Ilagan, Jerick T. CE 4203

09-33900

THE HIGHWAY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

A. Highway in the Philippines

Highways in the Philippines include roads that can be classified into six

divisions:

1. The Maharlika Highway, - The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as

the Maharlika ("Nobility/Free People") Highway ( AH26 AH26) is a 3,517 km

(2,185 mi) network of roads, bridges, and ferry services that connect the

islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in the Philippines, serving as

the country's principal transport backbone.

2. Controlled-access highways, - is a highway designed exclusively for high-

speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated. They

are known by various terms worldwide,

including Autobahn, autoestrada, autopista,autoroute, autostrada, freeway,

motorway, snelweg, thruway, and sometimes less precise terms such as

expressway, highway, interstate, or parkway.

3. The Regional Highways,

4. The Provincial Highways,

Here are some examples of Toll-Free Provincial Highways in the

Philippines.

Aguinaldo Highway (Cavite and Batangas)

Kennon Road (Benguet and La Union)

Dalton Pass (Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya)

Quirino Highway (Manila and Bulacan)

Fortunato F. Halili Avenue (Bulacan)

Del Monte-Norzagaray Road (Bulacan)

Kalayaan Avenue (Manila and Rizal)

Marikina-Infanta Highway (Manila, Rizal and Quezon)

Antero Soriano Highway (Cavite)

Governor's Drive (Laguna and Cavite)

Acacia Highway (Cebu)

Jose P. Laurel Highway (Cebu)

Jose P. Laurel Highway (Quezon and Albay)

Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Bataan and Tarlac)

MacArthur Highway (Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan and

La-Union)

Batasan-San Mateo Road (Manila-Rizal)

Ayala Highway (Albay and Quezon)

Manila East Road (Manila, Rizal, Quezon and Laguna)

Filipino-American Friendship Highway (Angeles City)

5. The Manila Arterial Road System, - is the highway numbering system that is

currently being implemented in Metro Manila in the Philippines, organizing

the major thoroughfares of the Metropolis. The system was adopted

during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1965 and is still imposed

by the Department of Public Works and Highways.The Metro Manila

Arterial Road System numbering is very much different to other road

numbering system in other countries. The roads that are part of the Metro

Manila Arterial Road System are the National Roads, the Circumferential

Roads, and the Radial Roads, as well as the other major roads connecting

the cities of Manila, Quezon, North and

South Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon, Navotas, Pasay,Parañaque, Las

Piñas, Taguig, Marikina, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pateros and San

Juan as well as the surrounding provinces.

6. The secondary city and municipal avenues and roads.

B. Planning Difficulties

The planning process commences with the collection of historical traffic data

covering the geographical area of interest. Growth levels in past years act as a strong

indicator regarding the volumes one can expect over the chosen future time, be it 15, 20

or 30 years. If these figures indicate the need for new/upgraded transportation facilities,

the process then begins of considering what type of transportation scheme or suite of

schemes is most appropriate, together with the scale and location of the scheme or

group of schemes in question.

The demand for highway schemes stems from the requirements of people to

travel from one location to another in order to perform the activities that make up their

everyday lives. The level of this demand for travel depends on a number of factors:

1. The location of people’s work, shopping and leisure facilities

relative to their homes

2. The type of transport available to those making the journey

3. The demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the

population in question.

Characteristics such as population size and structure, number of cars owned per

household and income of the main economic earner within each household tend to be

the demographic/socio-economic characteristics having the most direct effect on traffic

demand. These act together in a complex manner to influence the demand for highway

space.

As an example of the relationship between these characteristics and the change

in traffic demand, let us examine Dublin City’s measured growth in peak travel demand

over the past ten years together with the levels predicted for the next ten, using figures

supplied by the Dublin Transport Office (DTO) in 2000.

Table 1.1 shows that between 1991 and 1999 peak hour demand grew by 65%.

It has been predicted by DTO that between 1999 and 2016 a further 72.4% of

growth will take place.

The cause of these substantial increases can be seen when one examines the

main factors influencing traffic growth – population, number of cars per household and

economic growth. Between 1991 and 1999, the population within the area increased by

just over 8%, and car ownership by 38.5%, with gross domestic product increasing to

179% of its 1991 value. DTO have predicted that, between 1999 and 2016, population

will increase by 20% and car ownership by 40%, with gross domestic product increasing

to 260% of its 1991 value (see Table 1.2).

Table 1.2 Factors influencing traffic growth within Dublin City, 1991–2016

The significant growth indicated in Table 1.2 is consistent with the past recorded

and future predicted traffic demand figures given in Table 1.1. High levels of residential

and employment growth will inevitably result in increased traffic demand as more people

link up to greater employment opportunities, with the higher levels of prosperity being

reflected in higher levels of car ownership.

Increasing numbers of jobs, homes, shopping facilities and schools will inevitably

increase the demand for traffic movement both within and between centres of

population.

On the assumption that a road scheme is selected to cater for this increased

future demand, the design process requires that the traffic volumes for some year in the

future, termed the design year, can be estimated. (The design year is generally taken as

10–15 years after the highway has commenced operation.)

The basic building block of this process is the current level of traffic using the

section of highway at present. Onto this figure must be added an estimate for the

normal traffic growth, i.e. that which is due to the year-on-year annual increases in the

number of vehicles using the highway between now and the design year. Table 1.1

shows the increase in vehicle trips predicted within the

Dublin Region for the first 16 years of the new millennium. Onto these two

constituents of traffic volume must be added generated traffic – those extra trips brought

about directly from the construction of the new road.

Computation of these three components enables the design-year volume of

traffic to be estimated for the proposed highway. Within the design process, the design

volume will determine directly the width of the travelled pavement required to deal with

the estimated traffic levels efficiently and effectively.

C. Highway Programming

In order to evaluate various projects from various parts of the state, information is

collected consisting of the following items: transportation inventories, traffic analyses,

modal forecasts, future system requirements, levels of service, population data and

forecasts, land use inventories, public facilities plans, and basic social, economic, and

environmental data. This information comes from various sources, both public and

private, is updated on a regular basis, and is used in developing the state’s

transportation improvement program.

The statewide fiscal program is also considered in developing the plan.

Transportation investment, fiscal forecasts, and consideration of expenditure tradeoffs

between modes are some of the financial considerations affecting the project selection

process.

Public input is sought from regional to local levels. Local and regional planning

organizations, as well as private individuals, have a chance to express opinions and

provide input to the project selection process. Once all factors have been evaluated, the

state announces and publishes its recommended transportation improvement plan. This

usually consists of a one-year plan and a five-year plan, with remaining projects

grouped under long-range plans.

D. Community Involvement

Under the Council on Environmental Quality CEQ regulations, public involvement

is an essential element of the NEPA process, and the proposing agency must make

sincere efforts to encourage and provide for early and continuing public participation in

the decision-making process [40 CFR 1506(a)]. Opportunities for public involvement are

provided at several stages during the development of NEPA documents, such as the

notice of intent (NOI), the scoping process, public contribution and comments on EAs,

and public comment periods on the draft final EIS. Opportunities for the public to review

and comment on documents occur when a notice of availability is published. A notice of

availability is a formal public notice under NEPA announcing the availability of a

completed EA, DEIS, or FEIS. Such notice is to be published in local newspapers or

other local print media, provided to the state clearinghouse as applicable, presented in

special newsletters, provided to community and business associations, placed in legal

postings, and presented to interested Native American tribes, if appropriate. For an EIS,

publication of such notice is also required in the Federal Register. Notices and other

public announcements regarding the project should be sent individually to anybody

expressing an interest in a specific action.

Early incorporation of public input on project alternatives and issues dealing with

social, economic, and environmental impacts helps in deciding whether to prepare an

EA or an EIS, the scope of the document, and the important or controversial issues

related to the project or program. When impacts involve the relocation of individuals,

groups, or institutions, special notification and public participation efforts should be

undertaken. Early and ongoing public involvement will result in fewer court challenges,

gain a greater number of cooperating agencies, build consensus earlier, screen out

inappropriate alternatives, and determine whether a FONSI or an EIS needs to be

prepared.

The proposing agency must provide for one or more public hearings or the

opportunity for hearings to be held at a convenient time and place for federal actions

that require significant amounts of right-of-way acquisition, substantially change the

layout or function of connecting roadways or of the facility being improved, have

substantial adverse impact on abutting properties, or otherwise have a significant social,

economic, or environmental effect [23 CFR 771.111(h)(2)(iii)].

During public hearings, the public should receive information on the project’s

purpose and reason and be told how it is integrated with local planning goals. The

public should be provided with information on the major design features of the project,

potential impacts, and available alternatives under consideration. Processes of special

interest to the public, such as relocation procedures and right-of-way acquisition, should

be carefully explained, as should the agency’s procedures and timing for receiving oral

and written public comments [23 CFR 771.111(h)(2)(v)]. The public comment period for

a draft EIS is at least 45 days, except in rare circumstances determined by the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Public hearings must be documented,

including providing FHWA with a copy of the transcript from the hearing. Under the

Freedom of Information Act (5 USC §552), an agency must make documentation,

including interagency comments, available to the public at no cost.

E. Highway Economy

Within the US, both economic and environmental evaluations form a central part

of the regional transportation planning process called for by federal law when state level

transportation plans required under the Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act 1991

are being determined or in decisions by US federal organizations regarding the funding

of discretionary programmes.

Cost-benefit analysis is the most widely used method of project appraisal

throughout the world. Its origins can be traced back to a classic paper on the utility of

public works by Dupuit (1844), written originally in the French language. The technique

was first introduced in the US in the early part of the twentieth century with the advent of

the Rivers and Harbours Act 1902 which required that any evaluation of a given

development option must take explicit account of navigation benefits arising from the

proposal, and these should be set against project costs, with the project only receiving

financial support from the federal government in situations where benefits exceeded

costs. Following this, a general primer, known as the ‘Green Book’, was prepared by the

US

Federal Interagency River Basin Committee (1950), detailing the general

principles of economic analysis as they were to be applied to the formulation and

evaluation of federally funded water resource projects. This formed the basis for the

application of cost-benefit analysis to water resource proposals, where options were

assessed on the basis of one criterion – their economic efficiency.

In 1965 Dorfman released an extensive report applying cost-benefit analysis to

developments outside the water resources sector. From the 1960s onwards the

technique spread beyond the US and was utilised extensively to aid option choice in

areas such as transportation.

Cost-benefit analysis is also widely used throughout Europe. The 1960s and

1970s witnessed a rapid expansion in the use of cost-benefit analysis within the UK as

a tool for assessing major transportation projects.

These studies included the cost-benefit analysis for the London Birmingham

Motorway by Coburn Beesley and Reynolds (1960) and the economic analysis for the

siting of the proposed third London airport by Flowerdew (1972). This growth was partly

the result of the increased government involvement in the economy during the post-war

period, and partly the result of the increased size and complexity of investment

decisions in a modern industrial state. The computer programme COBA has been used

since the early 1980s for the economic assessment of major highway schemes (DoT,

1982). It assesses the net value of a preferred scheme and can be used for determining

the priority to be assigned to a specific scheme, for generating a shortlist of alignment

options to be presented to local action groups for consultation purposes, or for the basic

economic justification of a given corridor. In Ireland, the Department of Finance requires

that all highway proposals are shown to have the capability of yielding a minimum

economic return on investment before approval for the scheme will be granted.

F. Location of the Proposed Road

The basic principle for locating highways is that roadway elements such as

curvature and grade must blend with each other to produce a system that provides for

the easy flow of traffic at the design capacity, while meeting design criteria and safety

standards.

The highway should also cause a minimal disruption to historic and archeological

sites and to other land-use activities. Environmental impact studies are therefore

required in most cases before a highway location is finally agreed upon.

The highway location process involves four phases:

1. Office study of existing information.

2. Reconnaissance survey.

3. Preliminary location survey.

4. Final location survey.

1- Office study of existing information

The first phase in any highway location study is the examination of all available data

of the area in which the road is to be constructed. This phase is usually carried out in

the office prior to any field or photogrammetric investigation. All the available data are

collected and examined. These data can be obtained from existing engineering reports,

maps, aerial photographs, and charts, which are usually available at one or more of the

state’s departments of transportation, agriculture, geology, hydrology, and mining. The

type and amount of data collected and examined depend on the type of highway being

considered, but in general, data should be obtained on the following characteristics of

the area:

• Engineering, including topography, geology, climate, and traffic volumes.

• Social and demographic, including land use and zoning patterns.

• Environmental, including types of wildlife; location of recreational, historic, and

archeological sites; and the possible effects of air, noise, and water pollution.

• Economic, including unit costs for construction and the trend of agricultural,

commercial, and industrial activities.

Preliminary analysis of the data obtained will indicate whether any of the specific

sites should be excluded from further consideration because of one or more of the

above characteristics. For example, if it is found that a site of historic and archeological

importance is located within an area being considered for possible route location, it may

be immediately decided that any route that traverse that site should be excluded from

further consideration. At the completion of this phase of the study, the engineer will be

able to select general areas through which the highway can traverse.

2- Reconnaissance Survey

The object of this phase of the study is to identify several feasible routes, each within

a band of a limited width of a few hundred meters. When rural roads are being

considered, there is often very little or no information available on maps or photographs,

and therefore aerial photography is widely used to obtain the required information.

Feasible routes are identified by a stereoscopic examination of the aerial photographs,

taking into consideration factors such as:

• Terrain and soil conditions.

• Serviceability of route to industrial and population areas.

• Crossing of other transportation facilities, such as rivers, railroads, and other

highways.

• Directness of route.

Control points between the two terminals are determined for each feasible route. For

example, a unique bridge site with no alternative may be taken as a primary control

point. The feasible routes identified are then plotted on photographic base maps.

3- Preliminary Location Survey

During this phase of the study, the positions of the feasible routes are set as

closely as possible by establishing all the control points and determining preliminary

vertical and horizontal alignments for each. Preliminary alignments are used to evaluate

the economic and environmental feasibility of the alternative routes.

3.1 Economic Evaluation

Economic evaluation of each alternative route is carried out to determine the

future effect of investing the resources necessary to construct the highway.

The benefit-cost ratio method is used for this evaluation. Factors usually taken

into consideration include road user costs, construction costs, maintenance costs, road

user benefits, and any disbenefits, which may include adverse impacts due to

dislocation of families, businesses, and so forth. The results obtained from the

economic evaluation of the feasible routes provide valuable information to the decision

maker. For example, these results will provide information on the economic resources

that will be gained or lost if a particular location is selected. This information is also used

to aid the policy maker in determining whether the highway should be built, and if so,

what type of highway it should be.

3.2 Environmental Evaluation

Construction of a highway at any location will have a significant impact on its

surrounding. A highway is therefore an integral part of the local environment and must

be considered as such. This environment includes plant, animal, and human

communities and encompasses social, physical, natural, and man-made variables.

These variables are interrelated in a manner that maintains equilibrium and sustains the

lifestyle of the different communities. The construction of a highway at a given location

may result in significant changes in one or more variables, which in turn may offset the

equilibrium and result in significant adverse effects on the environment. This may lead

to a reduction of the quality of life of the animals and/or human communities. It is

therefore essential that the environmental impact of any alignment selected be fully

evaluated.

Local legislation has been enacted that sets forth the requirements of the

environmental evaluation required for different types of projects. In general, the

requirements call for the submission of environmental impact statements for many

projects. These statements should include:

• A detailed description of alternatives.

• The probable environmental impact, including the assessment of positive and

negative effects.

• An analysis of short-term impact as differentiated from long-term impact.

• Any secondary effects, which may be in the form of changes in the patterns of

social and economic activities.

• Probable adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided if the project is

constructed.

In cases where an environmental impact study is required, it is conducted at this

stage to determine the environmental impact of each alternative route. Such a study will

determine the negative and/or positive effects the highway facility will have on the

environment. For example, the construction of a freeway at grade through an urban

area may result in an unacceptable noise level for the residents of the area (negative

impact), or the highway facility may be located so that it provides better access to jobs

and recreation centers (positive impact). Public hearings are also held at this stage to

provide an opportunity for constituents to give their views on the positive and negative

impacts of the proposed alternatives.

The best alternative, based on all the factors considered, is then selected as the

preliminary alignment of the highway.

4- Final Location Survey

The final location survey is the detailed layout of the selected route, during which

time the final horizontal and vertical alignments are determined and the final positions of

structures and drainage channels are also determined. The conventional method used

is first to set out the points of intersections (PI) of the straight portions of the highway

and then to fit a suitable horizontal curve between these. This is usually a trial-and-error

process until, in the designer’s opinion, the best alignment is obtained, taking both

engineering and aesthetic factors into consideration. Curve templates are available that

can be used in this process. Curve templates are transparencies giving circular curves,

three-center compound curves, and spiral curves of different radii and different standard

scales.

Detailed design of the vertical and horizontal alignments are then carried out to obtain

both the deflection angles for horizontal curves and the cuts or fills for vertical curves

and straight sections of the highway.

G. Highway Plans and Specifications

When the highway planning process takes place within a large urban area and

other transport options such as rail and cycling may be under consideration alongside

car-based ones, the procedure can become quite complex and the workload involved in

data collection can become immense. In such circumstances, before a comprehensive

study can be undertaken, one of a number of broad strategy options must be chosen:

b. The land use transportation approach

c. The demand management approach

d. The car-centred approach

e. The public transport-centred approach.

Land use transportation approach

Within this method, the management of land use planning is seen as the solution

to controlling the demand for transport. The growing trend where many commuters live

in suburbs of a major conurbation or in small satellite towns while working within or near

the city centre has resulted in many using their private car for their journey to work. This

has led to congestion on the roads and the need for both increased road space and the

introduction of major public transport improvements. Land use strategies such as the

location of employment opportunities close to large residential areas and actively

limiting urban sprawl which tends to increase the dependency of commuters on the

private car, are all viable land use control mechanisms.

The demand management approach

The demand management approach entails planning for the future by managing

demand more effectively on the existing road network rather than constructing new road

links. Demand management measures include the tolling of heavily trafficked sections

of highway, possibly at peak times only, and car pooling, where high occupancy rates

within the cars of commuters is achieved voluntarily either by the commuters

themselves, in order to save money, or by employers in order to meet some target

stipulated by the planning authority. Use of car pooling can be promoted by allowing

private cars with multiple occupants to use bus-lanes during peak hour travel or by

allowing them reduced parking charges at their destination.

The car-centred approach

The car-centred approach has been favoured by a number of large cities within

the US, most notably Los Angeles. It seeks to cater for future increases in traffic

demand through the construction of bigger and better roads, be they inter-urban or

intra-urban links. Such an approach usually involves prioritising the development of road

linkages both within and between the major urban centres. Measures such as in-car

information for drivers regarding points of congestion along their intended route and the

installation of state-of-the-art traffic control technology at all junctions, help maximise

usage along the available road space.

The public transport-centred approach

In the public transport-centred approach the strategy will emphasise the

importance of bus and rail-based improvements as the preferred way of coping with

increased transport demand. Supporters of this approach point to the environmental

and social advantages of such a strategy, reducing noise and air pollution and

increasing efficiency in the use of fossil fuels while also making transport available to

those who cannot afford to run a car. However, the success of such a strategy depends

on the ability of transport planners to induce increasing numbers of private car users to

change their mode of travel during peak hours to public transport. This will minimise

highway congestion as the number of peak hour journeys increase over the years. Such

a result will only be achieved if the public transport service provided is clean,

comfortable, regular and affordable.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highways_in_the_Philippines

Traffic and Highway Engineering - Nicholas J. Garber and Lester A. Hoel

Highway Engineering Handbook – Roger L. Brockenbrough and Kenneth J.

Boedecker Jr.

Highway Engineering – Martin Rogers