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PREFACE:

Given the problems of congestion in built-up urban areas, maximising the efficiency with which highways are planned, analysed, designed and maintained is of particular concern to civil engineering practitioners and theoreticians.

 This book is designed as an introductory text which will deliver basic information in those core areas of highway engineering of central importance to practising highway engineers. 

Highway Engineeringis intended as a text for undergraduate students on degree and diploma courses in civil engineering. It does, however, touch on topics which may be of interest to surveyors and transport planners. 

The book does not see itself as a substitute for courses in these subject areas, rather it demonstrates their relevance to highway engineering. The book must be focused on its primary readership – first and foremost it must provide an essential text for those wishing to work in the area, covering all the necessary basic foundation material needed for practitioners at the entry level to industry. 

In order to maximise its effectiveness, however, it must also address the requirements of additional categories of student: those wishing to familiarise themselves with the area but intending to pursue another speciality after graduation and graduate students requiring necessary theoretical detail in certain crucial areas.

 The aim of the text is to cover the basic theory and practice in sufficient depth to promote basic understanding while also ensuring as wide a coverage as possible of all topics deemed essential to students and trainee practitioners. 

The text seeks to place the topic in context by introducing the economic, political, social and administrative dimensions of the subject. In line with its main task, it covers central topics such as geometric, junction and pavement design while ensuring an adequate grasp of theoretical concepts such as traffic analysis and economic appraisal. 

The book pays frequent reference to the Department of Transport’s Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and moves in a logical sequence from the planning and economic justification for a highway, through the geometric design and traffic analysis of highway links and intersections, to the design and maintenance of both flexible and rigid pavements.

 To date, texts have concentrated on either highway planning/analysis or on the pavement design and maintenance aspects of highway engineering. As a result, they tend to be advanced in nature rather than introductory texts for the student entering the field of study for the first time. 

This text aims to be the first UK textbook that meaningfully addresses both traffic planning/analysis and pavement design/maintenance areas within one basic introductory format. It can thus form a platform from which the student can move into more detailed treatments of the different areas of highway engineering dealt with more comprehensively within the more focused textbooks. 

Chapter 1 defines highway planning and details the different forms of decision frameworks utilised within this preparatory process, along with the importance of public participation. Chapter 2 explains the basic concepts at the basis of traffic demand modelling and outlines the four-stage transport modelling process. 

Chapter 3 details the main appraisal procedures, both monetary and nonmonetary, required to be implemented in order to assess a highway proposal. Chapter 4 introduces the basic concepts of traffic analysis and outlines how the capacity of a highway link can be determined.

 Chapter 5 covers the analysis of flows and capacities at the three major types of intersection – priority intersections, signalised junctions and roundabouts. The concepts of design speed, sight distances, geometric alignment (horizontal and vertical) and geometric design are addressed in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 deals with highway pavement materials and the design of both rigid and flexible pavements, while Chapter 8 explains the basics of structural design for highway pavement thicknesses. Finally, the concluding chapter (Chapter 9) takes in the highway maintenance and overlay design methods required as the pavement nears the end of its useful life. In overall terms, the text sets out procedures and techniques needed for the planning, design and construction of a highway installation, while setting them in their economic and political context.

 Every effort has been made to ensure the inclusion of information from the most up-to-date sources possible, particularly with reference to the most recent updates of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.However, the regularity with which amendments are introduced is such that, by the time this text reaches the bookshelves, certain aspects may have been changed. It is hoped, however, that the basic approaches underlying the text will be seen to remain fully valid and relevant. 

The book started life as a set of course notes for a highways module in the civil degree programme in the Dublin Institute of Technology, heavily influenced by my years in practice in the areas of highway planning, design and construction. I am indebted to my colleagues John Turner, Joe Kindregan, Ross Galbraith, Liam McCarton and Bob Mahony for their help and encouragement. My particular gratitude is expressed to Margaret Rogers, partner and fellow professional engineer, for her patience and support. Without her, this book would never have come to exist.