18/02/2025
DEPARTMENT of CIVIL
ENGINEERING
INS 302E HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
Basic Definitions
Oguz Tengilimoglu, PhD
otengilimoglu@itu.edu.tr
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Agenda by Weeks
WEEK DATE AGENDA
Introduction to Highway Engineering (2 hr)
1 18/02/2025
Basic Definitions (2 hr)
Road User Characteristics (2 hr)
2 25/02/2025
Vehicle Dynamics (2 hr)
Fundamental Parameters of Traffic Flow (2 hr)
3 04/03/2025 Roadway Classification and Geometric Standards (1 hr)
Practice Session: Vehicle Dynamics (1 hr)
Highway Design: Topographic Maps and Route Survey (2 hr)
4 11/03/2025 Project: Introduction and Layout Map Allocation (1 hr)
Highway Design: Horizontal Curves and Superelevation (1 hr)
Highway Design: Horizontal Curves and Superelevation (2 hr)
5 18/03/2025 Highway Design: Transition Curves (1 hr)
Project: Plan Drawing (1 hr)
Highway Design: Profile and Vertical Curves (2 hr)
6 25/03/2025
Practice Session: Horizontal Curves and Superelevation (2 hr)
7 01/04/2025 MID-SEMESTER BREAK (31 March – 4 April)
Highway Design: Profile and Vertical Curves (2 hr)
8 08/04/2025 Practice Session: Profile and Vertical Curves (1 hr)
Project: Profile Drawing (1 hr)
MIDTERM EXAM -1
9 15/04/2025 Cross Sections and Elements (1 hr)
Cross-section Drawing, Classification of Soils, Heave and Settlement (1 hr)
Earthworks: Cross Section Area Calculations (2 hr)
10 22/04/2025 Project: Earthworks (1hr)
Practice Session: Cross Section Area Calculation (1hr)
Earthworks: Cut-Fill Volumes (2 hr)
11 29/04/2025
Earthworks: Volumes Tables, Mass Diagram (2 hr)
Earthworks: Cost Equations and Earth Distribution (2hr)
12 06/05/2025
Practice Session: Cut-Fill Volume Calculation, Mass Diagram (2 hr)
Earthworks: First and Second Order Balancing and Cost Accounts (3hr)
13 13/05/2025
Earthworks: Bruckner Method (1hr)
MIDTERM EXAM -2
14 20/05/2025
Practice Session: Balancing Applications and Cost Accounts (2 hr) 2
15 27/05/2025 Make-up Exam
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Highway Transportation
The main goals of highway transportation are:
i. The provision of high level of service with continuous flow,
without interruption (i.e. minimize travel time and delay).
ii. The provision of comfortable, convenient and safe movement
(i.e. high standards).
Additionally, it should be environmentally compatible and
minimise transport-related consequences, such as noise, air, and
water pollution.
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Classification of Highways and Their Functions
Classification according to Design Type:
Geometry and access conditions are the
parameters used for the classification.
• Undivided Road : Bidirectional road with only
carriageway
• Divided road, dual carriageway: A
highway divided down the middle by a
barrier that separates traffic going in
different directions with dual carriageway.
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Classification of Highways and Their Functions
• Partial access control: Direct access to and from adjacent
private properties is prohibited or extremely limited. A partially-
controlled-access highway can (but does not always) have at-
grade intersections with cross-roads, but the frequency of such
intersections is usually limited.
• Full access control: A roadway is only accessed via entrance
and exit ramps, which allow traffic to enter and exit the main
lanes of the roadway at (nearly) full speed. All cross-traffic is
grade-separated from the access-controlled roadway.
Freeway (Motorway): A multilane, divided highway
with a minimum of two lanes for the exclusive use of
traffic in each direction and full control of access
without traffic interruption.
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Classification of Highways and Their Functions
Classification by Function: This groups the streets and highways
according to service they are indented to provide. The main grouping is as
follows:
1) Primary movement (Freeways, main arterials)
2) Transition (Highway ramps)
3) Distribution (Secondary arterials)
4) Collection (Collectors)
5) Access (Local access roads)
6) Terminals (Parking facilities)
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Classification of Highways and Their Functions
Classification according to Administration: This will vary from
county to country since administrative units are not the same in
different countries.
In Turkey:
Class Authority
Motorways General Directorate of Highways (KGM)
State Highways / Provincial General Directorate of Highways (KGM)
Municipal roads (Street) Municipalities
Village roads Ministry
Forest roads Ministry
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Turkish General Directorate of Highways
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Codes of State Highways in Türkiye
Horizontally
10 100 200 300 400
Vertically
550 650 750 850 950
Basic Concepts of Highway Design
• There are three main features of roadway geometry that are
determined during the design phase
• Alignment
• Profile
• Cross Section
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Basic Concepts
• Highway, road: A main public road, especially one
connecting towns and cities; an open way (generally public)
for travel or transportation.
• Highway traffic: The movement of vehicles, people, etc.,
on a highway for a particular purpose.
• Location, route: The prescribed course to be travelled
from a specific point of origin to a specific destination.
• Plan: A drawing or diagram drawn on a plane; the projection of a road on a topographical map; scale
drawing of a structure.
• Center line: A real or imaginary line that is equidistant from the surface or sides of something (road).
• Alignment: The position or the layout of the central line of the highway.
• Horizontal curve: A horizontal curve provides a transition between two tangent strips of roadway,
allowing a vehicle to negotiate a turn at a gradual rate rather than a sharp cut.
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Basic Concepts
• Profile: A vertical section of the surface of the ground, or of
underlying strata, or both, along any fixed line. On a highway,
the profile is usually taken along the centre line.
• Vertical curve: Curve that is applied to make a smooth
and safe transition between two grades on a roadway or a
highway.
• Ground line: The line representing the elevation of ground level.
• Ground elevation: The elevation of a point on the ground level; in other words, the elevation of a
point on the ground line.
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Basic Concepts
• Ground line: The line representing the
elevation of ground level.
• Ground elevation: The elevation of a
point on the ground level; in other words,
the elevation of a point on the ground
line.
• Grade line: A longitudinal reference line
or slope to which a highway or railway is
built.
• Grade elevation: The elevation of a point
on the profile of a built road; in other
words, the elevation of a point on the
grade line.
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Cross-section elements
• Cross-section: A vertical section of the
road axis.
• Typical cross-section: A cross-section
which provides the standard measures
and characteristics of a road to be
constructed.
• On a typical cross-section the
dimensions of the platform, pavement,
lane, shoulder, cut ditch and refuge; the
cut and fill slopes; the layers and the
materials of the pavement and the width
of right-of-way are shown.
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Basic Concepts
Camber (crown)
• Camber or cant is the cross slope
provided to raise middle of the road
surface in the transverse direction to drain
off rain water from road surface. The
common types of camber are parabolic,
straight, or combination of them
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Basic Concepts
The objectives of providing camber are:
Surface Heavy Light
• Surface protection especially for type rain rain
gravel and bituminous roads
Concrete/Bituminous 2% 1.7 %
• Sub-grade protection by proper
drainage Gravel/WBM 3% 2.5 %
Earthen 4% 3.0 %
• Quick drying of pavement which in
*Ref.: National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL)
turn increases safety
Too steep slope is undesirable for it will erode the surface. Camber is measured
in 1 m n or n% (e.g. 1 m 50 or 2%) and the value depends on the type of
pavement surface. The values suggested for various categories of pavement is
given in below table.
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Basic Concepts
• Cut: The part of earth above the
grade line of a road that has to be
cut. The cut part is used as fill or sent
to storage.
• Fill: The part of earth under the grade
line of a road that has to be filled. The
fill part is provided from the cut part
road or from the quarry.
• Drainage: To draw off the ground
water without harming the road
facilities; the act of draining.
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Basic Concepts
• Earthwork, grading: An embankment or other construction
made of earth; especially, one used as a field fortification; the
operations connected with excavations and embankments of
earth.
• Formation: The surface of the base built by the earthwork which
is prepared for the superstructure.
• Grading-Finishing: Levelling the road in order to give the
longitudinal and latitudinal grades at the end of the earthwork.
• Sub-grade: The level layer of rock or earth upon which the
foundation of a road or railway is laid; the ground beneath a
roadway or pavement
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Basic Concepts
• Pavement: The combination of subbase, base, base
course and surface course placed on a subgrade to
support the traffic load and distribute it to the road bed.
• Base course: A layer of selected material of planned
thickness, constructed on the subgrade or subbase for the
purpose of serving one or more functions such as
distributing load, providing drainage, minimising frost
action, etc.
• Sub-base course: For the support of paving materials, a
layer of granular material applied to the subgrade in a
predetermined depth; provides
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Basic Concepts
• Shoulder: A portion of the roadway contiguous with the travelled way for accommodation of stopped
vehicles, emergency use, and lateral support of the subbase, base, and surface courses.
• Roadway (Platform): A road (especially that part of a road) over which vehicles travel; Carriageway; One
of the two sides of a motorway where traffic travels in one direction only usually in two or three lanes.
• Surfacing, pavement: The hard layered structure that forms a road carriageway, airfield runway, vehicle
park, or other paved areas.
• Median, central reserve: A median is the portion of a roadway separating opposite directions of the traffic
flows.
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Basic Concepts
• Right-of-way width: The legal right of
someone to pass over another's land, acquired
by grant or by long usage; the path or road
used by this right.
• Ditch: A small artificial channel cut through
earth or rock to carry water for irrigation or
drainage. A long narrow cut made in the earth
to bury pipeline, cable, or similar installations.
• Slope, crossfall: Surface cross slopes are
necessary on all components of the cross-
section to facilitate drainage.
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Basic Concepts
• Slope stake: Slope staking is a trial
and error process of finding the point
where the slope intercepts the natural
ground. This point is referred to as the
“catch point” or “slope catch.”
• Intercepting ditch: An interceptor
ditch is a small ditch or channel
constructed to intercept and convey
water to an area where it can be safely
discharged.
• Side slope: A long narrow hole that is dug along a road, field, etc., and
used to hold or move water; a long narrow hole that is dug along a road,
field, etc., and used to hold or move water.
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Basic Concepts
• Climbing lane: A passing lane added on an upgrade to
allow traffic to pass heavy vehicles whose speeds are
reduced.
• Refuge: A place that provides shelter or protection;
elevated part of the road to separate the traffic flows and
provide safe walking space for pedestrians
• Barrier : Separates the traffic going in different directions
using by guardrail or the other separators
• Curb: Curbs, berms, and edging are roadside elements,
usually constructed of granite or extruded bituminous
concrete used to define the pavement edge and to
control drainage.
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Components of the Alignment
• Horizontal Alignment
• Vertical Alignment
Highway alignment in three
dimensional views
Highway alignment in two-
dimensional views
• Cross-section
www.atlantaeng.com
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Horizontal Alignment
Tangents Curves 25
Horizontal Alignment
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Basic Concepts
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Basic Concepts
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Bonus (Urban Roads)
Soure: https://projectmanagement123.com/road-and-transport-works-terms-definitions/ 29
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