The document discusses the historical development of road construction. It begins by covering the earliest roads dating back to 3500 BC in Mesopotamia and ancient India, which were primarily footpaths and bridle paths made of compacted earth. After the invention of the wheel, animal-drawn carts required harder road surfaces. The Romans are credited with developing the first major road networks between the 8th century BC and 4th century AD, building over 100,000 km of stone roads across Europe and Asia Minor with standardized designs involving gravel foundations, stone slabs, and bridges. The decline of the Roman Empire led to reduced road building in Europe until later periods.

1. DEPARTMENT OF
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Highway Planning and Alignment
Historical Development of Road
Construction
Er. Ramprasad Kumawat
M.Tech

2. Highway Planning and Alignment
 Different modes of Transportation –
 Historical Development of road construction-
 Highway Development in India –
 Highway planning in India-
 Classification of roads- Road pattern–
 Highway alignment –
 Engineering Surveys for alignment –
 Highway Project-
 Important Transport/Highway related agencies in
India.
 PMGSY project.
 Introduction about IRC, NRRDA

3. Historical Development of Road
Construction
 The history of the development of road
construction is linked with the history of
human civilization.
 The first and oldest mode of travel was
footpath with people found the most
convenient and the shortest way to approach
to their hunting and fishing ground. People
use tamed animals for transport which
required bridle paths of greater width and
heights.

4.  After the invention of the wheel, animal-
drawn carts continued to be the popular
mode of transport for quite a long time.
 This had necessitated providing hard
surfaces for wheeled carts.
 The first hard surface was discovered in
Mesopotamia at about 3500 B.C.

5. 1. Roads in Ancient India
 The excavations of Mohenjodaro and
Harappa have established the existence of
roads in India at about 3500 B.C.
 As per the early records, in early periods the
roads were mainly for administrative and
military purposes.
 During Aryan period in 400 B.C., there were
“Mahapathas” as a means of
communications as referred in Rig Veda
( part 1, para 5).

6. 2. The Roman Road
 The Roman Civilization (8 th Century
B.C.) was well known for good road
system it built.
 About 1,00,000km. road network served
military and administrative purposes of the
Roman Empire extended over vast regions.
Rome was the local point from where 29
major roads radiated in all directions.

7.  This is the basis of the famous saying:“All
roads lead to Rome.”
 The top layers of the pavement consisted of
flat stones.
 Lime mortar was used to cement the stones.
 Bridges were built across the rivers with
stone blocks.
 With the decline of the Roman Empire, the
road building received a set back in Europe.

11. Roman Road Design & Materials
 Major roads were around a standard 4.2 m
wide, which was enough space for two
wheeled-vehicles to pass each other.
 Roads were finished with a gravel surface
sometimes mixed with lime or, for more
prestigious sections such as near towns,
with dressed stone blocks of volcanic tuff,
cobbles, or paving stones of basalt (silice)
or limestone.

12.  First a trench was dug and a foundation was
laid using rough gravel, crushed brick, clay
materials or even wooden piles in marshy
areas, and set between curb stones.
 On top of this a layer of finer gravel was
added (nucleus) and the road was then
surfaced with blocks or slabs .
 Mountain roads might also have ridges
running across the surface to give people and
animals better traction and have ruts cut into
the stone to guide wheeled vehicles.

14. 3. Tresaguet method of construction