PARTS OF HIGHWAY/ROAD

Barriers - Devices used to prevent a vehicle from striking a more severe obstacle or feature
located on the roadside or in the median or to prevent crossover median accidents. As so defined,
there are four classes of traffic barriers: roadside barriers, median barriers, bridge railings, crash
cushions.

Curbs - An edge between a sidewalk and a roadway typically made from concrete, asphalt, or
long stones (often granite). The purpose is twofold: first as a gutter for proper drainage of the
roadway, and second for safety, to prevent motorists from driving onto the shoulder, median,
sidewalk, or pavement. (Source: Team: adapted from wordnet.princeton.edu)

Interchanges and intersections - Interchanges are the junction of highways on different levels
that permits traffic to move from one to another without crossing traffic streams exchange.
Intersections are the areas where two or more roadways join or cross at the same elevation.
(Source: wordnet.princeton.edu)

Traffic lanes - Portions of a highway, including shoulders, for vehicular use. A divided highway
has two or more roadways. Also, in construction specifications, the portions of a highway within
limits of construction. Or, the portions of roadway for the movement of vehicles, exclusive of
shoulders.

Pavements - Roadways, and sometimes pathways, with a durable surface sufficient to support
vehicular or pedestrian traffic. For pedestrian paths that are situated alongside a roadway, see
Sidewalks.

Roadside - That area between the outside shoulder edge and the right-of-way limits. The area
between roadways of a divided highway may also be considered roadside. (Source: AASHTO
Glossary)

Road shoulders - Portions of the roadway contiguous with the traveled way primarily for
accommodation of stopped vehicles for emergency use, and for lateral support of base and
surface course. (Source: AASHTO Glossary)

Weaving sections - Lengths of highway over which traffic streams cross paths through lanechanging maneuvers, without the aid of traffic signals; formed between merge and diverge
points. (Source: AASHTO Glossary)

TYPES OF PAVEMENTS
Pavements can be divided into 3 major types:

Flexible pavements (upper layers of asphalt)

Rigid pavements (upper layers of concrete)
Composite pavements.

a) Flexible pavements.
Flexible pavements consist of a number of layers.

This type of pavement structure is quite popular in areas where local materials are not available i.e.
limited base and subbase aggregates available in the area.
Advantages of full depth asphalt pavements can be:
1. They do not have permeable layers that entrap water (such as granular layers).
2. Time required for construction is relative low. Especially beneficial on widening projects, where
adjacent traffic flow must be accommodated.
3. When placed in thick layers, the construction season is not very limited.
4. Asphalt pavements provide and retain uniformity in the pavement.
5. It seems that moisture contents do not build up in subgrades under these types of pavement
structures, causing little or insignificant reduction in subgrade strength.

b) Rigid pavements.
A typical cross-section of a rigid pavement is:

There are different types of concrete pavements:

jointed plain concrete

jointed reinforced concrete
continuously reinforced concrete
pre-stressed concrete

Where plain concrete is used it is especially important for pumping to be taken into account. The control
of pumping is paramount otherwise cavities will occur under the concrete and the loss of support will
result in collapse of the pavement.
Three factors must act simultaneously to produce pumping:
1. Material under the concrete slab must be saturated i.e. with free water
2. Frequent passage of heavy wheel loads
3. Material under concrete slab must be erodable.
c) Composite Pavements
Where components of both flexible and rigid pavements are combined in one road structure, composite
pavements are created. A typical composite pavement structure would, for example, include rigid block
elements that in their composite form provide a semi-rigid structure:

Another example of a composite pavement is a concrete pavement where the concrete surfacing layer
is supported by an asphalt layer.