DESIGNING CRITERIA

OF HIGHWAY AND
RAILWAYS
CE103-1
HIGHWAY AND RAILROAD ENGINEERING
 DESIGNING THE HIGHWAY
NUMBER OF HIGHWAY ROAD
CLEAR ZONE CURBS
LANES MEDIAN SHOULDER

SIDEWALKS
HIGHWAY FREEWAY RAILROAD –
AND
CROSS SLOPE INTERSECTION ENTRANCE AND HIGHWAY
PEDESTRIAN
AND GRADE EXIT SEPARATION
PATHS

WIDENING OF TYPES OF
BICYCLE LANE ISLAND
CURVES INTERCHANGE
 Number
of Lanes
• The number of lanes in a segment of the
highway is determined from the
estimated traffic volume for the design
year and highway lane capacity at
expected level of service.
• AASHTO policies accept a dually divided
16 lanes roadway with 4 lanes in each
direction and 4 lanes more on the
outside
Highway Median
Highway Median
1. Effective means of reducing headlight glares, conflicts, and accident between
opposing streams of traffic
2. The median offers refuge between opposing traffic stream of cross traffic, and
pedestrian could traverse each stream at separate maneuvers
3. Median provides available space for left turns
4. It makes turning of vehicles smooth and safe operation
5. Where space and cost permit, wide median is highly recommended For rural sections
of freeway, the 18-27 meters wide median is being adopted
6. The policy on geometric design states that; 3.00 to 9.00 meters median width is
appropriate in suburban or mountainous situations.
7. For rural and urban arterials, 18.00 meters median or wider is preferred because it
allows the use of independent profiles and at the same time minimizes cross over
accident.
Highway Median
8. Medians with 6-18 meters wide allow drivers to cross each roadway
separately. A 4.20-6.60 meters median width provides protection for
turning vehicles.
9. Curved Median with 1.2-1.8 meters width serves as partition –
separation of opposite traffic control devices
10. The width of a traversable median should be wide enough to prevent
vehicles running out of control from reaching the opposite traffic.
11. The 15-24 meters distance between landed edges is favored, but specific
value is not stipulated.
12. Cross Slope of the median should not be greater than 6:1 but preferably
10:1
13. Dense planting of rose hedges serves as safety crash barriers.
 For narrow median, there are 4 means of
reducing cross median accidents

1 2 3 4
Provide deterring devices. Provide non-traversable Provide non-traversable Provide G.M. barriers
energy absorbing barriers. rigid barriers.
Deterring Devices

2sets of double strip painted

on the existing pavement,
raised diagonal bars, low
curbing and shallow ditches.
Non-Traversable
Energy Absorbing
Devices

The line chain link fence

1meter high supported by
steel post augmented by
cables at the bottom and
midpoint
Non-Traversable Rigid Barriers
- metal guard rail
G.M. A high non-mountain sloped face concrete barriers called New
Jersey. It is cast or extruded in place or pre-cast in selection and

Barriers
set in position by crance.
 • Road shoulder or verge is defined as
that portion of the roadway
between the edge of the traffic lane

ROAD and the edge of the ditch, gutter,

curb or side slope.

SHOULDER • AASHTO requires that its usable

pavement width shall be strong
enough to support vehicles.
Shoulders increase safety and highway capacity
and provide a place for pedestrians and bicyclists
when no sidewalks are provided.
Importance of road Shoulder
1. serve as a place to stop when disabled or for
some other purposed.
2. the road capacity will be decreased, and car
accident may be increased.
3. It must also continuous along full length of
the roadway. It also add structural strength to
the road pavement.
4. increase the horizontal sight distance on
curves. And it reduce the accident potential
when the vehicle stop during emergencies.
GRAVEL SURFACE SHOULDER PAVED SURFACE SHOULDER
 GRASS SURFACE SHOULDER
Shoulder widths typically vary from as little as 0.6 m (2 ft) on minor

CONCRETE SURFACE SHOULDER rural roads, where there is no surfacing, to about 3.6 m (12 ft) on
major highways, where the entire shoulder may be stabilized or paved.
 Use of paved
shoulder, asphalt
curbing, and closed
drainage system
along a rural minor
arterial.
Road shoulder

The uniform Traffic

Most of the road shoulders in
Control Device Manual
rural areas are unpaved
provides that:
having width of 60 to 120
centimeters wide either earth • “all inter-town or city highways
shall be provided with edge line
filled or graveled surface that and may be used on other
during rainy days, drivers are classes of roads.”
hesitant to occupy.
Road shoulder

A continuous white line strip at the

edge of the roadway that separates
the shoulder, serves as guide to
drivers during bad weather and
poor.
Policy on Geometric Design
Recommended that:
Shoulder should be paved for at least 3.00 or 3.60 meters wide if truck volume is
more that 250 in the hour (ADT)

2. Recommended width of left (median) shoulder is 1.20 to 2.40 meters with at least
1.20 meters paved.

3. If there are 6 or more lanes , the median shoulder should be 3.00 meters wide or
3.60 meters if truck volume in the design hour exceeds 250.

4. For arterials with ADT less than 400 the usable shoulder width is fixed at 1.20
meters minimum, although 3.60 meters is recommended.

5. When design hour volume ADT exceeds 400, the usable minimum shoulder 2.40
meters although 3.60 meters is recommended.
Policy on Geometric Design
Recommended that:
6. For Urban Arterial Road, similar shoulder without curb is suggested unless needed
for proposed drainage.

7. The width of median shoulder on four lanes divided arterials is fixed at 90

centimeters as minimum.

8. For six or more lanes, 2.40 to 3.00 meters shoulder width is recommended.

9. For rural Collectors Roadway, 60 centimeters wide graded shoulder is required for
ADT’s less than 400.

10. For ADT’s over 2000, 2.40 meters wide shoulder is recommended.
Clear Zones
"...the unobstructed, relatively
flat area provided beyond the edge of
the traveled way for the recovery of
errant vehicles.“

wide shoulders, shoulder rumble strips, a

guardrail, and a relatively wide clear
zone
 Curbs
Used primarily in urban and suburban environments,
curbs can serve some or all the following functions:
• Drainage control
• Roadway edge delineation
• Right of way reduction
• Aesthetics
• Delineation of pedestrian walkways
Curb, gutter, and storm drain • Reduction of maintenance operations
• Assistance in roadside development
There are basically two types of
curbs: barrier and mountable.
Barrier type curbs are not
recommended for projects with
design speeds above 65 km/h (40
mph).

Curbs can be constructed from a variety of materials,

including concrete, asphalt, and cut stone.
Sidewalks and • secondary consideration in the design of roadways
Pedestrian Paths • reduction in pedestrian accidents
The wider the sidewalk, the more room there is for street furniture, trees, utilities, and
pedestrians. (Alexandria, VA)
Cross Slope
• Is provided in all tangent sections of the roadway.
• Slope usually falls in both directions from the centerline of the two lane highway
except where super elevation of curves directs all water towards the inside.
• For high type pavement, the crown or slope is often 1% to 2%
CROSS SLOPE
• Steeper slopes are strongly
recommended because
rainwater, flow away more
rapidly reducing the water
thickness on the road pavement.
• A cross slope in one direction of
multi lane highways makes
driving comfortable, but with
heavy rainfall, the water depth
increases on the roadway.
Highway Intersection
and Grade

• All highway intersections

except freeways, have grade.
• part of connecting roads.
• crossing and turning
movement occur.
 INTERSECT ION
1. For right angle intersections with little traffic, the use of street sign is more than
sufficient.
2. For Y intersection or other related conformation where vehicles meet at unfavorable
angles may require channelization.
3. The flared design will involve the following:
➢Widening the entering traffic lane to allow deceleration of the car and clear of through
traffic.
➢Widening the leaving lanes to provide acceleration and merging from the traffic streams.
4. Intersections must accommodate large trucks, and the radius of all curves must be
sufficient to accommodate them.
FOUR LEG INTERSECTIONS
 Flow characteristics of vehicles, and the driver’s
behavior near on and off the channel

Freeway A single lane on ramp vehicle flows into the outer

continuing freeway lane.

Entrance
and Exit The design is either a taper blending into the through
lane or an auxiliary lane parallel to the through lane.

Sufficient length is required to allow the vehicles to

accelerate and merge into the ongoing vehicle stream at
a speed near that of the freeway.
Freeway Entrance and Exit
• Vehicles leaving the freeway need distance to
accelerate and clear of the flow of ongoing
traffic.
• In situation where one lane could not meet
the traffic demand, two lane exits is
necessary.
• In that situation, an auxiliary lane must be
added to the freeway at least 800 meters
before the point of exit.
• Even with one lane exit, an auxiliary lane is
necessary for it reduces confusions and
congestions.
Railroad – Highway
Separation
• Vertical clearance height, the railroad
requires a minimum of 7.00 meters as
against 4.80 meters clear distance above
the highway.
• If the highway goes under the railroad,
special provision is required for the
removal of rainwater that falls within the
opposing area.
Bicycle Lane
• Bicycle use is now becoming popular due to energy
crisis and traffic problems.
• It requires separate from the vehicular traffic.
• The design speed is 20 to 30 kilometers per hour
for flat section.
• The width is 2.00 meters minimum for a 2-way
travel.
• The grade of the lane is 5% maximum on short
distance
 WIDENING OF
CURVES
A provision for a wider roadway is necessary on sharp
curve for two lanes pavement under the following reasons:
1. To force the drivers to shy away from the pavement
edge.
2. To increase the effective transverse vehicle width for
non- tracking of front and rear wheels.
3. To give additional width due to the slanted position of
the front wheel to the roadway center.
4. For a 7.20 meters wide roadway, an additional width
of 30 centimeters is necessary on an open curve
highway.
Compound circular curve of different Reverse circular curves are seldom
radii is considered as poor design. used on modern highway.
 AASHTO recommends that the
radius of the flatter curve for
rural highways should never
be more than 50 % greater
than that of the sharper one.

Reverse curves that are provided with proper length easements between
them are acceptable.
Island
• defined area between
traffic lanes for control of
vehicle movement and for
pedestrian refuge.
• median is considered as
an island (within an
intersection).
ISLAND
Island is included in the design of intersections for the
following purposes:
• Separation of vehicular flows.
• Separation of conflicts.
• Reduction in excessive pavement areas.
• Reduction of traffic and indications of proper use of intersections.
• Arrangement to favor a prominent turning movement.
• Location of traffic control devices.
ISLAND
• By channelization, the angle or route between intersecting streams of
traffic can be smooth and favorable.
• Drivers are commanded to merge into moving traffic streams at flat angle
and right speed being controlled over vehicles approaching an intersection.
• When cross traffic meets at flat angle, a right angle at 75 degrees to 105
degrees is most favorable giving the driver that opportunity to assess or
calculate the position and speed of oncoming vehicles to prevent collision.
The angle between intersecting streams Prohibited turns may be prevented.
of traffic can be smooth and favorable.
Speed of vehicles controlled over Funneling vehicles into narrowing opening
approaching intersections. prevent overtaking and passing conflict area.
Refuge provided for turning vehicles. Drivers commanded to merge into
moving traffic streams.
Types of Interchange
Types of Interchange
Types of Interchange
Types of Interchange
 end
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