TRANSPORTATION

HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

SYLLABUS
CE 93 05 HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
L T P C
3 0 0 3
TOTAL L: 45

UNIT 1.

HIGHWAY PLANNING AND ALIGNMENT

8
History of road development in India Classification of highways Institutions for Highway planning,
design and implementation at different levels factors influencing highway alignment Engineering
surveys for alignment, objectives, conventional and modern methods.

UNIT 2.

GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS INCLUDING HILL ROADS

10
Typical cross sections of Urban and Rural roads Lateral and vertical clearance at underpasses
Cross sectional elements Horizontal curves, super elevation, transition curves, widening of curves
Sight distances Vertical curves, gradients, hairpin bends IRC standards
DESIGN FLEXIBLE AND RIGID PAVEMENTS
9
Design principles pavement components and their role - Design practice for flexible and rigid
pavements, (IRC methods only).

UNIT 3.

UNIT 4.

UNIT 5.

HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, EQUIPMENTS AND PRACTICE

8
Highway construction materials, properties, testing methods Construction practice including modern
methods, concrete road constructions (problem not included) - Highway drainage Special
considerations for hilly roads.
EVALUATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PAVEMENTS
10
Pavement distress in flexible and rigid pavement Pavement evaluation, roughness, present
serviceability index, skid resistance, structural evaluation, evaluation by deflection measurements
Strengthening of pavements Types of maintenance IRC standards

TEXT BOOKS

Khanna.K

and Justo.C.E.G. Highway

Engineering, Khanna Publishers, Roorkee,
1994.
Kadiyali.L.R. Principles and practice of
Highway Engineering, Khanna Technical
Publications, Delhi, 1997.
Indian Road Congress (IRC), Guidelines and
Special Publications of Planning and Design.

REFERENCES

Blunden W.R and J.A Black, The Land Use Transport Systems,
Pergamon Press, 1994.

Vazirani, V.N and S.P.Chandola, Transportation Engineering, Vol.1.

Khanna Publishers, Delhi, 1999

Clarkson.H Oglesby and R.Gary Hicks, Highway Engineering, John

Wileysons , 1992

Arora.N.L. Transportation Engineering, New India Publishing

Home, 1996.

Sharma.S.K Principles , Practices and Design of Highway

Engineering, S.Chand and Company Ltd.1995

OFlaherty.C.A Highways, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford 2006

UNIT 1. HIGHWAY PLANNING AND ALIGNMENT

History of road development in India.

Classification of highways.

Institutions for Highway planning, design and

implementation at different levels

Factors influencing highway alignment

Engineering surveys for alignment, objectives,

conventional and modern methods.

History of Road Development in the

World

Mountain Trails

Roman Roads

Roman Road Construction

Basic cross section

Ancient Greek Roads

grooves and large stone blocks

Macadam Road

India Grand Trunk Road

2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi).

Plank Road Western US

Early 20th Century

Plank roads were typically constructed of wood planks

two inches thick and eight feet long, which were nailed to fourinch-square stringers at a 90-degree angle.

Future roads General Areas

History of Road Development in India

Ancient

Period (3500 BC)

Mughul

Period (15th Century)

British
Free

Period (17th & 18th Century)

India (1950 onwards)

Types of Ancient Indian Roads

Indus Valley Civilization (Harrapa and Mohenjedaro):

Roads with brick drains on both sides.

Mauryan rule in the 4th century constructed

Rajpath (high roads)
Banikpaths (merchant roads).

Ashoka Regime:

Road networks with horticulture and rest houses at 4.8 6.4km along the roads.

Mughul Period
Trunk

roads between Northwest to Eastern part and also linking coastal and
central part of India

British Period

Trunk roads, bridges, PWD was formed, construction of Grand Trunk Road

Indian Roads

India has a large road network of over 3.314 million

kilometers of roadways (2.1 million miles).

It is 3rd largest road network in the world.

At 0.66 km of highway per square kilometer of land the

density of Indias highway network is higher than that of
the United States (0.65) and far higher than that of
China's (0.16) or Brazil's (0.20).

Golden Quadrilateral
It connects India's four largest
metropolises: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai
and Kolkata.
Four other top ten metropolises:
Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, and
Surat, are also served by the network.
The largest highway project in India,

initiated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it is

the first phase of the National
Highways Development Project
(NHDP),
It consists of building 5,846 km

(3,633 mi) of four/six lane express

highways.
Cost : 60,000 crore

Impact of Transportation

Economic Development

Social Development

Spatial Development

Cultural Development

Political Development

Institution for Highway Planning, Design and

Implementation at Different Levels

Jayakar Committee (1927)

Central Road Fund (1929)

Indian Roads Congress (IRC), 1934

Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), 1950

National Highway Act, 1956

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI),1995

National Highway Act ( 1956 )

Second Twenty Year Road Plan ( 1961 )

Highway Research Board ( 1973 )

National Transport Policy Committee ( 1978 )

Third Twenty Year Road Plan ( 1981 )

Jayakar Committee,1927

Road development should be made a national interest since

the provincial and local govt do not have financial and technical
capacity for road development.

Levy extra tax on petrol from road users to create the road
development fund.

To establish a semi-official ,technical institution to pool technical

knowledge, sharing of ideas and to act as an advisory body.

To create a national level institution to carry research ,

development works and consultation.

Central Road Fund , 1929

CRF Act , 2000
Distribution of 100% cess on petrol as follows:
57.5% for NH
MORTH
30% for SH
12.5% for safety works on rail-Road crossing.
50% cess on diesel for Rural Road development

Indian Roads Congress, 1934

To provide national forum for regular pooling of

experience and ideas on matters related to
construction and maintenance of highways.

To recommend standard specifications.

To provide a platform for expression of professional

opinion on matters relating to roads and road
transport.

CRRI
A constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

engaged in carrying out research and development projects.

design, construction and maintenance of roads and runways,

traffic and transportation planning of mega and medium cities,
management of roads in different terrains,

Improvement of marginal materials,

Utilization of industrial waste in road construction,
Landslide control,
Ground improvements environmental pollution,

Road traffic safety,

Service life assessment and rehabilitation of highway & railway

bridges.

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

Planning, development and maintenance of National

Highways in the country.
Extends technical and financial support to State
Governments for the development of state roads and the
roads of inter-state connectivity and economic
importance.
Evolves standard specifications for roads and bridges in
the country.
Serves as a repository of technical knowledge on roads
and bridges.

Classification of Highways
Depending on weather
All weather roads
Fair weather roads
National highway act
( 1956
) of Carriage way
Depending on the
type
Paved roads
Unpaved roads
Depending upon the pavement surface
Surfaced roads
Un surfaced roads

Classification of Highways
Based on the Traffic Volume
Heavy
Medium
Light
Based on Load or Tonnage
Class 1 or Class 2 etc or Class A , B etc Tonnes per day
Based on location and function ( Nagpur road plan )
NH
SH
MDR
ODR
VR

Based on modified system of

Highways classification

Primary
Expressways
National Highways

Secondary
SH
MDR

Tertiary
ODR
VR

Classification of Roadways
Expressways

200 Km

National

70,548 Km

Highways

State

Highways

1,31,899 Km

Major

District Roads

4,67,763 Km

Rural

and Other Roads

26,50,000 Km

Expressways
Heavy

traffic at high speed (120km/hr)

Land Width (90m)
Full access control
Connects major points of traffic generation
No slow moving traffic allowed
No loading, unloading, parking.

National Highways

India has a huge network of national highways.

The national highways have a total length of 70,548 kms. Indian
highways cover 2% of the total road network of India and carry 40%
of the total traffic.
The entire highway network of India is managed by the National
Highway Authority of India which is responsible for development and
maintenance of highways.

Longest highway in India is NH7 (2,369 km),which stretches from

Varansi in Uttar Pradesh to Kanyakumari in the southern most point
of Indian mainland.

Shortest National Highway is the NH 47A (5.9 km (3.7 mi)), which connects
Kundanoor Junction in Kochi city to the Kochi port at Willingdon Island.

NH 7 (2,369 km)

State Highways
They

are the arterial roads of a state,

connecting up with the national highways of
adjacent states, district head quarters and
important cities within the state.

Total

length of all SH in the country is

1,37,119 Kms.

Major District Roads

Important

roads with in a district serving

areas of production and markets , connecting
those with each other or with the major
highways.

India

has a total of 4,70,000 kms of MDR.

Other district roads

Roads

serving rural areas of production and

providing them with outlet to market centers
or other important roads like MDR or SH.

Village roads
They

are roads connecting villages or group

of villages with each other or to the nearest
road of a higher category like ODR or MDR.

India

has 26,50,000 kms of ODR+VR out of

the total 33,15,231 kms of all type of roads.

Urban Road Classification

ARTERIAL ROADS
SUB ARTERIAL
COLLECTOR
LOCAL STREET
CUL-DE-SAC
PATHWAY
DRIVEWAY

Urban Road Classification

ARTERIAL ROADS
SUB ARTERIAL
COLECTOR
LOCAL STREET
CUL-DE-SAC
PATHWAY
DRIVEWAY

 No

ARTERIAL

frontage access, no standing vehicle, very

little cross traffic.
Design Speed : 80km/hr
Land width
: 50 60m
Spacing 1.5km in CBD & 8km or more in
sparsely developed areas.
Divided roads with full or partial parking
Pedestrian allowed to walk only at intersection

SUB ARTERIAL
Bus

stops but no standing vehicle.

Less mobility than arterial.
Spacing for CBD : 0.5km
Sub-urban fringes : 3.5km
Design speed
: 60 km/hr
Land width
: 30 40 m

Collector Street
Collects and distributes traffic from local streets
Provides access to arterial roads
Located in residential, business and industrial
areas.
Full access allowed.
Parking permitted.
Design speed : 50km/hr
Land Width
: 20-30m

Local Street
Design

Speed : 30km/hr.
Land Width
: 10 20m.
Primary access to residence, business or other
abutting property
Less volume of traffic at slow speed
Origin and termination of trips.
Unrestricted parking, pedestrian movements.
(with frontage access, parked vehicle, bus stops
and no waiting restrictions)

CULDE- SAC
Dead

End Street with only one entry access

for entry and exit.
Recommended in Residential areas

Road Patterns
Rectangular

or Block patterns
Radial or Star block pattern
Radial or Star Circular pattern
Radial or Star grid pattern
Hexagonal Pattern
Minimum Travel Pattern

Highway Development Process

Factors in Planning

Factors Influencing Highway Alignment

Requirements:

Short
Easy
Safe
Economical

Factors controlling alignment :

1) Obligatory points
A. Obligatory points through which alignment should pass through ( bridge site,
intermediate town , Mountain pass etc
B. Obligatory points through which alignment should not pass. (Religious
Places,Lakes/Ponds
2) Traffic
3) Geometric design
4) Economics
5) Other considerations

Factors governing alignment

Obligatory points

The location should avoid obstructions such as places of

cemeteries, archeological, historical monument, public facilities like
schools and hospitals, utility services.

Geometric design features

Facilitate easy grade and curvature

Enable ruling gradient in most sections
Void sudden changes in sight distance, especially near crossings
Avoid sharp horizontal curves
Avoid road intersections near bend or at the top or bottom of a hill

Factors governing alignment

Precautions

at river and railway crossings

Bridges should be preferably be located at right

angles to the river flow, not located on a
horizontal curve.

Crossing railway lines should avoid intersections

at gradient, frequent crossing and recrossing

Factors governing alignment

Topographical control points

The alignment, where possible should avoid passing through

Marshy and low lying land with poor drainage
Flood prone areas
Unstable hilly features
Avalanche prone areas

Cross Slope

Flat terrain : 0 10%

Rolling terrain :10 to 25%
Mountainous terrain:25% - 40%
Steep : >60%

A location on high ground should be preferred rather than valley to

avoid cross drainage works

Factors governing alignment

Materials

and constructional features

Deep cutting should be avoided

Earth work is to be balanced; quantities for filling
and excavation
Alignment should preferably be through better soil
area to minimize pavement thickness
Location may be near sources of embankment
and pavement materials

Traffic
Trend,

Direction and pattern of traffic are

critical elements.
OD survey should be conducted.
Desire lines based on survey should be
drawn to indicate the desired pattern of traffic
flow.

DESIRE LINES

Horizontal alignment

Adjustments in horizontal alignment can help reduce the potential for

generating roadway sediment.
The objective is to minimize roadway cuts and fills and to avoid unstable
areas.
When unstable or steep slopes must be traversed, adjustments in vertical
alignment can minimize impacts and produce a stable road by reducing cuts
and fills

ECONOMIC FACTORS
Capital

cost
Maintenance Cost
Operational cost
Road User Cost
Embankment and deep cuttings cost.

Other Considerations
Engineering

feasibility

Environmental
Social

consideration

consideration

Political

Acceptability

Monotony.

Engineering Surveys for Highway locations

1)

Provisional alignment Identification ( Map

study)

2)

Reconnaissance survey

3)

Preliminary survey

4)

Final location to determine center line and

detailed survey

Drawing and Report

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)

Key map
Index map
Preliminary survey plans
Detailed plan and longitudinal section
Detailed cross section
Land acquisition plans
Drawings of cross drainage and other retaining structures
Drawings of road intersections
Land plans showing quarries etc

SURVEY DATA COLLECTION

Natural

and man made features.

Proposed Geometric Design elements.
Number of cross drainage structures.
Soil characteristics
Source of construction materials.
Geological formation, type of rocks.
Drainage

MAP STUDY

Base Map preparation

Topographical map (SoI)
Scale -1: 2,50,000
1: 50,000
1: 25,000
Shows man made and natural features and contour
lines at 15 or 30m interval.
Shows possible alignments with obligatory points and
minimum number of cross drainage structures.

RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY

Map updating to confirm features indicated on map.

Checking for:

Number of cross drainage structures.

High Flood Level (HFL)
Confirming Length and value of gradient to IRC standards.
Soil Characteristics.
Geological features.
Proximity to source of construction materials- quarries, water
sources.

Prepare a report on merits and demerits and profile

map of scale 1:50,000.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY

Base Plan

Built up area/hilly terrain

Plain and rolling terrain

1:1000
1:2500

1:100
1:250

Plain Terrain`
Rolling Terrain
Hilly Terrain

: 100 200m
: 50m
: 30m

Other studies

Vr

Establish center line

Incorporation of natural and man made features
Longitudinal and cross sectional profile (Levelling).

Hz

Drainage, Hydrological, soil, Traffic and Materials.

Finalisation of the best alignment

Comparative analysis.
Choose best alignment among alternatives.
Design geometric elements.

DETAILED SURVEY FOR FINAL LOCATION

Transferring

the alignment on to ground.

Detail

Survey levelling work for longitudinal

and transverse direction.

Intervals

Soil

for cross sectional levelling

Plain
Rolling
Built up
Hilly

Profile

50 100m
50 75m
50m
20m

Soil Profile
A Horizon

B Horizon

C Horizon

Alignment for hill roads

Minimum

hair pin bends.

Bends should be located on stable and flat
slopes.
Cross section for hair pin bends should be at
intervals of 20-25m.
Avoid bends in valleys.
Survey for a width of ;

15 m on either side of centre line in straight alignment

30m on sharp curves.

MODERN SURVEY METHODS

1)

Provisional alignment Identification ( Map study)

2)

Reconnaissance survey
Hand held GPS giving 3D positions to an accuracy of
10-20m .
Preliminary Survey

3)
4)

5)

Mapping of topography and relief

Use of aerial Photos
Airborne Laser Terain Mapping

Final location and detailed survey.

Modern Equipments for Surveying

EDM

Electronic Distance Measurement

Auto level.
Digital level.
Total station.
GPS global positioning system.

Aerial Photos

Balloon photography
(1858)
Pigeon cameras (1903)
Kite photography (1890)
Aircraft (WWI and WWII)
Space (1947)

IKONOS (1 m Panchromatic)

Landsat TM
(False Color Composite)
LIDAR
(Light Detection and Ranging)

DATA FROM AERIAL SURVEY

Mosaic

for longitudinal and lateral overlaps.

Control points
Examination of photos for spot levels and
contour lines
Topo details
Photo interpretation for geological features,
soil and drainage for the study area

GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Elements of design:

Sight distance

The length of road ahead visible to drivers

Stopping sight distance
Passing sight distance

Horizontal alignment
Super elevation rates (0.1 for rural areas, 0.06 for urban)
Minimum radius

Vertical alignment
Pavement design
Intersection and crossing design

Guidance for Route Selection

Straight line alignment preferred.

Avoid obstructions and frequent railway and river

crossings.

Avoid landslide, erosion prone and water logged and

marshy area.

Avoid alignment on clayey soil.

Alignment should aim at maintaining uniform design

speed, easy grades and curvature.

Comparison of Conventional and

Modern Methods of Surveying
Elements of
comparison

Conventional

Modern

Maps- Base
material

Topo sheets

RS data, Aerial Photos,

Satellite Imageries

Instruments

Chains, Tapes, Theodolite,

Dumpy levels

EDM, Total Station, GPS,

Auto and Digital Level,
Photogrammetry.

Accuracy

Chain/Tape 1 in 3000 to 1 in
30,000
Tacheometer 1 in 1000 to 1 in
10,000

EDM/TS 1 in 10000 to 1 in
1,00,000
Photogrammetry. 1 in 10000
to 1 in 1,00,000

Plotting

CAD Systems

Software

Errors

Human errors

Closing Errors hence re

measuring is required.

UNIT 1. HIGHWAY PLANNING AND ALIGNMENT

History of road development in India.

Classification of highways.

Institutions for Highway planning, design and

implementation at different levels

Factors influencing highway alignment

Engineering surveys for alignment, objectives,

conventional and modern methods.

QUESTIONS
Recommendations of various Committees.
Factors influencing alignment.
Classification of Highways.
Difference between modern and conventional
surveys.
Highway Development Plan.