Highway Engineering

The rapid growth in road traffic in terms of number of vehicles as well as increase in magnitude and frequency of loading of commercial vehicles has posed challenging problems to the highway engineering professionals dealing with planning, design, construction, maintenance and management of the road network.The road users are concerned with the functional condition of the roads such as smooth and comfortable riding quality and high operating speed to reduce travel time so that they can reach their destinations comfortably and safely. The highway engineer has to meet the challenges in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of sustainable road infrastructure in the country using alternate and new materials and also in the selection of appropriate pavement type, duly considering life cycle cost. The increased demand has resulted in development and advances in various areas of the subject, 'Highway Engineering'.Due to the consistent research and development efforts in various developed and developing countries, there have been considerable advances in the area of Highway Engineering and Technology. These include the use of better performing materials, improved design of pavement structures like mechanistic-empirical methods, advanced construction technology using mechanised methods of construction and improved maintenance practices and techniques. More importance is being given to road user cost and road safety issues by carrying out appropriate traffic engineering studies, analysis and management.The tenth edition of this book has been thoroughly revised keeping in view the latest guidelines and specifications brought out by the Indian Roads Congress and the Bureau of Indian Standards. The vast experience gained by the authors in teaching, applied research and the rare opportunity of being associated with the practicing engineers on execution as well as failure investigations on highways and rural roads in India, has enabled them to incorporate a balanced approach of technological developments and practical applications while revising this book. This revised edition fulfils not only the requirement of the under graduate students and teachers of various institutions and universities of higher learning, but also is useful to the professional highway engineers.