Highway Engineering
Highway Engineering
Highway Engineering
CE 62
History
• The most appropriate location, alignment, and shape of a highway are selected
during the design stage. Highway design involves the consideration of three major
factors (human, vehicular, and roadway) and how these factors interact to provide a
safe highway.
• Human factors include reaction time for braking and steering, visual acuity for traffic
signs and signals, and car-following behavior. Vehicle considerations include vehicle
size and dynamics that are essential for determining lane width and maximum
slopes, and for the selection of design vehicles.
• Highway engineers design road geometry to ensure stability of vehicles when
negotiating curves and grades and to provide adequate sight distances for
undertaking passing maneuvers along curves on two-lane, two-way roads.
Geometric design
• The materials used for roadway construction have progressed with time,
dating back to the early days of the Roman Empire. Advancements in
methods with which these materials are characterized and applied to
pavement structural design has accompanied this advancement in
materials.
• There are two major types of pavement surfaces - Portland cement
concrete (PCC) and hot-mix asphalt (HMA). Underneath this wearing
course are material layers that give structural support for the pavement
system. These underlying surfaces may include either the aggregate
base and subbase layers, or treated base and subbase layers, and
additionally the underlying natural or treated subgrade. These treated
layers may be cement-treated, asphalt-treated, or lime-treated for
additional support.