Development of Consistency Evaluation Criteria for Indian Two-Lane Rural Highways

Maintaining consistency in the design of highway geometry is an effective method in controlling road crashes from the highway-engineer’s point of view. Among the various methods available to measure the consistency of geometry, viz., operating speed, driver workload, alignment index, and vehicle stability, alignment index is a method that is highly suitable for a developing country like India where financial resource is always a concern. It is an index used for quantifying how well the alignment features such as radius, curve length, and rate of change of gradient are coordinated with the overall alignment of the highway section. The particular measure does not require any additional data collection rather than the plan and profile of the highway. Had any criteria exist, with minimum investment, it will be possible to evaluate the consistency and subsequently safety. This paper develops a procedure for evaluating two-lane rural highway consistency and safety for Indian road conditions through alignment index. Highway geometry and crash data were made use of, and it was found that average radius and average curve length can be considered as the good alignment indices. Based on the crash data, criteria were developed for evaluating Indian two-lane rural highways. By using the criteria proposed in the work, planners, designers, and road safety auditors can evaluate the geometric design of a highway section as consistent or not. The output of the work further assists in selection of a plan/design among various alternatives, in prioritization of rehabilitation works and in implementation of road safety management measures.

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  • English

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  • Accession Number: 01901426
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 9789813290419
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Dec 5 2023 4:50PM