Geometric design For highway design, topography is generally

classified into three groups: level, rolling, and

 deals with the dimensioning of the elements mountainous terrain.
of highways, such as vertical and horizontal
curves, cross sections, truck climbing lanes,  Level terrain is relatively flat. Horizontal and
bicycle paths, and parking facilities. vertical sight distances are generally long or can be
achieved without much construction difficulty or
(AASHTO) - American Association of State Highway major expense.
and Transportation Officials  Rolling terrain has natural slopes that often rise
above and fall below the highway grade with
 serves a critical function in developing occasional steep slopes that restrict the normal
guidelines and standards used in highway vertical and horizontal alignments.
geometric design.  Mountainous terrain has sudden changes in
 AASHTO publication - A Policy on Geometric ground elevation in both the longitudinal and
Design of Highways and Streets provides the transverse directions, thereby requiring frequent
standards for geometric design of highways. hillside excavations to achieve acceptable horizontal
and vertical alignments.
Highway design
DESIGN SPEED
 is based on specified design standards and
controls which depend on the following
roadway system factors: \

Highway Design Standard

 Selection of the appropriate set of geometric

design standards is the first step in the design
of any highway.
 This is essential because no single set of Design vehicle
geometric standards can be used for all
 selected to represent all vehicles on the
highways.
highway. Its weight, dimensions, and operating
 For example, geometric standards that may be characteristics are used to establish the design
suitable for a scenic mountain road with low standards of the highway.
average daily traffic (ADT) are inadequate for a
freeway carrying heavy traffic. Cross-Section Elements
 The characteristics of the highway should  The principal elements of a highway cross
therefore be considered in selecting the section consist of the travel lanes, shoulders,
geometric design standards. and medians (for some multilane highways).
Marginal elements include median and roadside
Design Hourly Volume
barriers, curbs, gutters, guard rails, sidewalks,
 projected hourly volume that is used for design. and side slopes.
This volume is usually taken as a percentage  For Two Lane Highways:
of the expected ADT on the highway

Design speed

 defined as a selected speed to determine the

various geometric features of the roadway.
 Design speed depends on the functional
classification of the highway, the topography of
the area in which the highway is located, and the
land use of the adjacent area.
 For Multi-Lane Highway
Width of Travel Lanes  Curbs are also used to control drainage,
improve aesthetics, and reduce right of way.
 Travel lane widths usually vary from 9 to 12 ft.
Most arterials have 12-ft travel lanes since the  Curbs can be generally classified as either
extra cost for constructing 12-ft lanes over 10-ft vertical or sloping. Vertical curbs, (which may be
lanes is usually offset by the lower maintenance vertical or nearly vertical), range in height from 6
cost for shoulders and pavement sur-face, to 8with steep sides, and are designed to pre-
resulting in a reduction of wheel concentrations at vent vehicles from leaving the highway. Sloping
the pavement edges. On two-lane, two-way rural curbs are designed so that vehicles can cross
roads, lane widths of 10 ft or 11 ft may be used, but them if necessary
two factors must be considered when selecting a
lane width less than 12 ft wide.

 When pavement surfaces are less than 22 ft,

the crash rates for large trucks tend to increase
and, as the lane width is reduced from 12 ft, the
capacity of a highway significantly decreases. Lane
widths of 10 ft are therefore used only on low-
speed facilities. Lanes that are 9 ft wide are used
occasionally in urban areas if traffic volume is low
and there are extreme right-of-way constraints.

Shoulders

 The shoulder of a pavement cross section is

always contiguous with the traveled lane so as Guard Rails
to provide an area along the highway for
vehicles to stop when necessary. In some  Guard rails are longitudinal barriers placed on
cases, bicycles are permitted to use a highway the outside of sharp curves and at sections
shoulder particularly on rural and collector roads. with high fills. Their main function is to prevent
Shoulder surfaces range in width from 2 ft on minor vehicles from leaving the roadway. They are
roads to 12 ft on major arterials. installed at embankments higher than 8 ft and
when shoulder slopes are greater than 4:1.
 used to laterally support the pavement structure.
The shoulder width is known as either graded or  Shapes commonly used include the W beam and
usable, depending on the section of the shoulder the box beam. The weak post system provides for
being considered. the post to collapse on impact, with the rail
deflecting and absorbing the energy due to impact.
 The usable width is the same as the graded width
when the side slope is equal to or flatter than 4:1 Sidewalks
(horizontal: vertical), as the shoulder break is  are usually provided on roads in urban areas,
usually rounded to a width between 4 ft and 6 ft, but are uncommon in rural areas. Nevertheless,
thereby increasing the usable width. the provision of sidewalks in rural areas should be
Medians evaluated during the planning process to
determine sections of the road where they are
 is the section of a divided highway that required.
separates the lanes in opposing directions. The
width of a median is the distance between the Cross Slopes
edges of the inside lanes, including the median  Pavements on straight sections of two-lane
shoulders and multilane highways without medians are
Roadside and Median Barriers sloped from the middle downward to both
sides of the highway, resulting in a transverse
 A median barrier is defined as a longitudinal or cross slope, with a cross section shape that
system used to prevent an errant vehicle can be curved, plane or a combination of the
from crossing the portion of a divided two.
highway separating the traveled ways for traffic
in opposite directions. Side slopes

 Roadside barriers, on the other hand, protect  are provided on embankments and fills to
vehicles from obstacles or slopes on the provide stability for earthworks. They also serve
roadside. They also may be used to shield as a safety feature by providing a recovery area for
pedestrians and property from the traffic stream. out-of-control vehicles.

Curbs and Gutters

 Curbs are raised structures made of either

Portland cement concrete or bituminous
concrete (rolled asphalt curbs) that are used
mainly on urban highways to delineate
pavement edges and pedestrian walkways.
Right of Way

 the total land area acquired for the

construction of a highway. The width should
be sufficient to accommodate all the elements of
the highway cross section, any planned
widening of the highway, and public-utility
facilities that will be installed along the highway.

 In some cases, the side slopes may be located

outside the right of way on easement areas. The
right of way for two-lane urban collector streets
should be between 40 and 60 ft, whereas the
desirable minimum for two-lane arterials is 84 ft.

DESIGN OF ALIGNMENT

 The alignment of a highway is composed of

vertical and horizontal elements. The vertical
alignment includes straight (tangent) highway
grades and the parabolic curves that connect
these grades. The horizontal alignment includes
the straight (tangent) sections of the roadway
and the circular curves that connect their change
in direction.

 The design of the alignment depends primarily

on the design speed selected for the highway.

 It is important that the alignment of a given

section has consistent standards to avoid
sudden changes in the vertical and horizontal
layout of the highway.

 It is also important that both horizontal and

vertical alignments be designed to complement HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT
each other, since this will result in a safer and
more attractive highway.  consists of straight sections of the road
(known as tangents) connected by curves.
VERTICAL ALIGNMENT The curves are usually segments of circles,
 consists of straight sections known as which have radii that will provide for a smooth
grades, (or tangents) connected by vertical flow of traffic.
curves. The design of the vertical alignment
therefore involves the selection of suitable
grades for the tangent sections and the
appropriate length of vertical curves.

 The topography of the area through which the

road traverses has a significant impact on the
design of the vertical alignment. Vertical curves
are used to provide a gradual change from one
tangent grade to another so that vehicles may
run smoothly as they traverse the highway.
These curves are usually parabolic in shape.

Parking facilities

 The number of parking bays that can be

fitted along a given length of curb increases
as the angle of inclination increases from
parallel (0 degrees) to perpendicular (90
degrees.) As the inclination angle increases,
encroachment of the parking bays on the
traveling pavement of the highway becomes
more pronounced.
 Parking bays that are inclined at angles to the
curb interfere with the movement of traffic, with
the result that crash rates tend to be higher on
sections of roads with angle parking than with
parallel parking.