Road Engineering

CHAP [CEng 5201]

TER

2
GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF
HIGHWAYS

Muluneh W.
School of Civil Engineering
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
DILLA UNIVERSITY
 Chapter Outline
PART – I: General
 Factors to be Considered In Geometric
Design
 Design Controls and Criteria
1. The Functional Classification of the Road
2. The Nature of the Terrain
3. The Traffic Volumes Expected on the Road
4. The Design Vehicle
5. The Design Speed
 Sight Distance Criteria

PART – II: Highway Alignments

Horizontal Alignment Vertical Alignment
 Straights (Tangents)  Grades and Grade Control
 Circular Curves  Vertical Curves
 Superelevation  Length Of Vertical Curves
 Transition Curves
 Widening of Curves
 Chapter Outline

PART – III: Highway Cross-Section

Elements
 Carriageway  Right- Of –Way

 Roadway Width  Median

 Shoulders  Camber

 Cross-Fall  Side Drains

 Side Slopes  Curb

 Horizontal
Alignment
 Straights
(Tangents)
 Circular Curves
 Superelevation
 Transition Curves
 Widening of
Curves

Part - III
Horizontal
Alignment
 GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS
Your Chosen Route

But, the road could not have such an alignment

with sharp edges!
 GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS
ALIGNMENT
6

 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 the grades
 The horizontal alignment includes
 The straight (tangent) sections of the roadway
 The circular curves that connect the changes in
direction
 The design of the alignment depends primarily on the
design speed selected for the highway.
 The least costly alignment is one that takes the form of
the natural topography.
 Geometric Design of Highways
ALIGNMENT
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 It is not always possible to select the lowest cost

alternative because the designer must adhere to certain
standards that may not exist on the natural topography.
 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 each other, since
this will result in a safer and more attractive highway.
 Geometric Design of Highways
Horizontal Alignment
8

The horizontal alignment consists © The horizontal curves

 Straight sections of the road are usually segments of
(known as tangents) connected circles, which have radii
by curves. that will provide for a
 Horizontal Curves smooth flow of traffic.
 Spiral or Transition Curves
The design of the horizontal alignment entail;
 the determination of the minimum radius
 determination of the length of the curve, and
 the computation of the horizontal offsets from
the tangents to the curve to facilitate locating
Spiral or the curve in the field
Transition
Curve
© In some cases, to avoid a sudden change from a tangent with
infinite radius to a curve of finite radius, a curve with radii
varying from infinite to the radius of the circular curve is placed
between the circular curve and the tangent. Such a curve is
 Geometric Design of Highways
Horizontal Alignment
Cont…
9
© Guidelines for horizontal alignment design:
 The horizontal alignment should always be designed to the
highest standard consistent with the topography and be
chosen carefully to provide good drainage and minimize
earthworks.
 The alignment design should also be aimed at achieving a
uniform operating speed.
 Therefore the standard of alignment selected for a particular
section of road should extend throughout the section with no
sudden changes from easy to sharp curvature.
 Where a sharp curvature is unavoidable, a sequence of curves
of decreasing radius is recommended.
 The horizontal alignment consists of a series of intersecting
tangents and circular curves, with or without transition curves.
 Geometric Design of Highways
Horizontal Alignment
1) Horizontal Curves
10
 Four Types of Horizontal Curves:
i. Simple Curve ii. Compound Curve

iii. Reverse Curve iv. Spiral or Transition Curve

 Horizontal Alignment
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i. Straights (Tangents)
 A more pleasing appearance and higher road
safety can be obtained by a winding alignment
with tangents deflecting some 5 – 10 degrees
alternately to the left and right.
 Short straights between curves in the same
direction should not be used because of the
broken back effect.
 In such cases where a reasonable tangent length
is not attainable, the use of long, transitions or
compound curvature should be considered.
 Horizontal Alignment
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Straights (Tangents)
The following guidelines may be applied concerning
the length of straights:
 Straights should not have lengths greater than (20
* V) meters, where V is the design speed in km/h.
 Straights between circular curves turning in the
same direction should have lengths greater than
(6*V) meters, where V is the design speed in km/h.
 Straights between the end and the beginning of
untransitioned reverse circular curves should have
lengths greater than two-thirds of the total
superelevation run-off.
 Horizontal Alignment
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ii. Circular Curves

 Horizontal curvature design is one of the most
important features influencing the efficiency and safety
of a highway.
 Improper design will result in lower speeds and
lowering of highway capacity.
Types of horizontal curves
PCC

R1
R1

R2
R2

(1) Simple Horizontal (2) Broken Back Curve (3) Compound

Curve curve
 Horizontal Alignment
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Circular Curves
Types of horizontal curves
(4) Reverse Curve

R1

R1

(a) With (b) Without

 Horizontal Alignment
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(1) Simple Circular Curve

Forward Note:
a rd
Tangent  PC – Point of Curvature
ckw nt
Ba nge  PI – Point of Intersection
Ta  PT – Point of Tangency
 Δ – Central Angle
 R – Radius of Curve
 D – Degree of Curve that Defines
a) Central angle which subtends
20m arc (arc definition)
b) Central angle which subtends
20m chord (Chord definition)

Figure 3.1: Parts of a Circular Curve

 Horizontal Alignment
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Elements of Simple Circular Curve

a) Radius of Curve (R):
c) External Distance (E):
From arc definition,  It is the distance from PI
to middle of curve
R = 1145.916 / D
From Chord definition, E = R*(Sec (Δ/2) – 1 or
R = 10 / Sin (D/2) E = T*tan
(Δ/4)
b) Tangent (T): d) Middle ordinate (M):
 It is the distance from PC to  It is the length from the
PI(backward tangent) or from middle of chord to the
PT to PI(forward tangent) middle of curve.

T = R*tan (Δ/2) M = R*(1- Cos (Δ/2))

 Horizontal Alignment
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e) Long Chord(c): g) Sub-arc Angles (di):

 Straight-line distance from  Are angles subtended by
A to B. an arc less than the
C = 2R*Sin (Δ/2) degree of curve (D).

di = Ai*D/20
where:
f) Length of Curve (Lc): di = angle subtended by sub-arc of
length Ai
 Distance from PC to PT along Ai = arc less than 20m.
h) Middle Ordinate (M):
the curve
Lc = 20* Δ/D or  It is the length from the
middle of chord to the
middle of curve.
Lc = R*π* Δ/180 M = R*(1- Cos (Δ/2))
 Horizontal Alignment
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i) Deflection Angles: j) Stations of PC, PI, and PT:

 The angle that a chord
deflects from a tangent to
PC = PI – T
a circular curve is
PT = PC + Lc or
measured by half of the
intercepted arc.
PT = PI + T
Deflection angle for Lc m

= Δ/2

Deflection angle for 20m

 Horizontal Alignment
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“Broken Back” Arrangement of Curves

 When two curves in the same direction are
connected with a short tangent, this condition is
referred to as a “broken back” arrangement of R1

curves.
R2
 This type of alignment should be avoided except
where very unusual topographical or right-of-way
conditions dictate otherwise.
 Highway engineers generally consider the broken
back alignment to be unpleasant and awkward
and prefer spiral transitions or a compound curve
alignment with continuous superelvation for such
conditions.
 Horizontal Alignment
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(2) Compound Curves

 Horizontal Alignment
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(3) Reverse Curves

 Are adjacent curves
that curve in opposite
directions.
 A sufficient length of
tangent between the
curves should usually
be provided to allow
removal of the
superelevation from the
first curve and
attainment of adverse Figure 3.3 Properties of a Reverse Curve
superelevation for the
 Horizontal Alignment
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 Sight Distance on Horizontal Curves

(a) (b)

Figure 3.4 Sight Distance around Horizontal Curve: (a) S < Lc

and (b) S > Lc
 Horizontal Alignment
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Circular Curves
 Sight Distance on Horizontal Curves
Situations frequently exist where an object on the inside of a
curve, such as vegetation, building or cut face, obstructs the
line of sight.
 Where it is either not feasible or economically justified to
move the object a larger radius of curve will be required to
ensure that stopping sight distance is available.
 The required radius of curve is dependent on the distance
of the obstruction from the centerline and the sight
distance.
Case -1: S < Lc
, S = 40 * Cos-1 ((R-M)/R) / D

Case 2. S > Lc, M = Lc* (2S - Lc) / 8R

 Horizontal Alignment
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