MODULE – I

PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

INTRODUCTION

Basic Definition
A facility consisting of the means and equipment necessary for the movement of
passengers or goods. At its most basic, the term “Transportation System” is used to refer to
the equipment and logistics of transporting passengers and goods.

Importance of Transportation
The evolution and advancements in transportation facilities have been closely linked
with the development of human beings throughout the history of the world.
Role of Transportation
Transportation plays a vital role in economic development of any region of any country,
since every commodity produced, whether it may be agricultural or industrial products they
need to be transported at various stages from production to distribution. At production stage
for carrying raw materials and at distribution stage for transportation from farms and factories
to marketing centers to retailers to consumers.
Inadequate transportation facilities retard the process of socio-economic and cultural
development. Development of transportation facilities in a country indicates its economic
growth and progress in social development.
The main objective of a good transportation system is to provide a safe, economical and
efficient transportation facility for passengers and goods.

Economic Activity and Transport

These are the processes in which the products are utilized to satisfy human needs. Two
important factors well known in economic activity are
1) Production or supply
2) Consumption for human needs or demands

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 Social Effects of Transportation
The progress of a nation depends on transportation facilities. The population usually
settles along the transportation routes such as road sides, river shores and railway stations.
However, in the present concept of road network planning the above said kind of ribbon
development is discouraged for the sake of high-speed travel and safety. Attempts are being
made to decentralize the population away from main transportation routes.
To avoid congestion on major cities, suburbs and satellite towns are being developed and are
linked to the major cities with mass rapid transit system.
The various social effects of transportation are
a) Sectionalism and transportation
b) Concentration of population in urban area
c) Aspect of safety, law and order

a) Sectionalism and Transportation

1) Improved transportation has important implication in reducing sectionalism within the country
and also with other countries in the world
2) The living conditions and facilities of under developed colonies and tribes get improved since
the distances are apparently reduced with reduction in travel time.
3) Frequent travel to the other parts of the country and outside the country tend to increase
knowledge of the people by learning from other sections of society which results in improved
trade and cultural exchanges.
4) International understanding for the better peace and order also improves with efficient network
of transportation.

b) Concentration of Population in Urban Areas

1) Improved transportation facilities bring prosperity to the urban population
2) The employment opportunities, prosperity and superior facilities for education, medical care
etc., are available in urban areas attract the population from other areas leading to increased
economic activities
3) Adequate mass transportation facilities are needed to cater for the internal movements for daily
movements and other social needs
4) Effective rapid transportation facilities are needed for suburban and intercity long-distance
travel

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5) Inadequate transportation facilities lead to concentration of population in cities which often
results in congestion and related issues.
6) If adequate facilities are provided people tend to prefer to reside at localities away from urban
centers.

c) Aspect of safety, Law and order

1) Transportation facilities are required for rushing aid to areas affected by an emergency.
2) To maintain law and order and defend the territory of the country against external aggression
and to guard borders with foreign territory transportation facilities are needed.
3) Sometimes defense needs alone are a sufficient reason to develop transportation needs which
may not have any social and economic benefits.

Role of Transportation for the Development of rural areas in India

About 70% of population in India are living in rural areas. Therefore, development in
urban centers alone do not indicate overall development of the country. Only with the
improvements in transportation facilities in rural areas, there could be faster development of
these areas, resulting in overall development of country.

Impacts of rural roads connectivity from rural road development in India

1) Improvements in transportation services leads to improved access to market centers for the
rural producers, better availability of farm inputs at reduced prices.
2) Diversification of agricultural produce with improved market access promotes shift in favor of
cash crops and commercialization of agricultural activities.
3) Diversification of livelihood opportunities with better connectivity enhances employment
opportunity with better connectivity enhances employment opportunities in non-agricultural
sectors.
4) Improved services with improved road connectivity, inter-alia, enhances access to education,
health and financial services.
5) Increase in outreach due to improved rural roads facilities better availability of public services
and functionaries in rural areas.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

DIFFERENT MODES OF TRANSPORTATION
Transportation has developed along three basic modes of transport
a) Land
b) Water
c) Air
Land has given scope for development of transportation by road and rail transport.
Water and air media have developed waterways and airways respectively. The roads or the
highways not only include modern highway system but also includes the urban arterials, city
streets, feeder roads and village roads catering for a wide variety of vehicles and pedestrians.
Railways have been developed both for long distance travel and also urban travel. Waterways
include transportation by oceans, rivers, canals and lakes for the movement of ships and boats.
The airways help in faster transportation by aircrafts and carriers.
Apart from these major modes of transportation, other modes include pipelines,
elevators, belt conveyors, cable cars, aerial ropeways and monorails. Pipe lines are used for the
transportation of water, other fluids and even solid particles
The four major modes of transportation are:
a) Roadways or highways for road transportation
b) Railways for rail transportation
c) Waterways for water transportation
d) Airways for air transportation

ROADWAYS
The transportation by road is the only mode which could give maximum service to one
and all. Road transport mode has the maximum flexibility for travel with reference to choice
of the route, direction, time and speed of travel. This is only mode which caters for the
movement of passengers and goods independently right from the place of origin up to the
destination of any trip along the route. The other three modes (railways; water ways; airways)
have to depend on transportation by road for the service to and from their respective terminals.
Therefore, the roadway essentially serves as a feeder network. It is possible to provide door to
door service by road transport. Ultimately, road network is therefore needed not only to serve
as feeder system for other modes of transportation and to supplement them, but also to provide
independent facility for road travel by a well-planned network of roads throughout the country

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Advantages:
1) Flexibility: It offers complete freedom to the road users.
2) It requires relatively smaller investments and cheaper in construction with respect to
other modes.
3) It serves the whole community alike the other modes.
4) For short distance travel, it saves time.
5) The road network is used by various types of vehicles.
Disadvantages:
1) Speed is related to accidents and more accidents results due to higher speed and is
usually not suitable for long distance travel
2) Power required per tonne is more.

RAILWAYS
The concept of rail transportation is movement of multiple wagons or a train of wagons
passenger’s bogies on two parallel steel rails. The resistance to traction along the railway track
for the movement of steel wheels is much lower than that along more uneven road surface for
the movement of road vehicles with rubber tyres. The transportation along the railway track
could be advantageous by railways between the stations both for the passengers and goods,
particularly for longer distances. The energy requirement to haul unit load through unit distance
by the railway is only a fraction (one fourth to one sixth) of the required by road. Hence, full
advantage of this mode of transportation should be taken for the transportation of bulk goods
along land where the railway facilities are available. The Indian railways is one of the world’s
largest Railway network in the world. It was introduced in 1853 and it is spread over 1,09,221
km covering 6906 stations.

Advantages:
1) Can transport heavy loads of goods at higher speed
2) Power required per tonne is less compared to roadways
3) Chances of accidents are less.
Disadvantages:
1) Entry and exist points are fixed
2) Requires controlling system and no freedom of movement
3) Establishment and maintenance cost is higher

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WATERWAYS
Transportation by water offers minimum resistance to traction and therefore needs
minimum energy to haul unit load through distance. The water transportation is the most energy
efficient but it is the slowest among the four modes. The highest use of this mode is for bulk
cargo of relatively low value. The transportation by water is possible between the ports on the
sea routes or along the rivers or canals where inland transportation facilities are available.
Advantages:
1) Cheapest: Cost per tonne is lowest
2) Possess highest load carrying capacity
3) Leads to the development of the industries.
Disadvantages:
1) Slow in operation and consumes more time and Depends on whether condition
2) Chances of attack by other countries on naval ships are more.
3) Ocean tides affects the loading and unloading operation and the routes are circuitous.

AIRWAYS
The transportation by air is the fastest among the four modes. Air transport provides
more comfortable and fast travel resulting in substantial saving in travel time for the passengers
between the airports. The shipment of high value freight on long hauls is possible in the shortest
time by air transport. Unlike other modes of transport, air transport allows continuous journey
over the land and water, even across inaccessible places in between two airports.
For shorter hauls helicopters are used and they were developed for their landing and
takeoff. Military aviation is also important to meet the defense needs of a country.

Advantages
1) It has highest speed.
2) Intercontinental travel is possible
3) Journey is continuous over land and water
Disadvantages
1) Highest operating cost (cost/tonne is more) and the load carrying capacity is lowest
2) Depends on whether condition
3) Should follow the flight rules.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

CHARACTERISTICS OF ROAD TRANSPORTATION
It is accepted that the fact road transport is the nearest to the people. All classes of road
vehicles consisting of both personal or public transport vehicles and also the pedestrians can
make use of the roadway system. The passengers and goods have to be first transported by road
before reaching a railway station or an airport. The far-flung border areas located in high
altitude and difficult terrains of the country and the remote villages in the under developed
villages could be served by the road network. Road network is very economical and convenient
for short road trips and even some times for longer trips.
The characteristics are of roads are as follows
1) Roads are used by various types of road vehicles like passenger, goods vehicles and
pedestrians. But the rail locomotives and wagons can only make use of the railway
track. The ships and boats can make use of only the waterways and the aircraft’s only
the airports.
2) Road transport infrastructure requires the lowest initial investments in comparison to
that for the infrastructure of other transportation modes. The cost of any class of road
of road vehicle is much lower is much lower than that of other carriers like the railways,
ships and aircrafts. The initial cost of construction and the cost of maintenance of roads
is also lesser than those for railway tracks, harbors and airports.
3) Roads offer complete freedom to the roads to the road user to make use of the roadway
facilities at any time convenient to them or to move the vehicle from a lane of the road
to the adjoining one and from one road to another, according to the need and
convenience.
4) It is possible to travel directly from the respective places of origin to the destination by
road vehicles.
5) Speed of movement is directly related with the severity of accidents. The road safety
decreases with the increasing running speed dispersion in the traffic stream. Road
transport is prone to a high rate of accidents due to the flexibility of movements offer
to the road users. However, in other modes of transport, in spite of various safety
measures and strict controls in the movements, major accidents do occur even in the
form of head on collisions and the accidents in these modes are more severe and
disastrous.
6) Road transport is the only mode that offers the facilities to the whole section of society.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

JAYAKAR COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION

RECOMMENDATIONS
Over a period after the First World War, motor vehicles using the roads increased and
this demanded a better road network which can carry mixed traffic conditions. The existing
roads when not capable to withstand the mixed traffic conditions. For the improvement of roads
in India government of India appointed Mr. Jayakar Committee to study the situations and to
recommend suitable measures for road improvement in 1927 and a report was submitted in
1928 with following recommendations
1) The road development in the country should be considered as a national interest as this
has become beyond the capacity of provincial governments and local bodies.
2) An extra tax should be levied on petrol from the road users to develop a road
development fund called ‘Central Road Fund’
3) A Semi-official technical body should be formed to pool technical know-how from
various parts of the country and to act as an advisory body on various aspects of roads.
4) A research organization should be instituted to carry out research and development
work pertaining to roads and to be available for consultations.

IMPLEMENTATIONS:
Majority of the recommendations were accepted by the government implemented by
Jayakar Committee.
Some of the technical bodies were formed such as,
1) Central Road Fund (CRF) in 1929
2) Indian Road Congress (IRC) in 1934
3) Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) in 1950.

CENTRAL RESEARCH FUND (CRF):

1) Central Research Fund (CRF) was formed on 1st March 1929
2) The consumers of petrol were charged an extra levy of 2.64 paisa/liter of petrol to build
up this road development fund.
3) From the fund collected 20 percent of the annual revenue is to be retained as meeting
expenses on the administration of the road fund, road experiments and research on road
and bridge projects of special importance.
4) The balance 80 percent of the fund to be allotted by the Central Government to the

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 various states based on actual petrol consumption or revenue collected
5) The accounts of the CRF are maintained by the Accountant General of Central
Revenues.
6) The control of the expenditure is exercised by the Roads Wings of Ministry of
Transport.

INDIAN ROAD CONGRESS (IRC):

1) It is a semi-official technical body formed in 1934. It was formed to recommend
standard specifications.
2) It was constituted to provide a forum of regular technical pooling of experience and
ideas on all matters affecting the planning, construction and maintenance of roads in
India.
3) IRC has played an important role in the formulation of the 20-year road development
plans in India.
4) Now, it has become an active body of national importance controlling specifications,
guidelines and other special publications on various aspect of Highway Engineering.

CENTRAL ROAD RESEARCH INSTITUTE (CRRI):

1) CRRI was formed in the year 1950 at New Delhi
2) It was formed for research in various aspect of highway engineering
3) It is one of the National laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research.
4) This institute is mainly engaged in applied research and offers technical advice to state
governments and the industries on various problems concerning roads.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING
INTRODUCTION
Highway design is only one element in the overall highway development process.
Historically, detailed design occurs in the middle of the process, linking the preceding phases
of planning and project development with the subsequent phases of right-of-way acquisition,
construction, and maintenance. While these are distinct activities, there is considerable overlap
in terms of coordination among the various disciplines that work together, including designers,
throughout the process.
It is during the first three stages, planning, project development, and design, that
designers and communities, working together, can have the greatest impact on the final design
features of the project. In fact, the flexibility available for highway design during the detailed
design phase is limited a great deal by the decisions made at the earlier stages of planning and
project development. This Guide begins with a description of the overall highway planning and
development process to illustrate when these decisions are made and how they affect the
ultimate design of a facility.

Planning

Project Development

Final Design

Right of Way

Construction

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Objectives of Highway Planning
Planning if considered as pre-requisite before attempting any development program in
the present era. Highway planning is of great importance when funds available are limited
whereas the total planning is of great importance when the funds are limited whereas the total
requirement is much higher. The objectives are as follows
a) To plan the overall road network for efficient and safe traffic operations, but at
minimum cost. Here the costs of construction, maintenance and resurfacing or
strengthening of pavement layers and vehicle operation costs are taken into
consideration.
b) To arrive at the road system and the lengths of different categories of roads which could
provide maximum utility and could be constructed within the available resources during
the plan period under construction
c) To divide the overall plan into phases and to decide priorities.
d) To fix up date wise priorities for development of each road link based on utility as the
main criterion for phasing the road development program.
e) To plan for the future requirements and improvements of roads in view of anticipated
developments.
f) To work out suitable financing systems
Phases of Highway Planning
Highway planning includes the following phases
• Assessment of road length requirement for an area.
• Preparation of masterplan showing the phasing of plan in five year plans or annual
plans.

MEANING OF HIGHWAY AND ROAD

Road: A road is a thoroughfare, route or way on land between two places, which typically has
been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart,
or motor vehicle.
Highway: A highway is a public road, especially a major road connecting two or more
destinations. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway
system", a "highway network", or a "highway transportation system". Each country has its own
national highway system.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS

Types of Roads
Basically, different types of roads can be classified into two categories namely,
a) All-weather roads and
b) Fair-weather roads.

All-weather roads: These roads are negotiable during all weather, except at major river
crossings where interruption of traffic is permissible up to a certain limit extent, the road
pavement should be negotiable during all weathers.
Fair-weather roads: On these roads, the traffic may be interrupted during monsoon season at
causeways where streams may overflow across the roads.

a) Based on the Carriage Way

• Paved Roads: These are the roads which have a hard pavement surface on the
carriage way
• Unpaved Roads: These are the roads without the hard pavement surface on
the carriage way, usually they are earthen or gravel roads.

b) Based on Surface Pavement Provided,

• Surface Roads: These roads are provided with any type of bituminous or
cement concrete surfacing.
• Unsurfaced Roads: These roads are not provided with a bituminous or cement
concrete surfacing.
Roads which are provided with bituminous surfacing are called as Black Toped Roads and
that of concrete are referred to as Concrete Roads respectively
Methods of Classification of Roads
The roads are generally classified based on the following
a) Traffic Volume
b) Load transported of tonnage
c) Location and function
a) Based on Traffic Volume: The classification based on traffic volume or tonnage have
been arbitrarily fixed by different agencies and are classified as
• Heavy
• Medium
• Light traffic roads

b) Based on Load transported or tonnage:

• Class-I or Class-A
• Class-II or Class-B.

c) Based on location and Function:

The Nagpur Road Plan classified the roads in India into the following categories
1) National Highways (NH): The NH connects the capital cities of the states and the
capital cities to the port. The roads connecting the neighboring countries are also called
as NH. The NH are at least 2 lanes of traffic about 7.5m d wide. The NH are having
concrete or bituminous surfacing.
2) State Highways (SH): SH are the main roads within the state and connect important
towns and cities of state. The width of state highways is generally 7.5m.
3) Major District Roads (MDR): These roads connect the areas of production and
markets with either a SH or railway. The MDR should have at least metaled single lane
carriage way (i.e., 3.8m) wide. The roads carry mixed traffic.
4) Other District Roads (ODR): these roads connect the village to other village or the
nearest district road, with ghat, river etc. these roads have a single lane and carry mixed
traffic.
5) Village Roads (VR): these roads, like other district roads, connect the village or village
or nearby district road. The roads carry mixed traffic.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

odified Classification of Road System by Third Road Development Plan
The road classification system was modified in the third 20-year development plan. The
roads are now classified into three classes and are as follows
1. Primary System
• Expressways
• National Highways (NH)
2. Secondary System
• State Highways (SH)
• Major District Roads (MDR)
3. Tertiary System
• Other District Roads (ODR)
• Village Roads

Classification of Urban Roads

The road system within urban areas are classified as Urban Roads and will form a
separate category of roads taken care by respective urban authorities. The lengths of urban
roads are not included in the targets of the 3rd 20-year road development plan 1981-2001.
a) Arterial roads
b) Sub-arterial roads
c) Collector Streets
d) Local Streets
• Arterial and Sub-arterial roads are primarily for through traffic on a continuous route,
but sub-arterials have a lower level of traffic mobility than the arterials.
• Collector streets provide access to arterial streets and they collect and distribute traffic
from and to local streets which provide access to abutting property.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

ROAD PATTERNS
There are various types of road patterns and each pattern has its own advantages and
limitations. The choice of the road pattern depends upon the various factors such as:
• Locality
• Layout of the different towns, villages, industrial and production centers.
• Planning Engineer.
The various road patterns may be classified as follows:
1) Rectangular or block pattern: In this, entire area is divided into rectangular segments
having a common central business and marketing area. This area has all the services
located in the central place. This pattern is not convenient or safe from traffic operation
point of view and it results into more number of accidents at intersections. E.g.:
Chandigarh city.

2) Radial or star and block pattern: In this, roads radially emerge from the central
business area in all directions and between two built-up area will be there. The main
advantage in this, central place is easy accessible from all the directions. E.g.: Nagpur

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

 3) Radial or star and circular pattern: In this road radiate in all the directions and also
circular ring roads are provided.
Advantages: Traffic will not touch the heart of the city and it flows radially and reaches the
other radial road and thereby reducing the congestion in the center of the city. This ring road
system is well suited for big cities where traffic problems are more in the heart of the city. E.g.:
Connaught place in New Delhi.

4) Radial or star and grid pattern: It is very much similar to star and the circular pattern
expects the radial roads are connected by grids. In this pattern, a grid is formed around
the central point which is a business center. E.g. Nagpur road plan.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

5) Hexagonal pattern: In this entire zone of planning is divided into hexagonal zones
having separate marketing zone and central services surrounded by hexagonal pattern
of roads. Each hexagonal element is independent. At each corner of hexagon three roads
meet.

6) Minimum travel pattern: In this type, city is divided into number of nodal points
around a central portion by forming sectors. And each sector is divided again in such a
way that from each of the nodal center, the distance to the central place is minimum.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

PLANNING SURVEYS
The studies for collecting the factual data for highway planning are known as ‘Fact
Finding Studies’ or ‘Planning Surveys’. The fact-finding studies point to an intelligent
approach for planning and these studies should be carried if the highway programme is to be
protected from inconsistent and short-sighted policies. Planning based on the factual data and
analysis may be considered scientific and sound.
Objectives of Planning Surveys:
• Workout, the financial system and recommended changes in tax arrangements and
budget procedures, provide efficient, safe economics, comfortable and speedy
movement for goods and people.
• Plan a road network for efficient traffic operation at minimum cost.
• Plan for future requirements and improvements of roads in view of developments and
social needs.
• Fix up data wise priorities for development of each road link based on their utilities.

The planning surveys consist of the following studies:

a) Economic Studies
The details to be collected during the economic studies are useful in estimation of the
requirements, cost involved for the proposed highway improvement programme and economic
justification.
This study consists the following details:
a) Population and its distribution
b) Trend of population growth
c) Age and land products
d) Existing facilities
e) Per Capita income.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

 b) Financial Studies
The financial studies are essential to study the various financial aspects such as sources
of income, various types of revenues from duties and taxes on products, road transport, vehicle
registration, court fees etc. and the future trends. This study involves collecting the details such
as:
a) Sources of income
b) Living Standards
c) Resources from local levels
d) Factor trends in financial.

c) Traffic or Road Use Studies

All the details of the existing traffic, such as classified traffic volume, growth rate of different
vehicle classes, pattern of flow or origin destination characteristics, particulars of passenger
trips and goods movements, existing facilities for mass transportation, trend in road accidents,
accidents costs etc. The detail collected are as follows
a) Classified traffic volume in vehicles per day, annual average daily traffic, peak and
design hourly volume
b) Origin and destination studies based on home interview method
c) Traffic flow pattern
d) Mass transportation facilities
e) Accidents, their causes and cost analysis
f) Future trend and growth in traffic volume and goods traffic, trend in traffic pattern
g) Growth of passenger trips and the trend in the choice of modes

d) Engineering Studies
All the details of the topography, soil and drainage characteristics, alignment of the existing
roads, deficiencies in drainage, alignments and geometrics of existing roads and requirements
of essential upgradation, identification of maintenance and problems etc.,
This involves:
a) Topographic study and Soil details
b) Location and classification of existing roads

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 c) Assessment of various other developments in the area that are likely due to the proposed
highway development
d) Road life studies
e) Specific problems in drainage constructions and maintenance.

PREPARATION OF PLANS
The details collected during the planning surveys are tabulated and plotted on the maps of the
area under planning. Before finalizing the alignment and other details of the road development
program, the information collected during the fact-finding studies are presented in the form of
various plans. They are as follows
Plan-1: General area plan showing most of the existing details about the topographical details
related to existing road network, drainage, structures, towns and villages with population,
agricultural, industrial and commercial activities.
Plan-2: Plan showing the distribution of population groups in accordance with the categories
made in appropriate plan.
Plan-3: Plan showing the locations of places with their respective quantities of productivity.
Plan-4: Should indicate the existing network of roads and proposals received.
Ultimately, the Master plan is the one to be implemented.

MASTER PLAN
Master plan is referred to as road development plan of a city; district or a street or for
whole country. It is an ideal plan showing full development of the area at some future date. It
serves as the guide for the plan to improve some of the existing roads and to plan the network
of new roads.
It helps in controlling the industrial, commercial and agricultural and habitat growth in
a systematic way of that area. It gives a perceptive picture of a fully developed area in a plan
and scientific way.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

Stages in the preparation of master plan:
• Data Collection: It includes data regarding existing land use, industrial and agricultural
growth, population, traffic flow, topography, future trends.
• Preparation of draft plan and invite suggestions and comments from public
• Revision of draft plan in view of the discussions and comments from experts and public.
• Comparison of various alternate proposals of road system and finding out the sequence
in which the master plan will be implemented.
In India, targeted road lengths were fixed in various road plans, based on population,
area and agricultural and industrial products. The same way it may be taken as a guide
to decide the total length of road system in each alternate proposal while preparing a
master plan for a town or locality.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

SATURATION SYSTEM
In this system optimum road length is calculated for an area based on the concept of
attaining maximum utility per unit length of the road. This is also called as MAXIMUM
UTILITY SYSTEM.
Factors to attain maximum utility per unit length are:
a) Population served by the road network
b) Productivity served by the network
• Agricultural Products
• Industrial Products
The various steps to be taken to obtain maximum utility per unit length are:
1) Population factors or units: Since, the area under consideration consists of villages
and towns with different population these are grouped into some convenient population
range and some reasoning values of utility units to each range of population serve are
assigned.
a) Population less than 500, utility unit = 0.25
b) 501 to 1001, utility unit = 0.50
c) 1001 to 2000, utility unit = 1.00
d) 2001 to 5000, utility unit = 2.00 etc.
2) Productivity Factors or units: The total agricultural and industrial products served by
each road system are worked out and the productivity served may be assigned
appropriate values of utility units per unit weight.
3) Optimum Road length: Based on the master plan the targeted road length is fixed for
the country on the basis of area or population and production or both. And the same
may be taken as a guide to decide the total length of the road system in each proposal.

Problems in Class Notes

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

PHASING ROAD DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
The first attempt for proper planning of the highway development programme in India
on a long-term basis was made at the Nagpur Conference in 1943. After the completion of the
Nagpur Road Plan targets, the Second Twenty year Plan was drawn for the period 1961- 1981.
The Third Twenty Year Road Development Plan for the period 1981-2001 was approved only
by the year 1984.
The fourth 20-year road development plan of the country for the period 2001 – 2021
has not yet been approved as an official plan document, instead ‘Roads Development Vision:
2021’ has been formulated.
First 20-Year Road Plan (Nagpur Road plan)
This plan was formed in the year 1943 at Nagpur and plan period was from 1943- 1963.Two
plan formulae were finalized at the Nagpur Conference for deciding two categories of road
length for the country as a whole as well as for individual areas (like district). This was the first
attempt for highway planning in India. The two plan formulae assumed the Star and Grid
pattern of road network. Hence, the two formulae are also called “Star and Grid Formulae”.
Salient Features of Nagpur Road Plan
All the roads were classified into 5 categories namely
1) National Highways (NH)
2) State Highways (SH)
3) Major District Roads (MDR)
4) Other District Roads (ODR)
5) Village Roads (VR)
Two plan formulas were suggested for deciding the length of two categories of roads as given
below
Category – 1: Surfaced or metaled roads meant for NH/SH/MDR
Category – 2: Unsurfaced roads meant for ODR/VR
Nagpur road plan aimed at achieving a modest average road density of 16km per km2 area.
Second Twenty Year Road Plan (Bombay Road Plan):
As the target road length of Nagpur road plan was completed nearly earlier in 1961 a
long-term plan was initiated for twenty-year period which was initiated by IRC. Hence, the
second twenty year road plan came into picture which was drawn for the period of 1961-81.
The second twenty year road plan was envisaged overall road length of 10, 57,330 km by the
year 1981.
Salient Features of Second 20-year Road Plan:

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

 • Every town with population above 2000 in plains should be connected by a bituminous
road or metaled road, above 1000 in semi-hilly area above 500 in hilly area
• 1600 km length of expressways was proposed.
• Development allowance is 5% only
• Length of railway track was not deducted.
• Five equations are given to find NH/SH/MDR/ODR/VR.

Third Twenty Year Road Plan (Lucknow Road Plan):

The Third twenty year road plan was prepared by the Road Wing of the Ministry of
Shipping and Transport with the active co-operation from a number of organizations and the
experts in the field of Highway Engineering and Transportation. This document was released
during the 45th Annual Session and the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Indian Road
Congress in February 1985 at Lucknow. Therefore, this plan for 1981-2001 is also called as
‘Lucknow Road Plan’.

Salient Features of Second 20-year Road Plan

• The future road development should be based on the revised classification of road
system consisting of Primary, secondary and tertiary systems.
• The road network should be developed so as to preserve the rural oriented economy and
to develop small to towns with all the facilities. All the villages with population above
500 should be connected with all-weather roads by the end of the century.
• The overall road density should be increased to 82 km per 100 sq. km area by the year
2001 and 40km for hill areas of altitude up to 2100m and 15km for altitude over 2100m.
• The NH network should be expanded to form square grids of 100km sides so that no
part of the country in more than 50km away from a NH
• The length of SH and MDR required should be decided based on the areas and no. of
towns with population above 5000 in the state or region.
• Expressway should be constructed along the major traffic corridors to provide fast
travel.
• All the towns and villages with population above 1500 should be connected by MDR
and villages with population 1000 to 1500 by ODR. There should be road within a
distance of 3km in plain and 5km in hilly terrain connecting the villages with population
less than 500.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

 • Roads should be built in less industrialized areas to attract the growth of industries.
• Long term master plans for road development should be prepared at various level i.e.,
taluk, district, state and national level. The road network should be scientifically
decided to provide maximum utility.
• The existing roads should be improved by rectifying the defects in the road geometrics,
widening of the pavements, improving the riding quality of the pavement surface and
strengthening of pavement structure
• There should be improvements in environmental quality and road safety.
Road length by 3rd 20-year road development plan
a) Length of NH – 1km per 50sq. km area.
b) Length of SH
1) By total area – SH, km = Area of the state, sq.km/25
2) By total no of town and area in the state, SH, km =
(62.5 x No towns in the state – area of the state, sq. km)
50
Adopt length of SH (higher of the two criteria)
c) Length of MDR
1) By total area – MDR, km = Area of the state, sq.km/12.5
2) By total no of town and area in the state, MDR, km = 90 x No. of towns in the state.
Adopt length of SH (higher of the two criteria).

*Problems in class notes

PRESENT SCENARIO OF ROAD DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

NATIONAL HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (NHDP)
• Realizing the deficiencies in the National Highway System in the country the National
Highways Authorities of India (NHAI) took up the National Highways Development
Projects (NHDP) by the year 2000 in different phases
• The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is a project to upgrade,
rehabilitate and widen major highways in India to a higher standard.
• The project was started in 1998 under the leadership of then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

 Vajpayee. National Highways account for only about 2% of the total length of roads, but
carry about 40% of the total traffic across the length and breadth of the country.
• This project is managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under
the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways.
• The NHDP represents 49,260 km of roads and highways work and construction in order
to boost economic development of the country.
• The government has planned to end the NHDP program in early 2018 and consume the
ongoing projects under a larger Bharatmala project.

Phase I: Golden Quadrilateral of total length 5846km connecting the 4 major metropolitan
cities. The four sides of the quadrilateral are Delhi – Mumbai, Mumbai – Chennai (Via
Bengaluru), Chennai – Kolkata and Kolkata- Delhi.
Phase II: North-South and East-West corridors comprising national highways connecting four
extreme points of the country. The North–South and East–West Corridor (NS-EW; 7,142 km)
connecting Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari in the south, and Silchar in the east to
Porbandar in the west. Total length of the network is 7,142 km.
Phase III: The government on 12th April, 2007 approved NHDP-III to upgrade 12,109 km
(7,524 mi) of national highways on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, which takes
into account high-density traffic, connectivity of state capitals via NHDP Phase I and II, and
connectivity to centers of economic importance.
Phase IV: The government on 18th June, 2008 approved widening 20,000 km of highway that
were not part of Phase I, II, or III. Phase IV will convert existing single-lane highways into two
lanes with paved shoulders.

Phase V: As road traffic increases over time, a number of four-lane highways will need to be
upgraded/expanded to six lanes. On 5 October, 2006, the government approved for upgrade of
about 5,000 km (3,100 mi) of four-lane roads.
Phase VI: The government is working on constructing 1,000 km (620 mi) expressways that
would connect major commercial and industrial townships. It has already identified 400 km
(250 mi) of Vadodara (earlier Baroda)-Mumbai section that would connect to the existing
Vadodara (earlier Baroda)-Ahmedabad section. The World Bank is studying this project. The
project will be funded on BOT basis. The 334 km (208 mi) Expressway between Chennai—
Bangalore and 277 km (172 mi) Expressway between Kolkata—Dhanbadhas been identified
and feasibility study and DPR contract has been awarded by NHAI.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

Phase VII: This phase calls for improvements to city road networks by adding ring roads to
enable easier connectivity with national highways to important cities. In addition,
improvements will be made to stretches of national highways that require additional flyovers
and bypasses given population and housing growth along the highways and increasing traffic.
The government has planned to invest Rs. 16,680 Cr for this phase. The 19 km (12 mi) long
Chennai Port—Maduravoyal Elevated Expressway is being executed under this phase.

PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA (PMGSY)

• An accelerated village road village road development called Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana was launched by the Govt. of India in Dec 2000 under the guidance of
Ex. Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajapayee to provide villages with all-weather
roads.
• The ministry of Rural Development was given the responsibility to prepare the master
plans in consultation with the State Governments.
• The objective of PMGSY was to provide connectivity to all unconnected habitations
having a population of 500 and above with all-weather roads.
• The above population limit is relaxed in the case of hills, tribal and desert areas of the
country.
• The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a 100% Centrally Sponsored
Scheme. 0.75₹/ litre out of the Cess on High Speed Diesel (HSD) is earmarked for this
Programme.
PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES
1) The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide Connectivity, by way of an All-weather
Road (with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures, which is operable throughout
the year), to the eligible unconnected Habitations in the rural areas with a population of 500
persons and above in Plain areas.
2) In respect of the Hill States (North-East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir
and Uttarakhand), the Desert Areas (as identified in the Desert Development Programme),
the Tribal (Schedule V) areas and Selected Tribal and Backward Districts (as identified by
the Ministry of Home Affairs and Planning Commission).
3) The objective would be to connect eligible unconnected Habitations with a population of
250 persons and above.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

KSHIP

• The Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) is an initiative of

the Public Works Department of the Government of Karnataka for improvement of road
network of the state with World Bank assistance.

• The Public Works Department carried out Strategic Option Study (SOS) during 1996
on a road network of 13,362 km comprising State Highways and Major District Roads
and the study identified 2888 km of roads for prioritized improvements.
• The World Bank have extended Technical Assistance (T.A.) Loan of US $ 3.2 million
for project preparation through the Department of Economic Affairs of Ministry of
Finance, Government of India for taking up the Project Coordinating Consultancy
(PCC) Services to investigate and prepare detailed project report on the 2888 km and
Institutional Development Strategy (IDS) Study.
• With concurrence of the World Bank, M/s. Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick, United Kingdom
were selected and appointed on 07-01-1999 to carryout PCC Services for 2505 km of
roads.
• The PCC Services were divided into Phase I & II. The PCC Consultants carried out
feasibility and social & environmental screening and identified 2271 km for prioritized
improvement. It is proposed to undertake Upgradation of 992 Km and Rehabilitation of
1277 Km.

KRDCL
Karnataka Road Development Corporation (KRDCL) was incorporated on 21st of July 1999
as a wholly owned Government of Karnataka Company as per the Provisions of the Company's
Act, 1956
• KRDCL is a company under the Public Works, Ports & Inland Water Transport
Department. This Company was established to promote surface infrastructure by taking
up Road Works, Bridges etc., and to improve road network by taking up construction
widening and strengthening of roads, construction of bridges, maintenance of roads etc.,
and to take up projects on BOT, BOOT, BOLT.
• Since inception Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited has strived to
improve the road network and to establish connectivity to all the nook & corner of the
State.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi

ROAD DEVELOPMENT PLAN: VISION 2021
• Actual achievement in terms of length of different categories of roads in the country
at the end of the 3rd 20-year road development plan period was compared with the
plan targets.
• It was observed that actual length of NH and SH achieved fell short of plan targets.
The total length of NH achieved was 57,700km as against the target of 66,000km
and that the SH achieved was 1,24,300km as against of 1,45,000km.
• This vision document has considered the need for overall development of road
system in country. The total target length of primary and secondary road system to
be achieved in the country by the year 2020 are given below
• Primary highway system consisting of 15,766km of expressway and 80,000km of
NH
• Secondary road system consisting of 1,60,000 km of SH and 3,20,000km of MDR
• The above document also has given special attention for road development needs in
North-Eastern regions and other isolated areas. In view of rapid growth rate of urban
centres, some suggestion has been made for the development of urban road system
also.
• Tertiary system of rural roads consisting of ODR and VR are to be developed in
order to provide all-weather road connectivity to all the villages of the country in a
phased manner. Considering the importance of this subject, a rural road
development plan document was prepared.
Rural Road Development Plan: Vision 2025
It was developed for the 20-year period of 2005-2025 to provide basic access to villages in
phases:
• Phase – I: Villages with population above 1000
• Phase – II: Villages with population above 500
• Phase – III: Villages with population below 500
Lower population limits were fixed for under developed regions including hills, deserts and
tribal areas.

Highway Engineering – Dr. Punith B Kotagi