Highway Design

Class 1

Syllabus
Expectations
At the conclusion of the course, the student will:
Gain understanding and problem-solving ability for the
topics listed above
Complete a rural highway design and produce a
detailed report covering:
Geometric design
Drainage design
Earthwork analysis
Cost estimation

Understand the safety, social, political, and

environmental implications of transportation decisions
Develop skills in technical writing, graphics,
alternative analysis, and report formulation

Syllabus
Required Text
Fundamentals of Transportation Engineering, by Jon
D. Fricker and Robert K. Whitford, Second Edition.
The authors have made the textbook available
electronically and in printed format.
http://tinyurl.com/2016FallCIVL412
Additional Text
Principles of Highway and Traffic Engineering 5th
Edition, by Fred L. Mannering, Scott S. Washburn and
Walter P. Kilareski, John Wiley & Sons, 2013 (ISBN
1118120140).
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Syllabus
Grading

Assessment
(15%) Homework assignments
(5%) Class participation
(30%) Project report and presentation
(20%) Midterm Exam
(30%) Final Exam
Grading Distribution
A = 93 and up A- = 90-92
B+ = 87-89 B = 83-86 B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79 C = 73-76 C- = 70-72
D+ = 65-69 D = 60-64 F = Below 60
4

Moodle
Trying for simple structure
By week

Material links
Homework, handouts, etc.
will be posted here
You are responsible for all
material so check back often

Grade book
Will be updated asap
following assignments/tests
5

Topics
Topography, route layout, and computer aided
design
Vehicle performance
Geometric design
Cross sections and earthwork
Environmental impact analysis
Highway economics and finance
Drainage
Pavement design
Highway construction
Capacity and level-of-service for freeways and 2lane highways
6

Topo, Routes, CAD

How do we get from A to B?
Point
B

Point
A

Vehicle Performance

Geometric design

Cross sections and

earthwork

10

Environmental impact
analysis

11

Highway economics and

finance

12

Drainage

13

Pavement design

14

Highway construction

15

LOS

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Homework 1
1. List the metropolitan area(s) or town(s) you have living in since you
were 13.
2. Do you have a drivers license?
3. Roughly, how many miles per year do you drive?
4. Do you have a laptop you can bring to class?
5. Describe your familiarity with AutoCAD.
6. Describe a section of highway you think is unsafe. Include in you
discussion a locus map and a site map/aerial photo. What is unsafe of
the section of highway and what can be done to improve it?
a) Note: a locus map is at wide scale and is used to help the reader understand
the location of a place in relation to known locations)

7. Describe a section of highway you think is detrimental to the natural

environment. Include in you discussion a locus map and a site
map/aerial photo. What aspect of the highway hurts the environment?
8. Describe a section of highway you think is too congested. Include in
you discussion a locus map and a site map/aerial photo. What do you
think can be done to help alleviate the congestion? Is your solution
feasible?

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