CIVIL 769 – Highway Geometric Design
(ME., M.Eng. St., Diploma Etc.) – (15 Points, FC 2017)
COURSE CO-ORDINATOR: Dr Douglas Wilson
(Room 906.426, ext. 87948 or 09 923 7948)
LECTURERS: Emeritus Professor John Morrall (Univ. of Calgary, Canada)
Dr Doug Wilson (University of Auckland)
Others guests from the Transportation profession.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
This course reviews and extends the fundamental concepts and principles of good highway geometric design (as taught at undergraduate level) and applies these in a practical design setting. Students will design, evaluate and present a rural two-lane road realignment project, based on the theory taught in this course.
TIMES:
The course will be taught in “block mode” so that practicing engineers and those outside of the Auckland Region are able to attend. The course will consist of two teaching blocks. Due to the availability of the visiting Professor and other constraints the dates have been set as follows:
· Wed 5th, Thurs 6th, and Fri 7th April (3 days)
· Wed 10th, Thurs 11th and Fri 12th May (3 days)
· PLUS an OPTIONAL 12D training day on Monday 15/05/2015.
A detailed schedule will be supplied separately at the beginning of the course. This will set out the topics of the lectures and tutorials, dates, venue and details on the assessments.
Lectures will cover the main information and principles including the issue of notes, however additional reading will be required for this course. Tutorials will be used principally for questions and discussion, the project, presentations, revision, and preparation for the final exam.
ASSESSMENT:
· Major Design Project (see below) 40%
· Geometric Design Assignment 10%
· Final Exam (3 hr) 50%**
** Note: A minimum 50% mark is required in the final examination to pass the course.
Students will also undertake a Design Checking Exercise in class that will provide feedback for their Design Project.
DESIGN PROJECT:
A major part of this course will be an individual design project to prepare a realignment design for a section of sub-standard highway. Students will use the theory and practice presented in the course to develop a suitable horizontal/vertical alignment and cross-sections. This will be based on New Zealand Transport Agencies (NZTA) and their former organizations (e.g. Transit NZ) and Austroads highway design standards.
Feedback on their draft alignment will be provided by lecturers and from a checking exercise by other students. A final report will be prepared showing plans/crosssections and documenting design calculations and assumptions. Students studying full-time at Auckland will be able to use the Department’s 12D software for their design work; other part-time students may elect to use workplace design software of their choice (e.g. MXRoads, AutoCAD).
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This 15 credit Masters paper is designed as an extension from undergraduate courses in the Transportation Engineering discipline (especially Civil 360 Transportation Engineering 1 and Civil 759 Highway and Transportation Design). The paper primarily focuses on the procedures, techniques and analysis methods used in the geometric design of rural highways.
It is designed for personnel within industry working in the Geometric Design, Road Safety and transportation engineering area and to those wanting to enter the transportation industry with a much better understanding of the factors involved in good geometric design. This course is a special course in the Masters programme in Transportation Engineering as a significant part of the course will be lectured by Emeritus Professor John Morrall from Univ of Calgary, Canada.
At the end of the course, students should:
· Understand the effects of various road environment features and constraints on driver behaviour and highway safety and how geometric design is predicted to change with ITS, Connected vehicles (V2V, V2I and V2P) and autonomous driving.
· Be aware of and apply appropriate standards and performance measures for assessing highway geometry.
· Be able to determine an appropriate road alignment and cross-section to suit the surrounding environment.
· Demonstrate the ability to systematically review and audit highway designs for consistency and appropriate standards.
· Be able to prepare clear and accurate highway design plans, with documented design assumptions/calculations.
COURSE CONTENT: Hrs
1. User, Vehicle Road Environment, Transport Futures and ITS 3
2. Sight Distance (Stopping/Overtaking) 2
3. Speed Environment, Design Speed and Design Consistency (Philosophy) 2
4. Horizontal and Vertical Curve Design (incl. setting out) 7-8
5. Cross-Section Design and Clear Zones 2-3
6. Intersection/Interchange Principles & Design 3-4
7. Design Plans and Documentation and Design Checking 4-5
8. Geometric Designers discussion forum 2
9. Signs, Marking, Lighting and Delineation 2-3
10. Land Use Access and Controls 1-2
Some minor changes to these topics and time may be required depending upon staff resources and available time.
TEXTBOOKS AND REFERENCES:
The Transit New Zealand (now NZ Transport Agency) DRAFT State Highway Geometric Design Manual (SHGDM, 2000) will be used on this course as well as the Austroads (2009) Guide to Road Design Parts 1 to 7 but primarily AGRD 03/09 Part 3: Geometric Design. The SHGDM can be downloaded from the NZTA website http://www.transit.govt.nz/technical/.
Detailed course handouts and /or text extracts will generally be provided covering the topics discussed. There is no prescribed text, but many useful and relevant textbooks / documents and databases are available in the Engineering Library and will be referenced where appropriate. Similarly, useful websites will also be given in the course material.
QUERIES:
For any queries about this course, please contact Doug Wilson Phone: (09) 923 7948 Email: (preferred method).