TRANSPORTATION

ENGINEERING I
CTE21A
Department of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information
Technology

UNIT 1: Introduction to Transportation Engineering I

LECTURER: Mr B Mokobori
LECTURE VENUE RULES:
  BACKGROUND
 GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS
 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
UNIT OUTLINE:  TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
 ROUTE DETERMINATION &
PARKING DESIGN
 RAILWAY ENGINEERING
 BACKGROUND

• Transportation engineering is a branch of civil engineering that

is involved in the planning, design, operation, and maintenance of
safe and efficient transportation systems.
• These systems include roadways, railways, waterways, and
intermodal operations.
• The demand is the amount of traffic (people, cars, railcars, barges)
that is expected to use a particular transportation facility, while the
supply is the quantity and type of infrastructure components
(roadways, bridges, pavements, etc.). These systems are typically
large and expensive.
GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF ROADS

Maximize
the
comfort

Ensure
Economy safety and
of facilities reduce
Goals of accidents
geometric
design

Ensure
Minimize the
environment high traffic
al impacts flow with
minimum
• FUNDAMENTALS OF GEOMETRIC DESIGN
1  Geometric cross section

2  Design speed

3  Traffic flow

4  Sight distance

5  Vertical alignment

6  Horizontal alignment

7  Super elevation

8  Intersections

9 • Various design details

DESIGN PROCESS
 LOCATION DESIGN
• Location design takes place at the earlier stage of project
planning. It refers to the macro-level routing of a planned
highway connecting two points through the existing highways,
communities, or natural terrain.
Normally, information such as the following are essential:

land-use master plan; existing and projected population distribution;

survey maps; maps of existing infrastructure; geological, ecological,
biological, and environmental information; and aerial photographs

Among the essential inputs; Inputs are sought from:

civil engineers, planners, economists, ecologists, sociologists,

environmental experts, and lawyers.
 ALIGNMENT DESIGN

• The alignment of a highway is a three-dimensional problem

because the highway itself negotiates through the terrain in
connecting two points. The highway may be visualized as
segments of connected horizontal and vertical curves (or their
combination).
• The alignment of a highway is best represented by its centre line
in a three-dimensional coordinate system (e.g., longitude,
latitude, and elevation). However, for the ease of interpretation
of the construction drawing, the convention of plan and profile
views has been adopted.
• The plan view gives the horizontal alignment of a highway. The
length of the highway is measured along the plan view, on a
horizontal plane. The length is expressed in terms of distance
from a reference station, in terms of stations
• The distance from the reference station, together with the
direction from the reference station or subsequent stations,
spells out the horizontal alignment.
• The vertical alignment (including the gradients and vertical
curves) are represented in a profile view. The profile view is the
view along the length (including the true length of horizontal
curve) of the highway.
 CROSS SECTIONAL DESIGN

A typical cross section of a highway consists of the following :

• Pavement Cross Slope
• Ditches
• Median Design
• Lane Widths
• Shoulder Widths
 Continued…

• Sidewalks and Pedestrians

• Curb and Gutters
• Roadside Design
• Horizontal Clearances to Obstructions
 TRANSPORTATION PLANNING:
Transportation plays an enormous role in our everyday
lives. Each of us travels somewhere almost every day,
whether it be to get to work or school, to go shopping, or
for entertainment purposes. In addition, almost
everything we consume, or use has been transported at
some point.

It is somewhat difficult to define transportation planning

since the people who call themselves transportation
planners are often involved in very different activities.
 The easiest way to define transportation planning is by comparing it
to other public sector activities related to the provision of
transportation services. In general, these activities can be
characterized as follows:

Management/Admini
Operations/Control: Planning/Design:
stration:

• Activities related to • Activities related to • Activities related to

the transportation the provision of changing the way
organization itself. transportation transportation
services when the services are provided
system is in a stable (i.e., state
(or relatively stable) transitions).
state.
Thus, it is possible to talk about a variety of different
transportation systems including (in increasing order of
complexity):

1. Car
2. Driver + Car
3. Road + Driver + Car
4. Activities generating flows + Road + Driver + Car
5. Surveillance and control devices + Activities generating
flows + Road + Driver + Car

Generating flows interaction

 For Example

•Transportation planners are interested in how activities

generating flows interact with this black box to create
congestion, and how congestion influences these activities.
•In contrast, automotive engineering is concerned with the
vehicle as a system,
•Human factors engineering is concerned with the Driver +
Vehicle system,
•Geometric design and infrastructure management are
concerned with the Road or the Road + Car systems, and
•Highway traffic operations and Intelligent Vehicle Highway
Systems are concerned with the surveillance and control systems
and how they interact with the Activities + Road + Driver + Car
subsystem.
 TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

Definition of Traffic Engineering - It is the phase of transportation

engineering that deals with the planning, geometric design and
traffic operations of roads, streets and highways, their networks,
terminals, bordering lands, and relationships with other modes of
transportation.
• Transportation Engineering is defined (AS WELL) as a discipline
applying technology and scientific principles to the planning,
functional design, operation, and management of facilities for all
modes of transportation
 Goal of Traffic Engineering
• Explore how to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient,
economical, and environmentally compatible movement of people
and goods.

Comfortable/co Env. --- clean Safe -

Rapid - time public
nvenient - level air and
value safety
of service sustainability
Basic Concepts in Traffic Engineering

Mobility
versus
Accessibility

Responsibility Highway
and Liability Classification

Uninterrupted
Transportation and
Legislation Interrupted
flows
 Main Elements in Traffic Engineering

Traffic control:
establishment of
Performance
traffic regulation
evaluation: set Facility design:
Traffic studies: and their
of criteria to functional and
data collection communication
measure the geometric
and reduction to the driver
quality of traffic designs
through signs,
performance
markings, and
signals
 ROUTE DETERMINATION & PARKING DESIGN
• A route determination is different from a road construction in that it
strategically seeks to define a route, which will have the least
negative impact on the environment.

• In short, a route determination can be seen as determining the

environmental feasibility of a proposed route, whereas, a road
construction determines potential impacts on the environment due
to the construction of the road.
Factors affecting route selection
Topography (end points – length …etc)

Weather conditions (storms – wind directions – flood

baths….etc.)

Cost of construction and maintenance

Traffic volume (Current – expected)

Socio economic considerations

Environmental considerations
 On –street parking (curb parking)
In order to make the best use of the curb lane (near-side lane) it is required
to address the following:

Priorities
Enforcing
for use

Design
Time
and
limits
marking
 Off-street parking
Off-street parking becomes a necessity wherever the need for
vehicle parking exceeds the capacity of on-street parking. Off-
street parking facilities range from:

Car garage in the

home

Multi-story
garages
 CONT

 Off-street parking is an important part of the transportation

system. It is an efficient means of storing vehicles while they
aren’t in use, and it causes little disruption to the neighboring
roadways.
 CONT

 Additionally, since parking is the terminal or destination for a

trip, the availability of off-street parking can affect the
attractiveness of destinations as well as transportation modes.

 The attractiveness of a destination is reduced if there is a delay

or difficulty in parking.
 RAILWAY ENGINEERING
- The rail transport which is also known as train transport is defined as
means of transport, on vehicles which run on tracks(railroads).
- It is one of the most important, commonly used and very cost-
effective modes of commuting and goods carriage over long, as well
as short distances.
- Trains are usually powered by an engine locomotive running on
electricity or on diesel.
- Rail is basically the principal means of economically moving large,
heavy freight long distances overland.
 CONT…
Characteristics:

Reliable Convenient

Economical Safe

Fuel efficient???
 PRACTICALS
- Nuclear Gauge Test: This method of test covers the procedure for
measuring the "in-place“ density and moisture of soils by the
attenuation of gamma and neutron radiation. Either through FBS,
ACR, DT.

Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.epa.gov%2Fradtown%2Fnuclear-gauges&psig=AOvVaw3ng_bNWpb47jqiLgPjJpN_&ust=1706864725746000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBUQjhxqFwoTCKCQj-
LkiYQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
• SAND REPLACEMENT is the field test for the in-situ dry density of
soil or gravel. (Dry density is basically the measure of compaction
achieved during construction)

Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcivilsitevisit.com%2Ffield-density-test-of-soil-by-sand-replacement-method%2F&psig=AOvVaw04AdcCaVFJxw5PiOHSvIfx&ust=1706864941423000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBUQjhxqFwoTCMj4lsvliYQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ
• Softening point test To determine the temperature at which the
bitumen is transformed from a solid to liquid phase.

Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmakeagif.com%2Fgif%2Fhighway-lab-test-for-softening-point-of-bitumen-0bDtkN&psig=AOvVaw1-
guWlkhaFqswMteeK3jzF&ust=1706865201922000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBMQjhxqFwoTCKi4rcTmiYQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
• Penetration Test: This test measures the relative hardness or
consistency of bitumen at 25 °C, representing an average in-service
temperature.

Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmakeagif.com%2Fgif%2Fstandard-penetration-test-demo-
lrUtGu&psig=AOvVaw2AJ_29ao1WNmnQ8PzODaSw&ust=1706865370734000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBMQjhxqFwoTCLCwoJPniYQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAS
Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsjchs.com%2Fdynamic-cone-penetration-test-%25E2%2580%2593-pavement-interactive-zz-
LWKe0eIG&psig=AOvVaw2AJ_29ao1WNmnQ8PzODaSw&ust=1706865370734000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBUQjhxqFwoTCLCwoJPniYQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAb
REFERENCES
 O'Flaherty, Coleman A. Highways. Volume 1,Traffic planning and engineering; Edition :3rd ed

 The Handbook of Highway Engineering. T.F. FWA. Taylor and Francis publications, 2003

 Robinson R and Thagesen B, Road engineering for development, E&FN Spon publications, 2004

Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgifer.com%2Fen%2Fgifs%2Fstudent&psig=AOvVaw11Y8tgAZxmV0fUhf60
PmIn&ust=1686208168254000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBIQjhxqFwoTCNigionNsP8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
SOURCE:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgfycat.com%2Fstickers%2Fsearch%2Fanswered%2Bquestion&psig=AOvVaw24z2R_uMX5TfB3
quqC-lym&ust=1686043595810000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBIQjhxqFwoTCNj-8P7nq_8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE