HIGHWAY DESIGN

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CHAPTER ONE
HIGHWAY ROUTE SURVEYS AND LOCATIONS
1-1Highway Alignment
The overall quality and appearance of a road will be determined by the
quality of alignment design (horizontal and vertical) and its relationship to
the surrounding environment.
# The position or the layout of the centre line of the highway on the ground
is called the alignment. The two types of alignments are horizontal and
vertical.

Horizontal alignment is layout of the road on a horizontal plane and consists

of straight paths and curves
Vertical alignment is layout of the road on a vertical plane and consists of
grades and curves
A new road should be properly aligned because improper alignment of a
road facility implies capital loss initially in construction as well as loss in
costs of maintenance and vehicle operation. Once the road is aligned and
constructed, it is not easy to change the alignment due to increase in cost of
adjoining land and construction of costly structures by the roadside.
An ideal alignment between two terminals should be
 Short
 It is desirable to have a shortest path between two terminals.A straight
alignment would be the shortest, though there may be several practical
considerations which would cause a deviation from the shortest path
 Easy
 Easy for construction
 Easy to maintain
 Easy for operation with easy grades and curves
 Economical

 This refers to the total cost of construction, maintenance and

operation. All these factors should be given consideration
before working of the economics of each alignment.
 Safe
 Safe enough for construction and maintenance from the view
point of stability of natural slopes, embankments, cut slopes,
and foundations
 Safe for traffic operations with ease geometric features such as
sharpness of curves, grades, side slopes etc.

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Factors Controlling Highway Alignment

The factors controlling a highway alignment include-
• Obligatory Points
i) Points through which the alignment is to pass
 Chosen Bridge Site, Intermediate town to be accessed between
the termini, a mountain pass, etc.
ii) Points which should be avoided
 Areas requiring costly structures, highly developed expensive
areas, marshes and low lying lands subject to flooding, hilly
terrain where there is a possibility of landslides, etc.
– The alignment should suit the traffic requirements
• Traffic
– The alignment should suit the traffic requirements. Origin and
destination study should be carried in the area and the desire line for
the new road to be aligned should keep in view the traffic flow pattern
and future trend.
– Present and future travel patterns should be observed & forecasted
• Geometric Constraints
– Design factors such as max. Gradient, minimum radius of curve,
minimum available sight distance, maximum allowable super-
elevation, etc. should be within the limits of allowable design values
which are governed by the expected traffic speed
• Economy
– Total transportation cost including initial construction cost,
maintenance cost, and operation cost
• Example:
– Deep cuttings, high embankments, no of bridges that need to be
constructed, etc. increases the initial cost of construction.
• Other considerations
–Drainage considerations
–Hydrological factors
–Political considerations
–Monotony
Special considerations on Hilly Roads
• Slope Stability
– A common problem in hill roads is landslide. Special care should be
taken to choose the side that is more stable
• Drainage

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– Numerous hill-side drains to adequately drain the water across the

road should be provided
– But, attempts should be made to align the road where the number of
cross-drainage structures are minimized
• Geometry
– Different standards of grades, curves, sight distances, speeds and
other related features are followed in hill roads
• Resisting Length
-The resisting length of a road may be calculated from the total work to be
done to more loads along the route taking the horizontal length, the
actual difference in levels between two stations and the sum of in effective
rise and fall in excess of floating gradient. In brief, the resisting length of
alignment should be kept as low as possible.
1.2 Route Location Surveys
Route surveying is of fundamental importance as it provides the basis for
many engineering design decision and subsequent cost estimates, and the
basis for cost and technically effective reproduction of the design at
construction stage.
Detailed survey requirement shall be prepared including, as a minimum, the
following aspects:
 Purpose of survey
 Features to be identified
 Time requirements (data collection time frame)
 Level of accuracy
 Data band width
 Datum’s and control points to be used
 Project environment description
 Statutory (government control mark and/or cadastral legal
requirements)
Other relevant aspects may include, land acquisition requirements,
environmental or sociological attributes, survey control availability or data
collection associated with road furniture/utility maintenance management.
Particular attention shall be required to conform to legal requirements in
access to government or private land and any requirement in relation to
engineering surveys where they may encompass the establishment of survey
marks and coordination of cadastral boundaries.
In a highway route survey, the following engineering surveys are conducted
to select the best route out of the alternatives
 Reconnaissance Surveys
 Preliminary Survey

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 Detailed (Location) Surveys

Reconnaissance Surveys
Road design, construction and maintenance require an approach depending
on terrain. The shortest road alignment is not necessary the easiest,
quickest or most economical option for construction and maintenance.
Frequently, topography, slope stability, flood hazards and erosion potential
are likely to be the most significant control in the choice of the most suitable
alignment and design of cross section.
Before commencing with selection of route corridors, the controlling
requirements of the route need to be defined. These may include the
following:
 What are the constraints in regard to the ending points of the road?
Must these be at existing junctions in villages or towns? Are such
junctions inadequate from standpoint of skew or right of way? Do
economic considerations such as amount of earthwork limit the
alignment?
 Through which village must the route pass? Must the route pass
directly through these villages, or can linking roads connect the
villages? If so, what are the implications to the villages in terms of lost
trade?
 If major rivers are to be crossed, what are the possible crossing
locations, given the constraints of topography and geology? What are
the economics of alternative bridge sites with corresponding road
geometries?
 What is the desired deign speed and design standard? How does this
standard fit the terrain in terms of geometric parameters such as
gradients, and horizontal and vertical curves?
• 1st phase of Reconnaissance: Desk Study
– Involves an examination of a relatively large area between terminal
points for the purpose of determining a broad corridors through
which a road alignment may pass.
Some of the data that may be required for the desk studies are obtained
from the following sources:
 Published literature covering a range of topics including road
constructions and maintenance case histories and geological,
economic and environmental reviews.
 Topographical maps
 Geological maps, agricultural soil maps and other natural resource
maps; and

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 Aerial photography
Probable Alignment is identified on the map by:
 Avoiding valleys, ponds, etc.;
 Avoiding river bends where bridges should not be located;
 Keeping in view of geometric standards (e.g. avoiding steep
topographies, etc)
• 2 phase of Reconnaissance: Field Study
nd

After preliminary office work, a site visit must be made to the road. Where
terrain constraints made such a visit problematic, a flight can be made over
the terrain and all potential routes can be directly examined from air.
– Involves inspection of each band (identified during the desk study) to
determine the most feasible route based on some basic criteria
– A survey party inspects a fairly broad stretch of land along the
proposed routes identified on the map during the 1st phase and
collects all relevant details not available on the map
– Some of the details include:
• Valley, ponds, lakes, marshy land, ridge, hills, permanent
structures, & other obstructions;
• Gradient, length of gradient, and radius of curves;
• Number & types of cross-drainage structures, and maximum flood
level;
• Soil types from field identification;
• Sources of construction materials, water and location stone quarries;
• Geological formation, type of rock, depth of strata, seepage flow, etc
to identify stable sides of a hill
– A rapid field study of the area, especially, when it is vast and the
terrain is difficult may be done by aerial survey.
# In general, during the reconnaissance survey, the following information
should be determined:
 Terrain classification
 The location of the topography constraints, such as cliffs, gorges,
ravines, rock out crops, and any other features.
 Slope steepness and limiting slope angles identified from natural and
artificial slopes (cutting for paths, agricultural terraces and existing
roads in the region);
 Slope stability and the location of pre-existing landslides;
 Rock types, geological structures, deep orientations, rock strength
and rip ability;
 Percentage of rock in excavation;

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 Material sources, presence and distribution;

 Water sources;
 Soil type and depth (a simple classification between residual soil and
colluviums is useful at this stage);
 Soil erosion and erodibility;
 Slope drainage and ground water conditions;
 Drainage stability and location of shifting channels and bank erosion;
 Land use and its likely effect on drainage, especially through
irrigation;
 Likely foundation condition for major structures;
 Approximate bridge spans and the size and frequency of culverts;
 Flood level and river training/protection requirements;
 Environmental considerations, including forest resources, land use
impacts and socio-economic considerations;
 Possibility of using any existing road alignments including local
realignment;
 Information on the physical accessibility to bridge sites and the
proposed corridors, including the geomorphology of drainage basins,
soil characteristics, slope, vegetation’s, erosion and scouring.
From the details collected during the reconnaissance survey the proposed
alignments are weighted or evaluated against the basic criteria to determine
the most feasible one.
Criteria to evaluate the most feasible routes
What are the relative lengths of the alternatives? Normally the shortest
distance is preferable.
 What are the average and mean gradients of the alternatives?
Normally the least severe grade alternative is preferred. However, the
relation of minimum grade may be the inverse to the shortest length
route.
 Which alternative more closely follows an existing road or track?
This makes survey and construction easier and may indicate the route
of least earthworks.
 Which alternative follows the least severe terrain type? An alignment
through, for instance, rolling terrain should be less costly to
construct, have lower vehicle operating costs and maintenance costs,
and less severe horizontal curves than a route through mountainous
terrain.
 Which route remains for a longer period on the crest of the terrain?
Such an alignment minimizes the need for drainage structures.

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 Which alignment minimizes the need for land acquisition? Which

alignment minimizes the need to demolish buildings and houses?
 What is the total number of bridges required for each alternative?
What is the total aggregate length of these bridges?
 Which route results in the least environmental disturbance to the
surrounding area?
 Which route has the least overall project cost, including design,
construction, maintenance and operating costs?
After evaluating the alternative routes proposed, one or more routes will
be recommended. If more than one routes passed the reconnaissance
survey detail study is made to choose one best route in the preliminary
survey.
Preliminary Surveys
•The preliminary survey is carried out to collect all the physical information
which is necessary in connection with road alignment. It consists of running
an accurate traverse line along the routes already recommended as a result
of reconnaissance survey in order to obtain sufficient data for final location
• Objectives
– To survey the various alternative alignment proposed after
reconnaissance and collect necessary data (topography, drainage, soil,
etc.) on alternate alignments
– To estimate quantity of earthwork, material, of different alternatives
– To compare alternate alignments
– To finalize the best alignment from all considerations
• The preliminary survey may be carried out by one of the following two
methods:
– Modern: rapid approach by Arial survey taking the required Arial
photographs and using photo-interpretation techniques for obtaining
the necessary topographic and other maps including details of soils
and geology. This is done for strip of land along the centerline.
– Conventional: a survey part carries out surveys using the require
field equipment taking measurements, collecting topographical and
other data and carrying out soil survey

Conventional Method
 Establishing primary Traverse following the line recommended in the
reconnaissance survey
 Record all topographical features

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 Levelling work: to determine the Centre Line, Profile & Typical Cross-
sections (just sufficient to approximate earthwork)
 Hydrological Data: are collected to estimate type, number, & size of
cross-drainage structures, and the grade line is decided based on the
hydrological and drainage data
 Soil Survey: is an essential part of the preliminary survey as a
suitability of proposed alignment is to be finally decided based on the
soil survey data. The soil survey at this stage helps to work out details
of earthwork, slopes, suitability of materials, sub-soil and surface
drainage requirements, pavement type and approximate thickness
requirements
# after collecting the data from the preliminary survey various alternate
proposal of the alignment, a comparative study is made. The points
considered include economy and all other requirements of road alignment.
Finally the most suitable alignments are selected from the various
alternatives.
Final Location Survey
Purpose
The purpose of final location survey is to fix the center line of the
selected alignment in the field and to collect additional data for the design
and preparation of working drawing. If the preliminary survey has been
done properly, the data collection work during the final alignment survey
will be limited.
Detailed ground survey along the length of the proposed road should use
the most up-to-date equipment such as total stations or GPS to examine the
road alignment and cross sections and any bridge sites that are considered
necessary to complete the detailed design and estimation of quantities.

Tasks during Final Location Survey

The following are the general surveying works that will be accomplished
during final location surveys:
•Pegging the centre line: The center line is pegged with reference to the
preliminary traverse if conventional surveying methods were used in the
preliminary survey or with reference to the control points if Arial survey
methods were used. Usually done at stations established at 30m intervals
with reference to preliminary traverse/ base line (if used earlier).
•Centre-line Levelling: Profiles are taken along the center line at each
station and all intermediate point where there is any significant change in
slope to obtain the representative profile of the ground.

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•Cross-section Levelling: Cross section levelling should be taken to the

required width at each station and points of significant change in slope of
ground.
•Intersecting Roads: The direction with respect to the pegging centerline of
all intersecting roads should be measured. Profile and cross-section of the
intersecting roads should be taken for some distance on both sides.
•Ditches and Streams: A highway route may cross permanent and
intermittent streams and ditches. During the final location surveying, detail
surveying information should be taken including profiles and cross section
levelling. This helps for the location and construction of bridges, culverts
and ditches.
Drawings & Reports
• The data, after the necessary investigation and final location survey, is
sent to the design office to be used for
– Geometric design, pavement design, and design of drainage and other
structures, preparation of drawings, reports, and specifications
• A complete set of drawings for a road design includes:
 Site plan of proposed alignment
 Detailed Plan & Profile
 Cross-sections for Earth work
 Typical Roadway sections at selected locations (e.g. junctions)
 A mass-haul diagram
 Construction details of structures like bridges, culverts,

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CHAPTER TWO
2) DESIGN CONTROLS AND CRITERIA
The elements of design are influenced by a wide variety of design controls,
engineering criteria, and project specific objectives which include
 Functional classification of the road
 Design traffic volume and composition
 Nature of terrain
 Design speed
 Density and character of adjoining land use
 Economic & Environmental Considerations (right of way impact and cost)
 Road users characteristics
 Vehicle size and performance
 Level of service to be provided
 Available fund
 Safety, etc.
All these factors usually vary along a route of some length; the design
does not have to be constant for the whole length of the road. On the
contrary, changes in the design are usually required in order to obtain
proper correlation between the road layout and the above factors, whilst
maintaining construction cost at realistic levels.
The following text describes some of the factors affecting design controls and
criteria.
2.1 Highway Functional Classification (Road Hierarchy)
Objectives in setting a hierarchy
 To obtain best use of an existing network
 To ensure that each type of traffic is using the most appropriate route
 To minimize the risk to users and to the natural built environment
 To ensure better management, maintenance regimes and design policies
 To ensure funding for routes is targeted appropriately
Roads are therefore classified according to their respective functions in
terms of the character of the services they are providing.
The most frequently used functional classification includes
 Principal arterial
 Minor arterial
 Major collectors
 Minor collectors
 Local roads ( streets)
ERA with corresponding classification

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 Trunk roads(class1)
 Link roads(class2)
 Access road(class3)
 Collector roads (class4)
 Feeder roads(class5)

I. Trunk Roads
Are roads linking the capital city with centers of international importance
and inter boundaries. They carry present AADT ≥1000, although they can
have volumes as low as 100 AADT. They are numbered with an “A “prefix.
An example is Addis –Gondar road (A3).
II. Link Roads
Are roads linking centers of national importance or international importance
such as principal towns and urban centers. They carry 400- 1000, 1st year
AADT although the values can range from 50- 1000AADT. They are
numbered with a "B" prefix. An example of a typical link road is the
Woldiya-Debre Tabor-Woreta Road (B22), which links, for instance, Woldiya
on Road A2 with Bahir Dar of Road A3.
III. Access Roads
Are roads that link centers of provincial importance and 1st year AADT
ranges between 30-1000.they are numbered with a "C" prefix.
IV. Collector roads
Roads linking locally important centers to each other, to a more important
center, or to higher class roads must be linked by a collector road. First year
AADTs are between 25-400. They are numbered with a "D" prefix.
V. Feeder roads
Any road link to a minor center such as market and local locations is served
by a feeder road. First year AADTs are between 0-100. They are numbered
with an "E" prefix.
Roads of the highest classes, trunk and link roads have, as their major function to
provide mobility, while the primary function of lower class roads is to provide access. The
roads of intermediate classes have, for all practical purposes, to provide both mobility and
access.

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2.2 NATURE OF TERRAIN

The geometric design elements of a road depend on the transverse terrain
through which the road passes. Transverse terrain properties are
categorized into four classes as follows:
FLAT: - Flat or gently rolling country, which offers few obstacles to the
construction of a road, having continuously unrestricted horizontal and
vertical alignment (the transverse terrain slope is up to 5 percent).
ROLLING: - Rolling, hilly or foothill country where the slopes generally rise
and fall moderately and where occasional steep slopes are encountered,
resulting in some restrictions in alignment (transverse terrain slope vary
from5%-25%).
MOUNTAINOUS: - Rugged, hilly and mountainous country and river
gorges. This class of terrain imposes definite restrictions on the standard of
alignment obtainable and often involves long steep grades and limited sight
distance. (Transverse terrain slope from 25 percent to 50 percent).
ESCARPMENT: Escarpment include situations where switchback roadway
sections are used or side hill transverse sections which cause considerable
earthwork quantities, with transverse terrain slope in excess of 50 percent.
In general, construction costs will be greater as the terrain becomes more difficult and
higher standards will become less justifiable or achievable in such situations than for roads
in either flat or rolling terrain. Drivers accept lower standards in such conditions and
therefore adjust their driving accordingly, so minimizing accident risk. Design speed will
therefore vary with transverse terrain.

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Table 2-1: Design Standards vs. Road Classification and AADT

Road Functional Design Design Traffic Surface Width (m) Design Speed (km/hr) Urba
Classification Standard Flow (AADT)* Type n/Peri
Carriagewa Shoulder Flat Rolling Mountainous Escarpme -
y nt Urba
n

DS1 10000–**15000 Paved ***

Dual 2 x See T.4-2 120 100 85 70 50
7.3

DS2 5000–10000 Paved 7.3 See T.4-2 120 100 85 70 50

T
R
U
DS3 1000–5000 Paved 7.0 See T.4-2 100 85 70 60 50
N
L K
M I
A N DS4 200–1000 Paved 6.7 See T.4-2 85 70 60 50 50
I K
N
DS5 100– 200 Unpaved 7.0 See T.4-2 70 60 50 40 50
C
O A
L C DS6 50–100 Unpaved 6.0 See T.4-2 60 50 40 30 50
E C
C E
T S DS7 30–75 Unpaved 4.0 See T.4-2 60 50 40 30 50
F O S
E R
E S
DS8 25–50 Unpaved 4.0 See T.4-2 60 50 40 30 50
D
E
R
DS9 0–25 Unpaved 4.0 See T.4-2 60 40 30 20 40

DS10 0–15 Unpaved 3.3 See T.4-2 60 40 30 20 40

* The design two-way traffic flow is recommended to be not more than one Design Standard step in excess of the first year AADT
(excluding DS7). ** For traffic volume more than 15000 a different design approach should be followed. *** The width of each lane is
3.65m

2.3 DESIGN TRAFFIC

A further factor influencing the development of road design standards, and
in particular design speed, is the volume and composition of traffic. The
design of the road should be based in part on factual traffic volumes. Traffic
data indicates the service for which the road is being planned and directly
affects the geometric elements such as width, alignment, etc. Traffic data for
a road or section of road, including traffic trends, is generally available in
terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT).

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The functional hierarchy is such that traffic aggregates as it moves from

feeder to main collector to link then to the trunk roads. However, the actual
flows will vary from region to region and it is important that the designation
of a road by functional type should not give rise to over-design for the traffic
levels actually encountered.
Important points regarding traffic composition and volume.
 Traffic volume: – in terms of AADT, ADT, PHV, DHV
 Directional distribution: – the percentage of traffic volume flowing in each
direction
 Traffic composition – the percentage of different types of vehicles in the
traffic stream different types of vehicles are converted into passenger car
unit (pcu) to design a road width
 Traffic projection – using the design period of a road (5-20 years) a
reliable traffic projection should be made considering the following
elements

2.4 TRAFFIC CAPACITY/ROAD CAPACITY/

Traffic capacity of a road facility is the number of vehicles passing at a point
per unit time under a given prevailing conditions.
The maximum traffic flow occurs when the speed falls down to nearly a half
of the free-flow speed, And Hence it is not desirable to design the road
facility for maximum capacity conditions.
Factors affecting traffic capacity include:
 Roadway factors – geometric characteristics such as number of
lanes, lane width, shoulder width, horizontal and vertical
alignments, lateral and vertical clearances, design speed,
pavement surface conditions etc.
 Traffic factors – composition of traffic, lane distribution, variation
in traffic flow, traffic interruptions, etc.
 Traffic control conditions – traffic signs, traffic signals, traffic
regulation, etc.

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Without the consideration of these factors, early attempts were made to

determine capacity using
1000V
C
d

Where c= capacity (vehicle/hr/lane)

V= speed in km/hr
d=average headway distance (m).
The value of d can be determined from actual observations or can be
calculated from consideration of perception breaking
L

Car1 Car2

d
distance.
Given by the formula
d=L+0.278Vt +V2/254f =(L+SSD)

2.5 DESIGN SPEED

Design speed is the max safe speed selected for designing specific section of
road Considering the terrain, land use, classification of the road, etc.
It is the speed of a design vehicle in certain portion of the road that most of
the drivers are using. It is used as an index, which links road function,
traffic flow, and terrain to the design parameters of sight distance and
curvature to ensure that a driver is presented with a reasonably consistent
speed environment. In practice, most roads will only be constrained to
minimum parameter values over short sections or on specific geometric
elements.
Design elements such as lane and shoulder widths, horizontal radius, super
elevation, sight distance, and gradient are directly related to, and vary, with
design speed. Thus, all of the geometric design parameters of a road are
directly related to the selected design speed.
(i) Drivers on long-distance journeys are able to travel at higher speeds
than local traffic.

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(ii) On local roads whose major function is to provide access, high

speeds are undesirable.
(iii) Drivers usually adjust their speeds to physical limitations and
prevailing traffic conditions. Where a difficult location is obvious to
the driver, he is more apt to accept a lower speed of operation.
(iv) Economic considerations (road user savings vs. construction costs)
may justify a higher design speed for a road carrying large volumes
of traffic than for a less heavily trafficked road in similar topography.
(v) Change in design speed, if required due to a change in terrain class,
should not be affected abruptly, but over sufficient distances to
enable drivers to change speed gradually. The change in design
speed should not be greater than one design speed step, and the
section with the lower geometric standards should be long enough to
be clearly recognizable by drivers (not, for example, just one single
curve).

(vi) It is often the case that the physical terrain changes two steps, i.e.-
from mountainous to flat terrain. Where possible in such
circumstances, a transition section of road shall be provided with
limiting parameters equivalent to the rolling terrain type. Where this
is not possible, i.e.- a Departure from Standards, special attention
shall be given to the application of warning signs and/or rumble
strips to alert the driver to the changing conditions.

It is important to note that the design of a road in accordance with a chosen

design speed should ensure a safe design. The various design elements have
to be combined in a balanced way, avoiding the application of minimum
values for one or a few of the elements at a particular location when the
other elements are considerably above the minimum requirements.
The speed that a driver adopts on a road depends on:
 Physical characteristics of the road and its surroundings
 Weather conditions of the area
 Presence of other vehicles and the nature of these vehicles, and
 Speed limitations placed upon the vehicles either by law or by mechanical
devices fitted in vehicles

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2.6 Design Vehicle

Both the physical characteristics and turning capabilities of vehicles are
controls in geometric design. Vehicle characteristics and dimensions
affecting design include power to weight ratio, minimum turning radius and
travel path during a turn, and vehicle height and width. The road elements
affected include the selection of maximum gradient, lane width, horizontal
curve widening, and junction design.
Note: The present vehicle fleet in Ethiopia includes a high number of four-
wheel drive utility vehicles and overloaded trucks. Until information that is
more detailed becomes available regarding the makeup of the vehicle fleet in
Ethiopia, the four design vehicles indicated in Table 5-3 should be used in
the control o1f geometric design:

Table2-2: Design Vehicle Dimensions and Characteristics

Design Vehicle Design Overall (m) Overhang Wheelbase Min.

Vehicle (m) (m) Design
Designation Height Width Length Front Rear Turning
Radius (m)
4x4 Utility Vehicle DV1 1.3 2.1 5.8 0.9 1.5 3.4 7.3
Single Unit Truck DV2 4.1 2.6 11.0 1.5 3.0 6.5 12.8
Single Unit Bus DV3 4.1 2.6 12.1 2.1 2.4 7.6 12.8
Semi-Trailer DV4 4.1 2.6 15.2 1.2 1.8 4.8+8.4= 13.7
Combination 13.2

The maximum turning path for a single unit truck, a single unit bus, and a semi-trailer
combination are shown in Figures 5-1 through 5-3, respectively.

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Figure 2-1: Dimensions and Turning Radius Path for Single Unit Bus (DV3)

2.7 Density and Character of Adjoining Land Use

For urban or peri-urban conditions, the design speed selection is influenced
by other factors. In such areas, speed controls are frequently included.
Traffic speeds are in fact influenced by the presence of other vehicles
traveling in and across the through lanes, physical and right-of-way
constraints, together with pedestrian and safety considerations. However, of
note is the fact that the present speed limit through villages is 30 km/h. It
is possible that this limit will be increased in the future. A design speed
through peri-urban or urban areas of 50 km/h shall be used; although such
segments are posted presently at 30 km/h. Legal speed limits should not
necessarily be used as design parameters.

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