CE 447: Highway Engineering

Highway Planning and Capacity

Dr. Fawaz Alharbi

06/09/2018 - 25/12/1439
Highway engineering: is divided into structure
design and geometric design.

! Structure design of highway pavement

includes studying soil and pavement
materials.

! Two types of pavement material are

commonly used: flexible and rigid
pavements
! Geometric design includes:
" Pavement widths

" Horizontal and vertical alignment

" Slopes

" Other features of the highway.

Highway Classification
! The classification of highway is necessary
for communication among:
" Engineer

" Administrators

" General Public

! The highways are classified based on:

" Functional Classification

" Shape Classifications

Concept of Functional Classification
Hierarchies of Movements and Components
! The 6 recognizable stages include:
" Main movement,

" Transition,

" Distribution,

" Collection,

" Access, and

" termination
 Hierarch of Movement

Main Movement

Terminal Access

Transition
Collection

Distribution
Functional Relationships
! Groups streets and highways according to
the character of service they are intended to
provide.
! Individual roads and streets do not serve
travel independently.
! Most travel involves movement through
networks of roads.
Functional Classification
! Three general categories exist
" Arterials

" Collectors

" Local streets

! Travel Mobility and Land Access

" High functional class

" Low functional class

Relationship of Functionally Classified Systems in Serving
Traffic Mobility and Land Access

Mobility Arterials

Collectors

Locals
Land Access
Definition of Urban and Rural Areas
! Urban and rural functional systems are classified
differently.
! Urban areas: places having a population of 5,000
or more.
! Urbanized areas: population of 50,000 and over.
! Small urban area: population between 5,000 and
50,000.
! Rural areas are those areas outside the boundaries
of urban areas.
Rural Functional Systems
! Principal Arterials: statewide or
interstate travel, or between large
urban areas
! Minor Arterials: travel between cities
! Collectors: intra-county travel
! Locals: land and property access, short
trips
Urban Functional Systems
! Principal Arterials: high volumes, long
trips
! Minor Arterials: moderate trip lengths
! Collectors: both land access and traffic
circulation
! Locals: property access, residential
streets
! The AASHTO design is based on
Functional classification of highways
! FC is used to determine Design Speed
and Roadway Type
! FC is based on Hierarch of
Movements.
Geometric (Shape) Classification
! 2-lane highway
! Multilane highway
Design Controls and Criteria
! Primary Controls:
" Highway System and classification

" Topography and physical features

" Traffic

! Dependent Controls: Speed, design vehicle,

level of service and capacity, pavement
type, driver, pedestrian, bicycle features,
and safety
Design Vehicle
Important characteristics:
! Dimensions
! Turning path
! Acceleration/deceleration
! Vehicle emissions
! Vehicle noise
AASHTO vehicle classes:
! Passenger car (PC)
! Bus
! Truck
! Recreational vehicle (RV)
! Bicycle – where allowed.
! There are 19 design vehicles
! PC: may be design vehicle (DV) when main
generator is a parking lot
! SU: may be DV for intersections of residential
streets and parking roads
! City transit bus: may be DV for intersections with
designated bus routes and that have relatively few
large truck volumes
! School bus: may be DV for intersections of low-
volume county roads and local road under 400 ADT
! WB-65 or 67: min size for freeway ramps and
arterials, state roads and industrialized streets
! WB-50: other arterials
Drivers

Driver’s characteristics of interest:

! Reaction time
! Decision making ability
! Sight/hearing acuity
Human factors as a subject of human
behavior and psychology
Task of Driving
! Control: steering and speed control
! Guidance: vehicle following, collision
avoidance, lane changing, etc
! Navigation: trip planning and route
choice
In general, driving errors result from:
! Driver deficiencies: fatigue, inexperience,
poor judgment, intoxication, etc
! Complexity of driving situation: too much
info, too much decisions, too little time,
etc
! Confusion: poor/inadequate signing,
deficient or inconsistent design
! Conditions leading to inappropriate speeds
! Conditions leading to inattention
Design and Legal Speed
! Design speed is defined as a selected speed
used to determine the various geometric
design features of the roadway.
! The assumed design speed must consider:
" The topography,

" Anticipated operating speed,

" The adjacent land use, and

" The functional classification of highway.

Roadway Information

! Formal system: traffic control devices

(signs, markings, delineations, signals, etc)
! Informal system: roadway and its
environment (alignment, grades, width,
roadway elements, landscaping, power and
telephone lines)
! Visibility is a key factor
! Consistency between the two is important
! The design speed must be equal to or
greater than the legal speed for the facility
and be specified in 5 mph increments.
! High design speeds: 50 mph and higher
! Low design speeds: Less than 50 mph.
! Legal speed limit is a posted speed limit, for
which drivers are required by law not to
drive at speeds higher than that posted.
Traffic and Highway Capacity
Three main issues to be determined:
! Demand
! Capacity
! Speed
Traffic Demand

! Should determine the “design volume” for

the proposed facility
! Directional hourly design volume (DDHV)
! Average annual daily traffic (AADT)
usually readily available
! AADT is not adequate for design
! DDHV can be estimated from AADT
Design hourly volume

! Typical procedure:
! Estimate hourly volume
! Determine directional split
! Determine composition of traffic
Design hour

! Traffic volume shows a high temporal

variation
! Not reasonable to design for the highest
hourly volume of the year
! There should be a compromise on to which
volume our design should base on
Relationship of Peak Hour and AADT
Volumes on Rural Arterials
Design hour volume - Rural

! Design hourly volume (DHV) = 30 HV

! This is the hour in the year with the 30th
highest hourly volume
! Only under-designing for 29 hrs of the yr
! Determining DHV: we need to know the 30
HV as a percentage of the AADT
! % is estimated from typical curve for the
roadway
Design hour volume – Recreational routes

! Traffic is highly seasonal: 30 HV is not

suitable as DHV
! Peak hour volume is usually significantly
higher than the 30 HV
! There are available guidelines on how to
deal with such facilities
Design hourly volume - Urban

! Design hour volume also based on 30 HV

! For roads with pronounced peak: find day
with highest afternoon peak and average
over 52 weeks.
! In practice, the resulting value of the
alternative method is usually not much
different from 30 HV value
 Directional distribution
! Directional split also shows variations
! It is important because it affects the size of
the facility to be designed.
! Design of major intersections and
interchanges require even more detailed
information – DHV of all movements for
morning and evening peaks
Highway capacity
! To determine the geometric size of a facility
we need to know both DEMAND and
CAPACITY
! Demand: given by the DHV
! Capacity: given by Design Hourly Service
Volume (DSV)
! Capacity affected by highway and traffic
conditions
! Recall 3 major parameters affecting
highway capacity:
" Running speed (S) in mph

" Flow (v) in veh/h

" Density (D) in veh/mi

! Maximum capacity is achieved at LOS E

! Recall LOS A thru E
 LOS D
LOS A

LOS B LOS E

LOS F
LOS C
 SF Rate and DSV Analysis
! It is usually useful to determine the service flow
rates and service volumes for the various levels of
service under prevailing conditions.
! Various demand levels are usually compared to
these estimates for a quick determination of
expected level of service.

SFi = MSFi × N × fHV × fp

Where: SFi = service flow rate for LOS i (veh/h)
MSFi = max service flow rate for LOS i (pc/h/ln)
! The MSF rates for each LOS are taken from
appropriate tables in the HCM for freeways and
multilane highways.
! SF rates are stated in terms of peak flows within the
peak hour, for a 15-min analysis period.
! Then the SF rates are converted to design service
volumes over the full peak hour as shown below:
DSVi = SFi ×PHF
Where DSVi = design service volume over a full peak
hour for LOS i.
 Design of Number of Lanes
! An existing or forecast demand volume is used to
determine the number of lanes needed to provide
for a desired LOS. The number of lanes are
determined as follows:

DDHV
Ni =
PHF ! MSFi ! f HV ! f p

Where: Ni = number of lanes (in one direction) required to provide LOS i

DDHV = directional design hourly volume, veh/h
NOTE: the N value obtained should be rounded up to a whole number.
! We generally design for a LOS better than
E
! Once the LOS is determined, the DSV is the
maximum flow for that LOS
! Guideline for selection of design levels

Appropriate)level)of)service)for)specified)combinations)of
)))))area)and)terrain)type
Functional) Rural Urban)and
Class Rural)Level Rural)Rolling Mountainous Suburban
Freeway B B C C
Arterial B B C C
Collector C C D D
Local D D D D