Highway and Traffic

Engineering
Akhtar Abbas
Assistant Professor

The University of Lahore
www.uol.edu.pk/ce

Department of Civil Engineering,
(21-05-2014)

Highway Construction
The type of construction adopted for a
particular road depends on:
The nature of material available,
The volume and nature of traffic to use the
road,
The topography ,
Foundation conditions
Type and availability of construction
equipment, and financing arrangements and
timing.
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The Road Construction Process
Any road construction job consists of number
of basic steps, although the relevant
importance and the interaction between these
steps will vary from job to job.
These steps can be summarized as:
planning, programming and pre-construction
activities;
site clearance;
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The Road Construction Process
Setting out;
earthworks;
bridge construction;
drainage structures;
pavement construction;
placement of road surfacing;
placement of road furniture; and landscaping

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Earthworks
The eventual aim of the earthworks phase of
the construction is to position the subgrade
underlying the pavement layers in the right
location and at the correct level, and to provide
drainage. The operations to be performed are:
Formation of cuttings by excavating through
high ground,
Formation of embankments by filling over low
ground,
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Earthworks
Shaping the finished surface to design levels,
Excavating for drainage works.
The earthworks is often the largest task in the
road building process and therefore careful
planning and organization are essential. Speed
and efficiency depend very much upon the
quantity and types of earthmoving plant
available.
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Sequence of Operations
The normal sequence of operations in cut and
fill work is:
In Cut
Excavate to the depth necessary to reach
formation level,
Transport away from the site undesirable
material such as organic soil,
Haul suitable materials from cuts to fill area
and suitably dispose of any access cut material

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Sequence of Operations
In Fill
Drain water from depressions and dispose of
any unsuitable underlying material,
Spread fill material in horizontal layers not
more than 250 mm thick,
Thoroughly compact these layers to required
density.

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Pavement Construction
Gravel and Crushed Rock Pavements
Source: pits quarries,
Haulage: truck
Spreading: grader or paver
Compaction: higher compaction standard than
subgrade; different roller types used.
Accuracy of levels important.


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Pavement Construction
Asphalt Pavements
Manufacture: fixed plants (up to 400 tones per
hours), or large mobile plants.
Haulage: truck
Placement: paving machine.
Compaction: rollers smooth vibration drum
and pneumatic tyred.
Usually final layer is kept thin to achieve good
riding surface.
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Pavement Construction
Cement Concrete Pavements
Manufactured: ready mixed batching plant
Haulage: agitator truck
Large quantity: site manufacture + normal
trucks.
Placement: slip from paver.
Compaction: internal vibrators + external
screeds.
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Placement of Road
Surfacing
Construction of Sprayed Bituminous
Surfacing
Pavement must be sound. For existing
bituminous surface: patching , steps:
Sweep surface drawn rotary broom + hand
sweeping
Prepare binder -transport to job by road or rail
tanker, or in drums.

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Placement of Road
Surfacing
Prepare aggregate - stockpiles,
Spray binder - air temperature should be
>15C; no rain should be threatening; mark out
spray run- alignment and start and finish.
Apply aggregate; spreader required: drag
broom to correct spreading inconsistencies.
Roll surface to bed stone; pneumatic- tyred
or static steel drum rollers.
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Placement of Road
Surfacing
Record Work ; quantities bitumen sprayed,
aggregate spread etc.
Traffic control- throughout the steps
minimum traffic delays
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Construction of HMA Road
Preparation for a Sprayed Bituminous
Surfacing
Sweeping a gravel pavement prior to the
application of a prime. Sweeping is usually
carried out with drawn mechanical brooms,
although some hand sweeping is often
required as well.
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Sweeping a gravel pavement
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Construction of HMA Road
Damping the pavement. It is found that a
prime or seal will adhere better to an
underlying gravel pavement if the pavement
is slightly damp.
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A bitumen road tanker
Transport of bitumen to the job site will
usually be by rail tanker or road tanker
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Asphalt Production
Batching Plant
The mix falls through a series of inclined
vibrating screens and the various size
fractions are stored in hot storage bins. The
plant operator then weighs out the correct
proportions of each size for single batch.
The sizes are mixed and then the required
amount of hot bitumen is added and mixing
continue.


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Asphalt Production
The batch is then discharged from the mixer
into a weighing truck, and the batching
process repeated.

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Asphalt Paving
Paving machine. (front view)
Tip trucks discharge the hot asphalt into front
hopper and it is then conveyed to the rear of
the machine by a chain and slat conveyor.
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Asphalt Paving
Paving Machine (rear view)
This picture shows a truck with its tray
tipped, discharging mix into the paver. The
operator sits on top and steers the machine to
the required alignment.
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Asphalt Paving
Screed Unit.
The screed unit consist of travelling arms, a
screed plate which vibrates to act as a tamper,
and thickness controls. It is supported by the
mix which gives it a floating action.
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Asphalt paving
Reference Beam Attached to Paver
A long moving reference beam mounted on
shoes can be used to ensure the screed
follows as smooth line regardless of
irregularities in the surface being paved.
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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Construction of RCC Road
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