THE SECTIONAL LAY-OUT OF MULTIPLE-LANE HIGHWAYS

NINETY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE STATE HIGHWAY MILEAGE IN THIS COUNTRY IS OF THE PRIMARY TWO-LANE TYPE IN WHICH THE TRENDS IN CONSTRUCTION INDICATE A PROGRESSIVE WIDENING OF ROADBED SURFACES AND SHOULDERS, THE FLATTENING OF CROWNS AND OF SLOPES OF SHOULDERS AND GUTTERS, AS WELL AS THE FLATTENING AND ROUNDING OF CUT AND FILL SLOPES AND INCREASING RIGHT-OF-WAY WIDTHS. THESE TRENDS INCLUDE A GROWING EMPHASIS PLACED ON THE LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHWAYS. THE REAMINING 5 PERCENT OF IMPORTANT IMPROVED HIGHWAY MILEAGE IS OF THE MULTIPLE-LANE TYPE, WHICH MAY BE EITHER UNDIVIDED OR DIVIDED IN SECTIONAL LAYOUT. THE UNDIVIDED HIGHWAY TYPES OF 3-LANE AND OF FOUR OR MORE LANES ARE COMPARED WITH THE DIVIDED HIGHWAY TYPE OF FOUR OR MORE LANES. THREE REPRESENTATIVE CONSTRUCTON PERIODS ARE USED: 1932, 1934 AND 1936. THE PROJECTED TRENDS INTO 1938 AND THE 1940'S FURNISH A COMPOSITE PICTURE OF CURRENT TENDENCIES IN THE SECTIONAL LAY-OUT OF TOMORROW'S MULTIPLE-LANE HIGHWAYS. THE DATA ARE PRESENTED IN CONVENIENT GRAPHIC FORM RELATIVE TO THE TYPES AND WIDTHS OF MEDIAN STRIPS, THE WIDTHS OF TRAFFIC LANES AND OF SHOULDERS, GRADED ROADBED WIDTHS AND RIGH-OF-WAY WIDTHS. FLUSH-TYPES AND RAISED-TYPES OF MEDIAN STRIPS, TOGETHER WITH TYPES OF EDGINGS OR CURBS USED AND THE FINISH-SURFACE TREATMENT OF THE MEDIAN STRIPS ARE ANALYZED AND COMPARED. THE FACTS PRESENTED ARE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF MULTIPLE-LANE PROJECTS SUBMITTED BY THE VARIOUS STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS SINCE 1930 AND HAVE NO REFERENCE TO THE MILEAGE CONSTRUCTED. THE INFORMATION ON THE DIVIDED HIGHWAY TYPE MAY BE HELPFUL AS A REFERENCE GUIDE IN HIGHWAY DESIGN. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/18/18Part1-015.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 18, Pt 1, PP 190-203, 1J FIG, 1 TAB; part of Report of Joint Committee on Roadside Development of the American Association of State Highway Officials and the Highway Research Board. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Simonson, W H
  • Conner, C N
• Publication Date: 1939

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. November 28-December 2, 1938. Part I
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 18
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway design; Layout; Multilane highways; Road construction; State highways
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00203494
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 1 1971 12:00AM