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It is not wealth which make good roads possible, but rather

good roads which make wealth possible – John F Kennedy

EC 451 – HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

2024/2025

Course Outline
• Introduction
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
• Pavement Types & Elements Course Requirements Attendance: 80% of Classes

• Road Construction Materials

CA - 40% (Tests and Assignments)
• Geometric Design Assessment
Exam - 60%
• Pavement Design Methods
SATCC Pavement Design
• Construction & supervision SATCC Pavement Rehabilitation Design
TRH 4 and14
• Pavement Maintenance & Rehabilitation Bibliography Roads Dept. Pavement Design Guide
Low Volume Roads Manual: Volume 1 - Pavement
• Pavement Management system Design; Volume 2 - Geometric Design and Road
Safety

Introduction Role of the Road

Three basic forms of transportation:
1. Air
2. Water Provide mobility and accessibility
3. Land to goods and services

Land transport can be further divided into Most dominant mode of transport
three;
1. Road Door to door service
2. Rail
3. Pipeline

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Sector Agencies Agency Responsibilities

 RTSA – Responsible for registration and licensing of
drivers and motor vehicles and the management and
In 2000, GRZ formulated a Transport
regulation of road traffic in such a manner that road
Policy which disbanded the Road
Traffic Commission and National safety is enhanced and consequently reduce road

Road Safety Commission, Roads traffic accidents in the country.

Department and NRB to established  RDA – Responsible for the care, maintenance and
three Road Sector Agencies through construction of public roads in Zambia
Acts of Parliament, namely;  NRFA - Responsible for mobilisation, administration
and management of all financial resources in the
road sector.

 LCs – Delegated responsibility of road maintenance

in their jurisdiction

Road Classification Road Classification

 TRUNK ROADS (T): Roads leading to neighbouring
 URBAN ROADS (U): Roads in urban areas under
nation e.g. T1 – Livingstone to Kafue; T2 – Chirundu
delegated jurisdiction of local councils
to Nakonde ; T3 – Kapiri to Kasumbalesa; T4 – Great
 PRIMARY FEEDER (PF), Roads within a district
East road; T5 – Chingola to Mwinilunga
connecting rural areas to a trunk, main or district
 MAIN ROADS (M): Road within nation leading from
road.
one town to another e.g. M010 – Sesheke to Senanga;
 SECONDARY FEEDER (SF) AND TERTIARY
M003 – Kasama to Luwingu; M008 – Kabompo to
FEEDER (TF): These are roads that lead deep into
Zambezi
the rural areas and to farm gates, thus providing the
 DISTRICT ROADS (D): Roads within a district e.g.
rural linkage to the CRN
D104 – in Chipata ; D365 – in Monze

Network Lengths Regional Network Lengths

Malawi total: 15,450 km
Road Type Responsible Total Network Core Road CRN Paved CRN Unpaved paved: 6,951 km
Agency (km) Network (km) (km) (km) unpaved: 8,499 km (2011)
Trunk T RDA 3 116 3 116 3 024 92 total: 97,267 km
Zimbabwe
Main M RDA 3 701 3 701 2 205 1 496 paved: 18,481 km
District D RDA 13 707 13 707 1 362 12 345 unpaved: 78,786 km (2002
RDA/LOCAL
Urban AUTHORITY 5 597 5 597 2 812 2 785 South total: 747,014 km
Primary Feeder Africa paved: 158,952 km
PF RDA 15 311 14 333 14 333 unpaved: 588,062 km (2014)
Namibia total: 44,138 km
Primary Tourist* - - paved: 6,387 km
unpaved: 37,751 km (2010)
Secondary Feeder MLGH 10 060 -
Tertiary Feeder MLGH 4 424 - Angola total: 51,429 km
paved: 5,349 km
Park Roads ZAWA 6 607 -
unpaved: 46,080 km (2001)
Community
Roads MLGH 5 000 - Tanzania total: 86,472 km
Total 67 523 40 454 9 403 31 051 paved: 7,092 km
*The length of 2,065km for PT is included in D unpaved: 79,380 km (2010)
& PF roads 23% 77%

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Road Environment
Road Pavement
 A pavement is defined as the durable surface laid
down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot
traffic, such as a road or walkway

 For this course: pavement refers to the structure

constructed primarily for the sustenance of vehicular
traffic comprising 3 basic components viz; surfacing,
structural layers and subgrade, but not necessarily
altogether.

Road Hierarchy Pavement Types

Pavement Cross Section Flexible Pavement

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Flexible Pavement Flexible Pavement

FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT  Road Base (Base course)
- Most popular -Consists of unbound material or bound
material and is laid upon the subbase.
- Quicker to construct and relatively
-Supports the surface course
cheaper
-Main load spreading layer of the pavement
- Consists of following layers:  Subbase;
 Surface Course (Wearing Course) -Consists of unbound or bound material and
-Uppermost layer, Part of road that is is laid upon the subgrade.
visible -May be present or absent depending on
-Provides interface with traffic & strength of subgrade.
environment -Helps in load distribution to the subgrade
-Protects bottom layers from effects of and
environment -Acts as a drainage layer to pass moisture to
-Provides skid resistance and control noise side drains.

Flexible Pavement Rigid Pavement

 Capping Layer (Selected layer  Also called Portland Cement Concrete
or improved subgrade) (PCC) Pavement
-Necessary where very weak  Basic structural element is a concrete slab
soils are encountered of high strength, between 20 – 40 MPa.
-Consist of better quality  Principal Factors that affect thickness;
subgrade material imported  Loads to be supported
from elsewhere or improved  Tire pressure
by stabilisation  Soil bearing capacity
 Subgrade;  Mechanical properties of the concrete
- is the natural ground on
which the road pavement is
constructed.

COMPOSITE PAVEMENT Auxiliary Components

 Shoulders;
 COMPOSITE PAVEMENTS  Minimise lateral movement
 Provide space for emergency stops
 Components of both flexible and rigid pavements
 Space for road furniture e.g. bus stop
 Examples include rigid blocks elements in their composite form and signage
or concrete pavement overlaid by HMA  Footways and cycleway
 Road side kerb
 Drains;
 Ditches on the side of the road to
provide for drainage of rain water
 Can be either lined or unlined
 Mitre drains drain water from side
drains to bush

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Design Considerations
Design Considerations  Environmental conditions;
Considered separately for surfacing and underlying
Primary Considerations in design of Pavement Structure structural layers;
 Traffic loading  Surfacing;
 exposed to sunshine, wind, rain, snow and natural
Roads designed to withstand traffic loading by transferring elements.
high intensity forces at the surface to lower levels  Temp changes cause changes in volume as
materials contract and expand while radiation
effects cause bitumen to oxidise and become
brittle (ageing).
 Stripping and Ravelling result from rain water
penetrating voids.
 Underlying Layers;
 Water greatest enemy of road structures.
 Causes materials to soften and also provides lubrication when load is applied.
 The bearing capacity of a material in a dry state is significantly greater than in a wet state.