SRI CHANDRASEKHARENDRA

SARASWATHI VISWA MAHAVIDYALAYA

(University Under Section 3 of the UGC Act 1956)
(Accredited with “A” Grade by NAAC)
Enathur, Kanchipuram – 631 561. Tamil Nadu, India.

DEPARTMENT OF
CIVIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Course Material

Subject Name : TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

Subject Code : BCEF185T30 ( CIVIL)
Year/Semester : III / V

Prepared by
Mrs. [Link] AP (S-II)
 Transportation Engineering
AIM & OBJECTIVE
 To understand about highway development in India, highway alignment.
 To understand about the design of the geometric elements of highways.
 To understand about the characteristics of pavement materials.
 To understand about design of flexible and rigid pavements.
 To understand about traffic studies, regulation and control measures and highway
maintenance

SYLLABUS: Transportation Engineering

UNIT - I Highway Development and Planning

Highway development and planning-Classification of roads, road development in India,
Current road projects in India; highway alignment and project preparation.
UNIT - II Geometric Design of Highway
Geometric design of highways-: Introduction; highway cross section elements; sight distance,
stopping sight distance, over taking sight distance, design of horizontal alignment; design of
vertical alignment; problems
UNIT – III Pavement Materials
Pavement materials- Materials used in Highway Construction- Soils, Stone aggregates,
bituminous binders, bituminous paving mixes; Portland cement and cement concrete: desirable
properties, tests, requirements for different types of pavements.
UNIT – IV Design of Pavement
Design of pavements- Introduction; flexible pavements, factors affecting design and
performance; stresses in flexible pavements; design of flexible pavements as per IRC; rigid
pavements- components and functions; factors affecting design and performance of CC
pavements; stresses in rigid pavements; design of concrete pavements as per IRC;
UNIT – V Traffic Engineering and Control
Traffic engineering & control- Traffic Characteristics, traffic engineering studies, traffic flow
and capacity, traffic regulation and control; road intersections; parking facilities; highway
lighting. Highway maintenance. Pavement evaluation.
INTRODUCTION

Transportation engineering means application of technology, scientific principles to

the planning, functional design, operation and management of facilities for any mode of
transportation in order to provide for the safe, efficient, rapid, comfortable, convenient,
economical, and environmentally compatible movement of people and goods transport.

Transportation engineering, primarily involves planning, design, construction,

maintenance, and operation of transportation facilities. The facilities support air, highway,
railroad, pipeline, water, and even space transportation. The design aspects of transportation
engineering include the sizing of transportation facilities, determining the materials and
thickness used in pavement designing the geometry (vertical and horizontal alignment) of the
roadway.

APPLICATIONS

 Transportation Engineering is related to the application of scientific principles and the

use of technology to ensure that the movement of people and freight is carried out in a
safe, fast, comfortable, convenient, and economical manner.

 High-quality transportation systems are essential for the economic and social
development of our cities.

 Current challenges in transportation include the increase in traffic congestion, longer

commute distances, continuing road safety problems, unchecked urban sprawl, limited
access to public transportation, the systemic neglect of pedestrian and cyclist needs,
motorized vehicle emissions and related energy consumption concerns, and the
inefficient movement of goods.

 These challenges create the need for engineers capable of designing and
implementing innovative solutions to address transportation problems.

 Transportation engineers have the skills to plan, design, construct, operate, and
maintain roads, airports, port terminals, mass transportation systems, and railroads,
among other facilities and systems.

 In the process of performing these tasks, the transportation engineer combines

specialized transportation knowledge with fundamental knowledge from the fields of
mathematics, physics, economics, and computer programming, among others.
  The use of technology to develop intelligent transportation systems is an ever-
growing area of interest for transportation engineers.

 Examples of intelligent transportation systems include the use of sensors and video
cameras to compile live traffic information that is used to manage vehicle flows on
roads.

 Another important application of intelligent transportation systems is the use of

communication systems to provide real-time information to travelers regarding traffic
conditions or the location of public transport vehicles.
CONCLUSION

Upon completion of this course, Students should be able to

 Carry out surveys involved in planning and highway alignment

 Design the geometric elements of highways
 Characterize pavement materials
 Design flexible and rigid pavements as per IRC
 Carry out traffic studies and implement traffic regulation and control measures
Text Books:
1. Khanna, S.K., Justo, C.E.G and Veeraragavan, A, 'Highway Engineering', Revised
10th Edition, Nem Chand & Bros, 2017
2. Kadiyalai, L.R., ' Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning', Khanna Publishers.
3. Partha Chakraborty, ' Principles Of Transportation Engineering.
4. Fred L. Mannering, Scott S. Washburn, Walter P. Kilareski,'Principles of Highway
Engineering and Traffic Analysis', 4th Edition, John Wiley

References:

1. Srinivasa Kumar, R, Textbook of Highway Engineering, Universities Press, 2011.

2. Paul H. Wright and Karen K. Dixon, Highway Engineering, 7th Edition, Wiley
Student
Edition, 2009.
VIDEO LINK

[Link] - Highway planning, materials

[Link] - Geometric design of pavement

[Link] - Traffic engineering

 UNIT I – HIGHWAY PLANNING AND ALIGNMENT
Highway development and planning-Classification of roads, road development in India, Current
road projects in India; highway alignment and project preparation
.
Contributions made by Jayakar committee for the road development in India.
The two major contributions made by Jayakar committee are:
i)Classification of roads in India into five categories.
National highways
State highways
Major district roads
Other district roads
Village roads
ii) Creation of central road fund

Ruling gradient and exceptional gradient.

Ruling gradient
This is the desirable upper limit of gradient adopted in the normal course of design. This
adoption of ruling gradient should balance the cutting and filling of earth work which will give an
economical design. Different factors which are to be considered in the choice of ruling gradient is
type of terrain, the length of the grade, the speed. Pulling capacity of vehicles and the presence
of horizontal stretches of road.
Exceptional gradient
In some ground conditions it will be inevitable to provide a gradient steeper then limiting
gradient such gradients are referred to as exceptional gradient.

Modifications made in macadam's method of road construction

Following are the important modifications made in macadam's method:
Realizing the importance of sub grade drainage and compaction, the sub grade was
prepared with sufficient cross slope.
Heavy foundation stones were replaced with broken stones and with adequate drainage
arrangements.
The total thickness is comparatively less and the order of 25 cm.

The size of brocks tones used for the layer was based on the stability under animal
drawn vehicles.
Functions of medians in urban roads.
Separators or medians are provided the head on collision between two vehicles moving in
opposite directions in the adjacent lanes. These medians may be in the form of pavement
markings, physical dividers or area separators. Out of these three pavements making is the
cheapest.

Objectives of highway research board.

Highway research board of Indian roads congress was set up in [Link] constitution of the
board primarily aims to serve as national centre for road research with the following role to play.
To ascertain the nature and extent of research required.
To correlative research information from various organizations in India and abroad with a
view to exchanging publications and information on roads.
To sponsor basic research through universities and research organizations.
To collect and disseminate of research.
To coordinate and conduct correlation services.
To involve in any other matter related to road research.

Classification of roads according to Nagpur road plan.

National highway
State highway
Major district roads
Other district roads
Village roads

Ideal alignment
The alignment should as short and direct possible between the terminal points. This
arrangement will be economical in construction, maintenance and operation.
The alignment should not interfere to the maximum extent, with agriculture and industries.
Further there should be no interference with the utility services like overhead transmission lines,
water supply lines, etc.

Camber.
Camber, also called as cross fall, is the convexity provided to the cross section of the
surface of carriage way. It is the difference in level between the highest point, known as the
crown usually located at the centre of the carriage, and the edge.
Camber is provided so as
To drain surface water
To separate the traffic in two opposite directions
To improve the appearance of the road
Carriage way.
The pavement width or carriage width depends on the width of traffic lane and number of
lanes. The carriage way accommodating one line of traffic movement is called as a traffic lane.
The width of the lane is decided based on the width of vehicle and the minimum side clearance
may allow more vehicles with high speed.

Reasons for the poor state of road development in India

The poor state of road development in India in the past may be due to the following reasons:
i) There was no planned development of roads in the country up to the
initiation of Nagpur Road plan in the year [Link] during the five-year
plans since 1951; the development works were speeded up.
ii) The investment even today on the road development programme is much
lower than the revenue from the road transport.
iii) Poor economic conditions of the vast majority of the population in villages
prohibit the owing of private vehicles and discourage the use of transport.

Main features in roman roads

The main features of the roman roads are:
They were built straight regardless of gradients.
They were built after the soft soil was removed and a hard statum was reached the total
thickness of the construction was as high as 0.75 to 1.2 meters at some places, even though
the magnitude of wheel loads of animal drawn vehicles was very low.

Advantages of road transportation

The advantages of transportation are:
Transportation is for advancement community
Transportation is essential for the economic and general development of the country.

Characteristics of roadways.
Roads are used by various types of road vehicles like passengers, cars, buses; trucks,
two or three-wheeled [Link] railway tracks are used only by rail
locomotives. Waterways are used by only ships.
Construction & maintenance of roads is cheaper than others.
Flexibility
For short distance travel road transport saves time.
Road transport is the only means of transport that offers itself to the whole community
alive.

Tresaguet construction
Pierre Tresaguet (1716-1796) developed an improved method of construction in
France by the year [Link] developed several methods of construction which were
considered to be quite meritorious. The main feature of his proposal was that the thickness of
construction need be only in the order of 30 cm.
Steps in Macadam construction
The construction steps are:
Sub grade is compacted and prepared with a cross slope of 1 in 36 up to a desired
width.
Broken stones of a strong variety, all passing through 5 cm size sieve were compacted
to a uniform thickness of 10 cm.
The second layer of strong broken stones of size 3.75cm was compacted to thickness of
10 cm.
The top layer consisted of stones of size less than 2cm compacted to a thickness of
about 5 cm and finished so that the cross slopes of pavement surface was also 1 in 36.

Important principles of John Macadam construction

The principles of good road construction are:
It is the native soil that supports the traffic load ultimately, and when the soil is
maintained in a dry state it can carry heavy loads without settlement.
Stones which are broken to small angulr pieces and compacted can interlock with each
other and form a hard surface.

Comparison between Macadam & Telford construction

The two methods have been compared here:
Macadam method Telford method
i) The subgrade was given a cross slope of 1 The subgrade was kept horizontal and hence
in 36 to facilitate subgrade drainage. subgrade drainage was not proper.
ii) The bottom layer of pavement or the Heavy foundation stones of varying sizes,
subbase course consisted of broken stones about 17 cm towards the edges and 22 cm
of less than 5 cm. towards the centre were hand packed and
prepared to serve as sub base course.
iii) Base and surface courses consisted of Two layers of broken stones were
broken stones of smaller sizes to compacted compacted over the foundation stones before
thickness of 10 and 5 cm respectively. laying the wearing course.

iv) The total thickness of pavement The total thickness of construction varied
construction was kept uniform from edge t from about 35 cm at the edge to about 41 cm
centre to a minimum value of only 25cm. at the centre.

CRF.
st
The Central Road Fund (CRF) was formed on 1 march [Link] consumers of
petrol were charged an extra leavy of 2.64 paisa per litre of petrol to build up this road
development fund 20 percent of the annual revenue. The accounts of the central road fund are
maintained by the Accountant General Revenue. The CRF has been revised in order to
augment the revenue under this fund.
Committees and sub committees in IRC
IRC has many committees and sub committees:
Committee:
Bituminous committee
Cement concrete committee
Road Transport Development committee
Research organization committee
Transport operation cost committee
Specification standard committee
Sub Committee:
Cement road concrete surfacing
Education of road engineers
Soil research
Traffic engineering

Objectives of Twenty year Road development plan.

The broad objectives are:
i) Provision of good communication in the rural areas is essential to check increasing
urbanization.
ii) The future road system should besides serving the highly developed and agricultural areas,
also take into account the needs of the semi-developed and undeveloped areas.
iii) The road length should be increased as to give a road density of 32 km per 100 [Link]

Calculation of total length of metalled road & NH & SH & MDR

The formulas are:

A B
NH + SH + MDR (km) = 1.6N 8T +D –R
32

Where,
A = Agricultural area, km2
B = Non-Agricultural area
N = Number of towns and villages with population range 2001 -5000
T= Number of towns and villages with population over 5000
D = Development allowance of 15 percent of road length.
R = Existing length of railway track, km

Recommendations of jayakar committee

The most important recommendations made by the committee are:

i) The road development in the country should be considered as a national interest as

the capacity of provincial governments and local bodies.
ii) An extra tax should be levied on petrol fro the road users to develop a road
development fund called central road fund.
Bombay Road Plan
The Second Twenty Year road development pan for the period 1961-81 was
initiated by the IRC and was finalized in 1959 at the meeting of the chief engineers and the same
was forwarded to the central government. This road development plan is also known as Bombay
road plan.

IRC.
Instance of Central government a semi official technical body known as Indian
Roads Congress (IRC). The IRC was constituted to provide a forum fro regular pooling of
experience and ideas on all matters affecting the planning construction and maintenance of
roads in India.

Objectives of Highway Research Board

The objectives are IRC highway research Board is:
i) To ascertain the nature and extent of research required.
ii) To correlate research information from various organizations in India and abroad.
iii) To co-ordinate and conduct correlation services.
iv) To collect and disseminate results on research.
v) To channelize consultative services.

Objectives of CRRI.
The main objectives are:
i) To carry out the basic and applied research for investigation, design, construction
and maintenance of different types of roads and runways.
ii) To carry out research on road traffic and transportation, including traffic safety and
transport economics.
iii) To render technical advice and consultancy services to various organizations.
iv) To arrange for utilization of results of research by extension unit, display centers etc.
v) To conduct refresher and training courses for staff of other research Institutions,
Universities and highway Departments.

Alignment and types of alignment.

The position (or) the layout of the centerline of the highway on the ground is called the
alignment.
Types:
1) Horizontal alignment
2) Vertical alignment

Requirements of ideal alignment?

The basic requirements of ideal alignment between two terminal stations are that it should be:
Short, Easy , Safe , Economical .
Factors controlling highway alignment
The various factors, which control the highway alignment, may be listed as:
a) Obligatory points
b) Traffic
c) Geometric design
d) Economics
e) Other considerations
In hill roads additional care has to be given for
a) Stability
b) Drainage
c) Geometric Standards
d) Resisting Length

Stages in engineering surveys

The stages of engineering surveys :
Map study
Reconnaissance
Preliminary surveys
Final location and detailed surveys

Classifications of urban roads

The road system within urban areas is classified as urban roads. The urban roads, other
than express ways are classified as:
Arterial roads
Sub-arterial roads
Collector roads
Local roads

Land width.
Right of Way is the area of land acquired for the road, along its alignment. The
width of this required land is known as land width.

Traffic lane
The pavement or carriageway width depends on the width of traffic lane and
number of lanes. The carriage way intended for one line of traffic movement may be called a
traffic lane.
Steps in new project work.
The Various steps are:
Map study
Reconnaissance survey
Preliminary survey
Location of final alignment
Detailed survey
Materials survey
Design
Earth work
Pavement construction
Construction controls

Role of MORTH and IRC in highway development

Ministry of road transport and highways (MORTH)

Ministry of road transport and highways is an apex organization under the central
government of India. it is entrusted with the power of formulation and administration of road
transport in India in construction with other central ministries/departments, state
governments/UT administrations, organizations and individuals. Its policies include organization
of road transport and national highways and transport research with a view to increase the
mobility and efficiency of the road transport system in the country. The ministry has to wings, viz
.,roads and transport wing.
Road wing
Road wing deals with the development and maintenance of national highway in the country. The
main responsibilities are:
Planning, development and maintenance of national highway in India.
Extending technical and financial support to state governments for the development of
state roads of interstate connectivity and economic importance.
Evolving standard specifications for roads and bridges in the country.
Serving as a repository of technical knowledge on roads and bridges.
Transport wing
Transport wing deals with matters connected to road transport. The main responsibilities are:
Motor vehicle legislation.
Administration of the motor vehicle act,1988
Taxation of motor vehicles.
Implementation of compulsory insurance of motor vehicles.
Administration of the road transport corporations, act, 1950.
 Promotion of transport co-operatives in the field of motor transport.
Formation of road safety standards in the form of a national policy on road safety.
Preparation and implementation of annual road safety plan.
Collection and compilation and analysis of road accident statistics and take
adequate steps for the development of road safety culture in the country.
Sanction of grants-in-aid to non-governmental organization in accordance with the laid
down guidelines.
New plans and schemes
Recently the ministry has formed new plans and schemes.
New national permit system.
Inviting suggestions for automotive industry standards.
Scheme for strengthening public transport system.
Original book writing scheme.
Carriage by road rules 2010.
Physical and financial targets for 2010-11.
Guidelines for introduction of expressways.
Indian road congress (IRC)
Indian road congress is the premier technical body of highway engineers in the country. On
the recommendations of jayakar committee, Indian road congress was set up in December
[Link] the activities of the IRC expanded; it was formally registered as a society’s
registration act of 1860.
Role of IRC
The following are the major roles of the congress.
To promote and encourage the science and practice of construction and maintenance of
roads.
To suggest improved methods of administration, planning, design, construction,
operation, use and maintenance of roads.
To promote the use of standard specifications and to propose specifications.
To advice regarding education, experience and research connected with roads.
To establish, furnish and maintain libraries and museums for furthering the science of
road making.
Obligatory points
There are control points governing the alignment of the highways. These control points may
be divided broadly into two categories.
Point through which the alignment is to pass.
Points through which the alignment should not pass.
Traffic
The alignment should suit traffic requirements .origin and destination study should be carried
out in the area and the desire lane be drawn shown in the trend of traffic flow. The new road to
be aligned should keep in view the desired lines, traffic flow patterns and future trends.
Geometric design
Geometric design factors such as gradient, radius of curve and sight distance also would
govern the final alignment of the highway. If straight alignment is aimed at, often it may be
necessary to provide very steep gradients. As far as possible while aligning a new road, the
gradient should be flat and less than the ruling or design gradient.
Thus it may be necessary to change the alignment in view of the design speed, maximum
allowable super elevation and coefficient of lateral friction. It may be necessary to make
adjustment in the horizontal alignment of roads keeping in view the minimum radius of curve and
the transition curves.
Economics
The alignment finalized based on the above factors should also be economical. In working
out the economics, the initial cost the cost of maintenance and vehicle operation should be taken
into account. The initial cost of construction can be decreased if high embankments and deep
cuttings are avoided and alignment is chosen in a manner to balance the cutting and filling.
Other consideration
Various other factors which may govern the alignment are drainage considerations,
hydrological factors, political considerations and [Link] vertical alignment is often guided
by drainage considerations. The subsurface water level, seepage flow and high flood level are
the factors to be kept in view.

Activities of national highway authority of India.

National highway authority of India was constituted in 1988 by an act of parliament. The
responsibility of the authority is for development, maintenance and management of national
highways and for matters connected to or incidental there to. The authority was operationalised
in February 1995.
Role of NHAI
National highways in India have a total length of about 70500km running in every direction of the
country to serve as an arterial network of the country. The national highways authority of India
rest as with government of India through the national highway authority of India. it is empowered
to implement the national highway development project.
Classifications of urban roads in India and cross section of urban
road with all its features.

The classification of urban roads in India:

National highways
State highways
Major district roads
Other district roads
Village roads
National highways
National highways are the main highways running through the length and breath of India,
connecting major parts, forgin highways, capital of large states and industrial and tourist centres
including roads required for strategic movements for the defense of India.
It was agreed that a first step national trails should be constructed by the centre and that
latter’s these should be converted into roads to suit the traffic conditions. It was specified that
national highways should be the frame on which the entire road communication should be based
on that these highways may not necessarily be of same specification, but they must give an
uninterrupted road communication through India and should connect the entire road network.
State highways
State highways are the arterial roads of a state, connecting up with the national highways of
adjacent state, district headquarters and important cities within the state and serving as the main
arteries for traffic to and from district roads.
These highways are considered as main arteries of commerce by roads within a state or a
similar geographical unit. In some places they may be even carry heavier traffic than some of the
national highways but this will not alter their designation or function. The NH and SH have some
design speed and geometric design specification.
Major district roads
Major district roads are the important roads within a district serving areas of production and
markets and providing them with outlet to markets and connecting those with each other or with

the main highways of a district. the MDR has lower speed and geometric design specifications
than NH/SH.

Other district roads

Other district roads are roads serving rural areas of production and providing them with outlet
to market Centre’s taluk headquarters block development headquarters or other main roads.
These are of lower design specifications then MDR.
Village roads
Village roads are road connecting villages or groups of villages with each other to the
nearest road of a higher category.
It was specified that these villages roads should be in essence farm tracks, but it was
desired that the prevalent practice of leaving such tracks to develop and maintain by themselves
should be replaced by a plan for a designed and regulated system.
Second twenty year road plan.

Second Twenty-Year Road Plan (1961-81): -

The nagpur road plan was intended for the period 1943-63,but the target
road length was nearly completed earlier in [Link] the next long term plan for the twenty
year period commencing from 1961 was initiated by the IRC and was finalized by the
subcommittee and this was approved by the Chief Engineers. The Second Twenty Year Road
Development plan 1961-81 is also Called Bombay Road Plan.

Five different formulae were framed to calculate the lengths of NH, SH, MDR, ODR, VR.

These five formulae are given below:

a) National highway (km)

A B C
---- + ---- + ---- + [32 k +8 M ] +D (2.3)
64 80 96

b) National Highways + State Highways (km)

A B C
---- + ---- + -----
+ [48 k + 24 M + 11.2 N +1.6 P] +D (2.4)
20 24 32
c) National Highways + State Highways + Major district roads (km)

A B C
---- + ---- +----- + [48 k + 24 M + 11.2 N +9.6 P+ 6.4 Q +2.4 R] + D
8 16 24

d) National Highways + State Highways + Major district roads + Other District roads (km)

3A 3B C
-----+ ---- +----- + [48 k + 24 M + 11.2 N +9.6 P+ 12.8Q +4 R + 0.8 S + 0.32 T] (2.6)
16 32 16

e) National Highways + State Highways + Major district roads + Other District roads +Village
roads

A B C
-----+ ---- +----- + [48 k + 24 M + 11.2 N +9.6 P+ 12.8Q +5.9 R+1.6 S + 0.64 T
4 8 12 0.2 V] + D

Where
A= Developed and agricultural areas; km2
B = Semi-Developed area, km2
C = Undeveloped area, km2
K = Number of towns with population over 1,00,000
M = Number of towns with population range 1,00,000-50,000
N = Number of towns with population range 50,000-20,000
P = Number of towns with population range 20,000-10,000
Q = Number of towns with population range 10,000-5,000
R= Number of towns with population range 5,000-2000
S = Number of towns with population range 2,000-1,000
T = Number of towns with population range 1000-500
V = Number of towns with range below 500
D = Development allowance of 5 percent of road length calculated for further
development and other unforeseen factors.
Salient features of the second 20-year plan (1961-81):-

This plan is considered to be draw more scientifically in view of development

needed in under-developed areas.
Maximum distance of any place in a developed or agricultural area would be 6.4
km from a metalled road and 2.4 km from any category of roads.
The maximum distance from any place in a semi-developed area would be 12.8
km from a mettaled road and 4.8 km from any road.
Every town with population above 2000 in plains and above 1000 in semi-hill
areas and above 500 in hilly areas should be connected by a metalled road.
Expressways have also been considered in this plan and 1600 km of length has
been included in the proposed target of national highways
Length of railway track is considered independent of the road system and hence
it is not subtracted to get the road length.
The development factor of only 5 percent is provided for future development and
unforeseen factors.

i) Central road fund

based on the authority of a resolution adopted by the Indian legislature, the central road
fund was formed on 1th march [Link] consumers of petrol were charged an extra leavy of
2.64 paisa per liter of petrol to build up this road development fund 20 percent of the annual
revenue is to be retained as a central reserve ,from which grants are to be given by the
central government for meeting expenses on the administration of the road fund, road
experiments and research on road and bridge projects of special importance. The balance 80
percent is to be allotted by the central government to the various states based on actual
petrol consumption or revenue collected.
ii) Indian road congress
At the instance of central government a semi official technical body known as Indian road
congress was formed in [Link] it may be recalled is one of the main recommendations
made by the jayakar committee. The Indian road congress was constituted to provide a forum
for regular pooling of experience and ideas onb all matters affecting the planning construction
and maintenance of roads in India, to recommend standard specification and to provide a
platform for the expression of professional opinion on matters relating to road engineering
including such questions as those of organization and administration.
iii) Central road research institute
In the year 1950 the central road research institute was started at New Delhi for research in
various aspect of highway engineering. It may be indicated that one of the recommendations of
jayakar committee report was to setup a central organization for research and dissemination of
information.
The CRRI is one of the national laboratories of the council of scientific and industrial
research. The institute is mainly engaged in applied research and offers technical advice to state
governments and the industries on various problems concerning roads.
iv) National highway authority of India
National highway authority of India was constituted in 1988 by an act of parliament. The
responsibility of the authority is for development, maintenance and management of national
highways and for matters connected to or incidental there to. The authority was operationalis ed
in February 1995.

Role of NHAI
National highways in India have a total length of about 70500km running in every direction
of the country to serve as an arterial network of the country. The national highways authority of
indiarestas with government of India through the national highway authority of India. it is
empowered to implement the national highway development project.

Requirement of ideal alignment.

The basic requirement of an ideal alignment between two terminal stations is that it should be:
Short
Easy
Safe
Economical

Short
It is desirable to have a short alignment between two terminal stations.a straight alignment
would be the shortest, though there may be several practical considerations which would be the
shortest, through there may be several practical considerations which would cause deviations
from the shortest path.
Easy
The alignment should be such that it is easy to construct and maintain the road with minimum
problems. Also the alignment would be easy for the operation of vehicles with easy gradient and
curves.
Safe
The alignment should be safe enough for construction and maintenance from the view point of
stability of natural hill slopes, embankments. Also it should be safe for the traffic operation with
safe geometric features.
Economical
The road alignment could be considered economical only if the total cost including initial cost,
maintence cost and vehicle operation cost is lowest. All these features should be given due
consideration before working out the economics of each alignment.

Tresaguet and Macadam’s method of road construction

Tresaguet construction:
Pierre Tresaguet (1716-1796) developed an improved method of construction in
France by the year [Link] main feature of his proposal was that the thickness of construction
need be only in the order of 30 cm.
 Tresaguet was the inspector General of roads in France from 1775 to [Link] his
method of construction was implemented in that country in 1775.
The typical cross section of tresaguets road construction is given in fig. and the
construction steps may be enumerated as below.
i) The sub grade was prepared and layers of large foundation stones were laid on edge
by hand. At the two edges of the pavement large stones were embedded edge wise
to serve as submerged kerbs stones.
ii) The corners of the heavy foundation stones were hammered and then the interstices
filled with smaller stones.
iii) The top-wearing course was made of smaller stones and compacted to a thickness of
about 5 cm at the edges and gradually increased towards the center.
iv) The shoulders were also provides cross slope to drain the surface water to the side
drain.
Macadam Construction
John Macadam put forward an entirely new method of road construction as
compared to all the previous methods. A typical cross section of Macadam construction:

i) The importance of sub grade drainage and compaction were recognized and the sub
grade was compacted and was prepared with a cross slope of 1 in 36.
ii) Macadam was the first person to suggest the heavy foundation stones are not at all
necessary to be placed at the bottom layer of construction.
iii) Though the total thickness of construction was less than previous methods. This
technique could serve the purpose in a better way.
iv) The size of broken stones for the top layer was decided based on the stability under
animal drawn vehicles.

Macadam’s method is the first method based on scientific thinking

The construction steps are:

i) Sub grade is compacted and prepared with a cross slope of 1 in 36 up to a desired

width.
ii) Broken stones of a strong variety, all passing through 5 cm size sieve were
compacted to a uniform thickness of 10cm.
iii) The second layer of strong broken stones of size 3.75 cm was compacted to
thickness of 10 cm.
iv) The top layer consisted of stones of size less than 2 cm compacted to a thickness of
about 5 cm. The cross slope of pavement surface was also 1 in 36.

Engineering surveys needed for locating a new highway

The stages of the engineering surveys are:
a) Map study.
b) Reconnaissance.
c) Preliminary surveys.
d) Final location and detailed surveys.
Map study: -
In the topographic map, to suggest the likely routes of roads. In India topographic
maps are available from the survey of India with 15 or 30-meter contour intervals.
The main feature like rivers, hills, and valleys etc. The probable alignment can be
located on the map from the following details available on the map.

Alignment avoiding valleys, ponds or lakes

When the road has to cross a row of hills, possibility crossing thro ugh a mountain pass.
Approximate location of bridge site for crossing rivers, avoiding bend of the river.
When a road is to be connected between two stations one of the top and the other on the
foot of the hill then alternate routes can be suggested keeping in view the permissible
alignment.
Suppose the scale of the contour map is known, and then the contour intervals it is
possible to decide the length of road required between two consecutive contours keeping
the gradient within allowable limits.
In the fig. Let A and B be two stations to be connected by road. AB is the shortest route
(Straight line) APQB is a steep route in which the gradient positively exceeds 1 in 20 as
the distance between the contour intervals is only about 200 meter.
APLMNB is a route with an approximate slope of 1 in 20 whereas APEFGB is an
alternate alignment with the same gradient.
Thus the map study also is possible to drop a certain route in view of any unavoidable
obstructions (or) undesirable ground reroute.
Reconnaissance:-
The second stage of surveys for highway location is the reconnaissance to
examine the general character of the area for deciding the most feasible routes for detailed
studies.
Some of the details to be collected during reconnaissance are given below:

Valleys, ponds, lakes, marshy, land, ridge, hills, permanent structures and other
obstructions along the route, which are not available in the map.
Approximate values of gradient, length of gradients and radius of curves of alternate
alignments.
Number and types of cross drainage structures maximum flood level and natural
groundwater level along the probable routes.
Soil type along the routes from field identification tests and observation of geological
features.
Sources of construction materials water and location of stone quarries.
When the road passes through hilly or mountainous terrain, additional data regarding the
geological formation types of rocks, dip of strata, seepage flow etc.
Preliminary survey: -
The main objectives of the preliminary surveys are:
 To survey the various alternate alignments proposed after the reconnaissance and to
collect all the necessary physical information and details of topography, drainage and
soil.
To compare the different proposals in view of the requirements of a good alignment.
To estimate quantity of earthwork materials and other construction aspects and to work
out the cost of alternate proposals.
To finalize the best alignment from all considerations.

The procedure of the conventional methods of preliminary surveys the given steps:
Primary survey: -
For alternate alignments either secondary traverses (or) independent
primary traverses may be necessary.
Topographical features: -
All geographical and other man made features along the traverse and for
a certain width on either side surveyed and plotted.
Leveling work: -
Levelling work is also carried out side by side to give the centerline
profiles and typical cross sections. The leveling work in the preliminary survey is kept to a
minimum just sufficient to obtain the approximate earthwork in the alternate alignments.

Drainage studies: -
Drainage investigations and hydrological data are collected so as to
estimate the type, number and approximate size of cross and drainage structures.
Soil survey: -
The soil survey conducted at this stage helps to working out details of
earthwork, slopes, suitability of materials, subsoil and surface drainage requirements and
pavement type and the approximate thickness requirements.
Material survey: -
The survey for naturally occurring materials like stone aggregates, soft
aggregates etc and identification of suitable quarries should be made.
Traffic survey: -
Traffic surveys conducted in the region from basis for deciding the number
of traffic lanes and roadway width, pavement design and economic analysis of highway project.

Final location and detailed survey: -

The alignment finalized at the design office after the preliminary survey is
to be first located on the field by establishing the centerline. The detailed survey should be
carried out for collecting the information technology for the preparation of plans and construction
details.
Location: -

The centerline of the road finalized in the drawings to be translated on the

ground during the location survey.
Major and minor control points are established on the ground and center pegs
are driven, checking the geometric design, requirements.
Detailed survey: -

Levels along his final centerline should be taken at all staked points.
Leveling work is to great importance as the vertical alignment.
A detailed soil survey is carried out to enable drawing of the soil profile.
The data during the detailed survey should be elaborate and complete for
preparing detailed plans, design and estimates of the project.

Right of way:

Right of way is the area of land acquired for the road along its alignment. The
width of this acquired land is known as land width and it depends on the importance of the road
and possible future development.
A minimum land width has been prescribed for each category of road. The land
width is governed by the following factor:
i) Width of formation depending on the category of highway and width of roadway
and road margins.
ii) Height of embankment or depth of cutting which is governed by the topography
and the vertical alignment.
iii) Side slopes of embankment (or) cutting which depend on the height of the
slope. Drainage system and their size. Which depends on the rainfall, topography and
runoff.

Carriage way (or) Width of pavement:

The pavement or carriageway width depends on the width of traffic lane and
number of lanes. The carriage way intended for one line of traffic movement may be called a
traffic lane.
Keeping all these in view a width of 3.75m is considered desirable for a road
having single lane for vehicles of maximum width [Link] pavements having two or more
lanes, width 0f 3.5m per lane is considered sufficient.
 The maximum width of vehicle as per IRC specification is [Link] a single
carriageway of width 3.8m is provided, a side clearance of 0.68m would be obtained in fig.
In the case of two lane pavement of width 0.7m a minimum clearance between
two lanes of traffic would be 1.06m for the widest vehicles on the road. The number of lanes
required in a highway depends on the predicted traffic volume and the design traffic volume of
each lane.

Camber:
Camber (or) cross slope is the slope provided to the road surface in the
transverse direction to drain off the rain water from the road surface. The pavement surface by
providing cross slope is considered important because of two reasons.
i) To prevent the entry of surface water into the sub grade soil through pavement.
ii) To prevent the entry of water into the bituminous pavement layers, as
continued contact with water causes stripping.
iii) To improve the rainwater from the pavement surface as quickly as possible
and to allow the pavement to get dry soon after the rain.

The rate of camber or cross slope is usually designated by 1 in n which means

that the transverse sloe is in ratio 1 vertical to n horizontal. Camber is also expressed as a
percentage.
The required camber of a pavement depends on:
i) The type of pavement surface
ii) The amount of rainfall
The minimum camber needed to drain off surface water may be adopted keeping
in view the type of pavement surface and the amount of rainfall in the locality.
Too step cross slope is not desirable because of the following reasons:
i) Transverse of flit of vehicles causes uncomfortable side thrust and a drag on
the steering of automobiles.
ii) Discomfort causing throw of vehicle when crossing the crown during overtaking
operations.
iii) Problems of toppling over of highly laden bullock carts and trucks.
iv) Formation of cross ruts due to rapid flow of water.
v) Tendency of most of the vehicles to travel along the center line.
Kerbs:

Kerbs indicate the boundary between the pavement and shoulder (or) sometimes
island or foot path or kerb parking space.
There is variety of kerb designs; kerbs may be mainly divided in to three groups
based on their functions.

i) Low (or) mountable type kerbs which though encourage traffic to remain in the through
traffic lanes, yet allow the driver to enter the shoulder area with little difficulty. This type of kerb is
provided at medians and channelization schemes and is also useful for longitudinal drainage
system.
 ii) Semi-barrier type kerb is provided on the periphery of roadway where the pedestrian
traffic is high.
This type of kerb has a height of about 15cm above the pavement edge with a batter of 1:1 on
the top 7.5 [Link] kerb prevents encroachment of parking vehicles. But at acute emergency it
is possible to drive over this kerb with some difficulty.
ii) Barrier type kerb is provided in built up areas adjacent t foot paths with
considerable pedestrian traffic. The height of kerb stone is about 20 cm
above the pavement edge with a steep batter of 1.0 vertical 0.25
horizontal.

Third twenty year road plan.

Third Twenty-Year Road Development Plan 1981-2001: -
Policies and objectives:
The Third Twenty Year Road development Plan 1981-2001(also Known as
Lucknow Road Plan) was finalized and the plan document was published by the year [Link]
major policies and objectives of this road plan are listed below:
a) The feature road development should be based on the revised classification of road
system consisting of primary, secondary and tertiary road systems.
b) The road network should be developed so as to preserve the rural oriented economy and
to develop small towns with all the essential facilities.
c) The overall road density in the country should be increased to 82 km per [Link]
areas by the year 2001.
d) The national highway network should be expanded to form square grids of 100 km sides
so that no part of the country is more than 50 km away from a NH.
e) The lengths of SH and MDR required in a state or region should be decided based on
both areas and number of towns with population above 5,000 in the state or region.
f) Expressways should be constructed along major traffic corridors to provide fast travel.
g) Roads should also be built in less industrialized areas to attract the growth of industries.
h) There should be improvements in environmental quality and road safety.
 Important Questions

1. Write notes on Macadam method of road construction.

2. Explain briefly classification of rural roads.

3. Mention the salient features of Nagpur road plan and lucknow road plan.

4. Write notes on right of way carriage way kerb and shoulder.

5. Explain the various conventional Engineering surveys for highway

alignment.

6. Explain the classification of urban roads.

7. Explain in detail about the necessity and objects of highway planning.

 UNIT II – GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS
Geometric design of highways-: Introduction; highway cross section elements; sight
distance, stopping sight distance, over taking sight distance, design of horizontal alignment;
design of vertical alignment; problems

Non-passing sight distance

The minimum sight distance available on a highway at any spot should be of sufficient
length to stop a vehicle travelling at design speed, safety without collision with any other
obstruction. The absolute minimum sight distance is therefore equal to the stopping sight
distance, which is also sometimes called non passing sight distance.

Requirements of an ideal transition curve.

The main requirement of an ideal transition curve is that the super elevation should be
increased uniformly with the increase of centrifugal force.
That is the centrifugal force is proportional to the transition curve and super elevation is
also proportional to the length of the transition curve. Hence the fundamental condition for a
curve to be a transition curve is that the radius of curvature should be inversely proportional to
the lengths.
Minimum gradient in highway
A road with less gradient or level may not be in a position to drain easily. The surface
watermaydrain to the side drains due to the camber. But a longitudinal slope is needed to drain
the water on the surface and from the side drain. Hence it is essential to have a certain
minimum gradient on roads from drainage point of view provided topography permits. The
minimum gradient depends on the factors like rainfall, runoff, type of soil, topography and other
site conditions.

Factor governing super elevation of a road surface

In order to counter balance the centrifugal force the outer edge of the road is raised
which is known as the super elevation or cant or banking.
Factors governing super elevation are:
Centrifugal force
Weight of the vehicle and its speed
Friction of the road surface
Radius of the curve of the road
Drainage condition
Super elevation
In order to counterbalance the centrifugal force the outer edge of the road is raised which
is known as super elevation or cant or banking. This transverse slope is provided throughout the
length of the horizontal curve. The super elevation is expressed as the ratio of the outer edge
with respect to the horizontal width.
.
Stopping sight distance.
Stopping sight or absolute sight distance is the sight distance needed when the visibility
should be such that a driver travelling at the design speed has sufficient length of the road
ahead to stop vehicle after seeing the object without collision or accident.

PIEV theory.
Reaction time of the driver is the time taken from the time the object is seen by the driver to
the time the breaks are effectively [Link] theory considers the reaction time to comprise
of
Perception
Intellection’
Emotion
volition

Transition curve
A transition curve has a radius which decreases from infinity at the tangent point to a
designed radius of the circular curve. When a transition curve is introduced between a straight
and circular curve, the radius of the transition curve decreases becomes minimum at the
beginning of the circular curve. The rate of change of radius of the transition curve will depend
on the equation of the curve or its shape.

Illumination sight distance.

This is the distance visible to the driver during night driving under the illumination of the
vehicle head lights. This sight distance is critical at up gradient and at the ascending stretch of
the valley curves.

Geometric design
The geometric design of highway deals with the dimensions and layout of visible features
of the highway such as alignment, sight distance and intersections. The geometrics of highway
should be designed to provide optimum efficiency in traffic operations.

Elements in geometric design

Geometric design of highways deals with:
i) Cross section elements
ii) Sight distance considerations
iii) Horizontal alignment details
iv) Vertical alignment details
v) Intersection elements.
Factors are allowed in geometric design
The important of these factors which control the geometric elements are:
a) Design speed
b) Topography
c) Traffic factors
d) Design hourly volume and capacity
e) Environmental and other factors

Design speed.
The design speed is the most important factors controlling the geometric design
elements of highways. The design speed is decided taking into account the overall requirements
of the highway. The design speed standards are modified depending upon the terrain or
topography. Design of almost every geometric design element of a road is dependent on the
design speed.

Factors considered in horizontal alignment

There are various design factors to be considered in the horizontal alignment are design
speed, radius of circular curves, type and length of transition curves,superelevation and
widening of pavement on curves.

Formula for centrifugal force

2
P=Wv /gr
P= Centrifugal force
W=Weight of the vehicle
R=radius of circular curve
V=speed of vehicle
g= Acceleration due to gravity.

Centrifugal ratio and effects of ratio

The ratio of the centrifugal force to the weight of the vehicle, p/w is known as the
2
centrifugal ratio (or) the impact factor. The centrifugal ratio is thus equal to V /gr. The effects
are:
i) Tendency to overturn the vehicle outwards about the outer wheels.
ii) Tendency to skid the vehicle laterally.

Gradient.
Gradient is the rate of rise or fall along the length of the road with respect to the
horizontal. It is expressed as a ratio of 1 in x. Sometimes the gradient is a lso expressed as a
percentage.

Categories allowed in gradients?

Gradients are divided into following categories.
i) Ruling gradient
 ii) Limiting gradient
iii) Exceptional gradient
iv) Minimum gradient

Functions in horizontal transition curve

a) To introduce gradually the centrifugal force between the tangent point and the beginning
of the circular curve.
b) To enable the driver turn the steering gradually for his own comfort and security.
c) To enable gradual introduction of the designed super elevation and extra wide ning of
pavement.
d) To improve the aesthetic appearance of the road.

Analysis of super elevation

The forces acting on the vehicle while moving on a circular curve of radius R meters, at
speed of V m/sec.
2
i) The centrifugal force P=Wv /gr acting horizontally outwards through the center of
gravity, CG
ii) The weight W of the vehicle acting vertically downwards through the CG.
iii) The frictional force developed between the wheels and the pavement counteractions,
transversely along the pavement surface towards the center of the curve.
A valley curve is formed due to two gradients +3.5% and -2.75%.if the design speed of
this highway is 80kmph, determine the stopping sight distance and design the valley
curve to fulfill both comfort and head light distance conditions.

Widening of road pavement at horizontal curves

In horizontal curves, especially when the radii of the curves are low, it is the practice to widen
the pavement width a little extra for safe driving.

Reason for widening

Majority of vehicles have the facility to turn only the front wheels and have a rigid wheel
base. Jeep like vehicles has four wheel drive facility. When vehicle with two wheel drive
 facility take a turn to negotiate a horizontal curve, the rear do not follow the same path on
that of the front wheels. This is referred to as off tracking.
Rear wheels follow the inner path on the curve. That is, when the inner front wheel takes a
path on the inner edge of a pavement at a curve, inner rear wheel will be off pavement on the
inner shoulder.

At high speeds when adequate super elevation and lateral friction are not available, there
will be some transverse skidding and the rear wheel may take paths on the outside of
those traced by the front wheels.
The drivers may have a tendency in general to follow the curved path with larger radius
and to have a greater visibility at curve.
While negotiating an oncoming vehicle or overtaking a horizontal curve there is a
psychological tendency for the drivers to adopt a greater clearance between the vehicles.

Thus to take care of these aspects, it has been the practice to widen the pavement on the
horizontal curves when the radius of the curve is less than [Link] extra widening needed
comprises of two parts, viz.

Mechanical widening
Psychological widening

Mechanical widening
Mechanical widening is provided to account for off tracking due to the rigidity of the wheel
base. The movement of the vehicle shown in fig.

Psychological widening
The psychological widening is mainly provided for greater maneuverability of the vehicle. This
is particularly important in pavements with more than one lane.

Extra widening
The extra widening is introduced gradually starting from the tangent point in curves with
transition curve. If the curve is provided with a transition curve, then it is started from the
beginning of the transition curve and provided with uniform rate till the full value of W e is
reached. This is the point where the full super elevation is provided. The widening is provided
equally on either side of the curve at every cross section up to a value of W e/2.
On horizontal curves without transition curve, two thirds of the widening is provided at the end
of the straight section and one thirds is provided on the circular curve beyond the tangent point.
In this case the widening is provided only on the inside of the curve.

Transition curve
It is an arc between a straight and a circular curve or between two arcs of a compound
curve. The radius of a transition curve varies from infinity to a fixed value.

Vehicles passing from straight into a circular curve experience jerk due to the effect of
centrifugal force. The centrifugal force always acts in a direction perpendicular to the axis of
rotation. In order to counter act the above effect the outer edge of the road or the rail is raised
which is called the super elevation or cant. This super elevation is provided gradually along the
transition curve.
Advantages:
Introduces super elevation gradually from zero at the tangent point to the value on the
circular curve.
Maintains a constant proportional between super elevation and rate of change of
curvature.
Eliminates discomfort overturning and side slipping vehicles.
Eliminates discomfort to passengers.

Requirements
The transition should be tangential to the straight.
The curvature amount of super elevation should be zero at the origin of the straight. The
curvature of the transition curve should increase at the same rate as that of the super
elevation.
The exact amount of super elevation should be attained at the junction with the circular
curve.

Length of transition curve

Length of a transition curve is calculated based on one the following considerations.
By adopting a particular rate of super elevation.
By considering arbitrary rate of super elevation.
By considering rate of change of radial acceleration.

By adopting a particular rate of super elevation

The definite rate of super elevation varies from 1 in 300 to 1 in 1000.
Length of transition curve, L=ne/100 m
Where
e=amount of super elevation in centimeters
n=rate of super elevation

By considering arbitrary rate of super elevation.

Length of transition curve, L= (exV)/x Where

e=amount of super elevation

V=speed in meters per second
x=time rate in centimeters per second

By considering rate of change of radial acceleration

2
Radius acceleration on circular curve=V /R
Time taken by the vehicle to cover transition3 curve=L/V s
If the change of radial acceleration is K m/s then,
2
Time taken to attain maximum radial acceleration=V /(KR) s
From equation
2
L/V= V /(KR)
3
L=V /(KR)
Length of valley curve.
Super elevation on horizontal curves.
.
Overtaking sight distance.
Vehicles moving at the design speed should be able to safety overtake the vehicle moving
at slow speed at reasonable intervals without causing obstruction or hazard to traffic coming
from opposite direction. This situation may not arise if the entire vehicles are moving at the
design speed.

It may not be possible to provide the facility of overtaking throughout the length of the road.
However, the overtaking facility should be provided at frequent intervals.
Overtaking sight distance is the minimum sight distance that should be available for driver to
overtake another vehicle safety on a two way road. This is also referred to as safe passing sight
distance.

The following are the factors affecting overtaking sight distance:

Speeds of overtaken and overtaking vehicles.
Other vehicles coming from the opposite direction.
Space between overtaking and overtaken vehicles.
Skill and reaction time of the driver.
Rate of acceleration of overtaking vehicle.
Slope of the road.
Calculate the stopping sight distance required to avoid head on collision of two cars
approaching opposite directions at a speed of 75kmph and [Link] that the
reaction time of drivers be 2.5 secs and co-efficient between road surface and tyres be
0. 4.

Factors affecting sight distances.

The following are the factor affecting sight distance:
Total reaction time of the driver
Speed of the vehicle
Efficiency of breaks
Frictional resistance between the road and the tyres
Gradient of the road
Total reaction time of the driver
Reaction time of the driver is the time taken from the instant the object is visible to the driver
to the breaks are effectively applied. The amount of time gap depends on several factors. During
this time the vehicle travels a certain distance at the original speed or the design speed. Thus
stopping distances increases in reaction time of the driver. The total reaction time may be split
up into two parts.
Perception time
Break reaction time
The perception time is the time required for a driver to realize that breaks must be applied it is
the time from the instant the object comes on the line of sight of the driver to the instant he
realizes that the vehicle needs to be stopped.
The break reaction time also depends on several factors including the skill of the driver, the
type the problems and various other environmental factors.
Speed of the vehicle
The stopping distance depends very much on the speed of the vehicle. First, during the total
reaction time of the driver the distance moved by the vehicle will depend on the speed. Second,
the breaking distance or the distance moved by the vehicle after applying breaks, before coming
to a stop depends also on the initial speed of the vehicle. Hence it is evident that higher the
speed, the higher will be the stopping distance.
Efficiency of breaks
The breaking efficiency is said to be 100 percent if the wheels are fully locked preventing
them from rotating on application of the breaks.
This will result in 100 percent skidding which is normally undesirable, except in utmost
emergency. Also skidding is considered to be dangerous, as it is not possible to control a
skidding vehicle.
Hence avoid skid, the breaking forces should not exceed the frictional force between the
wheels and tyres.
Frictional resistance between road and tyres
The frictional resistance developed between road and tyres or the skid resistance depends on
the tyre and condition of the road surface and the tyres.
The breaking distance increases with decrease in skid [Link] has specified a design
friction co efficient of 0.35 to 0.4 depending upon the speed to be used for finding the breaking
distance in the calculation of stopping sight distance.
This value apart from having sufficient safety factor: permits a rate of retardation which is fairly
comfortable for passengers.

Design of hill roads.

The following are the steps involved in design of hill road:
Alignment of hill road
Alignment survey
Design
Rock cutting
Precipice work
Retaining walls
Revetment walls
Pavement type
Drainage in hill roads
Alignment of hill road
The hill road alignment should link up the obligatory points and control points fitting well in the
landscape and satisfying the geometric requirements. The best alignment for a hill road is one
where in the total sum of the ascents and descends between extreme points is the least. It is
permissible to increase the length as much as 50 times the height saved by a detour. Some
particulars of special significance are discussed below:
Resisting length
Trace cut for hairpin bends
Geological considerations
Alignment survey
The alignment of hill road is fixed in three stages:
Reconnaissance
Trace cut
Detailed survey
Design of hill road
Rock cutting
If the rock stratum slopes downward into the hill side, the rock is permitted to overhang
the road forming a half tunnel. Blasting is done either from face or from one or both
sides.
If the strata are inclined towards the hill slope, cutting is continued until the inner slope is
at a safe angle to prevent slipping.

Precipice work
Where the time available does not allow for blasting and tunnel work, cliff galleries and
cradles are restored for the negotiation of cliffs and precipices. These are suitable only for light
vehicles or foot traffic and considered only for short term use and not as a permanent road way
for regular traffic. It is an important that the strata should dip inwards from the face in order to
ensure safe attachments for the jumpers and holdfasts and to lessen the risk of rock falls.

Retaining walls
Retaining walls are the most important structure in hill road construction to provide
adequate stability to the roadway and to the slope. Retaining walls are constructed on the valley
side of the roadway and also on the cut hill side to prevent land slide towards the roadway.

Pavement walls
The embankment slopes are normally protected with rough stone pitching about 30cm thick
in order to avoid erosion due to flow of water.
If the stopping length is too long it is preferable to construct a toe wall .to support the
embankment and depending upon the slope available. Where the cutting slope is steep and
contains loose or scourable soils, slips are likely to occur.

Pavement type
Because of the high intensity of rain fall generally throughout the year in the hill reigns, an
important type of pavement proves more effective, through the initial cost may be high. A
permeable surface such as W.B.M gets eroded by the heavy rains and regular maintenance cost
comes out to be high.

The bituminous pavements are therefore preferred on hill road. Cement concrete pavements
are not considered suitable because of its high initial cost and delay in construction.
Design of horizontal alignment.
General:
Often changes in direction are necessitated in highway alignment due to obligatory points.
Various design factors to be considered in the horizontal alignment are
Design speed
Radius of circular curve
Type and length of transition curve
Super elevation
Widening of pavement of curves

The alignment should enable consistent, safe and smooth movement of vehicle operation
at design speed. It is hence necessary to avoid those sharp curves and reverse curves which
could not be conveniently negotiated by vehicle at design speed. Improper design of horizontal
alignment of roads would necessitate speed changes resulting in increased vehicle operation
cost and higher accident rate.

Design speed
The overall design of geometrics of any highway is a function of the design speed.
The design speed is the main factor on which geometric design elements depends. The sight
distances, radius of horizontal curve, super elevation, extra widening of pavement, length of
horizontal transition curve and the length of summit curve are all dependent on design speed.
The design speed of roads depends upon
Class of the road
Terrain
The speed standard of particular class of road thus depends on the classification of the terrain
through its passes. The terrain have been classified as plain, rolling, mountainous and steep,
depending on the cross slope of the country as given below.

Terrain classification Cross slope of the country,

percent
Plain 0-10
Rolling 10-25
Mountainous 25-60
Steep Greater than 60

The design speed (ruling and minimum) standardized by the IRC for different classes of
roads on different terrains in rural areas are given in table. The ruling design speeds are the
guiding criteria for the geometric design. However, minimum design speeds may be accepted
where site conditions or economic considerations warrant. The ruling design speed suggested
for the national and state highways of our country passing through plain terrains in 100 kmph
and through rolling terrain is 80 kmph.

The recommended design speeds for different classes of urban roads are:
For arterial roads 80 kmph.
Sub arterial roads 610 kmph,
Collector streets 501 kmph,
Local streets 30 kmph.
Calculate the SSD for design of 70 kmph for two way traffic and one way traffic road.
Take reaction=2.5 seconds and coefficient of friction=0.35.
 Important Questions

1. Derive the expression for super elevation.

2. Explain the procedure for determining length of transmission curve.

3. Discuss briefly the various types of gradients.

4. A two lane road with a design speed of 80km/HR has a curve of radius

240m. Calculate the following super elevation when full lateral friction in

developed and equilibrium super elevation when pressure on the inner and

outer wheel are equal.

5. (i) Mention the objectives of transition curves.

(ii)A valley curve is formed by a descending gradient of 1 in 25 meeting an

ascending gradient of 1 on 30 design the length of a valley curve to fulfill

both comfort conditions for a design speed of 80kmph and headlight sight

distance requirement. Take C = 0.6m/S 3

6. The speeds of over taking and over taken vehicles are 90km/h and 60km/h

on a two way traffic road if the acceleration of over taking vehicle is

0.95m/s2. Calculate safe over taking sight distanc. Mention minimum length

of overtaking zone.

7. Explain the following OSD,SSD,ISD

8. Calculate the SSD and OSD of the vehicle travelling at kmph in a national

highway reaction time is 1.5s f=0.15. sketch SSD.

 UNIT III- PAVEMENT MATERIALS
Pavement materials- Materials used in Highway Construction- Soils, Stone aggregates,
bituminous binders, bituminous paving mixes; Portland cement and cement concrete: desirable
properties, tests, requirements for different types of pavements.

Flaky aggregates.
Aggregates which pass through the appropriate elongated slot of the thickness gauge are
called flaky aggregates. Width of elongated slot would be 0.6 times the average of the size
range. For example if the size range is 16to 20mm whose average size is 18mm,the width of the
elongated slot is 10.8mm(0.6x18).hence in aggregates of 16to20mm size, the aggregates
passing through 10.8mm are called flaky aggregate.

Purpose of applying tack coat in bituminous road construction

Teak coat is a single initial application of bituminous material on the surfaces which has
previously been treated or prepared such as existing bituminous, Portland cement concrete,
brick or block surfaces. Teak coat is simply applied to insure adhesion between the existing
surface and the new bituminous surface. Since in this case the base is comparatively
impervious, the quantity of binder required may be less than the primer.

Flakiness index.
The flakiness index of aggregates is the percentage by weight of particles in it whose least
dimension (thickness) is less than three fifths (0.60 of their mean dimension.

Techniques for protecting the subgrade from moisture due to capillary rise.

If the water reaching the subgrade due to capillary rise is likely to be [Link] is possible
to solve the problem by arresting the capillary rise instead of lowering the water table.
The capillary rise may be arrested either by a capillary cut off of any one of the following two
types:
By providing a granular material of suitable thickness between the subgrade and the
highest level of subsurface water table.
By inserting an impermeable or a bituminous layer instead of a granular material.
Softening point of bitumen.
Softening point is the temperature at which the substance attains a particular degree of
softening under specified condition of test.

Properties of road aggregate.

Strength
Hardness
Toughness
Durability
Shape

Properties of highway materials.

There are different highway materials, viz, soil, stone, bitumen, concrete. Each material has
defined desirable properties for the purpose for which it is used. The desirable properties of soil
as a highway material are:
Short and long term stability of the subgrade and slopes of embankment.
Compressibility within permissible limits.
Adequate permeability
Compaction should be ease and economical
Minimum volume change at all conditions.
Importance of California bearing ratio.
The CBR test is an empirical test and not based on any theory or mathematical reasoning.
however, it is one of the best penetration test to evaluate the sub grade strengths for roads and
[Link] values depend very much on moulding water content and [Link] values
are also used to identify the type of aircraft which can land a runway based on thye CBR and
load classification number relationship.

Tests for Indian standards in testing highway materials.

Tests for aggregates
Crushing test
Abrasion test
Impact test
Soundness test
Water absorption test
Shape test
Flakiness index
Elongation index
Test for bitumen
Penetration test
Ductility test
Viscosity test
Binder content test
 Softening point test
Flash and fire point test
Index properties of soil
The properties are:
i) Grain size analysis
ii) Consistency limits and indices
iii) Plastic limit
iv) Plasticity index
v) Shrinkage limit
vi) Field moisture equivalent

Textural classification
The textural classification system is based on grain size distribution of the soil
and is helpful in classifying a soil which contains different soil component such as sand silt and
clay.
evaluation of soil strength?
The three groups are:
a) Shear test
b) Bearing test
c) Penetration test
CBR value in highway materials
The CBR value is calculated using the relation:
[Load (or) pressure sustained by the specimen at 2.5 or 5.0 min penetration]
CBR = ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Load (or) pressure sustained by standard aggregate at the corresponding level

Penetration test
It may be considered as small scale bearing tests in which the size of the loaded
area is relatively much smaller and ratio of the penetration to size of loaded area is much greater
than the ratios on bearing test. The California Bearing ratio test and cone penetration tests are
commonly known as Penetration test.
Problems occur in paving mixes
The problems are:
i) mixing
ii) Attainment of desired stability of the mix
iii) To maintain the stability under adverse weather conditions
iv) To maintain sufficient flexibility and thus avoid cracking of bituminous surface.
v) To have sufficient adhesion with the aggregates in the mix in presence of water.
Factors affecting the strength test

i) Static immersion test

ii) Dynamic immersion test
iii) Chemical immersion test
iv) Immersion mechanical test
 v) Immersion trafficking test
vi) Coating test

Equation for group index of soil

Group index is function of percentage material passing 200 mesh sieve
(0.074mm) liquid limit and plasticity index of soil and is given by the equation.
G1 = 0.2 a + 0.005ac + 0.01 bd

Flash and fire point of bitumen

The flash of a material is the lowest temperature at which the vapour of a substance
momentarily takes fire in the form of a flash under a specified condition. The fire point is the
lowest temperature at which the material gets ignited and burns under specified conditions.

Joints in cement concrete pavements

Joints are provided in cement concrete pavements to reduce temporary stresses, to prevent
longitudinal cracks, to prevent shrinkage cracks etc…
Various types of joints are provided in cement concrete pavements,viz, expanction joint,
construction joint and warping joint to reduce temperature [Link] types of joints are
longitudinal joint and construction joint.
In order to prevent formation of irregular longitudinal cracks and at the same time to
allow for transverse warping and unequal settlement longitudinal joints are provided.

Merits and demerits of cement concrete roads.

Merits
Capable to take unlimited amount of traffic of any type.
Ease, comfort and safety.
Smooth, dust free and skid resistance surface High
degree of visibility during day and night times.
Economical because of low cost of maintenance and relative performance.
Standard material highway for urban and expressways.
Because of rigidity can span or bridge over some minor irregulaties in the sub grade or
sub base.
Wear and tear of tyres and mechanical breakdown is less and hence less operational
cost.
Even failed surface due to some reason forms a very economical base for the new coat.
Demerits
Initial cost of construction is high and needs skilled labour.
Long construction period because of curing time.
Providing and maintenance of joint are difficult.
Because of smooth surface, there will be glare on the eye of driver which is
objectionable.
Repairing of cracks is difficult.

Penetration test
The penetration test determines the hardness and softness of bitumen by measuring the depth
in tenths of a millimeter to which a standard loaded needle will penetrate vertically in five
0
seconds. The sample is maintained at a temperature of 25 C.
The penetrometer consists of a needle assembly with a total weight OF 100g and device for
th
releasing and locking any position. There is a graduated dial to read penetration values to 1/10
of a millimeter.
The bitumen is softened to a pouring consistency, stirred thoroughly and poured into
containers to a depth at least 15mm in excess of the expected penetration. The sample
o
containers are then placed in a temperature controlled water bath at temperature of 25 C for
one hour. The sample with container is taken out and the needle is arranged to contact with the
surface of the sample. The dial is set to zero or the initial reading is taken and the needle is
released for 54 seconds. The final reading is taken on dial gauge. At least three penetration
tests are made on this sample by testing at distances of at least 10mm apart. After each test the
needle is disengaged and wiped with benzene and dried. The depth of penetration is reported in
one tenth millimeter unit. The mean value of three measurements is reported as a penetration
value. It may be noted that the penetration value is largely influenced by any inaccuracy as
regards pouring temperature, size of needle weight placed on the needle and the test
temperature.
The bitumen grade is specified in terms of penetration value 80-100 or 80/100 grade bitumen
mean as that the penetration value of the bitumen is in the range 80 to 100 at standard test
conditions.
Softening point test
The softening point is the temperature at which the substance attains a particular degree of
softening under specified condition of test. The softening point of bitumen is usually determined
by ring and ball test.
Generally higher softening point indicates lower temperature susceptibility and is preferred in
warm climates brass ring containing test sample of bitumen is suspended in liquid like water or
glycerin at a given temperature steel ball is placed upon the bitumen sample and the liquid
0
medium is then heated at a rate of 5 C per minute. The temperature at which the softened
bitumen touches the metal placed at a specified distance below the ring is recorded as the
softening point of bitumen. Hard grade bitumen posses higher softening point than soft grade
bitumen’s.
0 0
The softening point of various bitumen grades used in paving jobs very between 35 to 70 C.
Impact value test

A test designed to evaluate the toughness of stone or the resistance of the aggregates to
fracture under repeated impacts is called impact test. The aggregate impact test is commonly
carried out to evaluate the resistance to impact of aggregate and has been standardized by ISI.
The aggregate impact value indicates a relative measure of resistance of aggregates to
impact, which has a different effect then the resistance to gradually increasing compressive
stress. The aggregate impact testing machine consists of a metal base and a cylindrical steel
cup of internal diameter 10.2cm and depth 5cm in which the aggregate specimen is placed. A
metal hammer of weight of 13.5-14.0 kg having a free fall from a height 38cm is arranged to drop
through vertical guides.
Aggregate specimen passing 12.5mm sieve and retained on 10mm sieve is filled in cylinder
measure in 3 layers by tamping each layer by 25 blows. The sample is transferred from the
measure to the cup of the aggregates impact testing machine and compacted by tamping 25
times. The hammer is raised to a height of 38cm above the upper surface of the aggregate in the
cup and is allowed to fall freely on the specimen. After subjecting the test specimen to 15 blows,
the crushed aggregate is sieved on 2.36mm sieve. The aggregate impact value is expressed as
the percentage of the fine formed in terms of the total weight of the sample.
The aggregate impact value should not normally exceed 30percent for the aggregate to be
used in wearing course of pavements. The maximum permissible value is 35% for bituminous
macadam and 40%for water bound macadam base courses.
Specific gravity of bitumen
The density of the bitumen binder is a fundamental property frequently used as aid to classify
the binders for use in paving jobs. In most applications, the bitumen is weighted but finally when
used with aggregate system; the bitumen content is converted on volume basis using density
values. The specific gravity value of bitumen is also useful in bituminous mix design. The density
of bitumen is greatly influenced by its chemical composition. Increased amounts of aromatic type
compounds or mineral impurities cause an increase in specific gravity.
The specific gravity of bitumen material is the ratio of t6he mass of a given volume of the
0
substance to the same of an equal volume of water, the temperature of both being 27 [Link]
specific gravity is determined either by using a pycnometer or preparing a cube shape specimen
in semi solid or solid state and by weighing in water.
Generally the specific gravity of pure bitumen is in the range of [Link] specific gravity
of cutback bitumen may be lower depending on the type and proportion of diluents used. Tars
have specific gravity ranging from 1.10-1.25.

Field density tests

Theory
Dry density of a soil in the field is called field density. Field density is found adopting core
cutter method or sand replacement method.
Core cutter method
Apparatus required
Cylindrical core cutter of steel with steel dolly and steel rammer
Steel rule, palette knife, straight edge
 Balance of 1 g sensity7vity
Apparatus for water content determination
Apparatus for extracting samples from the cutter

Test procedure
The inner dimension of the core cutter is measured and its volume is found (V C).
The weight of the core cutter is found without the dolly.
2
The small area about 300mm is cleared and leveled where the in place density is to be
determined.
The cutter is placed on the subsoil by the help of rammer until about 15mm of the dolly
protrudes above the surface.
The soil around the cutter is dug using a spade or pickaxe the cutter bodily removed with
soil allowing some soil to project from the lower end of the cutter. The top and bottom of
the cutter are trimmed by means of a palette knife and straight edge.
The cutter with soil and without dolly is weighed (MSC).
The soil is removed from the cutter and the water content determined.
Computation and result
Then bulk density, ρ= (MSC-MC)/VC g/cc
The field density, ρd= ρ/(1+(w/100)) g/cc
Where the w is the percentage field water content. The dry density and water content of soil are
reported to the second decimal place and two significance figures respectively.
Sand replacement method
Apparatus required
Sand pouring cylinder
Closely graded natural sand passing the 1mm IS sieve but retained on the 600µ IS sieve
is cleaned.
Cylindrical calibration can.
Metal tray with hole.
 Tools for excavating holes.
2
Glass –plate-450mm , 9 mm thick.
Balance.

Test procedure
The pouring cylinder is filled with clean sand till the level of sand is about 10mm from the
top and weight, M1, is found.
This mass is maintained constant throughout the test for which the pouring cylinder has
to be calibrated.
Pouring cylinder is placed on a glass plate and the top is closed when the conical portion
has been filled.
Sand on a glass plate is carefully collected and the sand is weighed. Steps first and third
are repeated at least three times and the average mass of sand filling the cone is found
(M2).
Internal dimensions of the calibration can be measured and its volume. The can is filled
with water up to the brim and find the mass. From the mass the volume is found and
checked with the previous one and average volume, V, is determined.
The pouring cylinder is placed concentrically on top of the calibration can with initial
mass, [Link] shutter is opened and the sand is allowed to fill the can. The cylinder is
tapped so as to ensure that the can and the conical portion are completely filled with
sand. The cylinder is weighed.
The step four is repeated thrice and the average mass M 3 of the cylinder after filling the
cone and the can.
2
An area of about 450mm is cleaned and leveled of the soil to be tested.
The square tray with a central hole is placed on the prepared surface. A circular hole of
100mm diameter and 150mm depth is roughly dug. All the soil are carefully collected and
the mass is found as (Ms).in case of a fine grained soil a core cutter is pushed
approximately up to a depth of 100mm,the soil is collected and weighed as M s. the core
cutter is kept in position till the rest of the procedure.
Some representative soil for water content determination is taken.
 The t5ray is removed and the pouring cylinder is concentrically placed on the hole with
initial mass [Link] shutter is opened and the sand is allowed to fill the core and hole. The
cylinder is weighed as (M4).
Computation and results
Mass of sand filling calibration can=Ma= (M1-M3-M2) g
Bulk density of sand, ρsd =Ms/V g/cc
Mass of sand required to fill the excavated hole, M b= (M1-M4-M2) g
Bulk density of soil, ρ= (Ms/Mb)x ρsd g/cc
Dry density of soil, ρd = ρ/(1+(w/100)) g/cc

Crushing strength test

The strength of course aggregate may be assessed by aggregate crushing strength test.
The aggregate crushing value provides a relative measure of resistance to crushing under
gradually applied compressive load. To achieve a high quality of pavement aggregates
possessing high resistance to crushing or low aggregate crushing value are preferred.
The apparatus for standard test consists of a steel cylinder 15.2cm diameter with a base
plate and plunger, compression testing machine, cylindrical measure of diameter 11.5cm and
height 18cm, tamping rod and sieves.
Dry aggregates passing 12.5mm IS sieve and retained on 10mm sieve is filled in the
cylinder measure in three equal layers, each layer being ramped 25 times by the tamper. The
test sample is weighed (equal to w1 g) and placed in the test cylinder in compression machine.
The plunger is placed on the top of specimen and a load of 40 tones is applied at a rate of 4
tones per minute by the compression machine. The crushed aggregate is removed and sieved
on 2.36mm IS sieve. The crushed material whic h passes this sieve is weighed equal to [Link]
aggregate crushing value is the percentage of the crushed material passing 2.36mm sieve in
terms of original weight of the specimen.
Aggregate crushing value=100w2/w1
 Strong aggregates give low aggregate crushing value. The aggregate crushing value for
good quality aggregate to be used in base course shall not exceed 45 percent and the value for
surface course shall be less than 30 percent.

Abrasion test
Due to the movements of traffic the road stones used in the surface course are subjected to
wearing action at the top. Hence road stones should be hard enough to resist the abrasion due
to the traffic. Abrasion tests are carried out to test the hardness property of stones and to decide
whether they are suitable for the different road construction works. The abrasion test on
aggregate may be carried out using any one of the following three tests.
Los angles abrasion test
Deval abrasion test
Dorry abrasion test
However los angles abrasion test is preferred as the result have been correlated with
pavement performance.
Los angles abrasion test
The principle of los angles abrasion test is to find the percentage wear due to the relative
rubbing action between the aggregate and steel balls used as abrasive charge. Pounding action
of these balls also exists during the test and hence the resistance to wear and impact is
evaluated in this test. The los angles consists of a hollow cylinder closed at both ends, having
inside diameter 70cm and length 50cm and mounted so as to rotate about its horizontal axis.
The abrasive charge consists of cast iron spheres of approximately diameter 4.8cm and
each of weight 390-445 g. the number of spheres to be used as abrasive charge and their total
weight have been specified based on grading of the aggregate sample.
The specified weight of aggregate specimen, (5 to 10 kg) is placed in the machine along with
the abrasive charge. The machine is rotated at a speed of 30-33rpm for the specified number of
revolutions(500-1000).the abraded aggregate is then sieved on 1.7mm IS sieve and the weight
of powdered aggregate passing this sieve is found. The result of the abrasion test expressed as
the percentage wear or the percentage of passing 1.7mm sieve expressed in terms of the
original weight of the sample. The los angles abrasion value of good aggregate acceceptable for
cement concrete bituminous concrete and other high quality pavement materials should be less
than 30 percent. Values up to 50 percent are allowed in base course like water bound and
bituminous macadam road. This test is more dependable than other abrasion tests as rubbing
and pounding action in the test simulate the field conditions better. Also correlation of los angles
abrasion value with field performance and specifications of the test values have been
established.
 Flakiness index test
The flakiness index of aggregate is the percentage by weight of aggregate particles whose
least dimensions /thickness is less than three fifths or 0.6 of their mean dimension. The test
applicable to sizes larger than [Link] thickness gauge is used to cause the thickness
of the sample.
The sample of aggregates to be tested is sieved through a set of s ieves and separated into
specified size ranges. Now to separate the flaky material the aggregate which passes through
the appropriate slot would be 0.6 of the average of the size range. If the size range of aggregate
in a group is 16-20mm,the width of the slot too be selected in thickness gauge would be
18x0.6=10.8mm.
The flaky material passing the appropriate slot from each size r5ange of test aggregates are
added up and let this weigh be w. If the total weight of sample taken from the different sizes
ranges is W. flaky index is given by 100w/W percent, or in other words it is the percentage of
flaky materials the width of which are less than 0.6 of the mean [Link] is desirable that the
flakiness index of aggregates used in road construction is less than the 15 percent and normally
does not exceed 25 percent.
Design of surface drainage system of highways.
Surface drainage deals with arrangements for quickly and effectively leading away the water
that collects on the surface of pavements, shoulders, and other adjoining areas.
Surface drainage consists of two operations:
Collection of surface water
Disposal of collected surface water
Rain water from road surface is left off to the sides by cross slope or camber. Based on the
rainfall of the area the rate of cross slope is provided.
In rural plain area, the disposal of water depends on whether the road is in embankment or in
cutting or on ground line.
Side drains of suitable size and adequate longitudinal slope are constructed along both the
sides of the road at some distance from the foot of embankment. The side drains are trapezoidal
in shape.
In cuttings, drains are provided along both the sides of the road just next to the shoulders. If
there is a restriction of space covered drains or drainage trenches are provided with layers of
coarse sand and gravel.
In case of urban roads, underground drainage facilities are provided to drain off surface water.
Urban drains are provided because of presence of foot path and other developments. Water
drained from the pavement surface can be drained longitudinally and may be collected in catch
pits and carried forward through underground drainage pipes. A typical catch pit with grating to
pavement the entry of rubbish into the drainage system is shown in fig.
Highway drainage is of much more important in hill road formation, it is essential to divert and
dispose off the water flowing down the hill slope across the road and efficient it will result in
complex maintenance problems. Hence drainage arrangements in hill road should be made to
work efficiently.
Construction procedure for bituminous concrete.
The existing base course is reconditioned as explained in earlier cases at least one week
before laying the binder course.
Then the bitumen course layer will be laid.
This is also a hot mix process. The hot mix is collected and spread over the prepared
surface. The camber and thickness of bitumen layer is checked.
The placed concrete is rolled by a roller at a speed not more than 5km/hour.
The number of passes required to attain the final desired thickness depends on the
thickness.
The initial rolling is done using a 8 to 12 tonne roller followed by fixed wheel pneumatic
roller of 15 to 30 tonnes. The wheels are kept damp with water or wet gunny.

Procedure for assessing polishing value of aggregate.

The resistance of stones to polishing under traffic determines its skid resistance. Specimens of
stones which are subjected by standard procedure to attain certain shining surface. Such
specimens are thereafter tested for their polishing value on a British portable tester. The tester
directly measures the amount of polishing by a value called polishing stone value.
Equipment
Curved mould
Rotating pneumatic wheel
Portable tester for getting the degree of polishing .this machine consists of a rubber
sliding shoe which is mounted at the end of a pendulum. The slider,
When released, brushes past the specimen and comes to a halt directly showing
the polishing value.
Test procedure
The standard procedure adopted for testing the polishing characteristic is to embed the
stones in a curved mould in cement –sand mortar and subject the sample to accelerated
polishing brought by a rotating pneumatic wheel.
The size of each specimen is 45mm widex90.5mm long.
The rubber wheel is 20cm dia and 5cm broad, loaded with 40kg load at a tyre pressure of
2
3.15±0.15 kg/cm .
The specimen is then fixed and rotated at a speed of 320 to 325 rpm for 3 hours and 15
minutes.
Sand and water are fed to the machine.
Specimens are thereafter tested for their polishing value on a portable tester.
The slider of the machine is released which brushes past the specimen and comes to a
halt.
The degree of polishing of the stone is directly measured on a graduated scale comes to
a halt.
The degree of polishing of the stone is directly measured on a graduated scale as
polishing stone value which varies from 250to 80.
Applications and limitations
Stone type polishing value quality
Limestone 35 to 40 poor
Granite 40 to 48 fair
Sandstone >55 good

Construction of dense bituminous macadam road.

The existing surface is reconditioned to proper cross section and the surface is cleaned.
On the prepared and cleaned surface a thin layer of binder (prime and teak coat) is applied on a
10 sq.m surface and 4.0 to 7.5 kg of binder is to be used for black top surface or 7.5 to 10 kg for
untreated WBM surfaces.
0
Aggregates of proper gradation and binder are separately heated at about 120 c and then
mixed in a mixture. This mixture so prepared is placed on the already prepared surface and
uniformly spread for the required thickness with rakes. The cross section is again checked.
Rolling is done as early as possible after placing premixed material with a 8 to 10 tonne roller.
The rolling is started from the edges and processed towards the centre with uniform
overlapping. The wheels of the roller should be kept wet while rolling so as to avoid sticking of
mixed material on the wheels.

The existing surface is reconditioned to proper cross section and the surface is cleaned. On
the prepared and cleaned surface a thin layer of binder (prime and teak coat) is applied on a 10
sq.m surface and 4.0 to 7.5 kg of binder is to be used for black top surface or 7.5 to 10 kg for
untreated WBM surfaces.
0
Aggregates of proper gradation and binder are separately heated at about 120 c and then
mixed in a mixture. This mixture so prepared is placed on the already prepared surface and
uniformly spread for the required thickness with rakes. The cross section is again checked.
Rolling is done as early as possible after placing premixed material with a 8 to 10 tonne roller.
The rolling is started from the edges and processed towards the centre with uniform
overlapping. The wheels of the roller should be kept wet while rolling so as to avoid sticking of
mixed material on the wheels.
Bituminous concrete
The existing base course is reconditioned as explained in earlier cases at least one
week before laying the binder course.
Then the bitumen course layer will be laid.
This is also a hot mix process. The hot mix is collected and spread over the prepared
surface. The camber and thickness of bitumen layer is checked.
The placed concrete is rolled by a roller at a speed not more than 5km/hour.
The number of passes required to attain the final desired thickness depends on the
thickness.
The initial rolling is done using a 8 to 12 tonne roller followed by fixed wheel pneumatic
roller of 15 to 30 tonnes. The wheels are kept damp with water or wet gunny.

Construction of cement concrete road.

There are two methods of construction of cement concrete road slabs:
Alternate bay method
Continuous bay method
Alternate bay method
In this method, constructing a bay or one slab in alternate succession leaving the next or
intermediate bay. The next construction is done after time gap of one week or so.
1 1
For example the alternate bays X, Y and Z are constructed at one stretch. Others, viz., X , Y
1
and Z are constructed after one week. This technique provides additional working convenience
during the laying of slabs. Provision of construction joints is easier.

This mode of construction has the following setbacks:

More number of transverse joints have to be provided and thereby increasing the cost.
Possibility of collection of surface water on the base or sub grade and thereby disturbing
the base or sub grade.
Diversion of traffic is needed as the construction is done on alternate bays covering the
entire width.
Continuous bay method
In the continuous bay method X, Y, Z, etc are done at a stretch in sequence. Construction
joints are however provided at the end of the day’s job.
In general the second method is preferred as constructed while the other half is being used by
traffic.
Construction procedure of pavement slab
Preparation of sub grade and base
Placing of forms
Installation of joints
Batching of aggregates and cement
Mixing and placing concrete
Consolidation and finishing concrete
Curing of concrete
Preparation of sub grade and base
The sub grade and base should be prepared complying with the following conditions:
No soft spots are present in the sub grade or base
Sub grade or base should be uniformly compacted and extended about 30 cm on either
side of the width of pavement to be concreted.
 Sub grade or base should be adequately drained
Plate load test conducted on the sub grade should yield a minimum modulus of sub
3
grade reaction of 5.5 kg/cm .
Placing of forms
Wooden or steel forms are used.
Wooden forms have minimum base width 10 cm for 20 cm slab thickness and of 15
cm for slabs over 20 cm thicknesses.
Forms are jointed nearly and are set with exact grade and alignment.
Forms are rigidly fixed such that during the entire operation of concreting they should
not deviate more than 3mm from straight edge of 3m length.
Steel forms commonly used are straight 3m sections.
They are aligned vertically and horizontally by slip joints and held in position by three
or more steel stakes.
Installation of joints
Extreme care should be taken in all operations connected with joints.
Face of transverse joints should be straight, perpendicular to the centre line of
pavement and also perpendicular to the surface of the finished slab.
Load transfer devices like dowel bars used in expansion joint should be aligned and
placed accurately.
There should be free movement of slab ends in longitudinal direction.
Batching of aggregate and cement
Based on the design concrete mix, the proportion of ingredients like course
aggregate and fine aggregate are proportioned by weight in a weigh batching plant.
These are placed in the hopper of the mixer along with the necessary quantity of
cement.
Cement is measured by the bag which measures [Link] all batching of material is
done on the basis of one or more whole bags of cement taking the unit weight of
2
cement is taken as 1440kg/m .
Mixing and placing concrete
The ingredients are mixed in required quantity for immediate use and are deposited
on the sub grade or base.
Deposited concrete should be to the correct depth and width of pavement section
within the formwork.
The operation of placing concrete should be continuous.
Consolidation and finishing
Concrete is spread uniformly by shovels with redistribution wherever needed. Needle
vibrator is used for compaction.
Surface of the pavement is compacted either using a power driven finishing machine or
using a vibrating hard screed.
Curing of concrete
It is very important to ensure proper curing of the finished concrete. Following are the methods
usually adopted:
Bonding or each cover kept wet.
 Hay or straw cover kept wet.
Cover of wet felt mats cotton mats.
Saw dust kept wet.

Important Questions

1. Describe CBR test and field density test on soil.

2. Explain abration test and impact test in aggregate.

3. Expalin construction of WBM road.

4. Discuss the construction of cement concrete road.

5. Explain penetration test, softening point test, ductility test, viscosity test.

6. Expalin how surface draninage is carried out.

7. Describe various bitumen test conducted to check the road.

 UNIT IV- DESIGN OF PAVEMENT
Design of pavements- Introduction; flexible pavements, factors affecting design and
performance; stresses in flexible pavements; design of flexible pavements as per IRC; rigid
pavements- components and functions; factors affecting design and performance of CC
pavements; stresses in rigid pavements; design of concrete pavements as per IRC;

Calculation of Equivalent Single Wheel Load

Let P be the single wheel load
d be the spacing between the tyres
S be the centre to centre spacing of tyres
A plot is made in log-log scale with depth on z-axis which gives a linear [Link]
coordinates A (d/2, P) and B (2S, 2P).
Let z1 be the depth at which ESWL is needed. From the plot for a depth of z 1 the ESWL,
P1 read.

Radius of resisting section

Westergaard’s suggested an equivalent radius of resisting section, b, in terms of radius of
load distribution and slab thickness, as
2 2
b= 1.6a h 0.675h
Where a=radius of wheel load distribution, cm
h=slab thickness
When a is greater than 1.72h, the value of b=a

Components of the flexible pavements.

Flexible pavement is based on the principle that the wheel load of vehicles is dissipated to
the natural soil through successive layers of granular materials.
Highest quality material is placed on the top. The components of the pavement from the
top are surface course, base course and sub base course. The strength of sub grade decides
the thickness of flexible pavement.

Temperature variation in rigid pavements

Temperature in concrete pavement produces warping stresses and frictional stresses.
When the concrete pavement slab experiences different temperatures at top and bottom,
the slab tents to warp downwards or upwards including warping stresses.
 As the concrete pavement is in contact with the sub grade, the movement of slab at the
bottom is restrained due to friction and causing frictional stress.

Rigidity factor in the design of Highway Pavements

The ratio of contact pressure to tyre pressure is defined as rigidity factor. the rigidity
2
factor is equal to unity when the tyre pressure is 7.0 kg/cm .this value is higher than unity for low
2
tyre pressure and less than unity for tyre pressure higher that 7kg/cm .

ESWL.
In order to have maximum wheel load, dual wheel assembly is provided to the rear axles of
the load vehicle. Because of this the load due to the both the wheels are not to be transferred to
the pavement. But there will be overlap pressure after a certain depth. The actual effect is in
between a single wheel load and the double the load carried by any one wheel.

Rigid pavement.
Cement concrete pavements represent the group of rigid pavement. Here the load carrying
capacity is mainly due to the rigidity and high modulus of elasticity of the slab itself

Application of rigid pavement.

The rigid pavement load carrying capacity is mainly due to the rigidity and high modulus
of elasticity of the slab itself.
The rigid pavement has the slab action and is capable of transmitting the wheel load
stresses through a wider area below.

Pavement
The Pavement consisting of a few layers of Pavement material is constructed over a
prepared soil sub grade to serve as a carriageway.
One of the objectives of a designed Pavement is to keep this elastic deformation of the
Pavement within the Permissible limits.
Types of Pavement Structure
Based on the structural behavior, Pavements are generally classified in to two
categories.
i) Flexible Pavements.
ii) Rigid Pavements.
Factors in design of pavements
The various factors to be considered for the design of pavements are given below.
i) Design wheel load
ii) Sub grade soil
iii) Climatic factors
iv) Pavement component materials
 v) Environmental factors
vi) Special factors in the design of different types of pavements.

Types of pressure
The types of pressure are:
Tyre pressure
Inflation pressure
Contact pressure
Contact pressure
Contact pressure can be measured by relationship:
Load on wheel
Contact pressure = Contact area (or) area of imprint

Design methods in flexible pavement

The following methods are:
i) Group index method
ii) California bearing ratio method
iii) Stabilometer method
iv) Triaxial test method
v) McLeod method
vi) Bur mister method

Critical load positions.

There are three typical locations namely the interior, edge and corner, where
differing conditions of slab continuity exist. These are termed as critical load positions.

Types of loading
Interior loading --- When load is applied in the interior of the slab surface
Edge loading ----- When load is applied in an edge of the slab.
Corner loading ---- When the center of the load application is located on the
bisector of the corner angle formed by two intersecting edges of the slab.

Major effects in climatic variations

The climatic variations cause following major effects:
i) Variation in moisture condition
ii) Frost action
iii) Variation in temperature.

Traffic index
Traffic index is an empirical term used to estimate the traffic volume. This is given as
0.11
T1=1.35(EWL)
Where EWL is the accumulated sum of the products of the constants and the number of axle
loads.
CBR.
California bearing ratio is an adhoc property of a material which shows relative significance
and do not provide absolute measure.

CBR method of pavement design.

CBR is an adhoc penetration test which does not consider any of the sub grade
properties directly.
As the method is empirical, it is not essentially related to any particular value of axle load
or wheel load repetitions.
The design curves provided in the method are not meant to be made use of on the basis
of traffic immediately carried by the road or that anticipated (in the case of new
constructions).
This method gives the total thickness requirement of the pavement above a sub grade
and the thickness is same irrespective of the quantity of materials used in the component
layers.
Joints in cement concrete pavements
In general, joints are provided in cement concrete pavements to reduce temperature stresses.
Expansion joint is provided to permit increase in the length of a slab due to temperature
increase.
Contraction joints are provided (i) to control cracking of the slab resulting from
contraction and (ii) to relieve warping stresses.
Longitudinal joints are provided to prevent the formation of irregular longitudinal cracks
and to allow for transverse warping and unequal settlement.
Construction joints are provided at the abrupt end of a day’s work unexpectedly
interrupted due to breakdown of plant or onset of bad weather.
Warping joints are provided if expansion joint and contraction joints are not effective.
Expansion joint is designed based on the maximum temperature variations expected and the
width of joint. The design of contraction joint is governed by the anticipated frictional resistance
and allowable tensile stress in concrete. Longitudinal joints are designed with tie bars.

Mud pumping.
Ejection of soil slurry takes place through cracks formed on the pavement slab due to wheel
load or [Link] pumping is caused due to more slab deflection, type of sub grade soil and
amount of free water. Pumping is generally noticed in clayey sub grades with soon after the
rains.
Due to repeated loading an initial space formed underneath the pave ment slab develops and
spreads and form a place for collection of water. Since the sub grade soil is clayey which has
less permeability retain the water and forms soil slurry or soil suspension in water or the mud.
Subsequent movement of traffic causes the pavement slab to defect at critical location and
pushes out the part of mud every time. Continued loosing of sub grade soil due to ejection of
mud and application of wheel loads to sub grade support. Ultimately the pavement fails at more
places.
Thus the pavement cracking due to mud pumping is generally a progressive type of pavement
failure.
ESWL and lane distribution factor
In order to have maximum wheel load, dual wheel assembly is provided to the rear axles of
the load vehicles. Because of this, the load due to both the wheels is not to be transferred to the
pavement. But there will be overlap pressure after a certain depth. The actual effects is in
between a single wheel load and double the load carried by any one wheel. Stress overlap is
presented in fig below.

It is assumed that up to a depth of d/2 the loads act independently beyond which the
stresses overlap. The area of overlap becomes more beyond a depth of [Link] it may be
considered that the load the total stress due to the dual wheels at any depth greater than 2S, is
to be equivalent to a single wheel load of 2P magnitude. However, this stress due to 2P is to be
slightly greater than the duel wheel assembly which is on the safe side.
This equivalent single wheel load can be determined by equivalent deflection or equivalent
deflection or equivalent stress criterion. For example, based on deflection criterion it is to state
that the maximum deflection caused at a particular depth z (say, depth equivalent to the
thickness of pavement) by a dual wheel load Assembly is also caused by an equivalent single
wheel load acting at the surface of the pavement.
Similarly by the stress criterion the ESWL producing the same stress value at a depth z as
that produced by a dual wheel load assembly.
A linear relationship is assumed between the ESWL and the depth in a log-log scale. A linear
plot is got, as shown in fig. By plotting a point A with coordinates z=d/2 and P and point B with
coordinates z=2S and 2P.
Line AB represents the locus of point where any single wheel load is equivalent to a certain
set of dual wheels.
 In order to use the graph, for an assumed thickness of pavement and ESWL is got from the
graph. This ESWL is used in the design calculations and the thickness of pavement is obtained.
If this thickness and assumed thicknesses are same then the ESWL assumed is correct. If not
the design is repeated and by trial and error the correct thickness of pavement is obtained. This
calculation is valid for the given wheel load configuration. For different wheel load assembly
different ESWL plots may be made.

Factors influencing the design of flexible pavements.

The various factors to be considered for the design of flexible pavements are given
below:
Design wheel load
Sub grade soli
Climatic factors
Pavement component materials
Environmental factors Special
factors

Design wheel load

The thickness design of pavement primarily upon the design wheel load. Higher wheel load
obviously need thicker pavement provided other design factors are the same. While considering
wheel load, the effects of total static load on each wheel, multiple wheel load assembly, contact
pressure, load repetition and the dynamic effects of transient loads are to be taken into account.
As the speed increases the rate of application of the stress is also increased in resulting in
a reaction in the pavement deformation under the load: but on uneven pavements, the impact
increases with speed. Some of the important design factors associated with the traffic wheel
loads have been explained in the subsequent article.

Sub grade soil

The properties of the sub grade soil are important in deciding the thickness requirements of
pavements sub grade with lower stability requires thicker pavement to protect it from traffic
loads. The variation in stability and volume of the sub grade soil with moisture changes are to be
studied as these properties are dependent on the soil characteristics. The stress strain
behaviors of the soil under static and repeated loads have also significance. Apart from the
design the pavement performance to a great extent depends on the sub grade soil properties
and the drainage.

Climate factors
Among the climate factors, rainfall affects the moisture conditions in the sub grade and the
pavement layers. The daily and seasonal variation in temperature has significance in the design
and performance of rigid pavements. Where freezing temperature is prevalent during winter, the
possibility of frost action in the sub grade and the damping effects should be considered at the
design stage itself.

Pavement component materials

The stress distribution characteristic of the pavement components layers depends on
characteristics of the materials used. The fatigue behavior of these materials and their durability
under adverse conditions of weather should also be given due consideration.

Environmental factors
The environmental factors such as height of embankments and its foundations details. Depth
of cutting, depth of sub surface water table, etc...Affect the performance of the pavement. The
choice of the bituminous binder and the performance of the bituminous pavement depending on
the variations in pavement temperature with the seasons in the region.

Design procedure for the design of rigid pavements by IRC.

Wheel load
The design wheel load may be taken as 4100 kg with a tyre inflation pressure of 5.3 to 6.3
3
kg/cm .
Traffic volume
The growth of traffic volume after 20 years of construction has to be considered in the design.
The following formula may be used to estimate the demand
1 n+20
Ad=P (1+r)
Where
Ad=number of commercial vehicles per day for laden weight greater than 3 tonnes.
1
P =the number of commercial vehicles per day at least count.
r=annual rate of increase in traffic intensity
n=number of years between the last traffic count and the commissioning of new cement
concrete pavement.

Annual temperature
The mean daily and annual temperature cycles are to be collected. The temperature
difference, depending on the place where the road is intended to be constructed is taken from
the standard table provided for various states and regions for a given thickness of slab.
Modulus of sub grade reaction
Modulus of sub grade reaction, K, is determined using a 75 cm diameter plate and the
pressure corresponding to 0.125cm deflection. If the pavement is to be laid on the sub grade soil
3
then K should be not less than 5.5kg/cm otherwise a suitable sub base course is to be
provided.
Properties of concrete
The flexural strength of cement concrete to be used for the pavement should be less than 40
3
kg/cm .
2 5
The cube strength of concrete should be 280kg/cm , modulus of elasticity E=3X10 and
poisons ratio=[Link] properties may also be determined experimentally.
-6 o
Co efficient of thermal expansion may be taken as 10x10 per C for design purpose.
Computation of stresses
Wheel load stresses at the edge and corner regions are calculated as per modified
Westergaard’s analysis.
Temperature stress at the edge region is calculated as per Westergaards analysis using
Bradbury’s coefficient.
Slab thickness
The length and width of slab are decided based on the joint spacing’s and lane width.
A trial thickness of slab is assumed. The warping stress at edge region is calculated
which is deducted from the allowable flexural stress. The resulting strength in the
pavement has to support the edge loads.
The stress due to load at the edge is calculated. The factor of safety is computed
comparing the strength and the edge stress. If the factor of safety is less than one,
thickness is increased and the calculations are repeated till the factor of safety is
[Link] is the design thickness h.
The stress due to corner load is computed and checked using the above h. if this stress
value is less than allowable flexural stress in concrete then the slab thickness h is
adequate. If not the thickness may be suitably increased till the above condition is
satisfied.
The design thickness h is then adjusted for traffic intensity as given in table to obtain the
final adjusted slab thickness.
Joint spacing
For all slab thicknesses with rough foundation the maximum spacings recommended for
25mm wide expansion joint ios [Link] smooth foundation the maximum spacing may
be 90m for slab thickness up to 20cm,
120m for slab thickness up to 25cm when the construction is made in [Link] the
construction is made in winter the spacing may be restricted to 50 and 60m respectively.
In unreinforced slab for all slab thicknesses the spacing of construction joint is [Link]
reinforced slab the spacing is 13m for m15cm thickness slab with steel reinforcement of
2 2
2.7kg/cm and 14m spacing for 20cm thick slabs with steel reinforcement of 3.8kg/cm .
Dowel bars
Dowel bars are designed based on Bradbury’s analysis for shear, bending and bearing in
concrete.
The minimum dowel length is taken as (L d+δ).the load bearing capacity of the dowel
system is assumed to be 40% of the design wheel load. The dowel bars is considered to
be effective 1.8 times the radius of relative stiffness l on the either side of the load
position.
Dowel bars are provided for thickness of slab more than 15cm or [Link] recommends
2-5cm dia bars of 50cm length with 20cm spacing for 15cm thick slab and spaced at
30cm in case of 20cm thick slab.
Tie bars
2
Designed for longitudinal joints with permissible bond stress in deformed bars 24.6kg/cm and
2 2
in plain bars 17.5kg/cm .allowable working stress in tensile steel is taken as 1500kg/cm .
Reinforcement
Nominal reinforcement in cement concrete pavements is intended to prevent deterioration of
the cracks. It is not provided to increase the flexural strength of uncracked slab. The area of
longitudinal and transverse steel required per meter width or length of slab is computed using
the following formula.
A=Lfw/(2S)
Where
2
A=area of steel required per meter width or length of the slab, cm
L=dist6ance between free transverse joints for longitudinal or transverse steel, m.
2
w=weight of unit area of pavement slab, kg/cm .
The reinforcement is to be provided at 5cm below the surface of [Link] is continued across
dummy groove joints to serve the purpose of tie bars. The reinforcement is kept at least 5cm
away from the face of joint or edge.

Different between flexible and rigid pavements.

[Link] characteristics Flexible pavement Rigid pavement

1 Normal loading Undergoes deformation Resists deformation and acts as a

under the load cantilever beam.

2 Excessive loading Local depression take A crack on the surface may appear
p[lace due to rupture
3 After effects of Pavement is flexible Permanent rupture or cracks forms
heavy load and thus adjusts itself and remains
by deformation.
4 Temperature Not affected Stressesproducedbasedon
effects Temperature

5 Sub grade strength Uniform sub grade is Sub grade may be non uniform
necessary

Design consideration’s for spacing of expansion and construction joints.

Expansion joints
The width or gap in expansion joints depends upon the length of slab. Greater the distance
between the expansion joints, the greater is the width required of the gap for expansion. The use
of wide expansion joint space should be avoided as it would be difficult to keep them properly
filled in when the gap widens during winter season. The dowels would develop high bending and
bearing stresses with wider openings. It is recommended not to have a gap more than 2.5 cm in
any case. The IRC has recommended that the maximum spacing between expansion joints
should be not exceeding 140m for rough interface layer.
If δ is the maximum expansion in a slab of length L e with a temperature rise from T1 to T2.
δ= Le C (T1 -T2)
Where
C is the thermal expansion of concrete per degree rise in temperature.
The joint filler may be assumed to be compressed up to 50 percent of its thickness and therefore
the expansion joint gap should be twice the allowable expansion in concrete, i.e., 2δ is half the
joint width the spacing of expansion joint L e is given by equation:
Le= δ/ (100C (T1 -T2))

Construction joint
The slab contracts due to fall in slab temperature below the construction temperature. Also
during the initial curing period, shrinkage occurs in cement concrete. This movement is resisted
by the sub grade drug or friction between the bottom fiber of the slab and the sub grade. Total
frictional resistance up to distance
 Lc/2=WXbx Lc/2x(h/100)xf
Allowable tension in cement concrete=Scxhxbx100
Equating the above two values
WXbx Lc/2x(h/100)xf= Scxhxbx100
Length of slab to resists the frictional drag, i.e., spacing of construction joints,
4
Lc=(2Sc/(Wf))x10
Here
Lc=slab length or spacing between construction joints, m
H=slab thickness, cm
3
W=unit weight of cement concrete, kg/m
2
Sc=allowable stress in tension in cement concrete, kg/cm
Since the contraction or shrinkage cracks develop mainly during initial period of curing. A very
low value of Sc is considered in design. The permissible stresses are generally kept as low as
2
about 0.8kg/cm .

IRC method of flexible pavement design.

Indian road congress (IRC: 37-1970) has recommended some important aspects to be
considered while using the design chart. Following are the recommendations:
The specimen to be tested CBR should be remoulded specimen prepared preferably by
static compaction wherever possible or dynamic compaction. The standard test
procedure should be strictly followed.
In situ test specimens are not recommended.
For new roads the sub grade soil specimen should be compacted to proctor density at
OMC. If the compaction equipment is not available in the field, the specimen may be
compacted to the expected field density.
For the existing roads the specimen should be compacted to field density of sub grade
soil at water content equal to OMC or field moisture content.
For all new constructions the specimen should be soaked for four days prior to testing.
This condition is not mandatory for arid climatic regions or regions with annual rainfall is
less than 50cm or the water table is very deep or when thickness of impermeable
bituminous surfacing is provided.
At least three specimens should be tested with identical specimens. If the variation is
maximum beyond the norms, then average of six specimens CBR values should be
taken.
The specimen limits of maximum variation in CBR values are
3% for CBR value up to 10%
5% for CBR value 10 to 30%
10% for CBR value 30 to 60%
The top 50cm of sub grade should be compacted with density equal to 95 to 100% of
proctor density.
Keeping in view the existing traffic and the anticipated growth i n traffic should be
calculated for at least 10 years of life period.
The following formula may be used:
n+10
A=P (1+r)
Where
A=number of heavy vehicles per day for design (laden weight>3 tonnes)
P=number of heavy vehicles per day at least count.
r=annual rate of increase of heavy vehicles
n=number of years between the least count and the year of completion of constructions.
The value P has to be found for seven day heavy vehicles obtained from 24 hours count. If
a reasonable value of r is not available a value of 7.5% may be assumed for rural roads.
The traffic obtained from the above equation has to be used in choosing the appropriate
design curve (A to G).
The design thickness corresponding to a single axle load up to 8200kg and tandem axle
load up to 14500kg is adopted.
Substandard sub bases with substantial proportion of aggregates of size above 20mm
should not be used in design.
Thin layers of wearing course such as surface dressing or open graded premixed carpet
up to 2.5cm thickness should not be counted towards total thickness as these materials
do not contribute to the structural capacity of the pavement.

Functions of the components of the flexible pavements.

Flexible pavements are those which on the whole have low or negligible flexural strength and
are rather flexible in their structural action under the loads. The flexible pavement layers reflect
the deformation of the lower layers on to the surface of the layer. Thus if the lower layer of the
pavement or soil sub grade is undulated, the flexible pavement surface also gets undulated. A
typical; flexible pavement consists of four components:
  
Soil sub grade
  
Sub base course
  
Base course
 
Surface course
A typical cross section of a flexible pavement structure is shown in fig.
 This consists of a wearing surface at the top, below which is the base course followed by
the sub base course and the lowest layer consists of the soil sub grade which has the lowest
stability among the four typical flexible pavement components. Each of the flexible pavement
layers above the sub grade, viz. sub base, base course and the surface courses may consists of
one or more number of layers of the same or slightly different materials and specifications.
Flexible pavements are commonly designed using empirical design charts or equations
taking into account some of the design factors. There are also semi empirical and theoretical
design methods.
According to this the flexible pavement may be constructed in a number of layers and the
top layer has to be strongest as the highest compressive stresses are to be sustained by this
layer, in addition to the wear and tear due to the traffic.
The lower layers have to take up only lesser magnitude of stresses and there is no direct
wearing action due to traffic loads, therefore inferior materials which lower cost can be used in
the lower layer.
The lowest layer is the prepared surface consisting of the local soil itself, called sub grade.
The vertical compressive stress is maximum on the pavement surface directly under the wheel
load and equal to the contact pressure under the wheel. Due to the ability to distribute the
stresses to a longer area in the shape of a truncated cone, the stresses get decreased at the
lower layers.
Therefore by taking full advantages of the stress distribution characteristic of the flexible
pavement, the layer system concept was developed. According to this the flexible pavement is
constructed in a number of layers and the top layer has to be strongest as the highest
compressive stresses are to be sustained by this layer.

Factors governing the structural design of pavements.

The various factors to be considered for the design of pavements are given below:
Design wheel load
Sub grade soli
Climatic factors
Pavement component materials
Environmental factors
Special factors
Design wheel load
The thickness design of pavement primarily upon the design wheel load. Higher wheel load
obviously need thicker pavement provided other design factors are the same. While consider ing
wheel load, the effects of total static load on each wheel, multiple wheel load assembly, contact
pressure, load repetition and the dynamic effects of transient loads are to be taken into account.
As the speed increases the rate of application of the stress is also increased in resulting in a
reaction in the pavement deformation under the load: but on uneven pavements, the impact
increases with speed. Some of the important design factors associated with the traffic wheel
loads have been explained in the subsequent article.
Sub grade soil
The properties of the sub grade soil are important in deciding the thickness requirements of
pavements sub grade with lower stability requires thicker pavement to protect it from traffic
loads. The variation in stability and volume of the sub grade soil with moisture changes are to be
studied as these properties are dependent on the soil characteristics. The stress strain
behaviors of the soil under static and repeated loads have also significance. Apart from the
design the pavement performance to a great extent depends on the sub grade soil properties
and the drainage.
Climate factors
Among the climate factors, rainfall affects the moisture conditions in the sub grade and the
pavement layers. The daily and seasonal variation in temperature has significance in the design
and performance of rigid pavements. Where freezing temperature is prevalent during winter, the
possibility of frost action in the sub grade and the damping effects should be considered at the
design stage itself.
Pavement component materials
The stress distribution characteristic of the pavement components layers depends on
characteristics of the materials used. The fatigue behavior of these materials and their durability
under adverse conditions of weather should also be given due consideration.
Environmental factors
The environmental factors such as height of embankments and its foundations details. Depth
of cutting, depth of sub surface water table, etc...Affect the performance of the pavement. The
choice of the bituminous binder and the performance of the bituminous pavement depending on
the variations in pavement temperature with the seasons in the region

IRC method of design of flexible pavements.

The following are the steps involved in design of flexible pavements as per IRC method:

In situ test specimens are not recommended.

For new roads the sub grade soil specimen should be compacted to proctor density at
OMC. If the compaction equipment is not available in the field, the specimen may be
compacted to the expected field density.
For the existing roads the specimen should be compacted to field density of sub grade
soil at water content equal to OMC or field moisture content.
For all new constructions the specimen should be soaked for four days prior to testing.
This condition is not mandatory for arid climatic regions or regions with annual rainfall is
less than 50cm or the water table is very deep or when thickness of impermeable
bituminous surfacing is provided.
At least three specimens should be tested with identical specimens. If the variation is
maximum beyond the norms, then average of six specimens CBR values should be
taken.

The specimen limits of maximum variation in CBR values are

3% for CBR value up to 10%
5% for CBR value 10 to 30%
10% for CBR value 30 to 60%
The top 50cm of sub grade should be compacted with density equal to 95 to 100% of
proctor density.
Keeping in view the existing traffic and the anticipated growth in traffic should be
calculated for at least 10 years of life period.

The following formula may be used:

n+10
A=P (1+r)
Where
A=number of heavy vehicles per day for design (laden weight>3 tonnes)
P=number of heavy vehicles per day at least count.
r=annual rate of increase of heavy vehicles
n=number of years between the least count and the year of completion of constructions.
 The value P has to be found for seven day heavy vehicles obtained from 24 hours count. If
a reasonable value of r is not available a value of 7.5% may be assumed for rural roads.
The traffic obtained from the above equation has to be used in choosing the appropriate
design curve (A to G).
The design thickness corresponding to a single axle load up to 8200kg and tandem axle
load up to 14500kg is adopted.
Substandard sub bases with substantial proportion of aggregates of size above 20mm
should not be used in design.
Thin layers of wearing course such as surface dressing or open graded premixed carpet
up to 2.5cm thickness should not be counted towards total thickness as these materials
do not contribute to the structural capacity of the pavement.
Determine the stresses at interior, edge and corner regions of a rigid pavement using
5 2 2
Westergaard’s method. Take P=4100KG; E=3X10 kg/cm , h=20cm, µ=0.15, k=4.0kg/cm
and a=15cm.
Solution:
Stresses in interior

S 0.316P l
2
4 log 1.069
t h 10 b
1 1
3 4 5 3 4

l Eh 3 10 20 84.56cm
2
12 K 1 2 12 4.0 1 0.15
2 2 2 2
b 1.6a h 0.675 h 1.6 15 20 0.675 x 20 14.06cm
0.316 4100 84.56 2
S 2 4 log 10 1.069 13.55 kg / cm
t 20 14.06

Stress in edge
0.572P l
S 4 log 0.359

e h2 10 b
0.572 4100 4 log 84.56 0.359
2
20 10 14.06
2
20.37 kg / cm

Stress in corner
S 3P 1 a 2
2
c h l

3 4100 15 2 2
2 1 23.03 kg / cm
20 84.56
Result
2
Stress at interior=13.55kg/cm
2
Stress at edge=20.37kg/cm
2
Stress at corner=23.03kg/cm

Important Questions

1. Distinguish between flexible and rigid pavements. Expalin the factors affecting

design of flexible pavements.

2. Discuss briefly IRC of design of rigid pavement. Explain the function of various

components of rigid pavements.

3. Expalin the factors affecting design of rigid pavements.

4. Draw the sketch of flexible pavements cross section and indicate there in the

components parts. Explain the functions and importance of each of the pavements.

5. Explain the CBR method of flexible pavement design.

 UNIT V- TRAFFIC ENGINEERING AND CONTROL
Traffic engineering & control- Traffic Characteristics, traffic engineering studies, traffic
flow and capacity, traffic regulation and control; road intersections; parking facilities; highway
lighting. Highway maintenance. Pavement evaluation.

Reason for the development of cracks in rigid pavement.

Cracks formed in rigid pavement are shrinkage cracks, warping cracks and structural cracks.
Shrinkage cracks are formed in cement concrete pavements during curing operation. These
cracks develop both in longitudinal and transverse directions.
Formation of excess warping stress at the edge causes the slab to develop cracks at the
edges in an irregular pattern. Design of thickness should be made property considering different
aspects like wheel load, temperature, sub grade conditions, etc…if the thickness is inadequate
structural cracks are liable to occur.

Unevenness index?
Unevenness index is the cumulative vertical undulations of the pavement surface recorded
per unit horizontal length of the road. This may be mentioned as cm per km. it is desirable that the
pavement surface an unevenness index less than 150 cm/km.

Mud pumping?
Ejection of soil slurry through cracks formed on the pavement slab due to wheel loa d or
otherwise. This is caused due to more slab deflection, type of sub grade soil and amount of free
water.
Figure for failure in sub grade of flexible pavement.
Spalling of joint
During construction time cement concrete pavements are sometimes provided with
preformed filler material at the joints. During concreting these filler materials may be disturbed and
placed at an angle.
As the filler materials are not properly alignment, which form an overhang of a concrete layer
on the top side and the joint later on shows excessive cracking and subsidence.

Causes of scalling
Presence of chemical impurities in the mixture or due to poor mixture designed scalling of
cement concrete generally occurs. Further, over finishing at the edges and abrasion action of
traffic are other causes.
Surface defects in pavements.
Cracks
Uneven undulations
Patches
Lake of binding
Ruts

Pavement evaluation
Pavement evaluation involves a thorough study of various factors such as sub grade support,
pavement composition and its thickness, traffic and environmental conditions. The primary
objective of pavement condition evaluation is to asses as to whether and to what extent the
pavement fulfils the intended requirements so that the maintenance and strengthening jobs could
be planned in time.
The studies therefore investigate the structural adequacy of pavements and also the
requirements for providing safe and comfortable traffic operations.

Types of defects in flexible pavements.

Cracks
Spalling
Ruts
Scalling
Lack of binding

Methods for pavement evaluation.

The various methods may be broadly classified into two groups:
1) Structural evaluation of pavements
2) Evaluation of pavement surface condition

Operations involved in road construction

The operations are:
1) Assessment of road construction
2) Diagnosis of the problem
Causes in pavement failures?
The general causes are:
a) Defects in the quality of materials used
b) Effects in construction method and quality control
c) Inadequate surface (or) Sub surface drainage
d) Increase in the magnitude of wheel loads
e) Settlement of foundation of embankment
f) Environmental factors.

Special repair in pavements

Special repair means strengthening of pavement structure or overlay construction,
reconstruction of pavement, widening of roads repairs of damages caused by floods etc.

factors in maintenance management system

The factors are:
Field surveys for the evaluation of maintenance requirements.
Estimation of rate of deterioration of the pavement under the prevailing set
of conditions.
Availability of funds.

failures in flexible pavement

The failures are
1) Failures in sub grade
2) Failures in sub base
3) Failure in wearing course.
Types of failure in sub base

Inadequate stability or strength

Loss of binding action
Loss of base course materials
Inadequate wearing course
Use of inferior materials and base course materials

Failures in wearing course

Failures of wearing course are observed due to lack of proper mix design. Improper gradation
of aggregate, binder content and inferior types of binder result in a poor bituminous surfacing.
The design aspect the bituminous construction requires a high degree of quality control since
over or under estimated binder content are both damaging to the resulting paving mix including
temperature controls.

Fflexible pavement failures

Following are some of the typical flexible pavement failures:
i) Alligator cracking
 ii) Consolidation of pavement layers
iii) Shear failure
iv) Longitudinal cracking
v) Frost heaving
vi) Lack of binding
vii) Reflection cracking
viii) Formation of waves and corrugation.
Frost heaving.
Frost heaving is often misunderstood for shear or other types of failure. In shear failure the
upheaval of portion of pavement is followed with a depression. In the case of frost heaving, there
is mostly a localized heaving up pavement portion depending upon the ground water and climatic
conditions.

Factors in cement concrete pavements

The factors are:
a) Deficiency of pavement materials
b) Structural inadequacy of the pavement system.

Defects in cement concrete pavement

The various defects in that creep in due to the above are:
i) Disintegration of cement concrete
ii) Formation of cracking
iii) Spalling of joints
iv) Poor riding surface
v) Slippery surface
vi) Formation of shrinkage cracks
vii) Ingress of surface water and further progressive failures

Failures in rigid pavement

i) Scaling of cement concrete

ii) Shrinkage cracks
iii) Spalling of joints
iv) Warping cracks
v) Mud pumping
vi) Structural cracks

Shrinkage cracks
The operation of cement concrete pavements immediately after the construction. The
shrinkage cracks normally develop. The placement of cracks is in longitudinal as well as in
transverse direction.
Mud pumping.
It is recognized when the soil slurry ejects out through the joints and cracks of cement
concrete pavement caused during the downward movement of slab under the heavy wheel loads.
It is called as mud pumping.

Factors considered to be in mud pumping

The factors are:
i) Extent of slab deflection
ii) Type of sub grade soil
iii) Amount of free water

Patch repairs.
Patch repair are carried out in the damaged or improper road surface. Localized
depression and pot holes may be formed in the surface layers due to defects in materials and
construction.

Types of routine maintenance

ii) Maintenance of shoulders and sub grade

i) Upkeep of carriageway
iii) Maintenance o side drains and other ancillary works
iv) Patch repair of pot holes and localized failures.

Overlay.
It means the additional thickness of the pavement of adequate thickness in one or more
layers over the existing pavement which is called overlay.

Types of overlay.
The overlay combination is divided into four categories based on the type of existing
pavement and the overlay.
i) Flexible overlay over flexible pavements
ii) Cement concrete or rigid overlay over flexible pavement
iii) Flexible overlays over cement concrete or rigid pavement
iv) Cement concrete or rigid overlay over rigid pavement.
:
Different types of failures in flexible pavement

Following are the some of the flexible pavement failures:

Alligator (map) cracking
Consolidation of pavement layers
Shear failure
Longitudinal cracking
Frost heaving
Lack of binding to the lower course
Reflection cracking
Formation of waves and corrugation.
Alligator (map) cracking
This is the most common type of failure and occurs due to relative movement of pavement
layer materials. This may be caused by the repeated application of heavy wheel load resulting in
fatigue failure or due to the moisture variations resulting in swelling and shrinkage of sub grade
and other pavement materials. Localized weakness in the under laying base course would also
cause a cracking of the surface course in this pattern.

Consolidation of pavement layers

Formations of ruts are mainly attributed to the consolidation of one or more layers of
pavement. The repeated application of loads along the same wheel path cause cumulative
deformation resulting in consolidation deformation or longitudinal ruts. Shallow ruts on the
surfacing course can also be due to wearing along the wheel path. Depending upon the depth
and width of ruts, it can be estimated whether the consolidation deformation has been caused in
the sub grade or in subsequent layers.
Shear failure and cracking
Shear failures are associated with the inherent weakness of pavement mixtures, the
shearing resistance being low due to inadequate stability or excessively heavy loading. The shear
failure causes upheaval of pavement materials by forming a fracture or cracking.

Longitudinal cracking
Due to frost action and differential volume changes in sub grade longitudinal cracking is
caused in pavement traversing through the fall pavement thickness. Settlement of fill and sliding
of side slopes also would cause this type of failure.

Frost heaving
Frost heaving is often misunderstood for shear or other types of failure. In shear failure, the
upheaval of portion of pavement is followed with a depression. In the case of frost heaving, there
is mostly a localized heaving up pavement portion depending upon the ground water and climate
conditions.
 Lack of binding with lower layer
Slipping occurs when the surface course is not keyed/bound with the under laying base. This
results in opening up and loss of pavement materials forming patches or pot holes. Such
conditions are more frequent in case when the bituminous surfacing is provided over the existing
cement concrete base course or soil cement course. This condition is more pronounced when the
prime/tack coat in between two layers is lacking.

Reflection cracking
This type of cracking is observed in bituminous overlays provided over existing cement
concrete pavements. The crack patterns as existing in cement concrete pavements are mostly
reflected on bituminous surfacing in the same pattern. Structural action of the total pavement
section is not much influenced by the presence of reflection cracks but since the cracks appear at
the surface, these allow surface water to seep through and cause damage to the soil sub grade or
resulting in mud pumping.
Benkelman beam test

calculation
Benkelman beam is a device which can be conveniently used to measure the rebound
deflection of a pavement due to a dual wheel load assembly or the design wheel load. The
equipment consists of a slender beam of length 3.66m which is pivoted to a datum frame at a
distance 2.44m from the probe end. The datum frame rests on a pair of front leveling leg with
adjustable height. The probe end of the beam is inserted between the dual rear wheels of truck
and rests on the pavement surface at the center of the loading area of the dual whee l load
assembly. a dial gauge is fixed on the datum frame with its spindle in contact with the other end of
the beam in such a way that the distance between the probe end and the fulcrum of the beam is
twice the distance between the fulcrum and the dial ga uge spindle. Thus the rebound deflection
reading measured at the dial gauge is to be multiplied by two to get the actual movement of the
probe end due to the rebound deflection of the pavement surface when the dial wheel load is
moved forward. a loaded truck with rear axle load of 8170kg is used for the deflection study. The
2
design wheel load is a dual wheel load assembly of gross weight 4085kg/cm .

Procedure
The stretch of road length to be evaluated is first surveyed to assess the general condition of
the pavement with respect to the ruts, cracks and undulations. Based on the above pavement
condition survey, the pavement stretches are classified and grouped into different classes such as
good, fair and poor for the purpose of Benkelman beam deflection studies. The loading points on
the pavement for deflection measurements are located along the wheel paths, on a line 0.9 m
from the pavement edge in the case of pavements of total width more than 3.5m, the distance
from the edge is reduced to 0.6m on narrower pavements. The number of loading points in a
stretch and the spacing between them for the deflection measurements are to be decided
depending on the objective of the project and the precision desired. A minimum of 10 deflection
observations may be taken on each of the selected stretch of pavement. The deflection
observation points may also be staggered if necessary and taken along the wheel path on both
the edges of the pavement. After marking the deflection observation points, the study is carried
out in the following steps:
The truck is driven slowly parallel to the edge and stopped such that the left side rear dual
wheel is centrally placed over the first point for deflection measurement.
The probe end of the Benkelman beam is inserted between the gaps of the dual wheel
and is placed exactly over the deflection observation point.
When the dial gauge reading is stationary or when the rate of change of pavement
deflection is less than 0.025mm per minute, the initial dial gauge reading D O is noted. Both
the readings of the large and small needles of the dial gauge may be noted. The large
needle may also be set to zero if necessary at this stage.
The truck is moved forward slowly through a distance of 2.7m from the point and stopped.
The intermediate dial gauge reading D i is noted. When the rate of recovery of the
pavement is less than 0.025mm per minute.
The truck is then driven forward through a further distance of 9.0m and final dial gauge
reading Df is recovered as before.
The three deflection dial reading D O, Di and Df from a set of readings at one deflection
point under consideration. Similarly the truck is moved forward to the next deflection point,
the probe of the Benkelman beam inserted and the procedure of noting the set of three
deflection observations is repeated. The deflection observations are continued at all the
desired points.
The temperatures of the pavement surface are recorded at intervals of one hour during the
study. The tyre pressure is checked and adjusted if necessary, at intervals of about three
hours during the deflection study. The moisture content in the sub grade soil is also to be
determined at suitable intervals.
The rebound deflection value D at any point is given by one of the following two
conditions:
i) If Di- Df≤2.5 divisions of the dial gauge or 0.025mm, D=2(D O- Df ) divisions of 0.01mm
units=0.02(DO- Df ) mm.
ii) If Di- Df≥2.5 division, this indicates that correction is needed for the vertical movement of
the front legs. Therefore,
D=2(DO- Df)+2K(Di- Df) divisions.
The value of K is to be determined for every make of the Benkelman beam and is given by the
relation:
3d 2e
K=
f
Where
d=distance between the bearing of the beam and the rear adjusting
leg. e=the distance between the dial gauge and rear adjusting leg
f=distance between the front and rear legs.
The value of K of Benkelman beam generally available in India is found to be [Link], the
deflection value D in case (ii) with leg correction is given by:
D=0.02(DO- Df ) +0.0582(Di- Df) mm.
Procedure of overlap design by Benkelman beam method.
The overlay thickness required h0 may be determined after deciding the allowable
Deflection Dain the pavement under the design load. According to Ruiz’s equation, overlay
thickness h0 in cm is given by:
R Dc
h0= log10 cm
0.434 Da
Where
h0=thickness of bituminous overlay in cm
R=deflection reduction factor depending on the overlay material (usual values for
Bituminous overlays range from 10 to 15, the average value that may be generally taken being
12)
Da=allowable deflection which depends upon the pavement type and the desired design
life, values ranging from 0.75 to 1.25mm are generally used in flexible pavements for overlay
design.
The Indian road congress suggests the following formula for the design of overlay
thickness equivalent to granular material of WBM layer. When superior materials are used in the
overlay layer; the thickness value has to be suitably decreased taking equivalency factor of the
material into consideration.
h 550 log Dc mm
0 10 Da
Where
h0=thickness of granular or WBM overlay in mm
Dc=(D+ρ), after applying the corrections for pavement temperature and sub grade
moisture.
Da=1.00, 1.25 and 1.5mm, if the projected design traffic A is 1500 to 4500, 450 to 1500
and 150 to 450 respectively. Here
(n+10)
A=Design traffic=P(1+r)
When bituminous concrete or bituminous macadam with bituminous surface course is
provided as the overlay, an equivalently factor o0f 2.0 is suggested by the IRC to decide the
actual overlay thickness required. Thus the thickness of bituminous concrete overlay in mm will be
h0/2 when the value of h0 is determined
.
Resealing of cracks in rigid pavements.

In cement concrete roads, the main defects are formation of cracks. Cracks are temperature
cracks and structural cracks.
Temperature cracks initially form as fine cracks or hair cracks across the slab, in between a
pair of transverse or longitudinal joints. These cracks divide the slab length into two or more parts
due to temperature, shrinkage and warping stresses.
 Structural cracks form near the edge or corner regions of the slab due to combined action of
stress due to wheel load and warping stresses in the slab.
Shrinkage cracks form at the bottom portion of slab and propagate upwards. With the
continued wheel load, temperature and moisture, the slab deteriorates further and the bottom
portion goes on increasing. The situation becomes worst when water gets entry through the
cracks into the sub grade.
Then the shrinkage cracks are cleaned by removing dirt, sand and other loose materials
using sharp tool, stiff brush and a pressure brush. Kerosene oil is spread on the cleaned cracks
so as to make proper bonding of the sealing material. Suitable grade bituminous sealing
compound, heatyede to liquid consistency is filled. The sealer is placed 3mm above the level of
the slab along the cracks. A layer of sand is then spread over the sealer so as to protect sealer
temporarily.
Structural cracks have to be viewed seriously. Before attending to the repair, the causes
for the cracks have to be analyzed first. The cracks may be due to some weak spot in the sub
grade or due to localized settlement of embankment or underground drainage problem.
The maintenance work involves in attending to the basic cause of the failure of the pavement and
then recasting the failed portion of the slab. For a general distress of pavement, immediate steps
are to be taken to strengthening the pavement by providing a flexible or rigid overlay. Over a
badly cracked and damaged slab it is not advisable to go in for an overlay instead the whole slab
has to be replaced fully.

Methods for the structural evaluation of flexible and rigid pavements.

There are various approaches and methods of pavement evaluation. The various methods may
be broadly classified into two groups:
Structural evaluation of pavement
Evaluation of pavement surface condition
Structural evaluation of pavement
The structural evaluation of both flexible and rigid pavement may be carried out by plate
bearing test. The structural capacity of the pavement may be assessed by the load carried at a
specified deflection of the plate or by the amount of deflection at a specified load on the plate.
Field investigations and test carried out in various countries have shown that the performance
of a flexible pavement is closely related to be elastic deflection under loads or its rebound
deflection. Measurement of transient deflection of pavement under design wheel loads serves as
an index of the pavement to carry traffic loads under the prevailing conditions. Assessment of
flexible pavement overlay thickness requirements by Benkelman beam method. There are
number of other non destructive testing techniques for assessing the load carrying capacity of
pavements.
Evaluation of pavement surface condition
The surface condition of flexible pavement may be evaluated by the unevenness, ruts, patches
and [Link] surface condition of rigid pavement may be assessed by the cracks developed
and by faulty affecting the riding quality of the pavement.
The pavement unevenness may be using unevenness indicator, profilograph, profilometer or
rough meter. Equipment capable of integrating the unevenness of pavement surface to a
cumulative scale and that gives the unevenness index of the surface in cm/km length of the road
may be called, bump integrator or unevenness integrator.
The pavement serviceability concept was introduced at the AASHO Road test for comparing
relative performance of various test section during periods. The present serviceability of a
pavement is related to a pre determined scale by a panel of judges sensitive to the wishes of
motor vehicle users by actually riding over the pavement. The present serviceability rating is the
mean opinion of the members of the rating panel and this is corrected with the physical
measurements such as longitudinal and transverse profile of the pavement, degree of cracking
and patching etc… affecting pavement serviceability. Mathematical models are evolved for
determining serviceability rating of pavements based on the physical measurements made on the
pavement surface.

Maintenance of bituminous surface.

Bituminous road generally need repair of only surface distress, viz., patches, pot holes,
bleeding and resurfacing. Damaged or improper road surface forms patches which are repaired.
Using a cold premix the localized patches are made good.
Localized deep depressions are caused due to inadequate or defective binding material by
removing aggregates during monsoons. Such depression causes pot holes. These pot holes are
cut and made to rectangular shape and the affected material is removal till the sound materials
are reached. These holes are cleaned well and some primer is applied. The material used to fill
the holes is cutback or emulsion. The filled materials are well rammed to avoid any [Link]
finished level of patches is kept slightly above original level to allow for subsequent settlement if
any to occur.
During original construction, if any excess bitumen materials are provided which bleed with
time and the pavement becomes patchy and slippery. In such pavement surfaces corrugations or
rutting shoving develop. In such places blotting materials, like aggregate chips of maximum size
about 10mm or courses sand are spread. Then it is rolled to bind the new material with the old
one. If necessary the surface is heated.
Sometimes the black top surface gets oxidized due to ageing. This development minute
cracks on the pavement surface. On such surfaces a renewal coat or seal coat is applied. More
than one layer of surface treatment may be needed on the surface is damaged seriously.
If the surface has totally worn out and poor riding surface is formed, then it may be more
economical to provide an additional surface course on the existing surface.

Rutting, symptoms, causes and treatment.

Repeated application of wheel loads on the same location of the road cause cumulative
deformation called as consolidation deformation. Such consolidations of one or more layers of
pavement leads to formation of ruts. Based on the width of the ruts it could be assessed whether
the ruts are formed due to consolidation of sub grade or in subsequent layer.
Rutting is defined as the consolidation deformation is occurred in pavements the repair for the
ruts is called rutting.
The main symptom is the surface of the pavement is look like a undulations in the top surface.
The surface is uneven in various places like waves in the surface due to wheel load.
 The treatment is over lay the existing surface by a new repair surface. The pavement surface
is provided with addional load carrying capacity. The surface treatment is required for that type of
failure.

Strengthening damaged pavements.

i) Flexible overlay over flexible pavement
ii) Flexible overlay over rigid pavement
iii) Rigid overlay over flexible pavement
iv) Rigid overlay over rigid pavement.
Flexible overlay over flexible pavement:
The total thickness requirement is designed for the design traffic and the existing
conditions of sub grade. Any one of the design methods is chosen for the design and appropriate
strength test is carried out in the soil collected from the sub grade.
The existing thickness of the pavement is found from test pits dug along the wheel path
on the pavement. The overlay thickness required is given by the relation:
h0= hd-hc
Where,
h0 =overlay thickness required, cm
hd = total design thickness required, presently determined,
cm hc = Total thickness of the existing pavement, cm
Rigid overlay over rigid pavement:
When a rigid or CC is constructed over and existing rigid or CC pavement. The interface
between the old and new concrete cannot have perfect n\bond such that the two slabs could act
as a monolithic one.
Two typical types of interface are possible;
i) Providing maximum possible interface bond by making the old surface rough
ii) Separating the two slabs at the interface by thin layer of bituminous material

To obtain the overlay thickness the following relationship may be used:

d b n
ho= (ha –Xhc )
Here,
h0= rigid pavement thickness
hd = design thickness
he = existing pavement thickness.
Flexible overlay over rigid pavement:

A flexible overlay when provided over a rigid pavement, the wheel load is distributed through
larger area by the overlay, thus slightly reducing the wheel load stress in the old rigid pavement.
For calculating the thickness of flexible overlay over rigid pavement the following relationship is
employed:

hf = 2.5 (Fhd – he)

Here,

hf = flexible overlay thickness

he=existing rigid pavement thickness

hd= design thickness of rigid pavement

F= factor which depends upon modulus of existing pavement.

Rigid overlay over flexible pavement:

The thickness of rigid overlay is calculated by using the design criteria for rigid pavement as
laid down, the plate bearing test is conducted on the existing flexible pavement and K value is
thus obtained. The design is made for this K value and the design wheel load.

Non-destructive testing methods of pavement deflection.

The Benkelman beam method

The IDOT road rater
The falling weight deflect meter
Accelerometer measurements

The IDOT road rater

The road rater was the main testing device used in the program. The road rater is an electro
hydraulic vibrator with the capability of generating harmonic loads of up to 8kips at driving
frequencies between 6 and 60 Hz. When the vibrator is set over the testing point a static preload
of 5kips is applied through the 12 inch diameter circular loading plate.
The desired peak to peak load is then generated at the preselected driving frequency, and
peak to peak deflections are recorded with velocity transducers. The IDOT road rater has four
deflection sensors located at the centre of the loading plate, and 1, 2, and 3 feet away from the
centre. The following procedure for road rater deflection measurements were used in the
program:
Road rater was operated at an 8kips peak to peak load and 15 Hz driving frequency. This
type of testing was performed in the first 12 sections in table 1between four and six times during
the program. The same 20points, 10 in each traffic lane, 10 feet, in a 100 feet stretch of pavement
were tested on every occasion.
 FST (frequency sweep test) selected stations were subjected to a frequency sweep test. The
road rater peak to peak load was kept constant at 8 kips and driving frequency was varied in
increments of 2 Hz from 6 to 30 Hz.
LFST (load frequency sweep test)the road rater was operated at peak to peak loads of 1, 2,
4, 6, and 8 kips, and the driving frequency was incremented at 2 Hz intervals from 6 to 30 Hz.

The falling weight deflectometer

The falling weight deflectometer is an deflection testing device operating on the impulse
loading principle. A mass is dropped from a preselected height onto a footpath that is connected
to a base plate by a set of springs. The base plate is placed in contact with the pavement surface
over the testing point. By varying the drop height, the impulse load can be varied from 2 to 11
kips. The duration of the impulse loading is essentially constant ranging from 30 to 40 msec.
The falling weight deflectometer are measured with velocity transducers. One of these
sensors is located at the center of the loading plate. Two additional sensors are movable and can
be placed at any desired distance away from the center of the plate. During this testing program
the falling weight deflectometer sensors were placed at 1, 2, and 3 feet away from the center of
loading plate, the same spacing used for the road rater. Four to six load magnitudes between 2 to
11 kips were used.

Accelerometer measurements
An accelerometer was implanted in the surface of selected test road section to measure
deflections under moving trucks, and under the falling weight deflectometer loading plate. The
accelerometer was placed in a 2 inch diameter by 2 inch depth hole in the outer wheel path. The
single wire coming off the accelerometer was buried in a slot to the direction of travel.

The following trucks were used in the testing

Truck rear axle weight (lb)
Light 5100
Medium 9000
Heavy 18000

Maintenance of pavements

a) Earth roads
b) Bituminous surfaces
c) Cement concrete pavements

Earth roads:
The usual damages caused in the earth roads needing frequent maintenance are:
i) Formation of dust in dry weather.
ii) Formation of longitudinal ruts along wheel path or vehicles
iii) Formation of cross ruts along the surface after monsoons due to surface water.
Thus, dust nuisance may be remedied y the following methods:
a) Frequent sprinkling of water
 b) Treatment with calcium chloride
c) Use of other dust palliatives.

Application of calcium chloride retains some water due to the hygroscopic nature of mix.
Oiled earth roads are also common these days.
Periodical maintenance by spreading moist soil along ruts and reshaping of the camber is
necessary. Formation of cross ruts may be due to excessive cross slope.
Hence either these ruts should be repaired from time to time during and after the
monsoon or a surface treatment or stabilized layer be provided on the top.

Maintenance of bituminous surfaces:

Mainly the maintenance works of bituminous surfacing consists of:

i) Patch repairs
ii) Surface treatments
iii) Resurfacing

Patch repairs:

Patch repairs are carried out on the damaged or improper roads surface. Localized
depression and pot holes may be formed in the surface layers due to defects in materials and
construction.
An inadequate or defective binding material causes removal of aggregates during
monsoons. Patching may be done on affected localized area or sections using a cold premix.

Pot holes and repairs:

Pot holes are cut to rectangular shape and the affected materials in the section is
removed until the sound materials are encountered.
The excavated patches are cleaned and painted with bituminous binder. A premixed
material is then placed in the sections. Generally, cutback or emulsion is used as binder.
Bituminous emulsions could be used even when the pavement surface and the
aggregates are wet during monsoons.
The materials so places in the pot hole, is well compacted by ramming to avoid any
raveling. The materials in out holes are places in layers of thickness of 6 cm.
it is however necessary to replace the base course materials with similar new materials if
the failure has been detected in the base curse layer. The finished level of the patched is kept
slightly above original level to allow for subsequent compaction under traffic.

Surface treatment:
Excess of bitumen in the surface materials bleeds and the pavement becomes patchy and
slippery. Corrugations or rutting or shoving develop in such pavement surface. It is customary to
spread blotting materials such as aggregate chips of maximum size of about 10mm or coarse
sand during summer.
Resurfacing:

In the event when the pavement surface is totally worn out and develops a poor riding
surface, it may be more economical to provide an additional surface course on the existing
surface.
In case of the pavement is of inadequate thickness due to increase in traffic loads and
strengthening is necessary, than an overlay of adequate thickness should be designed and
constructed.

Maintenance of cement concrete roads:

Various types of cracking have been explained:
Treatment of cracks:
The cracks are developed in cement concrete (CC) may be classified into two groups:

i) Temperature cracks which are initially fine cracks or hair cracks formed across the slab
in between a pair of transverse or longitudinal joints, dividing the slab length into two or more
approximately equal parts due to the temperature stresses like the shrinkage stress warping
stress etc.
ii) Structural cracks formed near the edge and corner regions of the slabs, due to
combined wheel load and warping stresses in the slab.

The repeated application of heavy wheel loads and the variations in temperature and
moisture conditions the cracks get widened and further deterioration becomes repaid.
Once the surface water starts getting into the pavement and the sub grade through the
widened cracks, progressive failure or the pavement is imminent.
Therefore before these cracks get wide enough to permit infiltration of water, they should
be sealed off to prevent rapid deteriorations

The formation of structural rocks in CC slabs should be viewed seriously and needs
immediate attention as these indicate possible beginning of pavement failure. The maintenance
work in such a case involves first remedy of the basic cause of the failure and then recasting the
failed slabs.

Maintenance of joints:
Joints are the weakest pars in CC pavements. The efficiency of the pavement is
determined by the proper functioning of the joint.
During the summer the joint sealer material is squeezed out of the expansion joints due to
the expansion of the slabs. Subsequently as the slabs contract during winter, the joint gap opens
out and cracks are formed in the old sealer material.
The joint filler material at the expansion joints may get damaged or deteriorated after
several years of pavement life. The repair consist of removal of the sealer and deteriorated filler
and sealer materials from the expansion joints cleaning up replacement with new filter board a
sealing the top of the joints with suitable sealer materials.
General failures in flexible pavement

A flexible pavement failure is defined by formation of pot holes, ruts, cracks, localized
depressions and settlements. The localized depression normally is followed with heaving in the
vicinity.

The failure of any one or more components of the pavement structure develops the waves
and corrugations on the pavement surface or longitudinal ruts and shoving. Pavement
unevenness may itself be considered, as a failure, when it is excessive.

The aging and oxidation of bituminous films lead to the deterioration of bituminous
pavements. Deterioration actions in pavements are rapidly increased when excess water is
retained in the void spaces of bituminous pavements or in the cracks and joint of the cement
concrete pavements.

The cement concrete pavement may develop cracks and deteriorate due to repeated
loads and fatigue effects. A rigid pavement failure is observed by the development of structural
crack of break resulting in progressive subsidence of some portions of pavement.

Pavements are therefore capable of withstanding slight variations in the underlying

support and they bridge the localized gaps moderately.

It is the combination of many factors that induce the failure conditions in the rigid
pavement. Due to the temperature effects, the newly constructed cement concrete pavement may
also crack even if no vehicle moves on them.

Failures in flexible pavements:

The localized settlement of any one component layer of the flexible pavement structure
could be enough to cause pavement failure. This demands that each one of the layers should be
carefully designed and laid.
Thus to maintain the stability of the pavement structure as a whole, each layer should be
stable within itself and thereby make the total pavement mainta9n its stability.
In this fig shows the failures in soil subgrade, base course and the surface wearing course.
It may see that ultimately there is surface deformation when failure takes place either in sub grade
or base or surface.

Failures in sub grade:

One of the prime causes of flexible pavement failure is excessive deformation in sub
grade soil. It is the form of excessive undulation or waves and corrugations in the pavement
surface and also depressions followed by heaving of pavement surface.
The lateral shoving of pavement near the edge along the wheel path of vehicles is due to
insufficient bearing capacity or a shear failure in sub grade soil.
The failure of sub grade maybe attributed due to two basic reasons:
i) Inadequate stability
ii) Excessive pavement thickness

Inadequate stability may be due to inherent of the soil and excessive moisture condition
and improper compaction. Stability is the resistance to deformation under the stress.
Excessive stress application is due to inadequate pavement thickness or loads in excess
of design value.
The deformation due to the load would be elastic or fully recovered when the load is
released. In part of the compaction of the layers is not adequate with reference to subsequent
loading part of the deformation may be permanent due to compaction of soil this may be called as
consolidation deformation.
The applied stress is excessive with respect to the stability and plastic flow takes place as
in the case of we t clay soil, this deformation is called plastic deformation.

The type of damage in flexible pavement than can be caused by traffic due to sub grade failure r
due to inadequate and improper compaction of sub grade and other pavement layers.

Failures in sub base or base course:

Following are the chief types of sub-base or base course failures:

i) Inadequate stability or strength
ii) Loss of binding action.
iii) Loss of base course materials
iv) Inadequate wearing course
v) Use of inferior materials and crushing of base course materials
vi) Lack of lateral confinement for the granular bass course.

Failures of wearing course:

Failure of wearing course is observed due to lack of proper mix design. Improper
gradation of aggregates, inadequate binder content and inferior type of binder result in a poor
bituminous surfacing.
Besides the design project the bituminous construction requires a high degree of quality
control since over or under estimated binder content are both greatly damaging to the resulting
paving mix including temperature controls.
Vocalization and oxidation of binder also makes the bituminous surfacing brittle and
cause cracking of the pavement surface which further allows seepage of rain water to harm the
underlying layers.
 Fundamental parameters of traffic flow

Traffic engineering pertains to the analysis of the behavior of traffic and to design the facilities
for the smooth, safe and economical operation of traffic. Understanding traffic behavior requires
a thorough knowledge of traffic stream parameters and their mutual relationships.

Traffic stream parameters

The traffic stream includes a combination of driver and vehicle behavior.

1. Speed
Speed is considered as a quality measurement of travel as the drivers and passengers will be
concerned more about the speed of the journey than the design aspects of the traffic.

 Spot Speed
 Running speed

Time mean speed and space mean speed

Time mean speed is defined as the average speed of all the vehicles passing a point on a highway
over some specified time period. Space mean speed is defined as the average speed of all the
vehicles occupying a given section of a highway over some specified time period.

2. Flow

There are practically two ways of counting the number of vehicles on a road. One is flow or
volume, which is defined as the number of vehicles that pass a point on a highway or a given
lane or direction of a highway during a specific time interval.

Types of volume measurements

I. Average Annual Daily Traffic(AADT)

II. Average Annual Weekday Traffic(AAWT)
III. Average Daily Traffic(ADT)
IV. Average Weekday Traffic(AWT)

3. Density

Density is defined as the number of vehicles occupying a given length of highway or lane and is
generally expressed as vehicles per km/mile.

Derived characteristics
Time headway
The microscopic character related to volume is the time headway or simply headway. Time
headway is defined as the time difference between any two successive vehicles when they cross a
given point.

Distance headway
Another related parameter is the distance headway. It is defined as the distance between
corresponding points of two successive vehicles at any given time.

Travel time
Travel time is defined as the time taken to complete a journey.

Time-space diagram

Single vehicle

Many vehicle
 Relation of traffic parameter

Speed is one of the basic parameters of traffic flow and time mean speed and space mean speed are the
two representations of speed.

 Time mean speed (v t )

 Space mean speed (v s )

Fundamental diagrams of traffic flow

The flow and density varies with time and location. The relation between the density and the
corresponding flow on a given stretch of road is referred to as one of the fundamental diagram of traffic
flow. Some characteristics of an ideal flow-density relationship is listed below:

1. When the density is zero, flow will also be zero,since there is no vehicles on the road.

2. When the number of vehicles gradually increases the density as well as flow increases.

3. When more and more vehicles are added, it reaches a situation where vehicles can’t move. This is
referred to as the jam density or the maximum density. At jam density, flow will be zero because the
vehicles are not moving.

4. There will be some density between zero density and jam density, when the flow is maximum.

Flow density Curve

 Speed-density diagram

Speed-density diagram

Similar to the flow-density relationship, speed will be maximum, referred to as the free flow speed, and
when the density is maximum, the speed will be zero. The most simple assumption is that this variation of
speed with density is linear

Speed-flow diagram

Traffic data collection

Unlike many other disciplines of the engineering, the situations that are interesting to a tra ffic
engineer cannot be reproduced in a laboratory. Even if road and vehicles could be set up in large
laboratories, it is impossible to simulate the behavior of drivers in the laboratory.

Data requirements

The measurement procedures can be classified based on the geographical extent of the survey
into five categories:

(a) Measurement at point on the road,

(b) Measurement over a short section of the road (less than 500 metres)

(c) Measurement over a length of the road (more than about 500 metres)

(d) Wide area samples obtained from number of locations, and (e) the use of an observer moving
in the traffic stream.

Measurements at a point

measurement over short section using enoscope

Measurements over short section

The main objective of this study is to find the spot speed of vehicles.

Measurements over long section

This is normally used to obtain variations in speed over a stretch of road.

Moving observer method for stream measurement

Determination of any of the two parameters of the traffic flow will provide the third one by the
equation q = u.k. Moving observer method is the most commonly used method to get the
relationship between the fundamental stream characteristics

moving observer method

 Capacity and Level of Service

Capacity and Level of service are two related terms. Capacity analysis tries to give a clear
understanding of how much traffic a given transportation facility can accommodate. Level of
service tries to answer how good the present traffic situation on a given facility is.

Capacity

Capacity is defined as the maximum number of vehicles, passengers, or the like, per unit time,
which can be accommodated under given conditions with a reasonable expectation of
occurrence. Some of the observations that are found from this definition can be now discussed.

Level of service

A term closely related to capacity and often confused with it is service volume. When capacity
gives a quantitative measure of traffic, level of service or LOS tries to give a qualitative measure.

Highway capacity

Highway capacity is defined by the Highway Capacity Manual as the maximum hourly rate at
which persons or vehicles can be reasonably expected to traverse a point or a uniform segment of
a lane or roadway during a given time period under prevailing roadway, traffic and control
conditions.

 Traffic conditions:
 Road way characteristics:
 Control conditions:

Factors affecting level of service

Level of service one can derive from a road under different operating characteristics and
traffic volumes. The factors affecting level of service (LOS) can be listed as follows:

 Speed and travel time

 Traffic interruptions/restrictions
 Freedom to travel with desired speed
 Driver comfort and convenience
 Operating cost.
 Traffic Sign

Traffic control device is the medium used for communicating between traffic engineer and road
users. Unlike other modes of transportation, there is no control on the drivers using the road.
Here traffic control devices comes to the help of the traffic engineer. The major types of traffic
control devices used are-

1. Traffic signs
2. Road markings
3. Traffic signals
4. Parking control.
Requirements of traffic control devices
The control device should fulfill a need

It should command attention from the road users

It should convey a clear, simple meaning

Road users must respect the signs

The control device should provide adequate time for proper response from the road users

Types of traffic signs

1. Regulatory signs
2. Warning signs
3. Informative signs

Regulatory signs

These signs are also called mandatory signs because it is mandatory that the drivers must obey
these signs. If the driver fails to obey them, the control agency has the right to take legal action
against the driver.
 Right of way series
 Speed series
 Movement series
 Parking series
 Pedestrian series
 Miscellaneous
Warning signs

Warning signs or cautionary signs give information to the driver about the impending road
condition. They advice the driver to obey the rules.

Informative signs

Informative signs also called guide signs, are provided to assist the drivers to reach their desired
destinations. These are predominantly meant for the drivers who are unfamiliar to the place. The
guide signs are redundant for the users who are accustomed to the location.

Examples of informative signs

 Road Sign

The essential purpose of road markings is to guide and control traffic on a highway. They
supplement the function of traffic signs. The markings serve as a psychological barrier and
signify the delineation of traffic path and its lateral clearance from traffic hazards for the safe
movement of traffic. Hence they are very important to ensure the safe, smooth and harmonious
flow of traffic.

Classification of road markings

The road markings are defined as lines, patterns, words or other devices, except signs, set into
applied or attached to the carriageway or kerbs or to objects within or adjacent to the
carriageway, for controlling, warning, guiding and informing the users. The road markings are
classified as

 Longitudinal markings
 Transverse markings
 Object markings
 Word messages
 Marking for parking
 Marking at hazardous locations

Longitudinal markings

Longitudinal markings are placed along the direction of traffic on the roadway surface, for the
purpose of indicating to the driver, his proper position on the roadway.

Centre line marking for a two lane road

 Centre line and lane marking for a four lane road

Centre line

Centre line separates the opposing streams of traffic and facilitates their movements. Usually no
centre line is provided for roads having width less than 5 m and for roads having more than four
lanes. The centre line may be marked with either single broken line, single solid line, double
broken line, or double solid line depending upon the road and traffic requirements.

Traffic lane lines

The subdivision of wide carriageways into separate lanes on either side of the carriage way helps
the driver to go straight and also curbs the meandering tendency of the driver.

No passing zones

No passing zones are established on summit curves, horizontal curves, and on two lane and three
lane highways where overtaking maneuvers are prohibited because of low sight distance. It may
be marked by a solid yellow line along the centre or a double yellow line.
 Parking

Parking is one of the major problems that is created by the increasing road traffic.

Parking studies

Before taking any measures for the betterment of conditions, data regarding availability of
parking space, extent of its usage and parking demand is essential. It is also required to estimate
the parking fares also.

 Parking statistics
 Parking accumulation
 Parking volume
 Parking load
 Average parking duration
 Parking turnover
 Parking index

Parking surveys

o In-out survey
o Fixed period sampling
o License plate method of survey

On street parking

 Parallel parking
 30 parking
 45 parking
 60 parking
 Right angle parking


Off street

Parking In many urban centres, some areas are exclusively allotted for parking which will be at
some distance away from the main stream of traffic. Such a parking is referred to as off-street
parking.
 Traffic Signal Design

The conflicts arising from movements of traffic in different directions is solved by time sharing
of the principle. The advantages of traffic signal includes an orderly movement of traffic, an
increased capacity of the intersection and requires only simple geometric design. However the
disadvantages of the signalized intersection are it affects larger stopped delays, and the design
requires complex considerations.

Definitions and notations

 Cycle
 Cycle length
 Interval
 Green interval
 Red interval
 Phase
 Lost time

Phase design

The signal design procedure involves six major steps.

They include the

1. phase design
2. determination of amber time and clearance time
3. determination of cycle length
4. apportioning of green time
5. pedestrian crossing requirements,
6. the performance evaluation

Two phase signals

Two phase system is usually adopted if through traffic is significant compared to the turning
movements.
 Two phase signal

Four phase signals

There are at least three possible phasing options.

One way of providing four phase signals

Cycle time
Cycle time is the time taken by a signal to complete one full cycle of iterations. i.e. one
complete rotation through all signal indications. It is denoted by C.

Headways departing signal

 Important Questions

1. Discuss the typical defects in flexible pavement.

2. Discuss briefly spalling and warping in rigid pavement.

3. Explain briefly the treatment given to cracks and deformation on flexible

pavement.

4. Expalin briefly surface condition evaluation of pavements.

5. Explain Benkelman beam method of deflection of pavements.

6. Discuss the typical defects in rigid pavement.

7. Describe in detail about any three types of joints used in cement concrete

pavements.

8. Explain highway maintenance, maintenance of cement concrete surface,

maintenance of bridges and culverts.

9. Explain about traffic signs and signals.

10. Write about parking and traffic signal design?