Design of Roads and Road Junctions

Means of Vehicular Access – Roads

The general term in which we describe the means of Vehicular Access in one word is “Roads.” In this article, we are going to discuss in detail different types of roads for different purposes. We will also deal with the design factors that are to be considered while designing roads and Road Junctions.

Lets study the design of roads in a systematic way:

Means of Access and Design factors to be considered for the design of roads
Important elements to be considered in Road Design
Types of Road Junctions
Parking Methods

Here are the names of different types of roads for different types of vehicles and which depend on its width and purpose of construction:

Highways
Streets
Lanes
Pathways
Alley
Passageway
Carriageway
Footways
Square ways
Bridge ways

Design Factors to be considered for the Design of Road Junctions

Volume and type of Traffic

The design of roads depend majorly on the type and volume of Traffic. For example, if the road is to be designed for the city area, the kind of vehicles that would be moving on the road have to be considered. And also the density of the population of the area has to be taken into consideration. The roads for the next 50 years from the date. So, they should be able to take the load of the traffic.

The type of traffic differs from area to area. The kind of road laying that is required on a highway is not required in a city area. The width of the roads and the construction materials are also different.

Number of intersecting roads

Number of intersections are maximum for a Collector road and minimum for an Arterial road. Arterial Road as in the Main road has minimum intersections to avoid confusion in traffic and decrease the probability of traffic accidents.

Traffic control devices

Traffic control devices such as traffic signals, speed breakers etc are to be installed compulsorily at regular intervals for the smooth flow of traffic.

Funds available

The availability of funds play a major role in the quality of road construction. If the funds are large, the road construction preferred is “Concrete road construction” otherwise a cheaper quality construction is preferred which makes use of “tar”.