I. Introduction to Transportation Engineering
Describe the purpose of transportation in society; Know the general role of a transportation engineering; Know the approximate size of the transportation industry in economic terms; List some typical ways for categorizing transportation systems; Describe the evolution of urban transporation technology; Define the terms rapid transit, fixed-guideway, heavy rail, light rail, exclusive ROW and demand responsive systems; Explain how the transportation type affect urban landuse pattern; Describe the characteristics of walking, transit and automobile cities; Explain how and why the pattern around a tram system differ from that around a train; Explain the significance of the 30 minute limit for commuting; Outline the constraints of an automobile city; Outline the advantages of the automobile as a transportation mode; Describe the features of zoning which helps to promote sprawl.
II. Topography and Earthwork
Describe the characteristics of contours; identify features (valleys, ridges, etc.) on a topographic map; know the conventions used for representing the grade of features such as slopes, road crown, road longitudinal profile; pros and cons of the checkerboard versus control point method of construction contour maps; know how to construct contour maps from survey data; explain the term ‘grading plan’; construct grading plan for a project; determine earthwork volumes by method of equal depth contours; determine earthwork volumes by method of cross-section; select best method of determining earthwork volume for a given type of project; explain significance of swell and shrink for earthwork volume calculation; explain how the pavement structure affect earthwork volume calculations.
III. Hydrology
Describe the purpose of the ‘rational method’; what are the basic assumptions of the rational method; know how to use the rational method formula; know what type of surface will have higher runoff coefficient and why; describe in general terms the factors that affect the runoff coefficient; understand the meaning of the term ‘time of concentration’; know how to get from the site plan the information needed for determining ‘time of concentration’; explain why ‘time of concentration’ is the time used to get the design intensity of the storm; what is the significance of the ‘return period’ and how this value is obtained; what is the IDF curve and how is it obtained; know how to get the rainfall intensity from the IDF curve; know how to delineate the drainage area on the site plan.
IV. Factors affecting Highway Design
Road Classification
Explain the purpose or need for road classification in highway design: Explain the difference among Arterials, Collectors and Local roads: Explain in general terms the difference between the AASHTO method of classification and the German method.
Vehicles
List the characteristics of vehicles that are important for highway design: Describe the design vehicle classification method used for highway design (what characteristics are given for each vehicle, is the design vehicle the average vehicle in class, etc): Know how to determine minimum corner radius from the turning path template.
Driver Characteristics
Discuss driver characteristics that affect highway design: Explain the three sub-tasks of driving: Describe the relationship between these sub-tasks and safety: Explain in terms of these sub-tasks possible features of a stressful driving situation: Give examples of how knowledge of these factors influence highway design.
Traffic
Define AADT, DHV and DDHV: Know the method used to estimate DHV from AADT: Describe how and why the 30HV is used for highway: Explain why we need to characterize the traffic composition for highway design: Explain how directional distribution affect the size of highway needed: Define DSV: Explain how the DSV is obtained: Describe some of the factors which affect the DSV: Explain how DHV and DSV is used in the design: Explain the concept of design speed (what is it and why it is needed): What is running speed and how is it related to design speed.
Photographic credit - Norman Garrick (Jul 98, San Francisco)
