NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SILCHAR

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION WHILE ALIGNING HILL ROAD

M.TECH IN TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

BISHAL HALDER 1921421

AVISHEK GHOSH 1921423

  Introduction
A hill road may be defined as the one which passes through a terrain with a cross
slope of 25% or more. There may be sections along hill roads with the cross slope
less than 25%, especially when the road follows a river route. Even then these
sections are also referred to as hill roads. Hence, to establish a hill road overall
terrain must be taken into account.

The hilly regions generally have extremes of climatic conditions, difficult and
hazardous terrains, topography and vast high altitude areas. The region is sparsely
populated and basic infrastructural facilities available in plain terrain are absent.
Hence, a strong stable and feasible road must be present in hilly areas for overall
development of other sectors as well.

Special Consideration in Hill Road Design :

 Alignment of Hill Road :
The designer should choice short, easy, economical and safe comforting comforting
route.

i. Resistive Length:
The resisting length of a road is its effective length taking into account the total
work done against the resistances. If two points are to be connected by the
shortest distance in a straight line, the gradient may be steeper than the ruling
gradient; therefore, it becomes necessary to increase the length so as to have
the desired ruling gradient. This is especially true in the case of hill roads in view
of high differences in elevation in relation to the horizontal distance between
points.

In practice, it is not possible to follow a uniform gradient; this gives rise to the
adoption of effective rises and falls. This ineffective rise and fall is obtained by
subtracting the actual difference in elevation between two points from the sum

1|Page
 of ineffective rise and fall. (This is, the sum of total rise and total fall in excess of
the ‘floating gradients’ – the gradients at which no tractive effort is involved by
the vehicle to maintain the design speed.) The resistances considered are the

friction and the potential energy overcome from moving from a point of lower
elevation to that of a higher one.

Suppose two station A & B with difference in elevation ‘h’ and straight line
distance L0 . In hill station the difference in elevation ‘h’ is higher when
compared to shortest distance L0 resulting gradient steeper then ruling gradient.

Hence it becomes necessary to increase in length at least to L1=( L0+l 1) and

respectively L2=( L0+l 2) , L3=( L0+l 3). These two alignment have also ineffective
rises and fall, the sum of which are h2 & h3.

The total work done in case (i) moving a load W from station A to B along the
shortest length L0 up to height , h

=Wf L0 + Wh

=Wf( L0+ h/f)

=Wf Lr

Here

h
Lr = resisting length = L1=L1 +
f

f = coefficient of frictional resistance

2|Page
 for case (ii) the resisting length

h
L1=L1 + Similarly resisting length for case (iii) & (iv)
f

h+h 2 h+h2 h+h 3 h+h 3

Lr 2=L2 + =L0 +l 2 + Lr 3=L3 + =L 0+l 3 +
f f f f

Thus the concept of resisting length gives the correct idea of various alternate
routes while selecting an alignment after preliminary survey. Obviously out of the
alternate alignments which fulfil the desired geometric standards, the one with
the minimum resisting length should be preferred.

ii. Trace Cut:

A trace cut consists of 1 to 1.2 m wide track constructed along the selected
alignment to facilitate access to the area for inspection and further surveys. In
general, gradients along the trace cut should be easier by 10 to 20% than the
standard limiting gradients.

In areas of hard rock where cutting is expensive, dry rubble walls or filling may be
used to gain access. Even timber platforms or bamboos supported over
framework supported on ledges may be provided.

 General Considerations
When designing hill roads the route is located along valleys, hill sides and if required
over mountain passes. Due to complex topography, the length of the route is
automatically increased. Due to harsh geological conditions, special structures also
have to be provided. Apart from the highly broken relief which has a fixed role in
determining the alignment and location of special structures, climatic and geological
conditions are also important. Special consideration should be made due to some
climatic condition like

i. Air temperature is in the hills is lower than in the valley. The temperature
drop being approximately 0.5° per 100 m of rising.
ii. The maximum rainfall is in the zone of intensive cloud formation at 1500-
2500 m above sea level. Generally, the increase of rainfall for every 100 m of
elevation averages 40 to 60 mm.
iii. In summer very heavy storms may occur in the hills and about 15 to 25% of
the annual may occur in a single rainfall. The effects of these types of rainfall
are serious and should be considered well.
iv. At high altitudes, the wind velocities may reach up to 25-30 m/s and depth of
frost penetration is also 1.5 to 2 m.

3|Page
  Geological conditions
The inclination of folds may vary from horizontal to vertical stratification of rock.
These folds often have faults.
Limestone or sandstone folds may be
interleaved with layers of clay which
when wetted may cause fracturing
along their surface. This may result in
shear or slip fold.
The degree of stability of hill slopes
depends on types of rock, degree of
strata inclination
or dip, occurrence of clay seams, the
hardness of the rocks and presence of
ground water When locating the route an engineer must study the details of
geological conditions of that area and follow stable hill slopes where no ground
water, landslides, and unstable folds
occur. Dip of strata should be small as
Stability of road based on inclination of
possible or alternatively be inclined away
strata
from the road. In Fig it may be seen that
the sides (a),(e), (f) &(h) are stable
locations, whereas (b), (c),(d) & (g) are unstable location. Therefore appropriate
geological investigations are to be carried out.

 Route location in Hills

Hill roads may follow different path according to the feasibility of the road. However,
a hill road alignment varies for the sections along the valley bottom and along the
mountain pass. The first is called river route and the second is called ridge route.

i. River route :
The location of a route along a river valley is the most frequent case of hill
alignment as there is a great advantage of running a road at a gentle gradient.
Also, there is a benefit of low construction cost and operation cost.
However, a river valley may run through numerous horizontal curves.
Requirements for the construction of large bridges over tributaries also may
occur. It may also be necessary to construct special retaining structures and
protection walls on hill side for safe guarding the road against avalanches.

ii. Ridge route:

4|Page
 It is characterized by the very steep gradient. A large number of sharp curves
occurs on the road with hair pin bends. Extensive earthwork is required. The
requirement for the construction of special structures. The necessity of long
length away from the air route.

 GEOMETRICS OF HILL ROAD

i. WIDTH OF PAVEMENT
The recommended widths of pavement of carriageway, formation and land for
hill roads in India are given as

Highway Pavement Roadway width, Right of way width,

classification width, m m (excluding side In open area, m
drains and Normal Excectio
parapets) nal
NH & SH
Two-lane 7.00 8.80 24 18
Single-lane 3.75 6.25
MDR 3.75 4.75 18 15
ODR 3.75 4.75 15 12
VR 3.00 4.00 9 9
Table 1:Width of pavement, formation and land

ii. Camber
Camber/ Crossfall on straight section should be as follow

Types of surface Camber, percent

Subgrade, earth roads and shoulder 3.0 to 4.0
Gravel and WBM surface 2.5 to 3.0
Thin bituminous surfacing 2.0 to 2.5
High type bituminous surface & CC 1.7 to 2.0
Table 2 : Recommended values of camber

When the road has longitudinal gradient greater than 5% , flatter camber provide

iii. SIGHT DISTANCE

From the point of view of safety, adequate visibility and sight distance are most
important on hill roads. The safe stopping sight distance (SSD), being the
absolute minimum sight distance should invariably be available all through the
hill road stretches. It is recommended that in as much length as possible,

5|Page
 intermediate sight distance (ISD) which is equal to twice the stopping sight
distance should be made available on hill road stretches; this will enable limited
opportunity for overtaking of slow vehicles, with caution. However it may not be
feasible to provide overtaking sight distance (OSD) on most of the stretches.
Values of SSD and ISD for different
speed as recommended by the IRC are given below

Speed, kmph 20 25 30 40 50
SSD,m 20 25 30 45 60
ISD,m 40 50 60 90 120
Table 3 : Minimum values of SSD & ISD for different speed

iv. HORIZONTAL CURVES

Superelevation
Maximum superelevation on hill roads is 10%. However the maximum
superelevation on snow bound areas is limited to 7.0%. From the point of view of
drainage, the minimum superelevation is taken as the camber or cross slope of
the pavement.

Radius of horizontal curve

The horizontal curves should be provided with suitable transition curves at both
ends in order to provide smooth entry from the straight stretches. Table gives
the minimum radii of horizontal curves on hill roads. Reverse curves should have
sufficient straight distance (minimum 9.0 m) between their transitional ends .

Category Mountainous terrain Steep terrain

of roads Not snow Snow bound Not snow Snow bond
bound bound
NH&SH

6|Page
 Ruling 80 90 50 60
minimum
Absolute 50 60 30 33
minimum
MDR
Ruling 50 60 30 33
minimum
Absolute 30 33 14 15
minimum
ODR
Ruling 30 33 30 23
minimum
Absolute 20 23 14 15
minimum
VR
Ruling 20 23 20 23
minimum
Absolute 14 15 14 15
minimum
Table 4: Minimum radius of horizontal curves

v. WIDENING AT CURVES
The formation or roadway width also should be increased at the horizontal
curves. On single-lane National and State highways the extra width of the
roadway is taken equal to the extra width of carriageway itself. In all other cases
the roadway width is suitably increased so as to provide a shoulder width of at
least 0.5 m on either side after the carriageway has been widened. The
recommended values of extra widening on single and two-lane pavement at
curves of hill roads are given in Table for various speeds.

vi. Transition curves

Radius of Up to 20-40 40-60 100-300 Above 300
curve,m 20 60-100
Extra width
for single- 0.9 0.6 0.6 Nil Nil Nil
lane roads,m
Extra width 1.5 1.5 1.2 0.9 0.6 Nil
of two lane
roads,m

The minimum length of transition required have been recommended by IRC for different
design speeds and different radii of horizontal curves. For design speed of 50kmph, when
the radii of circular curve of the hill road are 80100150 and 200 m, the minimum

7|Page
 recommended length of transition curves are 55, 45, 30 and 20 m respectively.
Similarly for design speed of 40 kmph, when the radii of curve are 8O,100 and
150 m, the length of transition curves are 25, 20 and 15 m respectively, for speed
of 30 kmph, and radii of 30, 50 and 70 m, the length of transition curves are
30,20 and 15 m respectively.

vii. Set-back distance

As it is not practicable to provide visibility corresponding to overtaking sight
distance all along the hill road, the alignment is made so as to provide at least
the safe stopping sight distance. Accordingly the minimum set back distance on
the inner side of horizontal curves for various speeds and radii of curves have
been specified by the Indian Roads Congress.

viii. Hairpin bends

At sharp horizontal curves it becomes necessary to provide hair-pin bends, with
increase in radius of the curve, as shown Fig. Because of precipitous rock, deep
valley, steep ascends to obligatory points and presence of innumerable gorges,
hair pin bends are unavoidable on hill roads. Within limits of the available turning
angle, it is often very difficult and sometimes even impossible to lay out curves
following normal geometric standards of design. A hairpin bend is located on a
hill side having the minimum slope and maximum stability. It must also be safe
from view point of land-slides and ground water.

Hairpin bends with long arms and farther spacing should be preferred This will
reduce construction problems and expensive protective works. The following
design criteria are adopted for planning hairpin bends:

(a) Minimum design speed - 20 kmph

(b) Minimum radius of the inner curve = 14 m

8|Page
 (c) Minimum length of transition 15 m

(d) Superelevation in circular portion of the curve = 1 in 10

(e) Minimum width of carriageway at the apex of the curve are 11.5 and 9.0 m
respectively for two-lane and single-lane pavements of National and State
Highways. The minimum carriageway width for MDR and ODR is 7.5 m and that
for village road is 6.5 m ( The maximum and minimum gradients are 1 in 40 and 1
in 200 respectively at the curve

(g) Approach gradient should not be steeper than I in 20 (5.0%) for a length of
40m and not steeper than 1 in 15 (0.067%) beyond this stretch

(i) For good visibility at the hair-pin bend, the island portion shall be cleared of all
obstructions including trees and shrubs

It is suggested that the full roadway width is surfaced at the hair-pin bends
Approach gradients should not be steeper than 5 percent for 40 m. The straight
length between two successive hair-pin bends should be minimum of 60 m
excluding the length of circular and transition curves. This length further depends
upon the hill slopes to avoid costly protective measures between the upper and
lower arms of the bends. Fig. shows a hair pin bend and few typical cross
sections.

ix. VERTICAL ALIGNMENT

Gradients

• THE RULING GRADIENTS

5%(OVER 3000M ABOVE M.S.L.)
6%(UPTO 3000M ABOVE M.S.L.)
• THE LIMITING GRADIENTS
6%(OVER 3000M ABOVE M.S.L.)
7%(UPTO 3000M ABOVE M.S.L.)

Exceptional gradients steeper than the limiting gradient may be sparingly

used, separated by a minimum length of 100 m.

At horizontal curves, the percentage compensation in gradient may be

provided using the formula (30 + R)/R, subject to a maximum of (75 / R). The
compensated gradients may not however be flatter than 4 percent.

9|Page
  MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURE IN HILL ROAD
A variety of structures is met with in hill road design. Of these, the following are
common:

1. Retaining walls 2. Parapet walls

3. Breast walls 4. Catch pits

5. Snow-chutes

Retaining walls

10 | P a g e
 o Retaining walls are needed to retain the fill portion of the highway tion. Due
to the warps of the hill faces, it often becomes necessary to take the road
partly in filling and partly in cutting fully in cutting or fully in filing.
o In such circumstances, retaining walls become necessary .

Parapet walls
Parapet walls are needed to give protection, psychologically and physically, to
the motorists while travelling on road with steep valley slopes .

Breast walls
Breast walls are constructed to buttress the uphill Ropes of the road cross
section. They should be stout enough to withstand the earth pressure of the
wind, along with the surcharge, caused by the slope.

Check Walls
o Check Walls are small retaining structures constructed in series on a sloping
hill face to check the slides and to generally add to the overall stability of the
hill face.
o The top width is generally and for a height of 1.5m, bottom width of 10 m is
wided.
o The top and bottom 0.15 market in cement mortar, whereas the remaining
height is made in dry masonry.

Gabion walls
o Retaining walls, breast walls and checkwalls can be constructed with dry
stone masonry encased in wire mesh. Such a construction is called gabion
wall and is popular in several developing countries
o The advantage is that the gabion walls can adjust themselves easily, being
flexible in nature, to the settlement or disturbances that normally take place
and hence do not get damaged.
o Gabion walls are also used as to protection walls where the road runs parallel
to a stream

11 | P a g e