Evolution of Highways

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History of Highways
• The early conception of a road was a path or track

on which a foot – passenger could travel
• Men travelled by Compass or by stars or by their

own shadow.
• As commerce increased, the tracks were often

flattened or widened to accommodate human and
animal traffic.
• Bridges of logs of wood were constructed.

Dr. Rizwan Memon 2
Dr. Rizwan Memon 3
◼ The first vehicles is believed to have been the
travois, a frame used to drag loads
Dr. Rizwan Memon 4

family using a horse-drawn travois, 1890
Dr. Rizwan Memon 5

• Wheels appear to have been developed in ancient
Sumer in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC.
• Street paving has been found from the first
human settlements around 4000 BC in cities of the
Indus Valley Civilization on the Indian
subcontinent, such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
• The first simple two-wheel carts, apparently
developed from travois, appear to have been used
in Mesopotamia and northern Iran in about 3000
BC.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 6

◼ Wheeled-transport created the need for
better roads.
◼ Generally natural materials cannot be both
soft enough to form well-graded surfaces
and strong enough to bear wheeled
vehicles, especially when wet.
◼ In urban areas it began to be worthwhile to
build stone-paved streets and, in fact, the
first paved streets appear to have been
built in 4000 BC.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 7
◼ Corduroy roads were built in Glastonbury,
England in 3300 BC and brick-paved roads
were built in the Indus Valley Civilization
on the Indian subcontinent from around
the same time.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 8

◼ In 500 BC, extensive road system were developed
for Persia (Iran), including the famous Royal Road
which was one of the finest highways of its time.
The road was used even after the Roman times.
◼ Only during the period of Roman Empire, roads

were constructed in large scale and the earliest
construction techniques known are those of the
Roman Roads.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 9

◼ With the advent of the Roman Empire, there was a
need for armies to be able to travel quickly from
one area to another, and
◼ the roads that existed were often muddy, which

greatly delayed the movement of large masses of
troops.
◼ The Roman roads used deep roadbeds of crushed

stone as an underlying layer to ensure that they
kept dry, as the water would flow out from the
crushed stone, instead of becoming mud in clay
soils.
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New construction methods in the 18th
and 19th centuries
◼ Roman roads deteriorated because of lack of

resources and skills to maintain them
◼ As states developed and became richer, new roads
and bridges began to be built, often based on
Roman designs.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 11

◼ After the decline and fall of hr Roman Empire,
road building, alone practically ceased for a period
of 100 years.
◼ The art of road building was revived in Europe in

the late 18th century.
◼ Tresaguet, a French engineer, advocated a method

of road construction utilizing a broken-stone base
covered with smaller stones.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 12

◼ At about same time in England, two Scotish
engineers, Thomas Telford and John L. McAdam,
developed similar type of construction.
◼ Telford urged the use of large pieces of ledge

stone to form a base smaller stones for the
wearing surface
◼ McAdam advocated the use of smaller broken

stone throughout, and is still in extensive use.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 13

◼ With the advent of motor vehicles in considerable
numbers, in 1904, an enormous demand existed for
improved highways, not only for form to market
roads but also for through routes connecting the
metropolitan areas.
◼ By 1917, most states established some sort of

highway agency, to take the responsibility for the
construction and maintenance of the principal
state routes.
Dr. Rizwan Memon 14

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Fair Use Notice

The material used in this presentation i.e., pictures/graphs/text, etc. is solely

• The early conception of a road was a path or track

• Men travelled by Compass or by stars or by their

• As commerce increased, the tracks were often

• Bridges of logs of wood were constructed.

Dr. Rizwan Memon 4

Dr. Rizwan Memon 5

Dr. Rizwan Memon 6

Dr. Rizwan Memon 8

◼ Only during the period of Roman Empire, roads

Dr. Rizwan Memon 9

◼ the roads that existed were often muddy, which

◼ The Roman roads used deep roadbeds of crushed

◼ Roman roads deteriorated because of lack of

Dr. Rizwan Memon 11

◼ The art of road building was revived in Europe in

◼ Tresaguet, a French engineer, advocated a method

Dr. Rizwan Memon 12

◼ Telford urged the use of large pieces of ledge

◼ McAdam advocated the use of smaller broken

Dr. Rizwan Memon 13

◼ By 1917, most states established some sort of

Dr. Rizwan Memon 14

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