.1 Explain the following Highway geometric elements clearly.

 Cross-section element.
 Sight distance.
 Horizontal alignment details.
 Vertical alignment details.
 Intersection details.
 Pavement surface characteristic.
 Cross- Slope / Camber.
 Width of Pavement or Carriageway

Cross-section element

The cross-section element of highway pavement are;

 Camber
 Width of Carriage way
 Kerb
 Road Margin
 Width of Formation
 Right of Way (ROW)

CAMBER
 Camber or cant is the cross slope provided to raise middle of the road surface in the
transverse direction to drain off rain water from road surface. The objectives of providing
camber are:

 Surface protection especially for gravel and bituminous roads

 Sub-grade protection by proper drainage
 Quick drying of pavement which in turn increases safety

Camber is measured in 1 in n or n% and the value depends on the type of pavement surface.

2. WIDTH OF CARRIAGE WAY

Width of the carriage way or the width of the pavement depends on the width of the traffic lane
and number of lanes. Width of a traffic lane depends on the width of the vehicle and the
clearance. Side clearance improves operating speed and safety.
The maximum permissible width of a vehicle is 2.44 and the desirable side clearance for single
lane traffic is 0.68 m. This require minimum of lane width of 3.75 m for a single lane road.
However, the side clearance required is about 0.53 m, on both side and 1.06 m in the center.
Therefore, a two lane road require minimum of 3.5 meter for each lane.

3. KERBS
Kerbs indicate the boundary between the carriage way and the shoulder or islands
or footpaths. Different types of kerbs are shown in the figure below.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF KERBS

LOW OR MOUNTABLE KERBS

These types of kerbs are provided such that they encourage the traffic to remain in
the through traffic lanes and also allow the driver to enter the shoulder area with
little difficulty. The height of this kerb is about 10 cm above the pavement edge
with a slope which allows the vehicle to climb easily. This is usually provided at
medians and channelization schemes and also helps in longitudinal drainage.
SEMI-BARRIER TYPE KERBS
When the pedestrian traffic is high, these kerbs are provided. Their height is 15 cm
above the pavement edge. This type of kerb prevents encroachment of parking
vehicles, but at acute emergency it is possible to drive over this kerb with some
difficulty.
BARRIER TYPE KERBS
They are designed to discourage vehicles from leaving the pavement. They are
provided when there is considerable amount of pedestrian traffic. They are placed
at a height of 20 cm above the pavement edge with a steep batter.
SUBMERGED KERBS
They are used in rural roads. The kerbs are provided at pavement edges between
the pavement edge and shoulders. They provide lateral confinement and stability to
the pavement.

Sight distance
Sight distance is the length or distance of roadway visible to the driver. This is a
major design control for vertical alignments and is essential for the safe and
efficient operation of vehicles. This distance is dependent on the driver’s eye
height, the specified object height, and the height/position of sight obstructions.
The three-dimensional features of the roadway should provide a minimum sight
line for safe operations.

Sight Distance Criteria

 Height of Driver’s Eye: 3.50 feet above road surface (passenger

vehicles)7.60 feet above road surface (trucks)
  Height of Object: 2.00 feet above road surface (stopping & decision)3.50
feet above road surface (passing & intersection)
Due to differences in driver needs, various types of sight distance
apply to geometric design
1. stopping,
2. decision,
passing, and intersection
Horizontal alignment details.
Horizontal curve is critical.
Vehicle cornering capability is thus a key concern in horizontal curve design.
The roadway horizontal alignment is a series of horizontal tangents (straight
roadway sections), circular curves, and spiral transitions.
It shows the proposed roadway location in relation to the existing terrain and
adjacent land conditions.
to be considered when designing horizontal alignments.
The horizontal alignment is a series of horizontal tangents (straight roadway
sections), circular curves, and spiral transitions used for the roadway’s geometry.
1. DESIGN SPEED

2. HORIZONTAL CURVES
1. DESIGN SPEED
AASHTO defines design speed as “the maximum safe speed that can be
maintained over a specified section of highway when conditions are so favorable
that the design features of the highway govern”. It is an overall design control for
horizontal alignments in roadway design that may equal or exceed the legal
statutory speed limit. The level of service is directly related to the speed of
operation.
Design speed selection is a critical decision that should be done at the beginning
of the planning and design process.

2. HORIZONTAL CURVES

Roadway horizontal curve design is based on the laws of physics and driver
reaction to lateral acceleration. Any geometric alignment needs to address curve
location; curve sharpness; tangent lengths; and how they relate to the vertical
profile. All of these components should be balanced to operate at appropriate
speeds under normal conditions.
Elements of Curve Design:
• Curve radius
• Superelevation
• Side friction
• Assumed vehicle speed
Horizontal curves depend on specific values for a minimum radius (based on speed
limit), curve length, and sight obstructions (sight distance). An increased
superelevation (bank) may be required to assure safety for high speed locations
with small curve radii. Designers must confirm sufficient sight distance around
corners or curves in order to avoid crashes.

3. Extra widening
Extra widening refers to the additional width of carriageway that is required on a
curved section of a road over and above that required on a straight alignment.
This widening is done due to two reasons: the first and most important is the
additional width required for a vehicle taking a horizontal curve and the second
due to the tendency of the drivers to ply away from the edge of the carriageway
as they drive on a curve. The first is referred as the mechanical widening
and the second is called the psychological widening.
Mechanical widening
The reasons for the mechanical widening are: When a vehicle negotiates a
horizontal curve, the rear wheels follow a path of shorter radius than the front
wheels. This phenomenon is called offtracking, and has the effect of increasing the
effective width of a road space required by the vehicle.
Therefore, to provide the same clearance between vehicles traveling in opposite
direction on curved roads as is provided on straight sections, there must be extra
width of carriageway available.
Psychological widening
Widening of pavements has to be done for some psychological reasons also. There
is a tendency for the drivers to drive close to the edges of the pavement on curves.
Some extra space is to be provided for more clearance for the crossing and
overtaking operations on curves.
 Vertical alignment details.
The vertical alignment of highway generally defined as the presence of heights and
depths in vertical axis with respect to horizontal axis of alignment.
These heights and depths in roads may be in the form of gradients (straight lines
in a vertical plane) or vertical curves.
Vertical alignment of highways consists of

 Gradients
 Grade compensation
 Vertical curves (valley curve, summit curve)
Gradients
Gradient is defined as the rise or fall corresponding to some horizontal distance.
Raise with respect to horizontal distance is called Upward gradient (+n %) Fall
with respect to Horizontal distance is called Downward Gradient (-n %) Gradient
is represented as below fig:

Roadway vertical alignments consist of tangent grades connected with either crest
(convex) or sag (concave) parabolic curves. These curves provide a gradual grade
change for vehicles to smoothly navigate from one grade to another

CREST VERTICAL CURVES

Crest (convex) vertical curves typically appear as a hill and have a lower tangent slope at
the end of the curve than at its beginning, with vehicles first going uphill, reaching the top
of the curve, and then continuing downhill.
Crest curves are formed where two grades meet in any of the following conditions:
one positive grade meets another positive grade
a positive grade meets a flat grade
an ascending grade meets a descending grade
a descending grade meets another descending grade
Vertical Curves
Generally two types of vertical curves are there to adopt for the vertical alignment.
They are

 Summit curve
 Valley curve
Summit curve Summit curve is a vertical curve adopted mainly when the gradient
is upwards. In case of summit curve simple parabola is considered as best curve
shape. There are four different cases are involved in adoption of summit curve as
follows.
Case-1: When upward gradient meets a flat gradient.

Case-2:

When upward gradient meets another upward gradient

Case-3:

When upward gradient meets downward gradient

Case-4:

When downward gradient meets another downward gradient

Valley curve 
It is a vertical curve provided when the gradient is downwards. Generally when the
vehicle meets downward gradient it accelerates more and discomfort arises. So, in
the design of valley curve in vertical alignment comfort is considered along with
sight distance. Here also four cases are considered but case 2 and case 3 are same
as summit curve and the other cases are as follows.
Case-1:

When downward gradient meets flat gradient

Case-2:

When downward gradient meets upward gradient

Intersection details

Intersections are areas shared by two or more roads serving conflicting

traffic when competing for the same space at the same time when going
ahead or changing directions. Intersections vary in complexity from a
simple intersection, which has only two roads crossing at a right angle to
each other, to a more complex intersection, at which three or more roads
cross within the same area.
Intersections are generally classified into three general categories:

• At-grade intersections,

• Grade-separated without ramps, and

• Grade-separated with ramps (commonly known as interchanges).

At Grade Intersections

At-grade intersections do not provide for the flow of traffic at different levels, and
therefore there exist conflicts between intersecting streams of traffic.

Most highways intersect at grade, and the intersection area should be designed to
provide adequately for turning and crossing movements, with due consideration to
sight distance, signs, and alignments. The basic types of at-grade intersections are
T, Y or three-leg intersections, which consist of three approaches; four-leg or cross
intersections, which consist of four approaches; and multileg intersections, which
consist of five or more approaches.

are example of At Grade Intersections.

Grade-separated without ramps

Over or underpass without access.Under this The process of decision making for
road users at intersections is complex and this is part of the reason why
intersections tend to have a high potential for accidents and delays.The overall
traffic flow on any highway depends to a great extent on the performance of the
intersections, since intersections usually operate at a lower capacity than through
sections of the road.

Grade-separated with ramps

Commonly known as interchanges.

Is a grade separation in which vehicles moving in one direction of flow may

transfer by the use of connecting roadways. These connecting roadways at
interchanges are called ramps. Many types and forms of interchanges and ramp
layouts are used.

are example of Grade-separated

with ramps.

Pavement surface characteristic

For safe and comfortable driving four aspects of the pavement surface are
important; the friction between the wheels and the pavement surface,
smoothness of the road surface, the light reflection characteristics of the top
of pavement surface, and drainage to water.
1. Friction

Friction between the wheel and the pavement surface is a crucial factor in the
design of horizontal curves and thus the safe operating speed. Further, it also affect
the acceleration and deceleration ability of vehicles. Lack of adequate friction can
cause skidding or slipping of vehicles.

1. Skidding happens when the path traveled along the road surface is more than
the circumferential movement of the wheels due to friction
2. Slip occurs when the wheel revolves more than the corresponding
longitudinal movement along the road.
 2. Unevenness

It is always desirable to have an even surface, but it is seldom possible to have

such a one. Even if a road is constructed with high quality pavers, it is possible to
develop unevenness due to pavement failures. Unevenness affect the vehicle
operating cost, speed, riding comfort, safety, fuel consumption and wear and tear
of tyres.

Unevenness index is a measure of unevenness which is the cumulative measure

of vertical undulations of the pavement surface recorded per unit horizontal length
of the road. An unevenness index value less than 1500 mm/km is considered as
good, a value less than 2500 mm.km is satisfactory up to speed of 100 kmph and
values greater than 3200 mm/km is considered as uncomfortable even for 55 kmph.

3. Light reflection

1. White roads have good visibility at night, but caused glare during day time.
2. Black roads has no glare during day, but has poor visibility at night
3. Concrete roads has better visibility and less glare

It is necessary that the road surface should be visible at night and reflection of light
is the factor that answers it.

4. Drainage

The pavement surface should be absolutely impermeable to prevent seepage of

water into the pavement layers. Further, both the geometry and texture of
pavement surface should help in draining out the water from the surface in less
time.

Cross- Slope / Camber

Cross Slope or Camber is the slope provide to the road surface in the
transverse direction to drain of the rain water from the road surface. Drainage and
quick disposal of water from the pavement surface by providing cross slope is
consider important because of the following reasons:
To prevent the entry of surface water into the pavement layers and equally
importantly, the sub grade soil through pavements the stability, surface condition.
Likewise, The life of the pavement get adversely affect if the water enters in to the
sub grade and the soil gets soaked.

As well as, Prevent the entry of water into the bituminous pavement layers, as
continued contact with water causes stripping of bitumen from the aggregates and
results in deterioration of the pavement layer.To remove the rain water from the
pavement surface as quickly as possible and to allow the pavement to get dry soon
after the rain.

Requirements of Cross Slope or camber depends on:

Type of pavement surface
The amount of rainfall

Types of Camber 

 Composite camber.
 Sloped or Straight camber.
 Two straight line camber.
 Barrel camber.
1. Composite Camber.

Composite camber might be composed of partly parabola and partly straight line or
two straight lines having different slopes.

Generally, the central part of the road is made parabolic and provided with straight
slopes near edges. This helps to decrease in intensity of pressure by increasing the
contact area of the wheel.
2. Straight Camber or Sloped Camber

This type of camber is provided by meeting two straight surfaces in the crown.
Crown is the central and top most point in the surface of the road.The edge shape
produces inconvenience to the traffic, so it isn’t used in general.

3. Two Straight Line Camber.

It consists of both straight lines steeper near the edges and flatters near the crown.
This type of camber is considered to be the best for Indian roads.
 4. Barrel Camber.

It consists of a continuous curve, either parabolic or elliptical. This type of camber

is preferred for roads used by fast-moving vehicles.

Why Is Camber Provided In Road?

 To protect the road by preventing the entry of surface water to the subgrade
soil through the pavement.
 To prevent the entry of water to the bituminous pavement layers.
 To remove the rainwater from the pavement surface as quickly as possible
and to allow the pavement to get dry soon after the rain.
Advantages of Camber in Road

This prevents rainwater to accumulate at local shrinkages or depressions and

forming water pools around the road surface that are disagreeable to the public as
well as to the road structure. Camber provides quick drainage of rainwater and so
saves the foundation course of this road structure from weakening from the
percolation of rainwater to it through the road surface.

Width of Pavement or Carriageway.

Width of the carriage way or the width of the pavement depends on the width of
the traffic lane and number of lanes. Width of a traffic lane depends on the width
of the vehicle and the clearance. Side clearance improves operating speed and
safety. The maximum permissible width of a vehicle is 2.44 m and the desirable
side clearance for single lane traffic is 0.68 m. This require minimum of lane width
of 3.75 m for a single lane road. However, the side clearance required is about 0.53
m, on both side and 1.06 m in the centre. Therefore, a two lane road require
minimum of 3.5 meter for eachlane.