2. Objectives
Maximize
Comfort
Safety
Economy
Minimize
Environmental impacts
… Design a safe and efficient system
that addresses community and
environmental needs
3. Highway Classification
Location
Rural
Urban
Functional class
Arterial (Principal
and Minor
Collector (Major
and Minor)
Local
Designation
Interstate
Federal
State
County
Local
5. Some Characteristics
Major Arterial
Minor Arterial
Collectors
Local roads
Veh-miles
Lane-miles
Mobility
Accessibility
Think of it like this: as you move from local
roads upwards in functional classification
towards major arterials, what happens to
each of these 4 measures? Answer:
vehicle miles and mobility go up. Lane
miles and accessibility go down.
9. What Affects Highway
Design?
Human, vehicle characteristics
Expected volume and its composition
Topography of the area
Functional classification
Level-of-service to be provided
Land use and environmental factors
Community concerns
Funding
10. Basic Terms
Design Hourly Volume (DHV)
Expected number of vehicles in one hour in both
directions
Directional Design Hourly Volume (DDHV)
Expected number of vehicles in one hour in one
direction
Average Daily Traffic (ADT)
Number of vehicles in 24 hours in both directions
Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
Number of vehicles in 24 hours in both directions
11. Basic Terms (cont’d)
Design Speed
Choice speed to design for while
balancing safety, mobility, community
issues, and environmental concerns
Operating Speed
Average speed people drive
with comfort
Speed limit
Maximum legal speed
12. Basic Terms (cont’d)
Design Vehicle
Group of vehicles selected for
establishing design control on highways
with typical physical and operational
characteristics
General classes:
• Passenger car
• Bus
• Truck
• Recreational vehicle
20. Median
Purpose
Divide traffic
Recovery area
Storage area
Refuge area
Aesthetics
Width
Varied
Types
Raised
Flush
Depressed
21. Right-Of-Way
Total land required for the construction of the
highway
Needs to be wide enough to accommodate all
the elements of highway cross section and
planned widening of the highway, and all
public utility facilities to be installed along the
highway
Example:
2-lane urban collector streets: 40-60ft
2-lane urban arterials: 84ft
22. Highway Alignment
Not all roads are straight and level
Vertical components
Grades
Curves
Horizontal components
Tangents
Curves