CE 2231

Highway and Railroad Engineering

Background:
❑Highway Engineering is a specialized field
within the discipline of Transportation
Engineering
❑Highways are a major feature of any
industrialized country and modern economies
depend on them.
❑ Highway Engineering considers all aspects
related to the design of the roads themselves, as
well as how pedestrians are managed.
❑ Highway Engineers study the traffic volumes and
patterns to determine the best strategies to minimize
traffic, prevent collisions and also limit damage to
the road structures caused by the passage of
vehicles. Highway Engineers also design highway
systems with the aim of optimizing traffic flow and
safety for all vehicles that travel through them.
❑ Interestingly, there has been a rapid rise of integrated
electronic and automated systems in recent years,
and Highway Engineering has expanded to include a
new area of focus for this discipline on the
implementation and use of intelligent transport
systems (ITS) that will eventually revolutionize the
way humans travel day to day.
 Chapter 1
Introduction
➢ good highway are so interwoven or interweaving with
every phase of our daily activities that it is almost
imposible to imagine what life would be
like wihout them
➢ we depend on highways for the movement of goods,
to travel to and from work, for services, for social and
recreational purposes and for many other activities
necessary to the functioning of our complex society
➢ the planning, design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of highways depends largely on the
efforts of the highway transportaion into physical
being
Definition of Highway Engineering:
➢ Highway engineering is an engineering discipline branching
from civil engineering that involves the planning, design,
construction, operation, and maintenance of roads, bridges,
and tunnels to ensure safe and effective transportation of
people and goods.
➢ Highway Engineering is a branch of transportation
engineering which deals with the design, construction and
maintenance of different types of roads.
Importance of Roads or Highway Engineering:
Following are the importance of roads or highway
transportation:
1. They provide conveyance to the people, goods, raw materials,
etc., to reach different parts of the country.
2. They are the only source of
communication in hilly regions.
3. Helps in agricultural development.
4. Helps in dairy development.
5. Helps in tourism development.
6. Helps in fisheries development.
7. Helps in maintaining law and
orders in a country.
8. Forestry development.
9. They improve the medical
facilities.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHWAYS
Ancient Roads:
➢ the great highway system of our modern civilization
have their origin in the period before the dawn of
recorded history
➢ before the invention of the wheels, suppose to
occur 10,000 years ago, individual and mass
movement of people undoubtedly took place
➢ the earliest travel was on foot; later packed animals
were utilized, crude sleds were developed and
simple wheeled vehicles were developed
➢ many of the migration of early historical period
involve large numbers of people and covered large
distances
➢ ever since the beginning of history people have the
urge to travel
➢ this was evidenced by:
1. the migration of Abraham fom Chaldea to Canaan
some 3000 years B.C.
2. the Great Caravan across the Palestine to Egypt,
Damascus, and Baghdad
3. the Israelite famine trail into Egypt
4. about 400 years later, the 40-year wandering
through the wilderness to the Promised lands
➢ there are still remaining traces of old roads found
in Central America and the northern part of South
America constructed by Incas and the road surface
with stone in the island of Crete built about 1500
B.C.
➢ between 400 B.C. to 200 A.D., the Roman highways
were constructed covering a total length of 75,000
miles over the whole empire
The Inca Trail – The ancient network of roads that created an empire

The Chaco Road System - Southwestern America's Ancient Roads

The Inca Trail – The ancient network of roads that created an empire
Ancient Road in Crete at the Palace of Knossos
➢ as various civilization reached a higher level, many
of the ancient people came to a realization of the
importance of paved roads
➢ the streets of the city of Babylon were paved as
early as 2000 B.C.
➢ history also records the construction of a
magnificent road to aid building of the Great
Pyramid in Egypt nearly 3000 years B.C.
➢ by far the most advanced highway system of the
ancient world was that of the Romans
➢ when the Roman civilization was at its peak, a great
system of military roads reached to the limits of the
empire
➢ many of these roads were built of stone and were 3
ft. (0.9 m) or more in thickness without considering
the drainage requirements since these roads were
built by the captives
➢ traces of this magnificent system are still in
existence on the European continent
➢ after the decline and fall of the Roman empire, road
building, along with virtually all other forms of
scientific activity, practically ceased for a period of
1,000 years
➢ even as late as 18th century, the only convenient
means of travel between cities was on foot or on
horseback
➢ stagecoaches were introduced in 1659, but travel in
them proved exceedingly difficult in most instances
because of extremely poor conditions of rural roads

Roman Roads
➢
Roman roads at the height of the Roman Empire

Ancient Romans used molten iron to repair their stone-

paved roads
Surviving Roman road near Cirauqui in northern Spain

The Chaco Road System - Southwestern America's

Ancient Roads
LATER EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT:
➢ interest in the art of road building were revived in
Europe in the late 18th century
➢ during this period, Trésaquet, a noted French
engineer, advocated a method of road construction
utilizing a broken-stone base covered with smaller
stones
➢ the regime of Napoleon Bonaparte in France (1800-
1814) gave a great momentum to road construction,
chiefly for military purposes, and led to the
establishment of a national system of highways in
that country
➢ at about the same time in England, two Scottish
engineers, Thomas Telford and John L. McAdam,
developed a similar types of construction
➢ Telford urge the use of large pieces of ledge
(outcrop) stone to form a base with smaller stones
for the wearing surface
➢ McAdam advocated the use of smaller stone broken
throughout
➢ this latter type of construction (McAdam) is still in
extensive use, being the forerunner of various types
of modern macadam base and pavements
DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHWAYS IN THE UNITED
STATES
➢ during the early history of American colonies, travel
was primarily local in character, and rural roads were
generally little more than trails or cleared paths
through the forest
➢ toward the end of 18th century, public demand led to
the improvement of various roads by private
➢ these improvements generally took the form of toll
roads or “turnpikes” and were located principally in
areas adjacent to the larger cities
➢ the first surface highway in the United Sates was the
Lancaster Turnpike Road from Philadelphia to
Lancaster Pennsylvania
➢ there was no incentives for the construction of
surfaced roads until the coming of motor vehicle at
the beginning of 20th century
➢ in 1830, however, as steam locomotive demonstrated
its superiority over horse-drawn vehicles, the interest
in road building began to decline
➢ by 1900 a strong demand for highways again existed
➢ the principal demand came from farmers, who
clamored for farm-to-market roads so that they might
more readily to move their agricultural products to
the nearest railhead (a point on a railway system
➢ during this period certain states began to recognize
the need for state financial aid for road construction
➢ in the year 1904 the macadam roads were started and
in 1909 the first concrete road was constructed in
Wayne County, Michigan
➢ the first synthetic asphalt pavement, the forerunner of
the present day “sheet asphalt” and “asphalt
concrete” appeared in Washington D.C.
EARLY PHILIPPINE HIGHWAYS:
➢ the earliest Philippine highways were primitive trails
used by the migrating Negritos and later the Malays
➢ as early inhabitants were sea faring people, their land
travel was limited to coastal regions
➢ upon the advent of Spanish rule, the main concern of
the Spanish settlers was to defend and protect the
coast against invasion so that at the beginning
isolated fortresses were constructed each with a
network of streets inside
➢ later on, roads were built to connect the fortified
areas
➢ as the liberal move of Spain for the Philippines in 19th
century, foreign trade was encouraged and resulting
there from development of the interior road and was
enhanced so that there arose a demand for roads and
bridges
➢ in the year 1830, Pascual Enrile became the governor
and interested in road building
➢ he caused several roads to be constructed in
southern and northern Luzon in which he venture and
utilized the services of military engineers
➢ in 1868, a Royal decree from Madrid placed the
control of all public highways under jurisdiction of
the Insular Government in Manila
➢ the governor general was made chief of all public
works and he was assisted by an advisory council as
“Junta Consultiva” composed of inspector general
and ranking civil engineers in Manila who employed
in the government
➢ one of the relevant provision of the order was that,
the road width should be 5 meters in Luzon, Northern
part of the province of Laguna, Rizal and Tayabas
while the rest of the three provinces will have a road
width of 6 meters except in the island of Panay and
Negros where the road width is 8 meters
➢ the right-of-way were left to the discretion of the
engineer-in-charge who could add additional width to
take care for the ditches
➢ upon the coming of Americans, only about 900 miles
of the Spanish roads were left intact but impassable
during rainy season though passable during dry
season
➢ the military government placed road and bridge
construction under U.S. Army Engineers
➢ road construction was focused only on military roads
and the same poor conditioned of the roads existed
➢ General Bell constructed road with military
significance in Batangas and another in northern
Mindanao
➢ In 1901, the Civil Government was established and
one of the first acts passed by the Philippine
➢ in 1907, the double cedula law was passed
authorizing the provincial boards to double the poll
tax and add extra sum to the provincial road and
bridge funds
➢ as an incentive to the affected provinces, 10% of all
internal revenue of the island was distributed to the
provinces that doubled their cedula taxes and in
addition, the insular government appropriated
P1,700,000.00 to be divided among such provinces
➢ the Commission appropriate P350.00 per kilometer of
roads for repairs and caminero’s salaries
➢ the coming of motor vehicle in 1910 tended to
revolutionize the highway transportation facilities and
coupled with the expansion in agriculture, commerce
and industry, that resulted the great demand for
highway improvement
➢ in 1912, registration of motor vehicle began together
with the issuing of licenses to motor vehicle drivers
➢ due to demand for a greater highway improvement,
the levying or imposition of taxes on imported
motor fuel begun in 1928 and the collection was set
aside for highway purposes
➢ in 1935 upon the establishment of the
Commonwealth Government extensive road building
program was initiated by the late President Quezon
who believed that adequate transportation facilities
were necessary in the existence of a strong national
life
PHILIPPINE HIGHWAY NETWORK:
➢ the Philippine highway network is a network of
national roads owned and maintained by the
Department of Public Works and Highways
➢ the national roads connecting major cities are
numbered N1-N82
➢ they are mostly single and dual carriageways linking
two or more cities
➢ as of October 15, 2018 the Philippine highway
network has a total length of 21,523.26 km of concrete
roads, 10,099.52 km of asphalt roads, 1,264.49 km
gravel roads, and 45.44 km of earth roads with a
grand total of 32,932.71 km
➢ according to ADB report in 2011 road network in the
Philippine is comparable with or better than many
neighboring developing countries in Southeast Asia
➢ however, in terms of quality of road system, that is,
the percentage of paved roads and the percentage of
those in good or fair condition, the country lags
behind its neighbors
Classification:
➢ national roads are classified into three types by
DPWH under Philippine Highway Act (Republic Act
917) signed by Pres. Elpidio Quirino in June 20, 1953
National Primary
➢ they are roads which form part of main trunkline
system and directly connected three or more major
cities and metropolitan areas with a population of at
least 100,000
➢ they are further classified into the north-south
backbone, east-west lateral, and other roads of
strategic importance
➢ the north-south backbone refers to the main
trunkline, the Pan-Philippine Highway (N1, also
designated as Asian Highway 26) which runs from
Laoag in the northernmost parts of Luzon to
➢ the east-west lateral roads are roads that traverse
this backbone and runs east-west across the
different islands
National Secondary
➢ they are roads that complement the primary roads
and provide access to other major population
centers
➢ they directly link smaller cities and provincial
capitals, airports, seaports, and tourist centers to the
primary roads
National Tertiary
➢ the third classification was introduced in 2014 known
as national tertiary roads
➢ they include other existing roads and mistered by the
DPWH which perform a local function
DIFFERENT PHILIPPINE HIGHWAY ACTS
1. Presidential Decree No. 17 – Revised Philippine
Highway Act (Revising The Philippine Highway Act of
Nineteen Hundred Fifty Three ), Approved October 1972
2. Republic Act 917 – An Act to Provide For An Effective
Highway Administration, Modify Apportionment Of
Highway Funds and Give Aid To The Provinces,
Chartered Cities And Municipalities In The Construction
Of Roads And Streets, and Other Purposes
3. Presidential Decree No. 701 - Further Amending
Certain Provisions Of The Revised Philippine Highway
Act, As amended By Presidential Decree Numbered
Seventeen, One Hundred Thirty, And Three Hundred
Twenty, Approved May 16, 1975
What Laws Help Keep Road Users Safe In The
Philippines?
A. SPEED LIMITS
1. Land Transportation and Traffic Code
(Republic Act No. 4136) Enacted: June 20, 1964
2. Road Speed Limit Act of 2016 (Republic Act
10916) Enacted: July 2016
B. USE OF SEAT BELT
Seat Belt Act of 1999 (Republic Act No. 8750)
Enacted: August 5, 1999
C. DISTRACTED DRIVING
Anti-Distracted Driving Act of 2016 (Republic Act
10913) Enacted: July 21, 2016
D. DRUNK AND DRUGGED DRIVING
Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013
(Republic Act No. 10586) Enacted: May 2013
E. EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR DRIVERS
Professional Driver’s Education Act (House Bill
5380) Filing Date: January 29, 2015
FUTURE HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT
➢ as we look to the transportation needs of the new
century, we begin to see an emphasis on the
transportation infrastructure as a cohesive (working
together) system with particular attention to the
multimodal or employing multiple modes
transportation and the trend toward improved
highway form that support this multimodal emphasis
➢ this may include demand for separate access-
controlled “bus-ways” and express lanes for public
mass transit vehicles
➢ in order to lessen the impact the impact of urban
congestion, more extensive use will be made of
sophisticated traffic control measures
➢ special efforts will need to be undertaken to
decrease the number of highway crashes and to
decrease the number of injuries and fatalities by
controlling the energy dissipated or wasted during
crashes
➢ as these improvements are made, extraordinary
efforts will be needed to provide highways that are
aesthetically pleasing, socially acceptable, and
environmentally compatible
➢ highway engineers will continue to make a vital
contribution to providing the nation with safe,