2.

2 HIGHWAY CROSS-SECTION ELEMENTS

• A cross-section will normally consist of the

carriageway, shoulders or curbs, drainage features,
and earthwork profiles
– Carriageway- use by moving traffic: traffic lanes, auxiliary
lanes, climbing lanes, and passing lanes, and bus bays
and lay-byes.
– Roadway- consists of the carriageway and the shoulders,
parking lanes and viewing areas
– Earthwork profiles- includes side slopes and back slopes
• For urban cross-sections: facilities for pedestrians,
cyclists, or other specialist user groups

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HIGHWAY CROSS-SECTION ELEMENTS…(cont.)

• Highways are categorized into

– Divided highways
– Undivided highways
• The distinction is based on the presence of median

• The components of divided highways within the right of

way are
– Highway Travel Lanes
– Shoulders
– Medians
– Pavement Crowns
– Curbs
– Drainage Ditches
– Side slopes
– Guardrails
2
 I. Highway Travel Lanes
• the portion of roadway provided for movement of
vehicles
• vary according to functional class of highway,
design speed, traffic volume and level of
development of the area.
– Should accommodate the type & volume of traffic,
assumed design speed
• unequal-width lanes are used, locating the wider
lane on the outside (right) provides more space
for large vehicles that usually occupy that lane.
• Example: Two-lane HW: 7.2m lane width

3
 II. Shoulders
• Shoulders: attached with the travelled way for:
– accommodation of stopped vehicles for emergency
use
– lateral support for the pavement structure.
– recovery of errant vehicles
– to increase sight distance on horizontal curves
– to provide clearance for placement of road signs
– provides additional space for bicycle use
• They vary from no shoulder on minor rural roads
where there is no surfacing, to a 1.5-3.0m or even
greater sealed shoulder on major roads
depending on the terrain and design classification.

4
 II. Shoulders…(cont.)
• Materials used to surface shoulders include:
– gravel, shell, crushed rock, mineral or chemical
additives, bituminous surface treatments
• All shoulders should be sloped sufficiently to rapidly
drain surface water
• The slope of the shoulder should be greater than
that of the pavement.
– high type surfacing: slope from 2 to 4 percent.
– Gravel :4 to 6 percent
– grass shoulders : 6 to 8 percent slopes
• the color and texture of shoulders be different from
those of the traveled way
– to clearly define the traveled way at all times
5
 II. Shoulders…(cont.)
• Shoulders widths as recommended by the ERA design Guide

Design Standard Rural Terrain/Shoulder Width (m) Town Section Widths (m)
Flat Rolling Mountainous Escarpment Shoulder Parking Foot
!
Median
Lane*** way
DS1 3.0 3.0 0.5 – 2.5 0.5 – 2.5 n/a 3.5 2.5 5.0 (min)
(min)
DS2 3.0 3.0 0.5 – 2.5 0.5 – 2.5 n/a 3.5 2.5 Barrier!
DS3 1.5 - 3.0++ 1.5 - 3.0++ 0.5 – 1.5 0.5 – 1.5 n/a 3.5 2.5 n/a
DS4 1.5 1.5 0.5 0.5 n/a 3.5 2.5 n/a
DS5* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 n/a 3.5+++ 2.5 n/a
DS6** 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 n/a 3.5+++ 2.5 n/a
DS7 1.0 (earth) 1.0 (earth) 1.0 (earth) 1.0 (earth) n/a n/a + n/a + n/a
DS8** 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 n/a n/a + n/a + n/a
DS9** 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 n/a n/a + n/a + n/a
DS10** 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 n/a n/a + n/a + n/a
6
 III. Medians
• Median is the portion of a highway separating opposing
directions of the traveled way.
• The principal functions:
– to separate opposing traffic
– provide a recovery area for out of- control vehicles,
– provide a stopping area in case of emergencies,
– allow space for speed changes and storage of left-turning and
U-turning vehicles,
– minimize headlight glare, and
– provide width for future lanes.
• Additional benefits:
– in an urban area are that it may offer an open green space,
– may provide a refuge area for pedestrians crossing the street,
and
– may control the location of intersection traffic conflicts.

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 III. Medians…(cont.)
• For maximum efficiency, a median should be highly visible
both night and day and should contrast with the traveled
• Median can be either raised, flush or depressed.
• median widths is from 1.2 to 24 m or more
• on freeways, a median barrier may be used

8
 IV. Pavement Crowns
• Pavement crown is the raising of the centerline of
the roadway above the elevation of the pavement
edges but not being so great as to make steering
difficult.
– to provide adequate surface drainage
• normal crossfall should be 2.5% on paved roads
and 4 5% on unpaved roads
• Unpaved shoulders on a paved road should be
1.5 % steeper
• When four or more traffic lanes are used, it is
advisable to provide a higher rate of crown on the
outer lanes
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IV. Pavement Crowns….(cont.)

10
 V. Curbs
• A curb is a steep raised element at the edge
of roadway.
• functions:
– drainage control, roadway edge delineation,
– right-of-way reduction, aesthetics,
– delineation of pedestrian walkways,
– reduction of maintenance operations, and
– assistance in orderly roadside development.
• high-speed rural highways: at the outside
edge of the shoulder
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 V. Curbs..(cont.)
• Vertical curbs may range from 150 to 200 mm in
height.
• When the slope of the curb face is steeper than
1V:1H, and 1V:2H, the height should be limited to
about 150 mm.

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 VI. Drainage Ditches
• function of collecting and conveying
surface water from the highway right-of-
way.
• have adequate capacity for the design
runoff
• The depth of channel should be sufficient
to remove surface water without
saturation of the subgrade
• minimum desirable grade: drainage
velocities needed to avoid sedimentation 13
 VII. Sideslopes
• The graded area immediately adjacent to the
graded roadway shoulder.
• Side slopes should be designed to insure the
stability of the roadway and to provide a
reasonable opportunity for recovery of an out-of-
control vehicle.
• Foreslopes : 1V:4H up to 1V:6H
• Backslopes: 1V:6H to 1V:5H

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 VIII.Guardrails
• A guardrail is provided where:
– fills are over 2.4 m in height,
– shoulder slopes are greater than 1V:4H,
– there is sudden change in alignment,
– great reduction in speed is necessary.
– deep roadside ditches, steep banks,
– right-of-way limitations,
• Guardrails (roadside barriers) should be
located beyond the edge of the shoulder
to ensure that the full shoulder width may
be used. 15