Basics and Highway Network Planning in Transportation Engineering part 1

⇒ Transportation is vital for the economic development of any region since product manufacturing companies like food , clothing, industrial products or medicine needs this transportation service at all stages from production to distribution.

⇒ The insufficient transportation services retard the process of economic development of the country.

Highway Network Planning and Alignment in Transportation Engineering

Economic Activity and Transport:

⇒ The economic activities are the process by means of which the products are utilized to satisfy human work.

⇒ The two factors well known in economic activities are:

• Production or supply
• Consumption for human wants or demand

⇒ There is three basic modes of transport are by Land, air, and water.

⇒ The Water and air have development waterways and airways, respectively.

⇒ The roads of the highways not only include the modern highways system but also the city streets feeder roads and villages roads, catering for a wide range of road vehicles and the pedestrians.

⇒ Railway have been evolved both for long distance transportation and for Rural and urban progress.

⇒ Water ways include means oceans, canal, river and lakes for the movement of ships and boats and the aircraft and helicopters use the airways.

⇒ A part from these major modes of transportation other modes include pipelines, elevator, best conveyors, cable cars, aerials ropeways and monorails. Pipe lines are used for the passage of water or even some other fluids and even solid particles.

The four major modes of transportation are:

i) Roadways or highways

ii) Railways

iii) Waterways

iv) Airways

Highway Development in India:

Roads in Ancient India:

⇒ Excavation of mohenjodaro and Harappa have revealed the existence of roads 2500-3000 B.C

⇒ Old records revels that old road meant for administrative and military purposes.

⇒ The scriptures says that existence of roads during the aryan period in the fourth century B.C

⇒ In the arthasastra rules have been mentioned about the depth of road and for different kinds of traffic

⇒ In 5th century A.D. Ashoka had improved the roads in mughal period.

⇒ Suring the pathan and mughal period the roads were improved greatly

⇒ Mughals received great appreciation from the foreign visitors for the construction of roads in that time.

⇒ Road linking north-west and the eastern areas through gangetic plains were built during this time.

⇒ The construction of Grand-Trunk road connecting north and south in a major contribution of the british.

⇒ How ever the center was later transferred to railways except for feeder roads to some important stations.

Jayakar Committee Recommendations:

M.R. Jayakar (in 1927)

Jayakar committee submitted the report in 1928 and the recommendations are:

⇒ The road expansion in the country should be consider as a national interest as this has become beyond the capacity of non metropolitan government and local bodies.

⇒ An additional tax should be collect on petrol from the roads users to establish a road development fund called Central road Fund(CRF).

⇒ A semi official technical body should be formed to pool technical know from various parts of the country and to act as an advisory body on various aspects of roads.

⇒ A dedicated research organizations  should e instituted to carry out research and development work and to be available for consultations.

Most of the proposals of the Jayakar committee were accepted by the government and the major items were executed.

The CRF was established in the year 1929, it is the semi official technical body called Indian Road Congress was established in the the year 1934 and the Central Road Research Institute(CRRI) was first started in the year 1950.

Central Road Fund:

⇒  (CRF) Central Road Fund, was first formed on march 1st 1929.

⇒ Extra 2.64 paise per litre of petrol were charged from the consumers to build up this road development.

⇒ 20% or twenty percent of annual revenue is to be retained as a central reserve.

⇒ Balance 80% or Eighty percent is allotted by the central government to various states based on actual consumption petrol or levy collected on sales of petrol.

⇒ CRF are maintained by the accountant general of central revenue and control on the expenditure is exercise by the roads using of ministry of transport.

⇒ At present revised cess collected on petrol and HSd towards the CRF is ₹2.00 per litre.

Indian Road Congress:

⇒ Central semi official body known as Indian Road Congress (IRC) which was first formed in the year 1934.

⇒ The pooling of experience and ideas on the all matters affecting the planning, construction and maintenance.

⇒ It is active body controlling the specifications standardizations and recommendations on materials, design of roads and bridges.

⇒ It publishes journals, research papers, publications, standard specifications guidelines.

Motor Vehicle Act:

⇒ It was first formed in the year 1939

⇒ To regulate the road traffic in the form of traffic laws ordinances and regulations.

⇒ Three phases primarily covered are control of driver, vehicle ownership and operation.

⇒ This was revised in the year 1988.

Nagpur Road Congress (1943):

⇒ To discuss about upgrading the situations of roads, the government  conducted a conference with chief engineers of Nagpur division in 1943.

⇒ The result of the conference is well known as the Nagpur Plan.

⇒ A Twenty year development program for the period (1943-630) was finalized. It was the first strive to prepare a coordinated road establishment programme in a planned manner.

⇒ The roads are divided into four classes.

⇒ One of the objective was that the roads length should be increased as to give a road density of 16km per 100 sq.km.

⇒  The transpose economic industrial and agricultural conditions in the country sanction a review of the Nagpur Road plan.

⇒ Basically a twenty year plan, was made by the roads division of government of India, which is generally called as Bombay Road plan.

⇒ It was the second twenty year road plan from (1961-81).

⇒ The total road length selected to construct the road was nearly 10 lakhs.

⇒ The Rural roads were given separate attention, scientific methods of construction was initiated for the rural roads, the required technical assistance to the panchayaths should be given by the states pwd's.

⇒ They recommend that the length of the road should be enlarged so as to provide a road density of 32 kms/100 sq.km.

⇒ The construction of 1.6k km of roadways or expressways was also then incorporated in the plan.

⇒ This plan has been prepared keeping in the view of the growth pattern predicted in various fields by the turn of the century some of the salient features of this plan are as given below.

⇒ This was the third 20 year road plan (1981-2001), It is also called as Lucknow rod Plan.

⇒ It is considered that establishing or constructing a road stretch of 12 lakh kilometers by the year of 2001 resulting in a road density of 82 km/100sq.km.

⇒ The plan has set targeted length if NH to be completed by the end of seventh, eight, and ninth five year plan periods.

Highway Planning in India:

⇒ First twenty year road plan for India called as Nagpur plan for the period of 1943-63.

⇒ Second twenty year road plan for India called as Bombay plan for the period of 1961-81.

⇒ Third twenty year road plan for India called as Lucknow plan for the period of 1981-2001.

Classification of Roads:

The different types of roads are classified into some categories, depending on whether they can be used during different weather conditions of the year.

⇒ All Weather Roads: Those which are negotiable during all weathers.

⇒ Fair Weather Roads: Traffic may be interrupted during monsoon season at causeways where stream may over flow across the road.

Based on type of carriage way

⇒ Paved Roads: Provided with a hard pavement course which should be at least WBM layer.

⇒ Unpaved Roads: Not provided with a hard pavement course which should be at least WBM layer, The earthen roads and gravel roads may be called as unpaved roads.

Based on type of Pavement surfacing

⇒ Surface Roads: Provided with a bituminous or cement concrete surfacing.

⇒ Unsurfaced Roads: Not provided with a bituminous or cement concrete surfacing, the roads are provided with bituminous surfacing  are also called as black toped roads.

Classification of Roads by Nagpur Road Plan:

For Non Urban Roads:

⇒ National Highways (NH)

⇒ State Highways (SH)

⇒ Major District Roads (MDR)

⇒ Other District Roads (ODR)

⇒ Village roads (VR)

National highways: major ports, foreign highways, state capitals large industrial and tourist centers.

State highways: Linking the district headquarters and important cities within the states.

Major District Roads: It is the foremost roads with in the district, serving areas of manufacturing and trade.

Other District Roads: Production-markets, talukas and tehsil head quarters of that district.

Village Roads: Connecting villages of group of villages with each other.

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