Module 2:
Highway Geometric
Design
181
Wael M. ElDessouki, Ph.D.
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Highway Functional
182
Classification
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183
The Concept of Functional Classification:
Highways are classified according to its functionality.
Most trips can be divided into six stages:
1- Main Movement
2- Transitions
3- Distribution
4- Collection
5 - Access
6 - Termination
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The Concept of Functional Classification:
In this example each of the six stages is handled by a separate facility
designed specifically for its function, as following:
1- Main Movement
2- Transitions Freeways / Highways High Speed
Limited Access
3- Distribution
4- Collection
Arterials & Collectors Moderate Speed
Moderate Access
5 - Access
6 - Termination
Local Streets & Low Speed
Neighborhood Streets High Access
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185 The Concept of Functional Classification:
Based on the previous example, we can
summarize our observations on the Functional
Classification as following conclusions:
1- Traffic Volume is at its highest at the top of the
classification.
2- At the top of the classification mobility is very
high & access is limited.
3- At the lowest in the classification access is very
high & mobility is very low.
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Design Controls &
186
Criteria
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Design Criteria: Traffic Characteristics :
187
Projection of future Traffic Demand:
This is a very important component in highway design, because we
design for the future demand not just for current demand. We design for
the life span of the facility:
Facility Life Expectancy
Right of Way (ROW) 100 year
Minor Drainage & Base Courses 50 years
Bridges 25-100 years
Pavement Resurfacing 10 years
Pavement Structure(New) 20-30 years
Pavement (Reconstruction ) 5-10 years
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Design Criteria: Traffic Characteristics :
188
Speed:
Speed is a key design control for highway geometric design.
Why?
It defines key design elements in highways such as horizontal
and vertical curves.
It plays a key role in determining lane capacity and highway
facilities in general.
Speed is a key factor in functional classification of highway
and consequently affects driver’s selection of the road.
Types of Speed:
Operating Speed:
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Design Criteria: Traffic Characteristics:
189 Speed:
Types of Speed:
Operating Speed:
Defined as the speed at which drivers are observed operating their
vehicles during free flow condition. The 85th% of observed spot
speed sample can be considered as the Operating Speed.
Design Speed:
Design speed is a selected speed value that is used to determine various
geometric design features of the highway.
The Design Speed must be logical with respect to:
Topography, Anticipated Operating Speed,
Adjacent land use The functional Classification of the highway
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Design Criteria: Traffic Characteristics :
190 Speed:
Types of Speed:
Design Speed (cont.):
Design speed should be selected as high as possible
with consideration for:
Desired degree of safety
Mobility
Efficiency
The selected Design Speed Should be consistent with
the speed drivers are likely to expect on a given
facility.
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Design Criteria: Traffic Characteristics :
191 Speed:
Recommended Ranges for Design Speed:
120 km/h Rural freeways, expressways & other arterial highways
100 km/h Suburban freeways & expressways
80 to 110 km/h Suburban elevated & depressed freeways
50 to 100 Urban arterial streets
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Design Criteria: Highway Capacity
192
Guidelines for the Selection of Design Level of Service (LOS):
Functional Rural Rural Rural Urban &
Class Level Rolling Mountainous Suburban
Freeway B B C C
Arterial B B C C
Collector C C D D
Local Street D D D D
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Highway
Horizontal
Alignment
193
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194 Horizontal Alignment:
Horizontal Alignment
Consists of Tangents
(Straight Segments)
connected by
Horizontal Curves
Types of Horizontal Curves:
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195 Layout of Simple Horizontal Curve:
T R tan( / 2)
M R1 cos( / 2)
1
E R 1
cos( / 2)
L(curve length) R *
Lc (cord length) 2 * R sin( / 2)
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196 Layout of Simple Horizontal Curve:
Curve severity is defined by Radius (R) and the Degree of curvature
(D)
1719
D
R 30 m
where
R is the radiusin meters
D is the degreeof curvature in ( )
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197 Design of Horizontal Curve:
On horizontal curves, centrifugal force tend to push the vehicle in the
radial direction, the vehicle is maintained by side friction on the
pavement surface and pavement super elevation. Here is the
relationship:
V2
0.01e fl
Where , gR
V – Speed (m/s) , R- Curve Radius (m), f- Side Friction
e – Super elevation % , g – Gravitational Acceleration(m/s2)
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198 Design of Horizontal Curve:
Maximum Superelevation: (e)
The AASHTO range (4%-12%) , but:
1- From a construction perspective a 12 is difficult and 8% can be seen
as the maximum
2- The typical superelevation is 5%
Side-Friction factor: (fl )
The coefficient of side friction, (fl ) is function of vehicle speed and other
factors.
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
199
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
200 Methodology & Considerations for Selecting Side
Friction (fl )
Horizontal curves should not be designed based on the maximum
available side friction.
The centrifugal acceleration due to the curve is counteracted by
side friction and Superelevation
The centrifugal acceleration felt by the driver & passengers is the
portion contributed by the side friction.
The ball-bank indicator:
see next slide
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
201 Methodology & Considerations for Selecting Side
Friction (fl ) indicator (similar to aircrafts):
The ball-bank
Lateral Acceleration = 0.10
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This is the portion carried out ElDessouki
by friction
Design of Horizontal Curve:
202
Design Methodologies: R, e & f
Method 1: Superelevation (e) & side friction (f )are inversely
proportion to curve radius R in a straight line relationship.
Method 2: All lateral acc. Is sustained by side friction i.e.
f = fmax , then superelevation is then utilized.
Method 3: for road-users comfort, Consume maximum superelevation
(emax), then use side friction (f )
Method 4: Same as Method 3, but using Running Speed instead of
Design Speed
Method 5: Same as Method 1, but it assumes a non linear relationship
for (e & f ) vs. 1/R
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
203
Design Methodologies: Example
For a highway with a design speed 90 km/hr, if the maximum
superelevation was set to be 8%. Design a horizontal curve and
determine a safe turning radius such that the maximum centrifugal
force exerted on passengers is maintained below 0.10g
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
204
Design Methodologies: Tangent -to- Curve Transition
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
205
Design Methodologies: Tangent -to- Curve Transition
Superelevation Runoff Length:
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
206
Design Methodologies: Tangent -to- Curve Transition
Superelevation Runoff Length:
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ElDessouki
206
Design of Horizontal Curve:
207
Design Methodologies: Curve-to-Tangent Transition
Tangent Runout Length:
You may use
:
Lt = 2/3 Lr
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
208
Design Methodologies: Locations of Transition Curves
PI
PC
PT
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Methods of Attaining Superelevation:
209 Undivided Multilane Highway
Advantages:
Short lr , Min. cut & fill
Disadvantages:
Water drainage for
inner lanes
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A
Methods of Attaining Superelevation:
210 Undivided Multilane Highway
Advantages:
Good water drainage
Disadvantages:
Long lr
Large amount of fill
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B
Methods of Attaining Superelevation:
Undivided Multilane Highway
211
Advantages:
Smooth Transition
Disadvantages:
Long lr
Large amount of cut
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C
Methods of Attaining Superelevation:
212 Divided Multilane Highway
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Short lr , Min. cut & fill Water drainage for
inner lanes
A- Revolving
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around Roadway Centerline ElDessouki
Methods of Attaining Superelevation:
213 Divided Multilane Highway
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Good for water drainage Large a mounts of Fill material
Long transition curves
B- Revolving around inner Roadway Edges
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Methods of Attaining Superelevation:
214 Divided Multilane Highway
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Best in Terms of Safety , Average on Water drainage for
good on cut & fill material inner lanes
C - Revolving
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around median edge ElDessouki
Design of Horizontal Curve:
215
Offtracking & Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
What is Offtracking:
Offtracking is the characteristic, common to all vehicles,
although much more pronounced with the larger design
vehicles, in which the rear wheels do not follow precisely the
same path as the front wheels when the vehicle negotiates
a horizontal curve or makes a turn.
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
216
Offtracking & Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
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Derivation of Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
Track Width on Curve (U)
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
218 Derivation of Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
219
Derivation of Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
Front Overhang (FA) Extra Width Allowance(Z)
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
220
Derivation of Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
221
Derivation of Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
222
Elements of Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
223
Derivation of Lane Widening for Horizontal Curves
Curve Widening(w) Extra Width Allowance(Z)
Minimum (w = 0.60 m)
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Design of Horizontal Curve:
224
Horizontal Sight Distance Offset (HSO)
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225
Highway
Vertical
Alignment
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Vertical Alignment
226
It is composed of Vertical Tangents connected with Vertical Curves
Design Objective: MINIMIZE CUT AND FILL
Subject to: Maintain LOS and Capacity (at most 2 level drops)
Grades: Should be comfortable for passengers & Suitable for Vehicles
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227 Vertical Alignment:
Vehicle Operating Characteristics on
Grades
Passenger Cars:
For most cars , the range of 4-5% Grade does not affect performance or
loss in speed
Trucks:
The effect of grades on truck speed is much more significant.
HCM Exhibit 23.2 A, is used to estimate the equivalent grade for a series of
composite grades to get an equivalent grade & the overall drop in speed.
CONEN 442 Transportation Engineering S2021 ElDessouki
Vertical Alignment: HCM Exhibit 23.2 A
228 Speed km/hr
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
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229 Vertical Alignment:
Critical Length of Grade for Design
Using the Maximum Grade is not the governing factor, there are other factors
that must be taken into consideration:
1. Size & power of the design vehicle( truck)
2. Speed at entrance to critical length of grade
3. Drop in speed on the critical length
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Vertical Alignment:
230 Critical Length of Grade for Design
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231 Vertical Alignment:
Climbing Lane Design
Climbing lanes are usually added for trucks on two way two lane highways
located in mountainous areas, in order to maintain an acceptable level of
service.
CONEN 442 Transportation Engineering S2021 ElDessouki
Vertical Alignment:
Climbing Lane Design: Criteria
The following are the three criteria to Justify a climbing lane:
1. Upgrade traffic flow rate >200 veh/hr
2. Upgrade Truck flow rate > 20 truck/hr
3. One of the following:
I. Speed Drop > 15 km/hr speed drop alone can justify
II. LOS E or F on the grade
III. LOS Drop two or more levels.
ElDessouki
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Vertical Alignment:
Climbing Lane Design: Example
For the given grade segment of a 2 lane highway, determine if a climbing lane is
need or not? if needed, please determine its start and end. Facts: Grade 8%,
Volume = 650 km/hr , % Trucks= 5%, Deign Speed = 90 km/hr.
Solution:
Upgrade Volume = ??
Number of Trucks = ??
From the charts:
Drop in Speed ??
Drop in LOS ??
LOS E or F ??
Using the HCM Truck performance curves to determine Start & End of climbing lane
ElDessouki
CONEN 442 Transportation Engineering S2021 233
Vertical Alignment:
Climbing Lane Design: Start/End
Speed km/hr
Allowable Drop in Speed 1%
( in this case was 15 km/hr)
2%
3%
Below this line a climbing
lane must be added 4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
ElDessouki
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235
Vertical Curves
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Vertical Curves: Geometric
236
Characteristics
Vertical curves are not circular, they are in the
shape of a parabola, and they are two types: Crest
& Sag curves.
Key Issue: Safety & Clearance
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Key Issue: Clearance & Drainage
237 Vertical Curves: Geometric
Characteristics
Elements of a Vertical curve:
VPI – Vertical point of intersection
VPC – Vertical point of curvature
VPT – Vertical point of tangent
G1 – Approach grade %
G2 – Departure grade %
L – Length of curve in meters G2 G1
r
L
r - rate of change of grade per unit length
Then the curve equation will be: 2
Y ( X ) aX bX Yo
Where:
Y(X) – elevation for a point at (x) meters from the VPC
G2 G1
Yo – Elevation of the VPCa
b – Approach grade, G1% & 2L
CONEN 442 Transportation Engineering S2021 ElDessouki
238 Vertical Curves: Geometric
Example:
Characteristics
For the shown vertical curve. Determine:
1- Stations & Elevations for PVC & PVI
2- STA & Elev for the highest point on the curve. PVI
PVC
PVT 2+431.05
Elev@ PVT= 236.62 m
L =270 m
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239
Design Crest Vertical Curve:
Design Criteria:
Stopping Sight Distance (S)
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240 Design Crest Vertical Curve:
For h1 =1.08 m & h2 = 0.60 m ,
then we can use the following:
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241
Design of Sage Vertical Curve:
Design Criteria:
1. Headlight Stopping Sight Distance (S)
2. Passenger Comfort
3. Drainage Control
4. General Appearance
CONEN 442 Transportation Engineering S2021 ElDessouki
Design of Sage Vertical Curve:
242 Headlight/ Stopping Sight Distance (S)
For Passenger Comfort:
For Drainage:
Rate of Curvature (K) = L/A ≤ 51
For Appearance:
Minimum Length Lmin = 30 A
A = │G2 –G1 │
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Undercrossing Clearance:
h1 =2.4 m, h2 = 0.6 m
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244
Undercrossing Clearance:
h1 =2.4 m, h2 = 0.6 m
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End of Module 2
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