DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

1 HIGHWAY ENGINEERING I (CENG 3182)

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
1.1 Highway Planning
1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
1.3 Requirement of Highway Alignment
1.4 Factors Contributing for Highway Route Selection
1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
1.6 Surface Modeling
1.7 Highway Drawing and Report Profile
By Haile G. March 2022
 General Introduction to Transportation Planning
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 Transportation systems: [Roadway, Airway, Marine]

 The main Processes in the development of many
transportation projects are -Planning- Design- Construction-
Operation- Maintenance
 The process of Transportation Planning is useful for
 Describing the effects of a proposed transportation alternative
 Explaining the benefits to the traveler of a new transportation
system and its impacts on the community.

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 Introduction
3

Road Vs Highway definitions

 Road is a way used for travelling between places, usually surfaced
with asphalt or concrete modern roads, both rural and urban, are
designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions
 Highway is a main, direct public road, especially a multi-lane, high
speed thoroughfare connecting major population centers.
Highway Vs Freeway definitions
 Highway is a road that is built by the government and placed
higher to the neighboring topography that usually connects the two
cities and termed as a major public road.
 Freeways are controlled and limited-access roads with no
intersections and tolls. It can be a part of a Highway with two or
more lanes on each side.

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 Introduction
4

 An ideal and most desirable roadway is one that generally

follows the existing natural alignment of the land.
 This is the most economical highway to construct, but the
geometric designer should consider an adjustment in both the
vertical and horizontal directions to make safe and
confortable drive, optimize construction, maintenance and
operation costs and to reduce accident rate.

 The optimal final alignment will be that in which the best

balance between grade and curvature is achieved.
 Terrain has a considerable influence in the in the final choice
of alignment.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 Introduction

History of roads…

• Roads are one of the

transportation
infrastructures constructed
for land transport as to
make easy movement of
people and goods by
• Foot
• Animals,
• Animal driven carts, and
• Motorized vehicles.

Source: https://www.geotech.hr/en/ancient-roman-roads-a-
History of Roads <<<---- monument-to-history-and-road-construction/
---->>> History of human Civilization
 Introduction

History of roads
• The earliest large scale road
construction is attributed to Romans
who constructed as extended
system of roads radiating from
Rome.
• At the peak of Rome's
development, no fewer than 29
great military highways radiated
from the capital, and the late
Empire's 113 provinces were
interconnected by 372 great roads.
• The whole comprised more than
400,000 kilometers of roads, of
Figure: View of the major Roman Roads – “All roads lead to Rome”
which over 80,500 kilometers were
stone-paved. Source: https://www.geotech.hr/en/ancient-roman-roads-a-
monument-to-history-and-road-construction/
Introduction

History of roads in Ethiopia

During Italy invasion 2010 RSDP
(1936-41) 1997 2020
I to IV

Up to 6400 km all weather roads all weather roads

26,550 km 138, 127km

• Increased accessibility
• Increased mobility and
• Increased interconnectivity
• Increased social, economic, and political integrity
 Introduction
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AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 Introduction
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AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 Introduction
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AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 Introduction
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Purpose and Type of Roads

Types of roads based on pavement structures
1. Earth roads: when very low traffic and if soil is trafficable
2. Gravel roads: constructed by spreading gravels over well-
prepared sub grade, and gives service in all seasons(may require
re-graveling at end of rainy season
 For roads with low to medium traffic
 As a stage construction for Higher standard roads
3. Paved roads: are roads with surfacing
materials with cement or bitumen as a
binding agents. Paved roads broadly
classified as flexible pavement (i.e
Asphalt concrete surfacing material),
Rigid pavement (Portland cement
concrete slab as surfacing material) and
semi-rigid (composite) pavement
 Introduction
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Purpose and Type of Roads…

Roads are
 Designed geometrically to have sufficient functional

capacity for the specified design period.

 Designed structurally to carry vehicular load and

environmental impacts such as thermal stress, etc

 Drainage structures are also designed hydraulically
and structurally. As per the design, they should be
constructed to safely collect and dispose off the
rainfall storm or stream floods.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.1 Highway planning
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HIGHWAY PLANNING
 Highway planning involves the planning, design, construction,
operation, and maintenance of roads, bridges, and tunnels to
ensure safe and effective transportation of people and goods.
SIGNIFICANCE OF HIGHWAY PLANNING
 The significance are,
 To provide safe, efficient, economic, compartable and speedy moment
of people and goods
 To plan for expected features development and social needs to fix
update wise properties for development of each road link based on
utility
 To optimise the usage of roads with available resources

 To work out financing system

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.1 Highway planning
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General objectives of Highway Planning

 A highway should be safe and secure.
 The highway develop must be efficient, but at a minimum cost,
especially in cases of developing and underdeveloped countries.

 Following are the objects or purposes of highway planning.

1. To provide a most suitable type of road, of maximum
length, with the available funds.
2. To plan road system for future requirements by
constructing new roads and improving the existing ones.
3. To prepare a plan in such a way that traffic operations
are carried out efficiently and safely on the highways.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.1 Highway planning
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 Following are the objects or purposes of highway planning.

4. To create awareness of unforeseen events, conditions,
changed policies and other current developments.
5. Highway planning helps fix priorities of roads. If all the
required roads cannot be constructed, the most
important should be constructed first with the available
fund and within the plan period.
6. To phase the road development programme from
financial considerations.

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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 Route Selection
Corridor Definition and Identification
ERA(2013) defines a route corridor as the length and width of an area of terrain that
needs to be studied in order to be able to identify route options within it
 It is the 1st step in the selection of routes for new roads, but is also relevant to
road realignment where it is required as part of an alignment upgrade for road
improvement schemes.
 As far as decision-making is concerned for new roads, there are essentially four
steps(ERA,2013):
1. Project identification
2. Selection of the corridor
3. Identification of route options within the corridor
4. Selection of the preferred route option

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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1. Corridor Definition and Identification

 The data resources available for identifying a corridor are:
 Existing topographic and other specialized mapping, including those for
national parks and other protected areas.
• Satellite imagery
• Site reconnaissance
• Local information
• Federal government and regional development plans.
 The outcome of this corridor identification process is:
 The definition of the start and end points of the project corridor
 The identification of any other defined intermediate control points (e.g. towns and
villages) through which various route options are required to pass
 The definition of any constraints (topographical, environmental or
administrative) that might dictate where route options cannot be located.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Route Definition and Identification of Options

 According to ERA(2013), Route options are defined as approximate
alignments within the route corridor that are compared in order to select the
preferred route.
 The ‘footprint’ of each route option should be defined sufficiently to allow its
feasibility (engineering, social and environmental) and approximate cost to
be assessed taking into account the topography and geometric constraints. In
addition to intermediate towns and other nodal points to be connected, other
control points may occur as a result of geographical considerations (e.g. Bridge
which is a major river crossing point or a tunnel that will serve as a mountain
pass).
 ERA(2013): “The road(route) should be as direct as possible (within the bounds of
the geometric standards for the particular class of road) between the cities, towns
or villages to be linked, thereby minimizing road user transport costs and probably
minimizing construction and maintenance costs as well.”
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Route Definition and Identification of Options….

 Ordinarily, the order of activity for route option identification is:
 Locate the control points through which route options must pass, such as
towns or villages and road network interchanges, where applicable
 Identify topographical and environmental constraints that control route
options, such as low points in mountain terrain in order to minimize rise and
fall, or sites of environmental protection through which route options cannot
pass
 Identify the most suitable locations for major river crossings or fan crossings
 Once these constraints and controls are satisfied, identify three initial route
options from topographical maps or suitable satellite imagery, plus broad
consideration of environmental, engineering geological and hydrological
factor
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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In order to select the best route ,we should take in to account the factors
affecting alignment and apply the following principle and procedure:

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Evaluating route alternatives

Use preliminary alignments to perform

• Economic evaluation(Cost-benefit Analysis)
• Environmental evaluation (Env`tal Impact Analysis i.e. EIA
 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Evaluating Route Alternatives…

 Alternative -1

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Evaluating Route Alternatives…

 Alternative -2

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Evaluating Route Alternatives…

 Alternative -3

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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 The three alternatives and Preliminary Surveys

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Criteria to evaluate the most feasible routes

 Design standards
 Minimum design standards (max permissible gradient, etc ) are
normally fixed prior to the survey and any one of the feasible
routes that economically fits in these standards would be feasible
 Grading and Earthwork
 Grading is a function if ruggedness of terrain and routes
following contour is cheaper
 The type of material encountered is another factor in the cost of
earthwork. Excavation of Hard Rock might need blasting and
thus expensive!!

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Criteria to evaluate the most feasible routes

 Foundation Conditions
 Complete foundation study is not done during
Reconnaissance, but the presence of Marshy and bogy
areas are unsuitable
 Geological Conditions
 Related to stability of side slopes, good quality and
quantity of construction materials near site
 Drainage
 Likely surface & sub-surface drainage problems, type
and number of drainage structures
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Criteria to evaluate the most feasible routes…

 Right of Way
 Acquisition of land for the location of a transportation
system may cost much; shifting the alignment a little may
reduce the cost considerably
 Effect on Population
 Services offering the nearby population, its effect on the
development of the community – schools, churches,
public buildings, etc, undesirable effects such as
pollution, etc
 Traffic Characteristics
 How best will a route fit with traffic requirements of the
areaAASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Criteria to evaluate the most feasible routes…

 Maintenance Costs
 An extraordinary maintenance cost (land-slide, etc),
and user costs from inconveniency due to closure of
the facility due to maintenance problems
 To select the best route among alternatives, conduct
multi-criteria analysis which combine the above
mentioned and others different considerations. This
analysis requires weighting factors and scores for each
criteria. (see next slide).
 The best route is the one having high overall scores and it
will be selected for final location surveys.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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To evaluate route options ERA(2013) proposed Multi-criteria Analysis which uses weighting factors that are shown in the Table below.

Single Carriageway
Primary Dual carriage Trunk Single Carriageway Collector
Criteria (DC8) link (DC4) (DC3)
Characteristic (secondary criteria) Max Score Max Score Max Score
Road length(km) 9 6 5
Terrain 5 4 3
Total earthwork cost (Birrx10^6) 4 4 3
Total pavement cost (Birrx10^6) 3 3 3
Engineering Culverts and Bridges cost (birrx10^6) 4 4 3
Availability of construction materials(**G/M/P) 4 3 3
Presence of geo-hazards 4 6 5
Maintenance cost (Birrx10^6) 7 5 5
Sub-total 40 35 30
Community Access (G/M/P) 1 3 6
Development potential (G/M/P) 3 3 3
Public transport (**G/M/P) 2 4 5
Resettlement (*F/I/M) 3 4 4
Social Severance (*F/I/M) 3 2 2
Cultural Heritage (F/I/M) 4 4 4
Road safety (**G/M/P) 3 3 3
Pollution (****L/M/H) 1 2 3
Sub-total 20 25 30
Environmental 20 20 20
Environmental Sub-total 20 20 20
Viability (G/M/P) 7 7 7
Economic Road user benefits (G/M/P) 3 3 3
Sub-total 10 10 10
Sustainability(G/M/P) 5 5 5
Administrative Strategic Impact (G/M/P) 5 5 5
Sub-total 10 10 10
Total Score 100 100 100
 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Highway Alignment
Definition: The position or the layout of the centre line of the highway on the ground
is called the alignment.
 It consists of:-
 Horizontal alignment consists of straight paths (tangents) and horizontal
curves
 Centerline (CL) alignment : horizontal alignment drawn to be the
center line of the highway. CL alignment determines the amount of cut
and fill, cross-section details, drainage design, construction costs and
environmental impacts.
 Offset alignments: Horizontal alignments drawn at any offset distance
from CL alignment

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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Highway Alignment
 It consists of:-
 Vertical alignment consists of tangents (grades) and vertical
curves of the highway.
 It is usually designed following the preparation of profile of
the highway along the centerline.
 Once the road is aligned and constructed, it is not easy to change
the alignment due to increase in cost of adjoining land and
construction of costly structures by the road side.

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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 Highway Alignment
 The position or the layout of the centre line of the
highway on the ground is called the alignment.

 Centerline determines the amount of cut and fill, cross-

section details, drainage design, construction costs and
societal & environmental impacts

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

1.2 Highway Route Selection and Alignment
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 Highway Alignment
Improper alignment would increase;
 Construction cost
 Land acquisition cost
 Maintenance cost
 Vehicle operation cost
 Accident rate

 Once the road is aligned and constructed, it is not easy to change the

alignment due to increase in cost of adjoining land and construction of

costly structures by the road side.
 Hence careful considerations is needed while finalising the alignment

of a new road.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.3. Requirement of Highway Alignment
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Requirements of an ideal alignment between two terminals include:

1. Short:
 The alignment should be short so as to make the road project
economical.
 To meet this requirement, the alignment should be as straight as
possible.
2.Easy
 Easy to construct
 Easy to maintain
 Easy for operation with easy grades and curves
3. Economical
 The alignment should be economical in its cost of construction,
maintenance and traffic operations.
 1.3. Requirement of Highway Alignment
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Requirements of an ideal alignment between two terminals

include:
4. Safe
 Safe enough for construction and maintenance from the view point of
stability of natural slopes, embankments, cut slopes, and foundations
 Safe for traffic operations with ease geometric features such as
sharpness of curves, grades, side slopes and etc.
5. Utility
 The alignment should be such that it would offer maximum utility by
serving maximum population and products.
6. Natural Aspects
 The alignment should have good natural aspect.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.3. Requirement of Highway Alignment
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Special considerations on Hilly Roads

 Slope Stability
 a common problem in hill roads is land slide. Special care should be taken to choose the
side that is more stable
 Drainage
 Numerous hill-side drains to adequately drain the water across the road should be
provided
 But, attempts should be made to align the road where the number of cross-drainage
structures are minimized
 Geometry
 Different standards of grades, curves, sight distances, speeds and other related features
are followed in hill roads
 Resisting Length also called critical length of grade
 The resisting length should be kept as low as possible. Thus, the ineffective rise and
excessive fall should be kept minimum

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.3. Requirement of Highway Alignment
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Factors controlling alignment

A. Obligatory points
B. Traffic
C. Geometric design
D. Economics
E. Other considerations

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.3. Requirement of Highway Alignment
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Factors Controlling Highway Alignment

A. Obligatory Points
 Points through which the alignment is to pass
 Chosen Bridge Site,
 Intermediate town to be accessed between the termini,
 a mountain pass(tunnel), etc.

 Points which should be avoided

 National parks, reserved forest
 Areas requiring costly structures,
 highly developed expensive areas(b/c high compensation costs),
 Cultural or religious places as well as Cemeteries (Public moral)
 marshes and low lying lands subject to flooding,
 hilly terrain where there is a possibility of land slides, etc.
 1.3. Requirement of Highway Alignment
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Factors Controlling Highway Alignment

B. Traffic (Travel demand)

 The alignment should suit the traffic requirements
 Present and future travel patterns should be observed & forecasted
 Traffic “Desire line” should be drawn showing path of traffic flow
C. Geometric Constraints
 Design factors such as max. gradient, minimum radius of curve, minimum
available sight distance, maximum allowable super-elevation, etc. should be
within the limits of allowable design values which are governed by the
expected traffic speed
 1.3. Requirement of Highway Alignment
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Factors Controlling Highway Alignment

D. Economy
 Total transportation cost including initial construction
cost, maintenance cost, and operation cost
 Example : Deep cuttings, high embankments, no. of bridges that need to
be constructed, etc. increases the initial cost of construction.
E. Other considerations
 Drainage considerations
 Hydrological factors
 Political considerations
 Monotony: consistency in terms of design standards, etc
1.4 Factors Contributing for Highway Route Selection
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 Two of the most important considerations in selecting the route for a proposed
highway are

1. The physical features of the area; that include

 Topography,
 Ground (soil) conditions, and
 Surrounding land use.
 Right of way
 Any possible environmental impacts posed by construction of a new highway
must also be considered.
 First, the highway designer reviews topographic, geologic and soil maps as
well as available aerial photographs of the area.
2. How these features relate to the geometric design controls.
 Design standards

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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 Before a highway alignment is finalized in highway

project, the engineering survey are to be carried out.
 The various stages of engineering surveys are:

1. Map study (Provisional alignment Identification).

2. Reconnaissance survey.
3. Preliminary survey.
4. Final location and detailed surveys.

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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1. MAP STUDY
 From the map, alternative routes can be suggested in the
office, if the topographic map of that area is available.
The probable alignment can be located on the map from
the fallowing details available on the map.
1. Avoiding valleys, ponds or lake
2. Avoiding bend of river
3. If road has to cross a row of hills, possibility of
crossing through mountain pass.
 Map study gives a rough guidance of the routes to be
further surveyed in the field.

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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2. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY:
1. To confirm features indicated on map.
2. To examine the general character of the area in
field for deciding the most feasible routes for
detailed studies.
3. A survey party may inspect along the proposed
alternative routes of the map in the field with very
simple instrument like abney level, tangent
clinometer, barometric…. To collect additional
details.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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2. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY:
A. 1st phase of Reconnaissance: Desk Study
 Involves an examination of a relatively large area between
terminal points for the purpose of determining a broad
corridors through which a road alignment may pass
 Usually such survey is made by the use of available
maps(Topographical map, Geological map, agricultural soil
maps, natural resource maps) and Aerial Photographs
(stereoscopy)
 Identify several feasible routes on the map
 Avoiding valleys, ponds, etc.;
 Avoiding river bends where bridges should not be located;
 Keeping in view of geometric standards (e.g. avoiding steep
topographies, etc)
 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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2. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY:
 Factors to be considered:
 Terrain & soil conditions
 Availability of construction materials & water
 Serviceability to industrial & population areas
 Intersections with other transportation facilities
o Rivers, railroads, other highways
 Directness of route
 Establish control points, if any
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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2. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY:
B. 2nd phase of Reconnaissance: Field Study thus do site visit.
The following team members may participate
 Highway Engineer: Gather data and identify constraints for the pavement and geometric design
of the road project.
 Surveyor: Identify the extent of surveying required, and carry out preliminary surveying.
 Geologist/Material Engineer: investigate soil property of subgrade and search for construction
materials
 Hydrologist: Gather climatic data and assess the catchment area properties upstream of bridge
locations
 Environmentalist/sociologist: study the +ve/-ve environmental impact of the project and
related social issues
 Structural Engineer: for the structural design of hydraulic structures such as bridges and culverts
 Local Authorities
AASTU representative: To support,
Department of Civil guide and share
Engineering 2022 the public opinion as well as
political direction
1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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2. RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY:
B. 2nd phase of Reconnaissance: Field Study thus do site visit …
 Involves inspection of each band (identified during the desk study) to
determine the most feasible route based on some basic criteria.
 A survey party inspects a fairly broad stretch of land along the proposed
routes identified on the map during the 1st phase and collects all
relevant details not available on the map
Eg.- valley, ponds, lakes, marshy land, ridge, hills, permanent structures, & other
obstructions (probable gradients and curves are established)
- sources of construction materials, water and location stone quarries

 A rapid field study of the area, especially, when it is vast and the
terrain is difficult may be done by aerial survey

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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3. PRELIMINARY SURVEYS
 Consists of running an accurate traverse line along the routes already
recommended as a result of reconnaissance survey in order to obtain
sufficient data for final location.
 Objectives of preliminary survey are:
 To survey the various alternative alignments proposed after the reconnaissance and
to collect all the necessary physical information and detail of topography, drainage
and soil.
 To compare the different proposals in view of the requirements of the good
alignment.
 To estimate quantity of earthwork materials and other construction aspect and to
work out the cost of the alternate proposals
 To finalize the best alignment from all considerations

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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3. PRELIMINARY SURVEYS
Methods of preliminary survey:
 Modern: Aerial Survey – using photo interpretation techniques,
information on topography, soil, geology, etc. can be obtained.
This also includes computer graphics- GIS and others.
 Conventional: a survey party carries out surveys using the
require field equipment taking measurements, collecting
topographical and other data and carrying out soil survey . It
involves Ground Survey by equipment such as theodolites, levels,
and EDM (Total stations).
 Other studies: Drainage, Hydrological survey, soil survey, Traffic and
Material survey

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022

1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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3. PRELIMINARY SURVEYS
 Conventional Method
 Establishing primary Traverse following the line recommended in the
reconnaissance survey
 Record all topographical features
 Levelling work: to determine the Centre Line, Profile & Typical Cross-
sections (just sufficient to approximate earthwork)
 Hydrological Data: to estimate type, number, & size of cross-drainage
structures, and the grade line is decided based on the hydrological and
drainage data
 Soil Survey: the suitability of proposed alignment is to be finally decided
based on the soil survey data. The soil survey at this stage helps to workout
details of earthwork, slopes, suitability of materials, sub-soil and surface
drainage requirements, pavement type and approximate thickness
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
requirements
 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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3. PRELIMINARY SURVEYS
Guidelines for Horizontal alignment:
 Meet existing controls points

 Avoid major terrain problems and use some of the tips provided in Design guides Design guides.
 Follow the terrain contours on hilly/ mountainous areas
 Meet travel pattern and other demands

Guidelines for Vertical alignment:

• Meet existing controls points
• Follow the terrain elevation profile (longitudinal X-section of the ground along the proposed alignment
• Balance earthwork
• Other considerations such as depressed or elevated roads
 Various trial alignment should be taken
 For each route/alignment`s survey data should be collected and analyzed.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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4. Final location and detailed surveys.

 At the end, Finalise the best alignment from all considerations by
comparative analysis of alternative routes.
 The alignment finalized at the design office after the
preliminary survey is to be first located on the field by
establishing the centerline
Purpose
 To fix the centre line of the selected alignment and collect
additional data for the design and preparation of working
drawings. If extensive data is collected earlier the survey work
here might be limited.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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4. Final location and detailed surveys.

 Location survey:
1. Transferring the alignment on to ground.
2. This is done by transit theodolite.
3. Major and minor control points are established on the
ground and centre pegs are driven, checking the
geometric design requirements.
4. Centre lines tacks are driven at suitable intervals, say
50m interval in plane and rolling terrains and 20m in hilly
terrain.
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.5 Engineering Survey for Highway
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 Tasks include:
1. Pegging the centre line: usually done at stations established at 20m
intervals with reference to preliminary traverse/ base line (if used
earlier) or a control survey (if aerial survey was used).
2. Centre-line Levelling: at the stations and at intermediate points
between stations where there is a significant change in the slope to
obtain the representative profile of the ground
3. Cross-section Levelling: at each station (!) and at points with
significant change in ground slope
4. Intersecting Roads: the directions of the centre line of all
intersecting roads, profiles, and cross-sections for some distance on
both sides
5. Ditches and Streams: horizontal alignment, profile, and cross section
levelling of the banks of the stream/river
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.6 Surface Modeling
57

 Surface Modeling Concept

 Surface Modeling is a program designed to generate a topographic map.
 This map is generated from physical features of the original ground
surface points and their respective elevation and plan view feature line for
proposed design.
 Flow line for ditches, building outlines, walls and edges of roads or water
are a few examples of these features.
 To create a topographic map the conventional way, a ruler and calculator
are used to interpolate between points and feature lines to distinguish
where the contour lines for a specified contour interval would lie.
 Once these contour lines are established contour lines are drawn to best
represent the site.
 Miscellaneous feature lines, contours annotations and spot elevations are
then placed in CAD graphic.
 Depending upon size of project, work that would have taken days or
weeks to do by hand can now be done in minutes with surface modeling.
 1.7 Highway Drawing and Report Profile
58

 The data, after the necessary investigation and final

location survey, is sent to the design office to be used
for
 geometric design, pavement design, and design of drainage and other
structures, preparation of drawings, reports, and specifications
Drawings
 A complete sets of drawings for a road design includes:
 Site plan of proposed alignment
 Detailed Plan & Profile
 Cross-sections for Earth work
 Typical Roadway sections at selected locations (e.g. junctions)
 A mass-haul diagram
 Construction details of structures like bridges, culverts, ….
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 1.7 Highway Drawing and Report Profile
59

Reports
1. The report shall include (but not limited to) the following :
2. Project defined with start and end points with any intermediate \towns, villages
if any. The project location, Terrain condition, climate and administrative
condition shall be included.
3. The designed geometric parameters such as length, road standard, number of
bridges and rivers to be crossed with defined stations, etc.
4. Available construction materials and locations in study area
5. Geotechnical investigation and findings if any
6. Engineering Cost Estimates
7. Conclusions and Recommendation
8. Print of Final Drawings and others
AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022
 Reflective Questions
60

1. Explain briefly the route selection processes that are required to

be carried out for a new road
2. Explain highway users` costs
3. What are control points? Give examples
4. Why it is required to engage the local community and
administration during feasibility study of a road project?

AASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2022