Geometric Design (Vertical Alignment)

Course Instructor:
Dr. Sabahat Hussan
 INTRODUCTION
• Highway geometric design involves the design of
geometric elements of a highway and fixation of
standards with respect to various components.
• Its dictated within economic limitations to satisfy the
requirements of traffic in designing elements such as:
• Cross-section
• Horizontal alignment
• Vertical alignment
• Sight distances
• Lateral and vertical clearances
 INTRODUCTION…
• When geometric design is worked out, pay attention to safety, efficiency,
and economic operation of the highway.
• The engineer has to consider the following points when selecting design
standards:
– Volume and composition of traffic in the design year should be the
basis of design
– Faulty geometries are costly to rectify at a later date
– The design should be consistent and the standards used for the different
elements should be compatible with one another
– The design should embrace all aspects of design including signs,
markings, lighting, etc.
– The road should be considered as an element of the total environment
and its location and design should enhance rather than degrade the
environment
– The design should minimize the total transportation cost
– Safety should be built in the design
– The design should be enable all road users to use the facility
 Design controls and criteria
• The elements of design are influenced by a wide variety of design
controls, engineering criteria, and project specific objectives which
include:
– Functional classification of the road
– Design traffic volume and composition
– Nature of terrain
– Traffic capacity
– Design speed
– Density and character of adjoining land use
– Economic & Environmental Considerations
– Road users characteristics
– Vehicle size and performance
– Level service to be provided
– Available fund
– Safety, etc.
 Road Functional Classification
(or Road Hierarchy)

• The first step in the design process is to define

the function that the facility is to serve.
• The level of service required to be fulfilled by the
road for the anticipated volume and composition
of traffic used as a guide for classification.
• It provides a rational and cost-effective basis for the
selection of design speed and geometric criteria within
the range of values available to the designer (for the
specified functional classification).
 Road Functional Classification
(or Road Hierarchy)........
Roads generally serve a multitude of purposes:

• As through route - for long distance traffic

• As local route – for local traffic
• In urban and rural areas –urban roads/rural roads
• For fast and slow vehicles – 2 wheels to 10+ wheels
• As servicing/access roads
• For use by pedestrians
• For parking areas
 Rationale for a hierarchical system
Such a mixed of use of roads reduces SAFETY, EFFICIENCY, and
CAPACITY.
 Hence a hierarchical road system is necessary
• Objectives in setting a hierarchy
• To obtain best use of an existing network
• To ensure that each type of traffic is using the most
appropriate route
• To minimize the risk to users and to the natural built
environment
• To ensure better management, maintenance regimes
and design policies
• To ensure funding for routes is targeted
appropriately
• To offer network users a choice for how to travel
Road functional classification
Road functional classification…
Road functional classification…
INTRODUCTION
Road functional classification…
 Nature of Terrain
• The location and geometric design elements
such as gradients, sight distance, cross-
sections, radius of curvature, speeds, etc. of a
highway are affected by topography, physical
features, and land use.
• Transverse terrain properties are categorized
into four classes as follows:
-flat terrain
- rolling
-mountainous
-escarpment
 Nature of Terrain…
• FLAT:-
-offers few obstacles to the
construction of a road,
-having continuously unrestricted
horizontal and vertical alignment
-transverse terrain slope up to 5%.

• ROLLING:
-Rolling, hilly or foothill country where
the slopes generally rise and fall
moderately
- occasional steep slopes are
encountered, resulting in some
restrictions in alignment
- transverse terrain slope from 5% to
25%).
 Nature of Terrain…
• MOUNTAINOUS:
-Rugged, hilly and mountainous country and
river gorges.
-it imposes definite restrictions on the
standard of alignment obtainable .
-it often involves long steep grades and limited
sight distance
-transverse terrain slope from 25 %to 50 %.

• ESCARPMENT:
-this include situations where
switchback roadway sections are
used or side hill transverse sections
which cause considerable earthwork
quantities,
-where transverse terrain slope in
excess of 50%.
 Discussion
• How can terrain affect design, construction and usage of
highways?
• In general, construction costs will be greater as the terrain
becomes more difficult and higher standards will be
less justifiable or unachievable in such situations than
for roads in either flat or rolling terrain.
• Drivers accept lower standards in such conditions and
adjust their driving accordingly, so minimizing accident
risk.
• Design speed will therefore vary with transverse terrain.
 Design speed
Definition: A design speed is a selected speed used to
determine the various geometric design features of the
roadway.
-Design speed is the max safe speed selected for
designing specific section of road considering the
terrain, land use, classification of the road, etc
-The speed that a driver adopts on a road depends on:
• Physical characteristics of the road and its surroundings
• Weather conditions in the area
• Presence of other vehicles and the nature of these vehicles, and
• Speed limitations placed upon the vehicles either by law or by
mechanical devices fitted in vehicles

• .
 Traffic Volume and Composition
• Traffic data indicates the service for which the
road is being planned and directly affects the
geometric elements such as width, alignment,
etc,
– Traffic volume – AADT, ADT, PHV, DHV
– Directional distribution – the percentage of traffic
volume flowing in each direction
– Traffic composition – the percentage of different types
of vehicles in the traffic stream – different types of
vehicles are converted into passenger car unit to
design a road width
– Traffic projection – using the design period of a road
(5-20 years)a reliable traffic projection should be
made considering the following elements
Traffic Volume and Composition...
– Traffic projection (cont’d.):–
• Current traffic – currently using the existing road
• Normal traffic growth – anticipated growth due to population
growth or change in land use
• Diverted traffic – traffic that switches to a new facility from
near by roads
• Converted traffic – traffic resulting from changes of mode
• Change of destination traffic – traffic that has changed to
different destination due to new or improved transport and
not changes in land use
• Development traffic – traffic due to improvement on adjacent
land development that would have taken place had the new
or improved road not been constructed
• Induced traffic – traffic that did not previously exist in a any
form but results when new or improved transport facilities are
provided
Design vehicle
Cont…
Cont…
Cont…
Cont…
 Traffic capacity
• The maximum traffic flow occurs when the speed falls
down to nearly a half of the free-flow speed. Hence it is
not desirable to design the road facility for maximum
capacity conditions.
• Factors affecting traffic capacity include:
• Roadway factors – geometric characteristics such
as number of lanes, lane width, shoulder width,
horizontal and vertical alignments, lateral and
vertical clearances, design speed, pavement
surface conditions etc.
• Traffic factors – composition of traffic, lane
distribution, variation in traffic flow, traffic
interruptions, etc.
• Traffic control conditions – traffic signs, traffic
signals, traffic regulation, etc.
Vertical and Horizontal Alignment

Horizontal Alignment

Stationing

Vertical Alignment
Vertical Alignment
Types of Vertical Curves
 Vertical Curve Fundamentals

• Parabolic function
– Constant rate of change of slope
– Implies equal curve tangents

y  ax  bx  c
2

• y is the roadway elevation x stations

(or feet) from the beginning of the curve
Vertical Curve Fundamentals

PVI
G1 δ
PVC G2
PVT
L/2

L
x

y  ax2  bx  c
Choose Either:
• G1, G2 in decimal form, L in feet
• G1, G2 in percent, L in stations
 Vertical Curve Fundamentals
Choose Either:
• G1, G2 in decimal form, L in feet
• G1, G2 in percent, L in stations
At the PVC : x  0 and Y  c
dY
At the PVC : x  0 and  b  G1
dx

d 2Y G2  G1 G2  G1
Anywhere : 2
 2a  a
dx L 2L
PVI
G1 δ
PVC G2
PVT
L/2

L
x
 Vertical Curve Fundamentals

•G1, G2 in percent
G1 x
•L in feet

PVT
PVC

Y
Ym G2

PVI Yf
A  G1  G2

A 2 AL AL
Y x Ym  Yf 
200L 800 200
Vertical Curve Fundamentals
 Vertical Curve Fundamentals

• K-Value (defines vertical curvature)

– The number of horizontal feet needed for a
1% change in slope

L
K
A

high / low pt.  x  K G1