Construction and maintenance
of hilly roads including use of modem equipment and snow clearance of
roads; Landslide problems and road drainage practices and Water
crossings in hilly regions were presented and discussed. The Seminar was
aimed to focus attention of highway engineers on various problems
connected with the selection of alignment and adoption of design
standards, construction specifications and maintenance strategies on hill
roads, to stress the need to preserve eco-system in the hilly region when
constructing roads. Besides Proceedings, some important Papers on
design, construction and maintenance of Hill roads, presented during the
Seminar have also been published. Another Special Publication,
'IRC:SP:48 Hill Road Manual' was brought out by IRC in 1998 which
also covers the issue of ecology and environment.
• When aligning new roads, some simple precautions, such as, avoidance
of unstable terrain having deep blanket of loose soil and boulders
susceptible to seepage and water saturation, selection of mild slopes in
preference to steep slopes, avoidance of forest land as far as possible,
avoidance of landslide prone locations, selection of alignment causing
least disturbance to the natural drainage courses, etc: should be taken into
account. Tunnels, though costly, provide eco-friendly solution, besides
reducing the travel length.

• While designing hill roads, special considerations, such as, balanced cut
and fill with a retaining wall, use of reinforced soil to minimize
earthwork and provision of adequate erosion control measures should be
considered.

• During construction, the drainage arrangement should proceed side by

side with the earthwork; retaining walls wherever required should be
constructed before hill cutting so that cut soil can be used as back fill;
cross fall should be on hill side to control runoff over valley side;
replantation should be resorted and young plants should be protected by
fencing; and use of emulsions should be encouraged to minimize use of
wood for heating.
• As massive programme of widening the existing roads to 4/6 lanes and
providing connectivity to villages have been launched by the
Government of India and a large proportion of proposed roads pass
through hilly areas, there is an urgent need to provide due consideration
for preserving the ecological balance. Cutting of hillsides and felling of
forests on hill faces, which are necessary concomitants to any
developmental activity, have disturbed such balance and sometimes
brought disaster in its wake. Large and rapid developmental activities
may cause alarming degradation and depletion of natural resources
resulting in ecological imbalances. Therefore, while planning and
constructing roads, the conservation of forests and ecological balance
should be maintained. Similarly, planning of important roads through
potential landslide zones should be avoided.

• The Government of Uttaranchal has established a Disaster Mitigation and

Management Centre (DMMC) which is preparing a comprehensive
database on areas prone to earthquake, landslides, flash floods, road
accidents, etc. using remote sensing and GPS techniques to map the
landslide zones, etc. which may prove to be helpful in planning of new
road alignment and also in mitigating the problem on existing road
network. Similarly, soil-nailing techniques are being evolved for control
of erosion. Use of gabion walls in place of conventional reinforced
concrete or masonry structures also provide eco-friendly solution.
Considering its importance and special significance to the State of
Uttaranchal a few technical presentations on control of erosion and
landslides on hill roads have been planned during the forthcoming mid-
term Council meeting of IRC scheduled for the l2th May, 2004 at
Nainital. Some of the Technical Papers are published in this issue of
Indian Highways for the benefit of IRC members at large.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HILL ROADS
PRECIPICE WORK

If the rock strata slopes downward into the hillside,the rock is permitted to
overhang the road forming a half tunnel.blasting is done either from face or from
one or both sides.if strata is inclined towards the hill slope,cutting is continued
until the inner slope ia at safe angle to prevent slipping.in such a case,blasting and
cutting is commenced from top.if the rock is soft or loosely stratified,the cutting is
commenced at point on hillside far above ther formation level for obtaining enough
batter for inner slope.blowing out the cliff face by firing large mines and then
dreesing the slope,is another alternative.in actual consideration,there is graet
difficulty in removing rock exactly to the required levels and grade.unless special
care is taken,balsting may be slighltly short of requirements or it can be
overblasting.during blasting,the drain on hill side is formed.blasted stones are used
for retaining walls,backfiiling,high retaining walls and aprons etc.

When boring is not practicable,a light roadway may be carried on timber cradles
suspended by means of wire cables from jumpers driven ar the top of the cliff,.the
bearer of the cradle should tilt upwards;otherwise when the cradle draws away
from the face of the cliff;the surface will slope outwards and become dangerous.

RETAINING WALLS
These walls are most important structure in hill road construction to provide
adequate staibility to the roadways and to the slope.retainig walls are constructed
on the valley side of the roadway and also on the cut hill side to prevent land slide
towards the roadway.
DRAINAGE

Road Geometrics Longitudinal Gradient

 Flatter slopes both longitudinal and transverse slow down the flow of rain water
over the oadway and decrease the drainage capacity.
 For better internal drainage of pavement layers, especially of granular material,
a slight longitudinal gradient is most preferable.
 A minimum longitudinal drainage gradient is most preferable
 A minimum longitudinal drainage gradient of 0.3% is adequate.
Pavement Cross Slope/ Camber

 In geometric design pavement cross-fall or camber could be made to slope

either on one side or on both sides with a crown in the middle of the road
pavement.
 On hill roads preference generally is to drain the carriageway water towards the
hill side particularly where the road banking is susceptible to erosion so that the
drain on the roadway could carry away the discharge safely to proper outfall.
 Camber should not be less than 1 in 40.

Shoulder Drainage

 The effective method of maintaining the shoulders is to have paved or hard

shoulders instead of earth shoulders
 A common defect in some of the road is occurrence of shoulders at levels
higher than pavement surface. In such situations, during rain - the water on road
surface does not find a free outlet and accumulates on top of it. Such defect where
shoulder blocks the drainage should be rectified.

MAJOR ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

There are a large number of ecological problems associated with road construction
in hilly tribal areas, some of these can be summarized as below:

i) Deforestation: The association between deforestation and slope instability has

been a subject of considerable research. Deforestation brings about erosion and soil
movement is generally accepted, but opinions differ on its impact. So far as
"Creeping" slopes are concerned, greater creep velocities are found in slopes
covered by trees in the region of Queenland (Australia) than in slopes merely
covered by grass in region of rain forests (Brown and Shen, 1975). Prandini et al.
(1977) reported that deforestation leads to loss of mechanical strength imparted by
rock system. Reinforcing power of roots is also demonstrated by the results of in
situ block shear tests, which show that shear strength increases with increase in
root density. At higher altitudes top green layer is very thin and takes hundreds of
years to come. A large number of trees along the roadsides are falling down due to
road construction. Improper road construction results in soil erosion that may lead
to uprooting of large trees and degeneration of lower plants. This way it leads to
serious ecological imbalances affecting adversely run-off factors, temperature
gradient, surface radiation etc. Due to loss of vegetation, the velocity of run-off
also increases that results in soil erosion, hence of soil-fertility.

ii) Disturbance of geological strata:Operations like blasting excavation, chipping

of mountain slopes to come to desired accessibility, are involved during road
construction in hill areas. These operations creates geological disturbance in the
mountain body. The blasting operations set dynamic forces causing the movements
of slip zones, cracks, fissures and weak planes. The geological havoc caused due to
road construction in Kinnaur District in before us. The chronic problems of
landslides at Tranda, Chaurah and Kadhra dhank are a few examples.

iii) Hill face disturbance: Natural inclination of hill face is disturbed by road
cutting operation. Down hill movement of the land slides material and disposal of
excavated mass from road construction degrade and deface the nature. Growth of
vegetation is affected by the loss of topsoil that causes ecological imbalances.

iv) Drainage pattern interruption: Velocity of run-off at the down hills increases
to a very large extent due to construction of bridges and culverts on the road as
well as due to cutting for getting proper communication systems. This leads to
eroding of banks and is a threat to the existence of trees and vegetation on the hill
slopes. Sometimes lakes are formed by accumulation of debris from the excavated
material and land slides. Such lakes formed force the water to flow through some
other way destroying the side by flora e.g. at Nallah on NH = 22, bridge was
washed away thrice in six years because due to debris river was blocked and a
temporary lake was formed. Same story was repeated at Pabbar river in Chhawara
valley (Rohroo) in 1992, where a big lake (2 miles) was formed and about ten
villages were vacated in order to avoid any loss to human life. This lake formed
resulted in a loss of large number natural wealth both flora and fauna. This way
natural drainage pattern of the area is disturbed by road construction, which
sometimes results in flash floods also.

v) Water resources disturbance: Natural water resources get disturbed due to

blasting which is used during road construction activities. Moreover, improper
disposal of fuel, lubricants used in the process contaminates the surface and ground
water.

vi) Siltation problem: A large quantity of excavated material disposed on the down
hill slopes is carried by the river that gets accumulated in the dams and reservoirs
and reduce their life-span e.g. siltation rate of Bhakhra Dam reservoir is very large
which is due to large scale road construction in Sutlej catchment.

vii) Destruction to flora and fauna:Wild life gets disturbed due to blasting,
hauling of machineries, shriveling sound of road rollers and noise of moving
vehicles on the up-gradient. Destruction of key habitats such as resting sites,
hollow trees, feeding and breeding grounds occurs due to road constructions. Some
of the flora and fauna gets destroyed out right due to intrusion into forest for road
construction.
viii) Pollution: Tremendous pollution is created due to accumulation of debris
down hill. Moreover, heating of bitumen through hot mix plants produces a large
number of air pollutants like oxides of sulphur, nitrogen and carbon. Long chain
aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds are also the byproducts of this
heating process, which are having carcinogenic property (Cancer producing) and
special precautions must be taken for protecting the labourers working under such
conditions on the road construction site. Surrounding temperature gets increased
and atmospheric humidity is lowered due to movements of machineries and
vehicles, altering the physiological processes of the plants and thereby affecting
their growth pattern. The alterations in the surrounding conditions causes
interference of micro-organism life in the soil.

ix) Destruction of medicinal wealth:In the hill areas of Himachal Pradesh out of
3000 species of identifies plants, over 500 species possess various kinds of
medicinal properties. Hundreds of plants have ethno botanical importance. There
are about 150 species of aromatic plants used in different kinds of cosmetics and
having different medicinal properties. But due to improper planning in road
construction and processes involved during road construction, the natural wealth
gets destroyed costing crores of rupees in spite of protecting the atmosphere from
pollution.
PROTECTIVE MEASURES
In order to maintain balance between the road construction activities and
environment certain protective measures have to be taken. Some of these measures
are as follows:
i) Environment impact assessment: Before starting the road construction
operation, environmentalists must be consulted in order to avoid any ecological
imbalance.

ii) Geological investigation: A geologist must be incorporated in the road

construction work. Blasting and chipping of mountain slopes must be done under
his instructions in order to avoid any geological havoc.

iii) State of wildlife: During the road construction loss to flora and fauna must be
minimum. It should not be disturbed. An environmentalist must be consulted prior
to road construction work.

iv) Avoidance of unstable and fissureal zones:Roads should not be constructed in

lose soil and where erosion chances are more. In such cases the help of a soil
Engineer must be taken, before starting any such activities.

v) Least disturbance to natural streams and gradients:Natural face of the hill

must be least disturbed while constructing the roads. Only the required land must
be used for the purpose.

vi) Restriction on reserve forests: Road construction activities must be minimum

on reserve forests in order to avoid any disturbance to natural wealth. This will
help in maintaining the ecological balance.

vii) Judicial way of doing work: While cutting and disposing the debris special
care must be taken so that there is no soil erosion and loss to flora and fauna.
viii) Minimum blasting operations: Blasting practice during road construction
must be to the minimum extent in order to avoid any dynamic forces causing
movements of slip zones, cracks, fissures and weak planes.

ix) Half tunneling must be restored:In case of vertical rocky slopes half-tunneling
must be restored.

x) Ropeway technique: In case of less densely thick population ropeway must be

installed instead of going for road construction. This will provide protection to soil
erosion, wild life and environment.

xi) Suitable drainage system: Along the entire side of the road, a suitable drainage
system must be provided so as to avoid any flash flood, soil erosion, damage to
vegetation etc.

xii) Restoration of natural springs and waterways:Natural springs and water

resources must not be disturbed during road construction process, otherwise it will
be a great challenge to the nature.

xii) Rebuilding of environment:

a) On suitable points, places must be provided that may act as scenic spots to
the users.
b) Programme of social forestry must be taken upto the root level. The
wastelands must be garlanded with trees, and valuable herbs and shrubs. The
best example of social forestry is found in china where even single inch of
wasteland is not left without plantation. Debris obtained during road cuttings
must be accumulated at some appropriate place and plantation must be done
on the same. This plantation will help in retaining the natural environment.
c) Plantation must be done along the banks of rivers, nallaha etc. in order to
avoid any further cutting of soil and to protect the water reservoirs and dams
from more siltation.
d) Small water tanks along with the proper drainage system must be
 constructed along the roadsides in order to protect both flora and fauna.
Roadsides must be planted at war-level so as to give the best example of
afforestation.

CONCLUSION
Although road construction in hilly areas causes a huge damage to both flora and
fauna in spite of having adverse effect on environment, but without proper
communication facilities, it is not possible to explore the valuable wealth of such
areas. So a balance must be struck between the road construction and environment
in order to minimize the ecological imbalance. Certain scientific measures must be
taken into account while constructing the roads in hills. The balance between the
two will lead to the prosperity of the region and no hazard to environment will
occur.

REFRENCES

• http://gbpihed.gov.in/envis/HTML/vol82/vo82-kaith.htm

• http://www.nbmcw.com/articles/roads/472-salient-drainage-design-aspects-
for-roads-a-highways.html

• Text book

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canol_Road