Highway and Traffic
Engineering
Overview of Transportation
Engineering
Dr. Wael Awad, Fall 08/09
Source: Professor Jessica Guo, Wisconsin University.
What is
TRANSPORTATION
?
Transportation
A
B
Movement of persons
and goods over space
Transportation
Control System
Users /
Content
Infrastructure
Engineering
Education
Vehicle / Service
Environment
Enforcement
Users / Content
Share of total passengers or
tons-km
• People  Passenger Transportation
• Goods  Freight Transportation
Commuting
Shopping
Recreation
Trade
Energy & Raw Materials
Waste disposal
Local distribution
Business
Tourism
Migration
Distance
Source: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University.
Users / Content
Passengers
Freight
Board, get off and transfer Must be loaded, unloaded
without assistance
and transferred
Process information and
The information must be
act on it without assistance processed through logistics
managers
Make choices between
Logistics managers make
means of transport often choices between means of
irrationally
transport rationally
Source: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University.
Vehicles / Services
Infrastructure
Control System
Evolution of Transportation
1950
2000
Hydrogen
car
Container
ships
Super
tankers
Electric
car
Maglev
Jumbo Jet
TGV
Airfoils
Highways
Jet engine
Helicopters
1900
Buses
Bulk ships
Liners
Iron
hulls
Trucks
Automobile
Planes
Tramway
Internal combustion engine
Metro
Dirigibles
Bicycles
1800
Electric motor
Docks
Jet Plane
Balloons
Steam engine
Omnibus
Rails
Road
Rail
Locks
Maritime
Air
Evolution of Transportation
1500-1840 Average speed of wagon and sail
ships: 16 km/hr
1850-1930 Average speed of trains: 100 km/hr.
Average speed of steamships: 25 km/hr
1950 Average speed of airplanes: 480-640 km/hr
1970 Average speed of jet planes: 800-1120 km/hr
1990 Numeric transmission: instantaneous
Source: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University.
Evolution of Transportation
1000
750
500
Jet Plane
Road
Rail
Maritime
Air
HST
Propeller Plane
250
Automobile
100
Rail
50
Stage Coach
Liner
Clipper Ship
1800
1850
1900
Containership
1950
2000
0
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1970
1968
1966
1964
1962
1960
35
1958
40
1956
45
1954
1952
1950
Contemporary Challenges
50
Germany
Japan
United States
World
30
25
20
15
10
5
Transportation
•
•
•
•
Multi-User
Multi-Scale
Multi-Modal
Multi-Impacts
What is
TRANSPORTATION
ENGINEERING
?
Transportation Engineering
• One of the specialty areas of civil
engineering
– Development of facilities for the movement of
goods and people
– Planning, design, operation and maintenance
• Multidisciplinary study
Transportation Engineering
Transportation Engineering
“For millions of Americans, girding for gridlock is a
teeth teeth-grinding daily ritual. And with more
cars on the road every day, engineers and other
professionals trained to reduce traffic congestion
are finding plenty of job opportunities”
“PAY AND PERKS: $45,000 to $150,000. Producing
tangible change is a source of job satisfaction
for many.”
U.S. News and World Report, February 18, 2002
Highways and Highway
Components
Highway Transportation Characteristics
Outline
Functional classification of roads
Road functions
Hierarchical structure of road networks
Mobility vs. accessibility
Mobility vs. transportation mode
Highway components
Cross-sections
Highway plan and profile
Interchanges
Rural and urban intersections
Transportation System
Definition of Transportation Modes
• A transportation system is an infrastructure that
serves to move people and goods efficiently.
The transportation system consists of fixed
facilities, flow entities, and a control component.
• Efficient = safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient,
economical, environmentally compatible.
Transportation System
Major transportation subsystems
• Land transportation: highway, rail
• Air transportation: domestic, international
• Water transportation: inland, coastal, ocean
• Pipelines: oil, gas, other
Highway Transportation
System
• Fixed facilities: roads, intersections,
interchanges, service stations, etc.
• Flow entities: passenger cars, buses,
trucks, pedestrians, etc.
• Control component: highway
administration, local transportation
agencies, transportation engineering.
Highway Transportation
Engineering
• Definition
The application of technology and scientific principles to the
planning, functional design, operation, and management of
roads, streets and highways, their networks, terminals, abutting
lands, and relationships with other modes of transportation.
• Areas of highway transportation engineering:
– Planning of streets and highways
– Geometric design of road facilities
– Traffic operations and control
– Traffic safety
– Maintenance of road facilities and controls
Road
Functions
Mobility
Accessibility
Hierarchical
Structure of Road
Networks
Rural
Urban
Mobility vs. Accessibility
Road Class
Road Function
Freeways
Through movement exclusively
Surface Arterials
Through movement primary and
some land access
Collectors
Local Roads
Traffic movement to higher rank
roads, access to abutting properties
Access to abutting land and local
traffic movement
Hierarchical
Structure of
Road
Networks
Mobility vs.
Accessibility
Mobility vs. Transportation
Mode
Mobility vs. Transportation Mode
Capacity
capacity in veh/h =
capacity in veh/h/lane x number of lanes
capacity in persons/h =
capacity in veh/h x average vehicle occupancy
Mobility vs. Transportation Mode
Capacity
Facility
Three-lane urban
freeway
Three-lane urban arterial
One lane of buses
Vehicles/hr
Persons/hr
2,000 x 3 = 6,000
6,000 x 1.7 =
10,200
800 x 3 = 2,400 2,400 x 1.7 = 4,080
100 x 1 =100
100 x 80 = 8,000
One track of light rail
19,000
One track of heavy rail
40,000
Highway
Components
Cross-section
Highway Components
Highway plan and profile
Highway
Components
Urban
Intersections
Highway
Components
Rural
Intersections
Highway
Components
Interchanges