Urban Highway Planning

Transportation

Transportation is a way of moving of people or things from oneplace to another by any mean.

The progress of a country is judged by its transportation system.The transportation problem touches on almost every phase of modern life i.e. Continuing referred to the need to periodically reevaluate and updatea transportation plan. Comprehensive was defined to include the basic 10 elements of a planningprocess for which inventories and analyses were required:

1. Economic factors affecting development.

2. Population.

3. Land use.

4. Transportation facilities including those for mass transportation.

5. Travel patterns.

6. Terminal and transfer facilities.

7. Traffic control features.

8. Zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, and the like.

9. Financial resources.

10. Social and community-value factors, such as preservation of open space, parks, and recreationalfacilities; preservation of historical sites and buildings;environmental amenities; and aesthetics.

Highway planningThe process by which new highways and other transportationfacilities along with the improvements to the old facilitiesare systematically designed, adequately tested, and their futureconstruction is properly programmed is called Urban HighwayPlanning.

It can also be defined as:Activities that:1. Collect information on performance2. Identify existing and forecast future system performancelevels3. Identify solutions regarding highways is called “HighwayPlanning”. Highway planners must continually be aware of the heavyresponsibilities they bear.Thus in preparing schemes for a single highway or complicatedhighway network, care must always be taken to ensure that:

– Project is not treated in isolation– It must be treated as an integral part of whole

Transportation System Entire planning process should be regarded as a definite step inthe advancement of environmental progress and not just as aconcrete attempt to relieve congested traffic conditions.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport

Stages of Highway Development:Although the names may vary by State, the five basic stages in the highway development process are: planning, project development (preliminary design), final design, right of way, andconstruction.

After construction is completed, ongoing operation andmaintenance activities continue throughout the life of thefacility.

Figure:1 Stages of Highway Development

Why urban Highway Planning is necessary?Highway planning is essential due to following reasons

Increase in population Growth of number of vehicles Increase in use of vehicles Density of growth in different areas Existing state of highway systems

Classification Of Highway Planning?With respect to region and locality highway planning isdivided into following two kinds

Urban Highway Planning

Rural Highway PlanningHere we are restricted our discussion to Urban Highway Planningonly.(1)Urban Highway Planning:

The process by which new highways and other transportationfacilities along with the improvements to the old facilitiesare systematically designed, adequately tested, and their futureconstruction is properly programmed in urban territories iscalled Urban Highway Planning. Now we are going to apply basicelements of transportation upon urban highway planning

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport

Referece:https://www.google.com.pk/search?q=highway+planning&tbm=isch&imgil=Gxev1hdVlXk37M

THE PROCESS APPLICATION TO HIGHWAYS

Table:1

Situation Definition

Inventary transportationfacilitiesMeasure travel patternsReview Prior studies

Now we discuss in detail steps involved in urban highway planningby first considering the following flow-chart

Problem Definition

Search For Solutions

Analysis Of performance

Evaluation OF Alternatives

Choice Of Project

Construction

Define Objectives-Reduce travel Time Establish criteria-avg delay

Consider options-location & typesToll charges

For each option determine Cost Traffic flow Impact

For urban highway project find

Benefits VS. Cost Profitibility

Consider factors involved Revenue Cost forecast Site location Political judgment

Design of highway & construction plans

1. Inventary Of Existing Travel And Facilities:

This is data-gathering activity in which urban travelcharacteristics are described for each defined geographic unit ortraffic zone within study area.Inventories and surveys are madeto find traffic volumes,land uses,origins and destinations oftravelers , population ,employment, and economic activity.Inventories are made of existing transportation facilities bothhighway and transit. Capacity,speed,travel time, and trafficvolume are determined.The information gathered is summarized bygeographic areas called traffic analysis zones(TAS).

2.Establishment Of Goals And Objectives: The urban transportation study is carried out todevelop a program of highway and transit projects that should becompleted in the future.Thus a statement of goals,objectives andstandards is prepared that identifies deficiencies in theexisting system,desired improvements and what to be achieved bythe transportation improvements.

3.Genration Of Alternatives:In this phase of the urban transportation planning

process, the alternatives to be will be identified.It may also benecessary to analyse the travel effects of different land useplans and to consider various lifestyle scenarios.The optionavailable to the urban transportation planner include varioustechnologies, network configurations Vehicles, operating policiesand orgnanizational arrangements.

4.Estimation Of Project Cost And Travel Demand: This activity in the urban transportation planningprocess involves two separate tasks. The first is to ascertainthe project cost, and the second is to estimate the amount oftraffic expected in the future. The estimation of facility costis relatively straight forward whereas the estimation of futuretraffic flows is a complex undertaking requiring the use ofmathematical models and computers.

5.Evaluation Of Alternatives: The purpose of the evaluation process is to identifyfeasible alternatives In terms of cost and traffic capacity, toestimate the effects of each alternative in terms of theobjectives expressed, and to assist in identifying thosealternatives that will serve the travelling public and beacceptable to the community.Of particular importance are theenvironmental assessments mandated in most transportationstudies.

6.Choice Of Project: Selection of a project will be based on a processthat will ultimately involve elected officials and the public.Quite often, funds to build an urban transportation project mayinvolve a public referendum. In other cases, a vote by a statelegislature may be required before funds are committed. Amultiyear program then will be produced that outlines theprojects to be carried out over the next 20 years. With approvalin hand, the project can proceed to the specification andconstruction phase. Now we focused on the other states of urbanhighway

(2)Project Development:After a project has been planned and programmed forimplementation, it moves into the project development phase.At this stage, the environmental analysis intensifies. Thelevel of environmental review varies widely, depending on thescale and impact of the project. It can range from a multiyeareffort to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (acomprehensive document that analyzes the potential impact ofproposed alternatives) to a modest environmental reviewcompleted in a matter of weeks. Regardless of the level ofdetail or duration, the product of the project developmentprocess generally includes a description of the location andmajor design features of the recommended project that is to be

further designed and constructed, while continually trying toavoid, minimize, and mitigate environmental impact.

The basic steps in this stage include the following:

Refinement of purpose and need Development of a range of alternatives (including the

"nobuild" and traffic management system [TMS] options) Evaluation of alternatives and their impact on the natural

and built environments Development of appropriate mitigationIn general, decisions made at the project development level help to define the major features of the resulting project through theremainder of the design and construction process. For example, ifthe project development process determines that an improvement needs to take the form of a fourlane divided arterial highway, it

may be difficult in the design phase to justify providing onlya twolane highway. Similarly, if the project development phasedetermines that an existing road cannot be rehabilitated at areasonable cost to provide the necessary capacity, then it maybe difficult to justify keeping the existing road withoutinvesting in the cost of a totally new structure.

(3)Final Design:

After a preferred alternative has been selected and theproject description agreed upon as stated in the environmentaldocument, a project can move into the final design stage. Theproduct of this stage is a complete set of plans,specifications, and estimates (PS&Es) of required quantitiesof materials ready for the solicitation of construction bidsand subsequent construction. Depending on the scale andcomplexity of the project, the final design process may takefrom a few months to several years.

The need to employ imagination, ingenuity, and flexibilitycomes into play at this stage, within the general parametersestablished during planning and project development. Designersneed to be aware of designrelated commitments made duringproject planning and project development, as well as proposedmitigation. They also need to be cognizant of the ability tomake minor changes to the original concept developed duringthe planning phase that can result in a "better" finalproduct.

The interests and involvement of affected stakeholders arecritical to making design decisions during this phase, aswell. Many of the same techniques employed during earlierphases of the project development process to facilitate publicparticipation can also be used during the design phase.

(4)Right Of way, Construction and Maintenance:

Once the final designs have been prepared and needed rightofway is purchased, construction bid packages are made available, a contractor is selected, and construction is initiated. During therightofway acquisition and construction stages, minor adjustmentsin the design may be necessary; therefore, there should be continuous involvement of the design team throughout these stages. Construction may be simple or complex and may require a few months to several years. Once construction has been

completed, the facility is ready to begin its normal sequenceof operations and maintenance.

Even after the completion of construction, the character of aroad can be changed by inappropriate maintenance actions. Forexample, the replacement of sections of guardrail damaged ordestroyed in crashes commonly utilizes whatever spareguardrail sections may be available to the local highwaymaintenance personnel at the time. The maintenance personnel

may not be aware of the use of a special guardrail design todefine the "character" of the highway. When special designtreatments are used, ongoing operation and maintenanceprocedures acknowledging these unusual needs should bedeveloped.

Reference: Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society forTransportation Studies, Vol. 5, pp. 725 - 738, 2005

Table summarizes the five basic stages in highway planning anddevelopment.

Table:2 Basic Stages in Highway Planning

ProjectDevelpmentent

Design

Right-of-Way

Construction

PlanningState DOTs, MPOs, and local governments identify transportation needs and program project to be built within financial constraints.

The design team develops detailed PS&Es.

The transportation project is more clearly defined. Alternative locations and design features are developed and an alternative is selected

Additional land needed for the project is purchased.

The State or local government selects the contractor, who then builds the project.

In other words, a successful highway design process includesthe following:

Early and continuous public involvement throughout theproject

The use of visualization techniques to aid the public Early and continuous use of a multidisciplinary design team The application of flexible and creative design criteria.

REFRENCES

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport

Referece:https://www.google.com.pk/search?q=highway+planning&tbm=isch&imgil=Gxev1 hdVlXk37M

Reference:http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/publications/flexibility/ch01.cfm

Reference: Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society forTransportation Studies, Vol. 5, pp. 725 - 738, 2005

Prepared by: Muhammad Ashraf

Reg # : 11-CE -205

Section : D