FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 4

Geometric Design for Highways and Railways

MODULE OVERVIEW

Hello Future Engineer!

After finishing Study Guide for Module 3, you were able to dig deeper into highway designs and familiarize
yourself with some highway terminologies. This Study Guide for Module 4 will help you to apply geometric
design used for highways and understand geometric design used for railways.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module 4, you should be able to:

1. Applygeometric design used for highways.

2. Understand geometric design used for railways.

4.1 GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS

The design of highways necessitates the determination of specific design elements, which include the number
of lanes, lane width, median type (if any) and width, length of acceleration and deceleration lanes for on- and
off-ramps, need for truck climbing lanes for steep grades, curve radii required for vehicle turning, and the
alignment required to provide adequate stopping and passing sight distances. Many of these design elements
are influenced by the performance characteristics of vehicles. For example, vehicle acceleration and
deceleration characteristics have a direct impact on the design of acceleration and deceleration lanes (the
length needed to provide a safe and orderly flow of traffic) and the highway alignment needed to provide
adequate passing and stopping sight distances. Furthermore, vehicle performance characteristics determine
the need for truck climbing lanes on steep grades (where the poor performance of large trucks necessitates a
separate lane) as well as the number of lanes required because the observed spacing between vehicles in
traffic is directly related to vehicle performance characteristics. In addition, the physical dimensions of vehicles
affect a number of design elements, such as the radii required for low-speed turning, height of highway
overpasses, and lane widths.

When one considers the diversity of vehicles’ performance and physical dimensions, and the interaction of
these characteristics with the many elements constituting highway design, it is clear that proper design is a
complex procedure that requires numerous compromises. Moreover, it is important that design guidelines
evolve over time in response to changes in vehicle performance and dimensions, and in response to evidence
collected on the effectiveness of existing highway design practices, such as the relationship between crash
rates and various roadway design characteristics. Current guidelines of highway design are presented in
detail in A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 6th Edition, published by the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials [AASHTO 2011].

Because of the sheer number of geometric elements involved in highway design, a detailed discussion of
each design element is beyond the scope of this [module], and the reader is referred to [AASHTO 2011] for a
complete discussion of current design practices. Instead, this [module] focuses exclusively on the key
elements of highway alignment, which are arguably the most important components of geometric design. As
will be shown, the alignment topic is particularly well suited for demonstrating the effect of vehicle
performance (specifically braking performance) and vehicle dimensions (such as driver’s eye height, headlight
height, and taillight height) on the design of highways. By concentrating on the specifics of the highway
alignment problem, the reader will develop an understanding of the procedures and compromises inherent in
the design of all highway-related geometric elements.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 3

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 4

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 5

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 6

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 7

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 8

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

EXAMPLES

Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) for Horizontal Road Surface

1. Determine the minimum stopping sight distance on a – 3.5% grade for a design speed of 110 kph.
Coefficient of friction between tires and pavement is 0.28. Driver’s reaction time (including perception time is
2.5 sec.

2. In an intersection collision, one of the vehicles leave 48.78 m of skid marks. A skid mark analysis indicates
that the vehicle was travelling 80 kph at the onset of braking. Assuming the median-brake reaction time of
0.66 sec., estimate the distance from the point of impact to the vehicle position when the driver initially
reacted. Deceleration rate of the vehicle is 1.5 m/s2.

3. A vehicle travelling at a speed of 80 kph accelerates 3.41 m/s2. The perception-reaction time for the driver
is 2.5 sec. If the maximum grade of the road is – 4%, compute the minimum sight distance.

Passing Sight Distance (PSD) for Horizontal Road Surface

1. Compute the passing sight distance that vehicle A could move while overtaking the slow moving vehicle B
before meeting the oncoming vehicle C.

Speed of car B = 88 kph

Speed of car A = 96 kph
Perception-reaction time = 2.5 sec
Average acceleration = 2.4 m/s2
Time the passing vehicle occupies the left lane = 10.4 sec
Distance between the passing vehicle at the end of its maneuver and the opposing vehicle = 84 m.

2. Compute the minimum passing sight distance for the following data:

Speed of the passing car = 90 kph

Speed of the overtaken vehicle = 80 kph
Time of initial maneuver = 4 sec
Average acceleration = 2.4 m/s2
Time the passing vehicle occupies the left lane = 9 sec
Distance between the passing vehicle at the end of its maneuver and the opposing vehicle = 80 m.

Sight Distance for Summit Vertical Curve

1. A 5% grade intersects a -3.4% grade at station 1+900 of elevation 42.30 m. Design a vertical summit
parabolic curve connecting the two tangent grades to conform with the following safe stopping sight
distance specifications.

Design velocity = 60 kph

Height of driver’s eye from the road pavement = 1.37 m
Height of an object over the pavement ahead = 100 mm
Perception-reaction time = 3/4 sec
Coefficient of friction between the road pavement and the tires = 0.15

a. Determine the stopping sight distance.

b. Determine the length of curve.

2. A vertical summit (crest) curve has tangent grade of +0.5% and a -1.0% grade for a road which will provide
a stopping sight distance of 190 m. Height of driver’s eye above the pavement is 1.07 m and the height of
the object ahead is 0.15 m. Compute the minimum length of a crest vertical curve for a design speed of 100
kph.

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

3. A vertical parabolic curve has a sight distance of 130 m. The curve has tangent grades of +2.8% & -1.6%. If
the height of driver’s eye above the pavement is 1.08 m and the height of the object is 0.50 m, compute the
maximum speed of the car that can pass through this curve.

Sight Distance for Sag Vertical Curve

1. Determine the minimum length of a sag vertical curve between a -0.7% grade and a +.5% grade for a road
with 110 kph design speed. The vertical curve must provide 220 m headlight sight distance.

2. Compute the minimum length of vertical sag curve that will provide 130 m stopping sight distance for a
design speed of 80 kph at the intersection of a -2.30% and a +4.8% grade.

3. Compute the minimum length of vertical curve that will provide 190 m stopping sight distance for a design
speed of 100 kph at the intersection of a -2.60% and a +2.40% grade.

Sight Distance for Horizontal Curves

1. A highway curve has a radius of 80 m and a length of 90 m. If the required sight distance is 60 m, how far
off the center of the road could you allow bushes to grow?

2. The clearance to a obstruction is 40 m and the desirable sight distance when rounding a horizontal curve is
600 m. Determine the minimum radius of horizontal curve if the length of curve is 550 m long.

3. A building is located 5.8 m from the centerline of the inside lane of a curve section of highway with 120 m
radius. The road is level, Perception-reaction time is 2.5 sec and coefficient of friction is 0.35. Determine the
appropriate speed limit in kph considering the stopping sight distance.

Read pages 35-78 of Fajardo. For further discussion and solution of these examples, watch the videos using
these links:

Highway & Railroad Engineering - Geometric Design Part 1

https://youtu.be/owJxezWJJDI

Highway & Railroad Engineering - Geometric Design Part 2 (Stopping Sight Distance for Horizontal)
https://youtu.be/01pKDoIYp5s

Highway & Railroad Engineering - Geometric Design Part 3 (Passing Sight Distance for Horizontal)
https://youtu.be/lzrL8CCjnbs

Highway & Railroad Engineering - Geometric Design Part 4 (Sight Distance for Summit Vertical Curve)
https://youtu.be/WqchgB5zAgQ

Highway & Railroad Engineering - Geometric Design Part 5 (Sight Distance for Sag Vertical Curve)
https://youtu.be/_iM4aInrTDE

Highway & Railroad Engineering - Geometric Design Part 6 (Sight Distance for Horizontal Curves)
https://youtu.be/7i7kG9B6orI

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 10

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4-1

As you go through this module and after you watched the videos provided, answer the following:

1. A building is located 25 m from the centerline of the inside lane of a curve section of highway with 250 m
radius. The road is inclined at 1%. Perception-reaction time is 3.2 sec and coefficient of friction is 0.2.
Determine the appropriate speed limit in kph considering the stopping sight distance. Length of curve is 300
m.

2. Compute the passing sight distance that a vehicle A could move while overtaking a slow moving vehicle B
before meeting an on-coming vehicle C. Speed of the car B is 80 kph while that of A is 100 kph. Perception-
reaction time is 2.4 sec. Average acceleration is 2.5 m/s2. Time the passing vehicle occupies the left lane is 9
sec. The distance between the passing vehicle at the end of its maneuver and the opposing vehicle is 75 m.

3. Compute the minimum length of vertical sag curve that will provide 200 m stopping sight distance for a
design speed of 90 kph at the intersection of a -2% & a +3.5%.

4. In an intersection collision, one of the vehicles leave 69.21 m of skid marks. A skid mark analysis indicates
that the vehicle was travelling 95 kph at the onset of braking. Assuming the median-brake reaction time of 1.2
sec, estimate the distance from the point of impact to the vehicle position when the driver initially reacted.
Deceleration rate of the vehicle is 1.5 m/s2.

(Your answer in this learning activity will be compiled in your Assignment 4 to be submitted on an announced
date)

4.2 GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF RAILWAYS

Track geometry is three-dimensional geometry of track layouts and associated measurements used in design,
construction and maintenance of railroad tracks. The subject is used in the context of standards, speed limits
and other regulations in the areas of track gauge, alignment, elevation, curvature and track surface. Although,
the geometry of the tracks is three-dimensional by nature, the standards are usually expressed in two
separate layouts for horizontal and vertical.

It is very important for tracks to have proper geometric design in order to ensure the safe and smooth running
of trains at maximum permissible speeds, carrying the heaviest axle loads. The speed and axle load of the
train are very important and sometimes are also included as parameters to be considered while arriving at the
geometric design of the track.

The need for proper geometric design of a track arises because of the following considerations
(a) To ensure the smooth and safe running of trains
(b) To achieve maximum speeds
(c) To carry heavy axle loads
(d) To avoid accidents and derailments due to a defective permanent way
(e) To ensure that the track requires least maintenance.
(f) For good aesthetics

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4-2

Read pages 1-25 of Lautala

As you read through the pages, answer the following questions:

1. Why should horizontal reverse curves be avoided in railway design?
2. What issues are being encountered with vertical curves in railway design?

(Your answer in this learning activity will be compiled in your Assignment 4 to be submitted on an announced
date)

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 11

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Study Guide in CE 108 – Highway and Railroad Engineering SG No. 4

REFERENCE/S

Fajardo, Max Jr. B.

Elements of Roads and Highways
c2002 Published by 5138 merchandising
ISBN 971-8589-16-3

Mannering, Fred L. & Washburn, Scott S.

Principles of Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis, 5th Ed.
c2013 Published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Lautala, Pasi
Railway Alignment Design and Geometry
Michigan Tech University

INSTRUCTIONS

Format of Assignment:
I. Cover Page
a. Pangasinan State University
b. Urdaneta Campus
c. College of Engineering and Architecture
d. Civil Engineering Department
e. __ Sem AY 20__ - 20__
f. Subject Code and Subject Title
g. Assignment Number
h. Title of Module
i. Submitted by:
j. Submitted to:
II. Body
a. Learning Activity 4-1
b. Learning Activity 4-2
III. References (if any)

Paper size: 8.5” x 13”

Orientation: Portrait
Font: Arial
Font size: 10
Margin: Narrow

Assignments should be submitted in hardcopy and soft copy in pdf format with picture of your ID. Soft copy
should be sent via Google drive or classroom (or private message on messenger if technical difficulties arises
in sending). Files should be named as COURSE CODE_BATCH_SURNAME, GIVEN NAME_ASSIGNMENT
NUMBER

Prepared By:

ENGR. ROMEL N. VINGUA , RCE,RMP

Faculty, Civil Engineering Department

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 12