jou rnal of the institution of highway engineers

Transcription

jou rnal of the institution of highway engineers
JOU RNAL OF THE INSTITUTION OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERS
April 1977
Vol XX1V No.4
In this issue:
Roads for People
MOSS - Modelling Systems
Road Surfaces in Hot Weather
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Stothert & PItt
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PO Box 25, Bath BA2 3DJ. Engl~nd Telephone
Stothert 8< Pitt Limlted
~ath (0225) 314400
JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERS
and The Highway and Traffic Technicians Association
Number 4
VOLUME XXIV
APRIL 19n
FRONT COVER STORY
CONTENTS
"Roads for People" is the title 01 the
first Paper in this issue of the Jou mal.
In it the author emphasises the need to
design with a view to enhancing the
total environment, and draws attention
to recent criticism 01 the residential
access road designers.
Two examples of good design from Millers Court, Chiswick. london
- are used as Iront cover illustrations.
The top photograph shows how the
motorist at the entrance to this road is
slowed down by a rough road surface
and a "sleeping policeman". The brick
wall contains the road and is used to
accentuate its line. The view 01 the
parked cars on the right is screened by
the hedge.
The hedge, in the bottom picture. ;s
used as a structural element to contain
the parking space. The line of the road
is terminated by the raised planting box
and the broad traverse band of pavers
wh ich imply a pedestrian area.
The Institution
Institution
Highway
3
and the Future
4
news
and Traffic Technicians
9
news
Roads for People
J.M. McCluskey, BSc, MICE. MIStructE.
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AMIHE
MOSS - Modelling Systems
G.S. Craine, BSe, MICE, MIMunE, MIHE, J.M. Houlton,
MBCS and E. Malcomson, BSclEngl, MICE, MIHE
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MSc, OipTech,
Road Surfaces in Hot Weather
34
New plant, equipment
36
and materials
.President: T.O. Wilson, BSc. FICE, FIStructE, FIMunE, FIHE
Secretary: Miss P.A. Steel, SA
All editorial communications
should be addressed to The Editor, The Journal 01 the
Institution
ot Highway Engineers, 3 Lygon Place, Ebury Street, London SW1.
Telephone 01-730 5245-7. Membership subscriptions are dealt with by the Institution
and not by the publishers ..
The Highway Engineer is published monthly for the Institution of Highway Engineers by
Whitehall Press Limited and circulated to all members of the Institution and to members
of the Highway and Traffic Technicians Association. It is available on subscription (see
below!.
lABc11
The Institution (limited by guarantee) is responsible neither for the statements
for the opininns expressed in this journal.
made nor
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JOURNAL
Printed by Sparta Press (Blacklenl
Blackfen.Road, Sidcup, Kent.
Ltd.,
SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADVERTISING
Advertisement Manager: A. Brown, Whitehall Press Limited,
Maidstone, Kent. Tel: Maidstone (0622) 59841.
Earl House, Earl Street,
Subscriptions:
£12.00 a year (post paid); single copy £1.25
Subscription
Enquiries:
Subscription Department, Whitehall
lPE. Telephone: Maidstone 59841
(g
APRIL 1977
The Institution
of Highway
Engineers
Press Limited,
Earl House, Maidstone,
Kent ME14
1977
THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERS
INSTITUTION
OF CIVI L ENGINEERS
SOUTHWALESASSOCIATION
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A 2 DAY TRANSPORTATION
SEMINARVALUE FOR MONEY
A 2 day Transportation Seminar "Value for Money"
has been arranged at "The Hill" Residential College,
Abergavenny, Gwent on Thursday. 19th and Friday 20th
May. 1977.
PROGRAMME
Transportation in the Total Budget
Social Objectives and Urban Transport Policy
Government view on County Transport Expenditure
County view on Transport Expenditure
Benefits of Highway Expenditure
Benefits of Public Transport Expenditure
..
h ve a comprehensiverange
In the BarbicanFurn,Shlngc:~trebweall~eading manufacturers, on
f
of carpets, furniture and a lies Y
ve a wide range of
display in room settings. All .o,urShowrooms dhaManchester have
h
. addItion Bllsto l an
carpets on SOW-In
.
btained from any branch.
furniture showrooms. All goods can.~~~he manager-he will be
Just discuSSyour requlrem~nts Wb't t'lal stocks for immediate
We maintain su s an
.
pleased to heIp.
h
. he U K Full fitting service
delivery-free of charge-anyw ere In t
.,
for carpetsthroughoul the country,
Traffic Management and Restraint
Maintenance Expenditure
Land Use Implicati ons
Allocation of Resouces
Discussions.
Registration fee for the Seminar is £34.50 including
Accommodation for the nights of 18th and 19th May 1977,
preprints of papers, coffee, lunch and tea during the
Seminar, and the Seminar Dinner on Thursday evening.
For appl ication forms contact
Mr. T. J. Pasley. Department of Environment and Planning.
South Glamorgan County Council. Newport Road, Cardiff.
Tel: Cardiff (0222) 499022 Ext. 3203.
ABERDEEN:
11 Exchange St .• AD1 2NH, Tel: 54055/6
BIRMINGHAM:
164 Edmund St" B3 2HB. Tol: 021.236 5862
BOURNEMOUTH:
268 Old ChriSichurch Rd .. BH1 1 PH. Tol:21248
BRIGHTON:
2-5 North Road; BN11YA. Tol:66402
BRISTOL:
2-3 Royal London H.c .. Queen Charlotte 51" aSl 4EX, Tel: 28857
EXETER: 157 Fore SL EX4 3AT. Tel: 32019
FALMOUTH:
35 Killigrew SL, TR11 3PW, Tel: 313555
GLASGOW:
166 Howard St.. Gl 4HA. Tel: 041-221 3278
LEEDS: 12 Great George St .. LSl 3DW. Tol: 41451
LONDON:
100 Alder.gate St" EC2Y 8AE. Tel: 01-628 7020
MANCHESTER:
55-61 LeverSt.. MIl
DE. T.I:061.236
3687/B/9
NEWCASTLE-uponTYNE; 90-92 Pilgrim St .. NEI 6SG. Tel: 20321/21428
WESTCUFF.on.SEA:
495 London Rd .• 550 9LG. Tel: Southend 46569
/
Write. 'phone Or call for details to Dept, IHE
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THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
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The Institution and the
Futu're
The Debate
Council have recently been debating the
image of the Institution and its role in the
years ahead, and a discussion paper has
been sent to each of the Branches to
enableyou to become pan of this debate
so that we each understand what is
happening and have a say in what should
be done in the years ahead.
Should everything be left as it is?
Has nothing changed to alter the
Institution's potential in the future?
An Institution based on a particular
kind of employment is sensitive to the
fonunes of the employment and chenges
in administrative structures. We will do
well to recall that a major growth in
Institution membership reflected the
growth in the road programme - and the
road programme as such is in slow
decline..
By answering these questions and
others we can and must make our minds
clear as to what we will leave our
successors to inherit. Things do not
happen suddenly and it will all take time
so you are being asked to think ebout the
Institution's future and not simply leave it
all to someone else Today was
Tomorrow, Yesterday.
The Past
. Our founding fathers. were far-sighted
when they laid down the principles upon
which the Institution was set up, and they
sought to marry all the interests associated with .highways under one institutional umbrella and included in its
membership those responsible for the
design and maintenanceof highways and
their appunenances, the bflilders of
highways and the sp6cialistswho advised
upon or manufactured items required by
the highways industry. A unique convocation which has been so successful
that we are today the beneficiariesof their
foresight.
A decade or so ago the problems of
movement were seen to be due to an
inadequate roads network and the
solution was to develop a purposeful,
rational road system. As a corollary to
such an improved network, the quality of
life was anhanced by saving areas which
ware being damaged or destroyed by the
effects of traffic.
The highway engineer was well
equipped to appreciate, present and
implement such a national and local need
and by his effortS techniques of design,
construction end maintenance were
developedas an answer to the problems.
But the cure for one ill is not
necessarilythe cure for all ills and the side
effacts of a successful highway strategy
are being felt by the reactions of those
who did not wholly agree with what has
been done and so the interests of the
APRIL 1977
highway engineer have broadened again
to take account of the wider implications
of environment end transpon planning or
transponation. The aim should be to
reflect the work of the current membership who are in the business of advising
decision makers on land eccessibility
investment, including the provision of
interfaces with existing sYstems.
The Future
It is these realisations of the wider
implications et the conceptual stage in
plenning for transpon which requires us
all in the Institution to think carefully end
cautiously about the future.
If the Institution is to serve the best
interests of its membership can it take a
back seat and be unconcerned about the
initial stages of planning for transpon or
should we be the proper home and forum
for debate for those. who think that
planning for transport is a thoroughly
professional matter in which we should
seek to serve those engaged in the whole
of this field from conception to operation?
The task is undoubtedly a broad one
bringing in skills of a high degree but
engineered to .produce a workable
solution.
So it is a challenge, but more than this,
this Institution already is in this business
and our Journal "The Highway Engineer"
confirms this by displaying a comprehensive coverageof the whole field.
The traditionel highway engineer's role
is of fundamental importance, i.e. to
design, build, manage and maintain
highways - that stays our number one
role. BUT unless we are pan of the initial
thinking in planning for transpon, as is so
.evidenttoday, then they who are'in eHhe
beginning may leave the problems for
their successors. Surely we should
encompass all in transportation engineering right from the stan?
Transportation
The adoption of the term transponation is
now worldwide and there are many
bodies striving to become the foster
parent of those planning for transpon in
which the highway is the predominant
facility.
All of us recognise and respect the
concise designation of our Institution as
something very attractive which we must
not discard unless it benefits the Institution and its membership. So having
positively embraced transportation as one
of our principal roles the question to 'be
asked is whether we must not confirm it
in our title, for the benefit of future
members for those who ere not aware
and need to see it in print that we are
involved in transponation engineering.
There is no question of chanGing
the' objectives end nature of our
THE JOURNAL
Institution, we are hoping to alter the
attitude .of others and make known to
a much wider audience whet we are
attempting to achieve and that the
professional services of highway and
transportation
engineers match the
needs of the day and the changing
needs of the community In which we
live.
Movement in all its aspects will be
under close scrutiny and the choice of
solutions will be'governed not only by the
mode to be utilised but also what
influences the nature of the work to be
undenaken; that is in construction,
improvement or reconstruction although
the emphasis is and will continue to be on
the operation of the road network. The
future requirementsof the profession and
Institution membership should be considered in this light.
Object. For Which The Institution
Is.Establls had
In the "Memorandum and Anicles of
As~ociation" of the Institution the object
of the Institution which was amended in
1974 reads:- .
"To advance for the public benefit the
science and technology of highway and
transportation engineering in a/l its
aspects and to promote education and
research in. a development of the said
science and technology...... ,.. " I
In funherance of this Object, the
Institution has the fOllowing powers:
"To promote the consideration and
discussion of all questions affecting the
profession' of highway and transportation engineering .and branches of
engineering allied thereto and of highway and transponation engineers in
practice in any part of the world ........
"To give to public authorities and
others facilities for conferring with and
ascertaining the views of persons
engaged in highway and transponation
engineering and branches of engineering allied thereto ...... "
"T 0 diffuse information on all matters
affecting highway and transponation
engineering and to print, publish, issue
. and circulate such papers ...... "
"To educate and seek to improve,
extend and elevate the technical and
general knowledge of persons engaged
in, or about to engage in, highway end
transportation engineering or in any
employment, profession or otherwise
in connection therewith ...... "
"To promote the highest standards in
Highway and Transportation Engineering ...... "
Implementation of These Objectives
The Institution must now consider the
future breed of highway engineer and
demonstrate to the new members of the
future the validity and wonh of the
Institution to them.
Since 1914 many steps have been taken
to extend the Institution interests in the
highway and transponation field. These
include the setting up of:
111A Construction Board which deals
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Institution
News
OBITUARY
RT. HON. ANTHONY CROSLAND, MP
1918-1977
Council learned with regret of the death
on February 19th, 19n of the Rt. Hon.
Anthony Crosland, MP, Secretary of
State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs, and Secretary of State for the
Environment from 1974to April, 1976.
Educated at Highgate School and
Trinity College, Oxford, he served in the
Royal Fusiliers and the Parachute
Regiment during the war, entering Parliament in 1950as MP for South Gloucestershire. In 1959 he was elected MP for
Grimsby. \
After the 1964 General Election he
became Economic Secretary to the
Treasury and in 1965 was appointed
Secretary of State for Education and
Science. From 1967 to 1969 he was
Presidentof the Board of Trade end from
1969 to 1970 Minister for Local Government and Regional Planning.
With the return of the Labour Government in 1974 he was made Secretary of
State for the Environment, and members
will recall that-in that role he-was principal
speaker at the Institution's
Annual
Luncheon in December, 1974. His period
of office, although a short one, was
marked by a number of controversies,
notably the changes made in the rate
support grant and the abandonment of
the Channel Tunnel project. The cutbacks in the road building programme and
in financial aid to local councils heralded
the present severe economic retrenchment.
NEW DIRECTOR-GENERAL FOR
CONCRETE ASSOCIATION
The Hon. Leo Russell, Chairman and
Director-General, Cement and Concrete
Association, was succeeded as DirectorGeneral on April 1st, 19n by Dr R.E.
Rowe, MA, SeD.
The Hon. Leo Russell will continue as
Chairman of the Cement and Concrete
Council.
Dr Rowe, a Fellow of the Institution
since 1973,joined the C and CA in 1952
and has been Director of Research and
Development since 1966.
In 1968 he was appointed Chairman of
the sub-committee drafting the concrete
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THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
Dr. R.E. Rowe
section of the new Bridge Code, and in
1974was appointed as a member of the
Construction and Housing Research
Advisory Council (Advisory Council to the
Secretary of State for the Environmentf
and also of the Advisory Committee on
Fixed Off-Shore Installations (Advisory
Committee to the Secretary of 'State for
Energy).
He is the author of a number of
technical Papers and books and in 1966
was awarded a Telford Premium from the
Civils for a Paperon "Model Analysis and
Testing as a Design Tool", which was
presented jointly with Dr G.D. Base.
He holds a Doctorate of Science from
Cambridge University and in 1973 was
-made a Fellow of the American Concrete
Institute.
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PROFESSOR WILLIAMS TO SERVE
ON LEITCH COMMITTEE
Professor T.E.H. Williams, Head of the
Department of Civil Engineering, Southampton University, and a Vice-President
Professor
T.E.H. Williams
of the Institution, has been appointed a
member of the Advisory Committee on
Trunk Road Assessment which will be
Chaired by Sir George Leitch, Chairman
of Short Brothers and Harland Ltd..
The Committee was set up by the
Secretary of State for Transport, and its
terms of reference are to comment on
and recommend any necessary changes
in the Department of Transport's methods
of appraiSing trunk road schemes and
their application; taking into account both
economic and environmental factors, and
the extent to which these methods give a
satisfactory basis for comparison with
investment in alternative modes of transport.
The Committee will also review the
Department's method traffic forecasting
and its application of the forecasts and
will comment on the sensitivity of the
forecasts to possible policy changes.
The terms of .reference preclude
commenting on and receiving evidence
on individual road schemes.
The Committee is inviting representations from interested organisations and
individuals by March 18th, 19n.
The Institution has set up two Working
Parties to consider its submission to the
Comminee.
The other members of the Advis'ory
Committee are Mr R. Beckham, Managing
Director, SPD Ltd., Professor J. Durbin
Professor of Statistics, University of
London; Dr S. Glaister, Lecturer in
Economics and Rees Jefferies Research
Fellow, London School of Economics'ProfessorP. Hall, Professorof Geography:
University of Reading; Mr H. Middleton,
Director, Civic Trust and Dr J. Prideaux
Strategic Planning Officer, British Rail:
ways Board.
The Secretary of State in announcing
the setting up of the Committee, saw it as
"an important step forward towards a
new dimension in decision-making on
roads. An independent view is greatly
needed if the road programme is to be
soundly basedand to command respect."
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NEW CEI FELLOWS ELECTED
,
The Annual General Meeting of the CEI
Fellowship of Engineering was held in
London on Tuesday, February 8th, 1977,
under the Chairmanship of its Senior
Fellow, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of
Edinburgh..
The Chairman of CEI, Lord Hilton of
Bankside gave a progress report on the
Fellowship, and 49 new members were
elected as Fellows.
Among them were four members of
this
Institution,
Mr
J.W.
Baxter,
G. Maunsell and Partners, (Fellow, 1960);
Mr H.W.A. Francis, CBE, Vice-Chairman,
Tarmac Ltd., (Fellow, 1963); Sir William
Harris, KBE, CB, Director-General of
- Highways, 1965-1973 (Honorary Fellow,
19651and Sir William Kirby Laing, KB
ChaJ!man,John Laing, (Fellow, 1961). ,
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BRANCH MEETINGS
East Anglian
April 6th, 19n:
AGM and films
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April 20th, 1977:
"Highways and Natural Resources - The
Future." Joint one-day symposium with
the East Midlands Branch at Bury St.
Edmunds.
Greater London Branch
April2Oth,
1977:
AGM at
5.30pm.
St
Stephen's Club,
SW1,
tion Suite, Malinstee House, Telford,
Shropshire on "The Effects on Road
Surfaces of the 1976 summer and the
1976fi7 winter." Panel speakers: A.
Onions, P.R. Distin and
representative
from a research organisation. Refresh-ments will be served.
a
Yorkshire Branch
May 12th, 1977:
Return visit to construction work on the
Humber Bridge, Hull.
Midland
April 25th, 1977:
Annual golf match followed by AGM
Northern
April 29th, 1977:
AGM at 5.15 for 6.00pm.
North-Eastern
April 20th, 1977:
AGM at 6.30 followed at 7.15pm by "The
Work of the Mining Engineer in local
Government." Meeting at the University
of Newcastle upon Tyne.
North-Western
April22nd,
1977:
Annual Dinner at 6.45 for 7.30pm at the
lord Daresbury, Daresbury, Nr Warrington, Cheshire.
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Central and Southern Scotland
April20th
1977:
Site visit and Paper. Meeting at Perth.
May 12th, 1977:
Golf outing at Monifieth
North of Scotland
April 26th,
1977:
Golf tournament and AGM
May 14th, 1977:
Site visit to A9 road schemes. Joint
meeting with the Civils.
Southern
PRESIDENT ATTENDS TARMAC
AWARDS PRESENTATION
The President, Mr T.D. Wilson and the
Secretary, were among over 300 guests at
the Europa Hotel on Thursday, February
3rd, 19n, for the presentation of
Tarmac's 1976 British Racing Championship Award to the British Champion
Driver of the Year.
The prize, a cheque for £2,000and the
Tarmac trophy - a 3-dimensional replica
of Tarmac's ITs symbol - went to the
World Champion racing driver James
Hunt, with a score of 356 points.
The prizes were presented by HRH the
Duke of Kent who, in his speech, said
that the Award merked a purely British
sporting success - with a British car and
a British driver - and that in itself made a
refreshing change in the present gloomy
climate.
James Hunt paid tribute to his
mechanics, particularly those in the
Japanese Grand Prix who, in appalling
conditions, had managed to change the
two front wheels of his racing car in a
record 24 seconds.
The Duke also presented a prize to
racing driver David Purley, the runner-up
in the competition with a score of 1n
points. A special prize also went to the
only woman entrant in the Tarmac
Competition, Davina Galica, who, with 62
points, finished 16th in the final placing.
ROAD SAFETY TALK
AT PETERSFIELD
"Engineers Responsibility for
Road
Safety", was the title of a talk given by
Mr G. Gehan, Accident Investigation
Branch, 'Department of Transport, to the
Southern Branch meeting at The
Welcome Inn, Petersfield, Hampshire, on
Monday, February8th, 19n.
M r Gehan explained to the 70 members
present that the aim of the talk was to
show that engineering could influence
human behaviour in the highway environment. Reference was made to the "po,>r
relation" status of road safety, this had
not been helped by the general attitude
that Road Safety Officers, set up after the
Parliamentary Committee Report of 1944,
were poster 'hangers. No universal
panacea existed with regard to road
safety but good standards could improve
it and sites engineeredto -give sefe usage.
In refuting some general prejudices Mr
Gehan said that there were no minority
groups who were necessarily accidentprone; there was a small group of
accident repeaters but these accounted
for a tiny proportion of all accidents; it
was not always possible to drive according to conditions, a driver often had to
make a number of correct decisions when
carrying out a manoeuvre and this was
not always possible. One wrong decision,
or lack of decision, caused an accident.
Elements in the generation of accidents
were the user/environment, and their
occurrence happened when the user
failed to cope with the environment. The
options were to reduce environment
problems and/or improve user ability to
cope.
It was easierto carry out small improvements based on accident studies than to
improve user ability. Small improvements
based on common fectors identification
could give a 400-500per cent return.
A road user had to judge and respond
April 15th, 1977:
Social evening at the Welcome Inn,
Petersfield, Hampshireat 8.00pm.
South Midland
ApriI27th,
1977:
From left to right: HRH the Duke of Kenr, James Hunr and BHI Francis, Vice-Chairman.
Tarmac Lrd.
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AGM followed by "The Vehicle in
Society~',talk by R.H. Phillipson. Meeting
at The Watermill Motel, london Road,
Bourne End, Hemel Hempstead, at
7.30pm.
South Wales
April 26th, 1977:
"Human Resource Management." Paper
by A.G. Baker. Meeting at the University
of Wales, Institute of Science and Technology followed by buffet supper.
South Western
April
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19th, 1977:
South-Western Transportation Engineering Group. "Transportation". One-day
symposium - 10.30-4.30pmat Newman
Building, Exeter University.
West Midland
ApriI28th,
1977
Workshop meeting, 3-5.30pm at Re.cep-
APRil 1977
THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION
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ENGINEERS
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to the clues (signals) available, the strong
clues got through, the Weak ones did not.
An example could be found on the long
straight road broken by a "Give Wey"
crossroads. The road length, created
distance vision and "Give Way" signals
on the verge or footway were within the
user's peripheral vision and did not
register.
.
Mr Gehan stressed the need to avoid
over-curing at sites, simple inexpensive
means of removing one or two accident
factors should be considered. It was
better to cream off 33 per. cent of
accidents at many sites than to over-cure
one.
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In conclusion he said that it was the
engineer's task to provide sufficient clues
to the user, provide a road geometry
suited to the vehicles using it and balance
the needs of various road users.
A vote of thanks was proposed by Mr
D.L. Selby, Hampshire .CC.
EAST ANGLIAN
AT NORWICH
DINNER/DANCE
The Royal Hotel, Norwich was the setting
on Friday, February 11th, 19n, fo~ the
Dinner/Dance of the East Anglian Branch,
attended by 115 members and guests.
The Branch Chairman,
Mr E.L.
Williams, County Surveyor of Suffolk,
proposed the Toast of "The Institution"
to which the President, Mr T.D. Wilson,
LJirector, Mott, Hey and Anderson replied.
Among those attending this function
were Mr F.J. Per\(er, Greatllr London
Branch Chairman and his daughter; Mr
F.J.S. Best, East Midland Branch Chairman and Mrs Best; the Secretary of the
East Midland Branch. Mr D. Dearlove and
Mrs Dearlove; the Chairmen of the East
Anglian Branches of the Civils and
Structurals accompanied by their wives
and the Secretary of the Institution, Miss
P.A. Steel.
NORTHERN BRANCH PREMIUM
PAPER AWARDS'
The annual Premium Paper competition
of the Nonhern Branch was held at the
Town Hall, Penrith on Thursday, January
27th, 19n, and three. papers were
presented.
Mr B. Fulton, Assistant Engineer, City
of Carlisle Technical Services Depanment, gave an illustrated talk on pedestrianisation in Carlisle entitled "Leather and
. Blether", He outlined the history of the
scheme, gave details of the choice of
materials and described the technical
details of their use.
Mr t. Graham, former Mar\(eting
Manager, Nonhem Division, Amey Roadstone Ltd., presented a Paper on aggregate supplies to the construction industry
at a time of increasing costs and falling
demand. The talk was supponed by
"hand-out" sheets of tables and graphs,
which proved to be useful ready references.
Mr G.D. Hall, a Fellow of the Highway
and Traffic Technicians Association, and
Assistant Engineer, Cumbria CC, described the programming and planning of
direct labour wor\(s for road maintenance
From left to right: Mr r.D. Wilson, Mrs Williams, Mr E.L. Williams, Mrs Shambrook, Mr
J.R.R. Shambrook, East Ang/ian Branch Secretary, and Mr D. Dear/ove
and improvement achemes, illustrating his
talk with slides.
Each Paper proved to be extremely
interesting
and
provoked
lengthy
questioning. The three judges, Lt.Col.
F.R. Oliver, Mr G. Hirst and Mr D.W.
South had the unenviable tesk of
agreeing the winner, and'finally decided
that the prize should go to Mr Fulton. Mr
Graham and Mr Hall were judged to be
equal second. The competition was open
to all members of the Institution and of
the HTTA in Cumbria..
FILM NIGHT AT TUNBRIDGE WELLS
The Institution's South.Eastarn Branch
met at the Spa Hotel, Tunbridge Wells,
on Thursdey, January 27th, 19n, to see
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JOINT ONE-DAY SYMPOSIUM
EAST ANGLIAN AND EAST.MIDLAND
BRANCHES
The East Midland and East Anglian Branches are to hold a joint
one-day symposium on "Highways a,nd Natural Resources - The
Future" at West Suffolk College of Further Education, Bury St.
Edmunds, Suffolk, on Wednesday, April 20th, 1977.
Speakers will be:
J.R. Lake
Department of Transport
B.J ..Walker
C &CA
F.M. L. Akeroyd
Bitumen Mobil Oil Co. Ltd.
L.J. Cox
Tarmac Construction Ltd.
Mr T.D. Wilson, the Institution's
President will sum-up.
The fee of £3.00 will include coffee, lunch and afternoon tea.
Further details can be obtained from D. Dearlove, Highways and
Transportation Dept., Shire Hall, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, or
J.R.R. Shambrook, 16 Highland, Poringl~md, Norwich, Norfolk.
I
6
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
APRIl19n
'1
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three films, presented by Mr J. Gooch
and Mr A.S. Ramsay, from the anticorrosion specialist firm of Winn & Coales
(Denso} Ltd.
After an introduction by the Branch
Chairmen, Mr C.J. Carter, members were
shown
"Denso
The Corrosion
Fighters" and "Pipelining with Denso",
parts 1 and 2. The films illustrated the
wide range of pipeline and construction
projects in which Denso protection
systems have been used - from post
tensioning cables on the new London
Bridge to the protection of a water supply
pipeline in Iran.
A stimulating Question and answer
session fonowed and the meeting ended
with a vote of thanks by a Past Chairman
of the Branch Mr F.G. Brown.
LARNE ROAD LINK DISCUSSED
AT NORTHERN IRELAND BRANCH
The Northern Ireland Branch Chairman,
Mr J. Buchanan, presided over a meeting
of the Branch at Queen's University on
Monday, Januery 24th, 19n; 90 delegates
from the Institution and the Transportation Group of the Civils heard a talk on
"The Lame By-Pass Complex."
Mr J. Gault and Mr T. Chambers of the
consulting firm of Gault and Chambers,
together with the Resident Engineer, Mr
H. Fletcher, traced the evolution of the
scheme from its inception in the late
1950s, and spoke particularly on the site
investigation and construction aspects of
the project. Road construction is to dual
carriageway standards with an overall
width of 100 feet.
Mr Gault said that Lame BC wished to
divert the road away from the town
centre and this led to the choice of a line
skirting the redevelopment area and
running parallel -to the River Lame
crossing Bridge Street beside the First
Lame PreSbyterian Church.
The new road was then constructed
directly across the bay joining Curran
Point on the south side of the harbour.
The final 'plan involved the relocation of
the Belfast-Lame railway which released
car-parking land and road junctions
between the old and new lines. Two new
bridges and a station were built.
The main structure ofthe project was a
660ft viaduct built in a confined space
between the Church and the River Lame.
This consisted of eleven 60ft spans on ten
reinforced concrete piers with prestressed
concrete crossheads each having an
overall width of 58ft. The deck construction carried two 24ft carriageways
and a 4ft central reservation over Bridge
Street. Soil conditions - boulder clay
layer overlying a stiff lias - meant the
construction of in-situ concrete bored
piles 2ft diameter.
Rockfill, said Mr Fletcher, had been
placed at the rate of 13,000 tons per
week. Road transport had been used for
this work, it proving more economical
than raiI.
Colour slides used by the speakers
showed ancillary features such as
carriageway details, abutment and retaining wall finishes and street lighting.
now used for highway contracts (or used
up until the moratoriuml, how he saw this
changing in the future and what he considered were areas of contention.
A
lively, wide-ranging
discussion
between members and panel followed,
the main areas covered being the effects
of the introduction of EEC criteria for
awarding contracts; opening tenders in
public; awarding solely to lowest price or
most economically advantageous with
criteria to be applied stated in tender
docu ments; payment of fees to tenderers;
specification of contract periods; taking
contractors' programmes into account
when awarding contracts; consultation
with contractors during design and before
documents are drawn up; operation of
Baxter index; fixing of tender periods and
the date the tender is to be let; adequacy
of soil survey information given in the
tender docu ments; complexity of present
procedures and scope for simplification.
The meeting provided an opportunity
for each side, client and contractor, to
appreciate. the difficulties faced by the
other. No earth-shattering conclusions
were reached, but there was general
acceptance that a Payment to tenderers
when no. tender was accepted, and a
more flexible system of contract periods
with tenders being priced to a dictum
point arid a. bonus for finishing in a
shorter time might be worthy of further
consideration.
Mr Elbourne closed the meeting with a
vote of thanks to the panel:
SOUTH MIDLAND BRANCH LOOKS
AT THE TENDERIINGI TRAP
On Wednesday, January 19th, 1977; 55
members anended the South Midland
Branch meeting at "The Buckinghamshire
Yeoman", Aylesbury. This was an open
forum on the principles, practices and
problems of "Tendering for Highway
Contracts". The panel consisted of Mr
M.J. Cryer, Assistant County. Surveyor
and Engineer (Contracts}, Oxfordshire CC;
Mr R. Douglas, Specialist Director,
Quantity Surveying Services, Amey Roadstone Construction Ltd; Mr D.V. Manning,
Quantity Surveyor, Eastern RCU and Mr
J.S. Moorhouse, Contracts Manager,
Associated Asphalt Co Ltd.
The meeting was Chaired by Mr D.S.
Elbourne, Branch Chairman, who after
welcoming and )ntroducing the panel
opened the discussion by giving a brief
background to the method of tendering
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING AND ROAD
SAFETY CONFERENCE AND
EXHIBITION AT COVENTRY
The journal "Traffic Engineering and
Control" is organising a three day traffic
engineering and road safety exhibition
from Wednesday, Aprfl 27th to Friday,
April 29th, 19n. It is, at the same time,
co-ordinating a series of concu'rrent
seminars. The events - Traffex n - will
be held at" the National Agricultural
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1:-.
APRil 1977
THE JOURNAL
OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
7
"
Centre, Stoneleigh, near Coventry.
The seminar programme includes:
April 21th, 1977
County Councils' Transpon Responsibilities
(sponsored by the County
Surveyors' Society], The development of
TPPs - points of view from a Metropolitan and a non-Metropolitan county.
Urban constraint - the views of a county
council and a municipal operator.
April 28th. 1977
Road Safety (sponsored by the GLC
Safety Unit, the Police Scientific Development Branch (Home Officel, RoSPA; the
AA, the RACJ. Past. present and future of
accident prevention at county level.
Pedestrian safety in town traffic. Road
safety. education and training - British
and continental practice. Speed limits and
accident rates. Collection of road accident
statistics.
April 29th, 1977
Parking in Relation to Recreational
Needs (sponsored by the PSDB Home
Office). The allocation of traffic police
resources. Accident risk prediction. Traffic
data collection. Effects of police action.
The Traffex n Exhibition, to which
admission is free, will be open from lOam
to 6.00pm daily and will feature systems.
services, products and equipment relating
\.. to traffic engineering and management
and to design and training for road safety:
,Registration details for the full confer-
ence programl'TMl - and complimentary
tickets to the exhibition - are available
from "Traffic Engineering and Control",
29 Newman Street, W1. Tel: 01-6363956.
INTERNATIONAL
IN GERMANY
for Highways in the UK" by Mr J.H.
Nicholas, TRRL.
Further details can be obtained from
BTIA, 132-135 Sloane Street, London,
SW1X 9BB.
TAR"CONFERENCE
The next International Tar. Conference
(lTC) - formerly IRTC - will be held at
Wiesbaden, in the -Federal Republic of
Germany, on May 12th and 13th, 19n.
Patronage of the session has been
accepted by the Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Economics and Technology of Hessen, Herr Heinz Herbert
Karry.
,
There will. be a reception for delegates
on Thursday, May 12th, Friday, May 13th,
will be devoted to an intensive programme of technical Papers and reports.
Papers will be presented in their entirety
and the printed versions will only be
available after the Conference. Time will
not permit questions from the floor but
delegates will have an opportunity outside
the formal sessions for meetings and the
exchange of ideas.
The main Papers to be presented
include: "Ideal Cars and Roads of the
Future", Professor Dr. Ing. H.G. Krebs;
"Surface Treatments of Heavily-Used
Roads in France; Processes and Practical
Results",
M.A. Thiebautt,
lngenieur
General des pont et Chaussees, and
"Recent Developments in the Use of Tar
SCI SYMPOSIUM ON
MATERIALS DETERIORATION
The biological deterioration of timber is an
all too familiar occurrence. However,
many other materials used in the construction industry also suffer from this
attack. The Road and Building Materials
Group of the Society of Chemical
Industry and The Biodeterioration Society
are holding a one-day meeting on
Thursday, April 21st, 19n at 14 Belgrave
, Square to discuss "The Biodeter/oration
of Building Materials" and, hopefully,
how to prevent it.
Further details can be obtained from
the Membership Secretary, SCI, 14
Belgrave Square, London, SW1. (Tel:
01-2353681).
CORRECTION
It is regretted that in the February, 19n
issue of the Journal the footnotes which
appeared on pages 1B and 23 respectively
were inadvertently transposed.
That on page 18 refers to page 23, that
on page 23 to page 18.
SUPERVISION OF LARGE
ROAD CONTRACTS
The Paper entitled "The Supervision of large Road Contracts" by
Mr T.E. lewis, Assistant County Surveyor, South Glamorgan CC,
which appeared in the March, 1976 issue of the Journal, has
attracted a good deal of critical acclaim from readers and requests
for extra copies have been received.
In view of this interest reprints of the Paper are now available,
priced at 50p each, and members who wish to purchase a copy are
asked to complete the form below.
I enclose Cheque/Postal Order/Money Order for 50p made payable
to the Institution of Highway Engineers. Please send me .........
copy(ies) of Mr lewis' Paper.
. ,.
NAME
,
.
(BLOCK CAPITALS PlEASEI
ADDRESS
.
/
DA TE
8
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
:
.
APRIL 1977
,
t
l.
HIGHWAY AND
TRAFFIC TECHNICIANS
ASSOCIA TION
INSIDE HTTA
The second in the series of articles on the
Association traces its histoty from the
establishment of the old Association of
Highway Technicians in Janllaty,
1965,
through
to the incorporation
of the
present Association in September, 1972.
Although raday's Association is a rather
different animal from its predecessor, the
present organisation owes a great deal both in terms of support from longstanding members and the evollltion of
current objectives - to the Association of
Highway
Technicians, and the period
1965-1972 can, in a very real sense, be
regarded as the Association's
formative
years.
"To improve the status of technicians
connected with highway work, to hold
meetings and to exchange views on
matters of common interest." With these
as its aims, the Association of Highway'
Technicians was establishedby'a Declaration of Trust in January, 1965, its three
trustees being ProfessorW. Fisher Cassie,
Mr H. Criswell and Mr T.S. Sinclair - all
eventual Presidents of the Institution of
Highway Engineers. From the very
beginning the Institution was to play a
most important role in the development of
the Association, the four Institution
nominees on today's Council continuing
this tradition.
The new body was to have only one
class of membership and, in March, 1965,
the first members - thirty-five in all were elected. This membership was to
grow rapidly (622 by January, 1968) and
the increasing importance of the technician element was reflected by the first
Association members being co-opted to
the Committee of Management, in July,
1965, this being repeated in March, 1966
and June, 1967when additional Association appointments were made. In September, 1968,an Association member, Mr
P.D.C. Arnold, was electedVice-Chairman
of the Committee.
In the meantime, the Association was
examining the question of quality as well
as quantity of its membership, it having
been felt from the beginning that a high
standard should be maintained. At the
start, the possibility of having more than
one grade of membership had been
discussed - but the Association had to
wait until it was re-constituted under the
Companies Act in 1912 before tOOay's
different grades of membership were set
up. Nevertheless, work went ahead on
improving
admission" requirements,
stimulated by the report in September,
1967,of Mr T.S. Sinclair (the Institution's
APRIL 1977
representative on Lady Sharp's Urban
Manpower Working Group], that certain
technician qualifications might receive
official endorsement. As a result, by the
December, Mr M.J. Hall, then Secretary
of the Institution of Highway Engineers,
had drawn up new regulations regarding
entry to the Association which required a
minimum educational or professional
qualification by age and experience.
These were accepted by the AHT
Management Committee and details
appeared in the Journal.
Not all Association activities during this
period were centred on the election of
members and the establishment of criteria
for membership, important as these were.
In 1967, announcements requesting
designs for an Association tie appeared in
the Journal and, on May 24th of the
following year, the first Annual Luncheon
of the Association was held in London at
the Cafe Royal, to be followed by one in
Dudley, Worcestershire in 1969. May,
1968 also saw the beginning of the
formation of branches, notably in the
West Midlands and East Anglia, although
these were not able to be properly constituted until the Association's incorporation in 1972. By these means members
were increasingly able to identify closely
with the Association.
Meanwhile, events 'were taking place
outside the Association which were to
have a profound effect on its future
development. In 1967, discussions were
started by the Council of Engineering
Institutions (CEil to consider the necessity
for the national recognition of qualifications and titles for engineering personnel
other than Chartered Engineers. These
led, at the end of that. year, to the
formation of a body of non-chartered
institutions called the Standing Conference for National Qualifications and Title
ISCNQTI on which the Association was
represented by Mr R. Newey (from
March, 19681and Mr P.D.C. Arnold (from
February, 1969). The worle; of this
organisation subsequently formed the
basis of the qualifying standards for
admission of non-Chartered Engineers to
.the register of the organisation set up by
the CEI in 1971 the Engineers'
Registration Board (ERBIIt was, in great part, the Association's
wish to obtain membership of the ERB
which led to its incorporation in 1912.The
way was now open to the election to
different grades of membership; the
drawing up of new admission regulations
and the formation of branches provided
for in the articles,' were not long in
following.
This account of the early days of the
Association can only hope to give the
briefest outline of all that went on
between 1965 and 1972, the minutes of
THE JOURNAL
the Management Committee meetings
and seven years correspondence fill not a
few thick files at headquarters, testimony
to the great amount of work carried out
by all those whose efforts kept the new
infant alive. By Institution members such
as Mr H.S. Taylor, who today, as
Chairman of the Association's Mature
Candidate Panel, continues to involve
himself as much on technician education
as when, in 1969,he was suggesting that
the Association consider examinations at
technician level on traffic engineering and
highway materials; and Mr J.N.L. Sellick,
until recently an Institution nominee on
the Association's Council and one of its
five Honorary Fellows. By Association
members such as Mr K.l. Mackereth, who
succeeded Mr Taylor as the Association's
second Chairman, and Mr N,A.E. Blackmore, the present Chairman, whose term
of office has seen the establishment and
consolidation of nearly all Association
branches and the beginning of Association involvement in technician training.
And by all those Association members
who today number over 1600, whose
continuing support and involvement have
made the Association the professional
"home" for technicians in the highway
and transportation fields. May its future
years continue as fruitful.
(Research: Miss H. Heaney).
A PRESENT FOR THE ASSOCIATION
Wednesday, January 19th, 1977proved to
be something of an occasion for, on that
day, the Association's Council were able
to welcome"to its meeting the Rhodesian
Branch Chairman, John Hardwick, who
was holidaying in the UK. This was the
first time that an Association Branch
Chairman had been invited to sit in on a
meeting of the Council, Mr Hardwick's
visit having provided an excellent opportunity for contact with a Branch which
otherwise would not have the opportunity
of representation on Council.
At the buffet lunch preceding the
meeting Mr Hardwick was able to meet
members of Council in an informal
atmosphere and exchange views on
highways and transportation work in this
country and Rhodesia. Mention was also
made, of course, of the differing branch
experience in the two countries.
More, however, was yet to come. After
the Council business in the afternoon Mr
Hardwick addressedthose present on the
development of the Rhodesian Branch
and the rapid growth of local Association
membership. He concluded by presenting
the' Association with two hand-carved
soapstone heads - a gift from the
Rhodesian Branch.
OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
9
Branch Chairman Norman Blackmore
receiving hand carved heads from John
Hardwick, Rhodesian Branch" Chairman
Receiving the "presentation Norman
Blackmore,
Association
Chairman,
expressed Council's thanks to the Branch
whereupon it was agreed to arrange for a
couple of brass plaques to be fixed to the
carvings commemorating t~e' gift. (The
heads are now housed in the Secretary's
room at Association headquarters and all
members who wish to view them ere
invited to call at the office when in
London).
EASTERN BRANCH
Branch AGM
Prior to the commencement of" the
meeting held at The Angel Hotel, BurySt
Edmunds, on Wednesday, January 27th,
19n, and attended. by twenty-six
members and guests, there was the
forme I presentation of the Branch Chair- .
man's chain of office by Mr S.F. Utting,
May Gurney & Co. Ltd., on behalf of the'
four"companies who hed subscribed to its
purchase. Representatives of the other
three "companies were also present, Mr"
M.C. Ayton, Tilbury IEARAT) Ltd., Mr.M.
Langram, Tarmac Roadstone Holdings
Ltd., and Mr E. Holder representing Shell"
UK Oil Ltd.
I
At the meeting the results of the
elections for
Branch Officers and
Committee were announced as follows;
Luncheon preceding
the Council meeting
Meeting at Peterborough
On Tuesday, February 22nd, 19n, a
joint meeting of technicians in the Peterborough area included members from the
Association's
Eastern
and
Mercia
Branches and the East Anglian and East
Midland Branches of the Society of Civil
Engineering Technicians. The meeting
arranged by Branch member Mr A. White,
was held at Peterborough Development
Corporation and was attended by "24
technicians. It took the form of a Paper
entitled "Geology for Engineers" which
was given by Mr K.M. Pare, Managing
Director, Soils Engineering Ltd., and Mr
A. White of Peterborough DC. This
proved to be a most interesting exposition
of a very complex subject which, nevertheless, was presented in a clear. and
concise manner. A lively discussion
followed.
The success of the meeting confirms
that there is a potential technician following in an area which is geographically
remote as far as most Branch meetings
are concerned, and thanks are to be
expressed to Mr A. White for all the work
which went into arranging the meeting.
NORTHERN IRELAND BRANCH
Chairman:
E.G. Adams
Vice-Chairman:
"M.J. Bodger
'November Meeting
Secretary/Treasurer:
A.A. Livock
On Wednesday, November 24th, 1916, at
Committee Members:
R.J. Alderson;
Queen's University, Belfast, those attendM.E. Corder; A. Grundill, E. Holder;
ing the Branch meeting heard Mr W.A.G .
. K. Kiddell; J.H. Shaw; H.S. Taylor;
Macafee of Northern Ireland Railways,
A. White.
give a talk on the position of the railway
In addition the meeting learnt that Mr
in Northern Ireland over the past ten
Langramhad been co-opted" on to the
years. Mr Macafee's talk included referBranch
Committee
as
Programme
ence to lines being reopened as well as
Secretary.
closed, and it was followed bya lively
The Branch was very pleased to "
question and answer, session.
welcome to the meeting Institution
members Mr G. Day and Mr B. Prees,
January Meeting
who respectively represented the East
Midland and East Anglian Branches of the
On Wednesday, January 19th, 19n,
Institution on the Branch Committee.
the Branch held a joint meeting with the
At the close of official business two
local branch of the Society of Civil;l
films were shown.
_Engineering Technicians, again at Queen's
University, Belfast. At the well-attended
meeting, Mr C. Lovelock of Ulster's
Management Centre - an internationally
recognised expert on management games
- gave a most interesting talk on the
technician in the field of management.
When speaking about the different
attitudes of various professions towards
management functions, Mr Lovelock
pointed out that, sadly, very low priority
was given to the development of management techniques in the civil engineering
field. The talk was followed by a
discussion.
SEVERNSIDE BRANCH
February Meeting
On Tuesday, February 22nd, 19n,
members and guests attending the
Branch meeting at Gwent CC Highways
Depot, Raglan, heard a most interesting
talk on "Aggregate
Production and
Usage" presented by Mr R. Bater, ARC
Ltd. The talk stimulated a valuable
question and answer session and the
meeting concluded with a film of ARC's
resurfaCing of Runway 5 at Heathrow
Airport.
April Meeting
Branch members are reminded that a
second meeting will be held at Raglan on
Tuesday, April 19th, 19n, at which
"Health and Safety at Work" will be the
subject of films and a discussion led by
Mr Kemp, an Area Officer of the Health
and Safety Executive.
YORKSHIRE BRANCH
The managerial meeting of the Branch
was held at Leeds University on Monday,
February' 21st, 19n, those attending
being welcomed by Mr W.S. Hydes, one
of the four Institution nominees on the
Association's Council, who had kindly
arranged the_ accommodation for the
evening. The proceedings opened with an
'\
10
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
APRIL 1977
I
1
address by Association Chairman Norman
Blackmore, who spoke on "The Role of
the Local Branch in the Development of
the Association" and this was followed by
the election of Branch officers and
Committee.
Chairmen:
H.R. Chapman
Vice-Chairman:
A.B. Goddard
Treasurer:
A. Lavery
Secretary:
R.E. Gordon
Committee Membars:
J.C. Birdsall;
B. Gregory; C.J. Matthews, G.E. Skeith.
The meeting concluded with the
presentation of a most interesting Paper
"An Introduction to the Awards of the
Technician Education Council" by Mr
R.W. Stringer, Principal Lecturer in Civil
Engineering, Stonecliffe
College of
Further Education, Sheffield, who is a
member of the TEC Programme Committee for Civil Engineering. Mr Stringer's
talk on both the work of TEC in developing programmes leading to its awards and
that of his own college in devising its own
options and. operating the relevant
courses, provided much food for thought
and stimulated the lively discussion
session which followed.
(It is hoped to include 8 synopsis of Mr
Stringer's Paper in 8 future issue of the
of Roads. Killian was elected an Associate
Member in 1976.
Department, City of Salisbury, where he
is now a senior member of the department's supervisory staff in charge of
carrying out minor works and the
Municipality's extensive maintenance programme.
A founder member of the Rhodesian
Branch he was elected its first Honorary
Treasurer.
Mr Coulter's interests, which are shared
by his Scottish-bom wife, are fishing and
boating.
Branch Profile
Thomes Wood Coulter
Thomas Couher was born and educated
in Glasgow and it was on completion of
his apprenticeship and while still studying
for the City and Guilds in building
construction, that he was conscripted into
the British Army, for the duration of the
second world war. Attached to the Royal
Tank Regiment, he was in action during
the evacuation of Dunkirk, later the North
African campaign and the invasion of
Europe. After active service he continued
as an Army instructor in building construction during the rehabilitation period
for servicemen prior to their demobilisation.
After the war years, he started his own
building business but eventually decided
to emigrate with his family to Southern
Rhodesia in the early 1950s. It was at this
time that he became involved with civil
and highway construction engineering
and supervised various projects.
In 1957 he joined the Highway and
Works Division of the City Engineer's
OBITUARY
Council has learned with very much regret
of the death of the following:
J.R. Collins (Leicestershire, Fellow, 1965).
CORRECTION
It is regretted that on page 13 of the
February, 19n issue the name of the East
Midland Branch Secretary was shown as
J.G. Boyden.
This should have read J.G. Brogden.
JournalJ.
RHODESIAN BRANCH
News in Brief
Branch Members Gain Qualifications
Congratulations to Rob De Preez, who
successfully
passed the
Rhodesian
National Technician Diploma in Civil
Engineering examinations. Rob was
elected a Student member of the
Association in 1976 and is employed by
the City Engineer's Department, Salisbury.
Congratulations are also extended to
Killian Mutero, who was awarded the
Rhodesian Government Certificate of
Competency in Geotechnology. He is one
of the first Certified Geotechnologists in
Rhodesia and is employed by the Ministry
TIE ORDER
I
To: The Secretary,
THE HIGHWAY AND TRAFFIC
TECHNICIANS ASSOCIATION
3 lygon Place, Ebury Street.
london, SWl
Please supply
at £1.35
........ Association
tie(sl
0
D
0
Blue
Maroon
Green
Cheque/Postal Order/Money Order for
£. ......... enclosed and crossed'and made
payable to 'The Highway and Traffic
Technicians Association',
T.W. Coulter
NAME
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ADDRESS
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PLEASE)
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A company limited by guarantee.
Registered in England No. 1064239. Registered office as
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Price includes VAT
APRIL 19n
THE JOURNAL
OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
11
.......
:..-
..... "
~- ~
. --
.Roads-for People
J.M. McCluskey, asc, MICE, MIStructE, AMIHE
i
I.
i
I
Public concern over a rapidly deteriorating
environment is growing. More and more
books are coming onto the market with
titles like "Derelict Britain", "Goodbye
Britain?" and "Battle for the Environment". All the professions concerned
with environmental design are reexamining their. premises to try and
discover what has been going wrong.
This is as true of the. 'architectural
profession with, for example, their
rejection of high rise housing and their
second thoughts about comprehensive
redevelopment, as it is of the Forestry
Commission who are adjusting their
planting policies to improve the amenity
of areas under their control. It may also
be true that highway engineers can make
significant improvements in the quality of
the built environment by re-considering
c-ertaindesign premises.
In the design 0.1 major inter-urban roads
the highway engineering profession has
.had notable triumphs and on the whole
has not been the subject of adverse
criticism. This has not been so with
regard to the design of access roads in
residential areas. On the contrary the
standards adopted have been the subject
of conflict for many years.
The criticism levelled at road designers"
include the contentions that they compile'
books of rules which are dogmatically
enforced without regard to the real needs
of a particular site and housing layout,
that the standards enforced are often
excessivelygrand and are often based on
inappropriate premises. It is - 'fu rther
claimed that this rigidity. of approach is _
held by authorities and experts of other
disciplineswho share the responsibilitYfor
the design of new housing.
'The results, say the critics, carl"be seen
from one end of Britain to the 'other in.
countless numbers of similar, du'lI.housing
developments which sprawl across the
countryside; anywhere type~ :developments, unjustified by climate, topography: :"tradition or. even local or '"-individual
idiosyncrasy.
' ."
One oLthe. most cogent attacks on
current standards appeared~in "The
Architectural Review" for October, 1973,The Journal devoted a large part of
issue to what it considered were "sick
remedies" attempted as housing problem
solutions. "Sick Remedy F" was "The
Rule Book". This section attacked the
straitjacket of rules and regulations which
circumscribe the' design of ne~ housing _',__ .j
envirqnments. It' illustrated the":ffYpe of
~
prairie planning which results from slavish
adherenceto the rule book. The first two
pages of this section are shown at Figure
an
1
' /
"'
.
a
with Ove Arup and Panners, he
designed and supervised construction
of factories, flats and schools both
overseas and in the UK. In 1968 he
was employed by 'C.H. Dobbie' and
Panners, responsible for the design,
predominantly, of motorway bridges.
. One of the author's main professional interests is the quality of the
built imvironment. He believes that
there is a need for professionals with
inuir-disciplinary
qualffications
and'
consequently is now in the 'process of
/becoming a mem.ber of the Institute of
, Landscape Architects ....
iI
J.M. McCluskey
BIOGRAPHY
SUMMARY
The Paper begins by underlining the
need to design' with
a view .to
Mr
McCluskey
graduated
from
enhancing the' total environment. It
Glasgow UniverSity with a BSc in civil
goes on to draw attention to the
engineering, and since 1975 has been
criticisms which have been levelled at
on the staff of the Housing Branch
designers of residentiai access TOadsin
Architect, 'GLC as a landscape archirecent yeafS.
teet..
The great variety of possibilities in
From 1952 to 1956 he worked as a
the designs of vehicle access systems
site engineer with
the Founda tirm ~__ i., then illustra ted with
designed
Company of Canads' in charge of the
examples. The anicle concludes with
construction
of warehouses,
office
the suggestion that there is much to
blocks and factories in Montresl.
be gained by road designers reBetween 1956 and 1965 he was a
appraising
their attitudes . to
the
design engineer with Babtie Shaw and
method of providing vehicle access to
Monon
working
initially 'on
the
,residential areas. Su'c'r a reappraisal
resident engineer's staff of a large
could result in the highway engineer
, hydro-electric scheme and later in the
playing a fuller pan in the efforts "to
- firm's
Glasgow
headquaners
on
evolve more pleasing and fuffilling
motorway, road and rail bridge design.
environments in which people have ~
. In 1965, as Senior Design Engineer
their homes.
This rticle is fu II 'of sensible views
regarding road' layouts, The few quotations which follow arEiintended to presenf
an impression of the. attitudes adopted.With regard to roads the writer of the
article said:, ....;>
.:'
"Roa~s /-. ' ..
'
.RoadS-'ln-houslng--estates are- laid. out ~........-raccording to two criteria, neither of 'which . /'
has anything tq, dO.....
with -hou~ing. To."'-;';
quote the basic'handbook on the subject;
'Urban roads should: be designed to be
safe and to permit the free flow of traffic
-at reasonablespeed'.- ..
'
The twin' objective's, therefore, are
,
.. safety and convenience,"The ':<-first. is . ~•.,.,
.' obviously crucial; but it is when 'Safety is "-;,"
-..Iinked 'to"the requirement of conv~nience '. :.--"
- for vehicles - that the trouble starts. , .~,_.,~
:,.:,1,1.
- ~For the underlying principle in: regulatin~i .
. .road and pavement dimensions seems to --~~': :~
have .,been to _assume the unlikeliest _'.
possible concatenation of. - hazards,
. coupled with the least possible likelihood
.of consideration for other road users and
the greatest possible need for uninter- -,-rupted driving. The result":" a decision to .,
play for safety at all Costs .- _ not only
),
permits motor vehicles to travel ,danger- - "'- r,
ously .fast through housing areas,but also'
.- ;
can reduce the land available for actual'
living ... "
,,'
~ '
~i' c/ I
. On existing junCtion standards he .went t ... !
on to say that:
/
'\.
I
"Junctions
. , RO,ad junctions on new estates' .are --- •.
, equ.ipped. with wide radius'.~curves .'
'1
- designed, In the-words of Roads In Urban. -_... - -I
.A~eas: 'to pem'llt the free flow of traffic at
'1
reasonable speed', as well 'as to avoid' --:~
accidents" (18, 19).
. For most access roads on esta~es,the
I
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12
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
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APRIL 19n
THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
13
/
handbook lays down a design speed limit
of 3Omph, a minimum full visibility in
either direction of 200ft and a minimum
kerb radius of 20ft. (The proposed metric
rounded-up equivalent of 200ft is 70m i.e. nearly 230ft!. The object, apparently,
is to ensure as uninterrupted as possiblea
run from home to office to shops to
school and back again, with the minimum
number of gear changes and at the
maximum permissiblespeed. Junctions of
this kind encourage a 'glance and carry
on' 'mentality, rather than the 'slow, be
prepared to stop, check, move on again'
approach; and in spite of the 400ft of
visibility (from a distance at least 20ft
back from the connecting road), they can
be a real hazard for cyclists and
pedestrians, who can easily be missed
when the driver's eye is briefly scanning
the wide open space for another car."
On the question of design speeds he
had the following comment:
"The concept of courtesy should be a
reality in planning and safety contexts;
there is no reason why people should not
be encouraged, by tighter road spaces
such as are found in historic towns and
villages, to reduce speed substantially out
of a real concern for hazards to themselvesand others, and to wait till the road
is clear before embarking on the sharper
curves required by narrow junctions.
People don't have to drive about
residential housing estates at the full
legally permittffi:! 30mph or cruise around
20ft radius kerbs; a substantially reduced
speed, even walking pace, could not
possibly add more than five minutes to
any journey. Severe speed restrictions
have enabled play streets to be carved out
of environmentally deprived areas; the
same basic philosophy could just as well
be applied to increasingly expensive
estates."
In the architectural press critical
attitudes towards enforced highway
standards are not hard to find. A few
more examples underline the point.
In the book "A Decade of British
Housing, 1963-1973", published in 1975,
the author, discussing "the two sibboleths" of low density and free vehicle
access, said: "The intentions were of
course of the best but the effect over the
years has been to turn the one-time
standards of progress into a universal
straitjacket of regulations that has frozen
thinking about land use in housing. This
has especially become true with the car
assuming more importance in the urban
landscape. In modern housing developments, careless planning which unthinkingly works within all the highway and
other regulations has been able to
consign up to 50 per cent of the total area
developed to the various elements. of
access. This has become less true of the
I public than of the private sector but not
/ always; for while the DoE survey referred
to earlier found that "Roads and footpaths occupied an average 20 per cent of
the site" it also discovered that "in
extreme cases this reached 35 or 40 per
cent" and again that "on average the
proportion of the site occupied by
buildings is less than 20 per cent at all
densities." Roads in modern housing
areas, whether public or private, have
been laid out according to two criteria,
14
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
neither of which has anything to do with
housing.
"To quote the basic handbook of the
1960son the subject: 'Urban roads should
be designed to be safe and to permit the
free flow of traffic at reasonable speed.'
The first objective is obviously crucial, but
it is when safety is linked to the requirement of convenience for vehicles that the
trouble starts.
"Roads in Urban Areas' laid down
recommended lane widths for estate
roads which have been treated as minima
and often increased in practice by local
highway authorities. These have exercised
a powerful sanction - their ability to
refuseto adopt for maintenance purposes
any roads whose layout they disapproved
of. In addition, generous passing and
turning space has been allowed for large
vehicles (dustcarts, fire engines and
furniture removal vans) on the assumption that their drivers could never be
expected to back out of an estate they
had once entered.'''
An article in "The Architects Journal",
February 4th, 1976, described the design
of the Neath Hill Housing area at Milton
Keynes.The writer said: "Perhaps following the recent experience of several New
Town designers. who have been overconfident about waivers from highway
authorities, the design team has decided
to accept many of the rigid regulations
which highway engineers like to enforce,
and to design their spaces and buildings
within these constraints..
"Although they will probably lose
battles about sight lines at the entrance to
mews, they may well have gained a
measure of control over the choice and
disposition of surface materials (if you
don't have to allow dust carts in you
don't have to have two footpaths and
regulation curbing which has made visual
nonsense of many Radburn layouts and
of which the omission by less politically
adroit designers than these has led to
highway authorities refusing to adopt
roadsl."
The DoE Is aware that the standards
adopted for the design of roads in
residential areas are often excessive. It
has expressed concern at both the
unnecessarily high costs incurred by
excessive standards and at the detrimental effect these standards have on the
environment.
On May 17th, 1974 the Department
issued its "New Streets" circular which
included interim recommended widths for
access roads and' footpaths. Flexibility
was called for:
Paragraph3 of Appendix. I included the
following:
"3. Local authorities are asked to use
the recommendations flexibly, especially when considering the various types
of layout which are designed to segregate pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
The impact of growing car ownership
on the pattern of living in residential
areas, and the need to make the fullest
use of available building land, are both
factors which are likely to continue the
development of new forms of housing
layout and neighbourhood design.
Every encouragement should be given
to the development of schemes of this
kind."
On March 25th, 1975 the Department
published its Circular 24n5 entitled
"Housing: Needs and Action". Annex
Part IV includes the following:
"IV. REDUCING PROVISION FOR
CARS ON HOUSING ESTATES
Roads and footpaths
11. There is room for considerable
economies in the design of roads and
footpaths. Detailed guidance on how
these economies might be achieved is
being prepared. Local authorities are
urged to adopt the revised interim.
recommendations for road widths and
footpath requirementsgiven in Appendix I
to Circular 79n4 (DoE) 130n4 (Welsh
Office)."
The concern of the Department was
further expressed in their lener of June
17th, 1975 haaded "Residential Access
Roads and Footpaths." This went to all
highway, planning and housing officers
and to all authorities responsible for
design and construction of access roads.
Some of tha points made were: "that the
standards at present required by some
highway authorities are in excess of the
minima required for safety and convenience: and that a large and sometimes
arbitrary variation exists amongst the
standards presently required."
People, not cars, should be given the
main consideration, thus: "Roads providing only access to residential areas are
intimately related to a diverse range of
individual and communal activities in
which the needsof the moving vehicle do
not necessarily have the highest priority.
Pedestrians rather than vehicles tend to
predominate as users of this environment
and this is reflected in the fact that
pedestrians, particularly young children,
are more at risk than motorists."
And, with regard to speed: "The flow
of vehicles generated within residential
areas is sufficiently light in volume to
allow speeds to be kept low without
causing inconvenience."
"The aim should be to encourage
drivers to reduce speed when entering
residential areas. While the choice of
deSign speed may vary according to
particular site constraints it is important
that the design of the layout raflects and
reinforces the need for traffic speeds to
be kept well be/ow 3Omph." (author's
italics)
Concerning radii and carriageway
widths: "The presentstandards for corner
radii and carriageway widths required by
highway authorities are often excessiveas
far as the manoeuvrability of vehicles is
concerned, even when the needs of
removal vans and emergency vehicles are
taken into consideration."
In March, 1976,the DoE circulated the
second draft of their bulletin entitled
"Residential Access Roads and Footpaths: layout Recommendations." The
final version of this document will
eventually supersede "Roads in Urban
Areas" as the Department's recommendations regarding the subject.
In the introduction the need for flexibility is stressed again: "New housing
schemes vary so greatly on matters such
as.their size, location and the accommodations they provide, that the need for
APRIL 19n
,
.1
o
large variation exists amongst the sometimes arbitrary standards presently provided." And "that convenience, safety
and general amenity might often have
been achieved more economically by a
more open-minded approach to the
limitation and opportunities presented by
individual sites,"
The document stressed the need to
consider the contribution that roads can
make to the overall environment and went
on to recommend standards that would
encourage a more varied and appropriate
response to the problems of access road
design.
The circulation of this bulletin provides
an occasion for those highway engineqrs
responsible for design in this field to turn
their attention to the arguments of their
critics.
If there is substance in the arguments
of the critics this is a serious matter for
the highway engineering profession.
It is estimated that 60 per cent of new
urban roads are built in residential areas.
The design of these roads is a vital
element in creating the character of the
residential environment. If the designers
of the urban environment, the architects,
planners, engineers and developers are
going to maintain their role with any
degree of autonomy they must satisfy the
real needs of the people being housed.
Different people have different needs.
One person might have, as a top priority,
the requirement that he can drive his car
right into the driveway of his house,
another will prefer to have no cars in the
housing areaat all. The type of design for
a housing area which is admirable in one
part of the country might be totally
inappropriate in another.
•
In the satisfactory design of a housing
area it is necessaryto take into account
such factors as the social structure of the
people being housed,the traditional forms
of layout for dwellings, the climate, the
micro-climate, the topography and so on.
In addition it is becoming more common
to take into account the most important
LAYOUT IN WHICH ALL CARS ARE PARKED OR GARAGED ADJACENT TO THE
RADIAL ROAD.
THE HOUSING AREA IS THUS FREED FROM PRIVATE VEHICLES.
ONLY SERVICE VEHICLES ENTER THE HOUSING AREA.
THESE CAN BE
CONTROLLED TO MOVE AT VERY SLOW SPEEDS AND THE NARROW ACCESS ROADS
CAN BE DUAL USE (VEHICLE/PEDESTRIAN)
LAYOUT IN WHICH SHORT ACCESS ROADS PENETRATE THE HOUSING AREA.
THE CARS ARE STORED AT THE END OF THE CUL-DE-SAC ACCESS.
THERE IS
NO ACCESS FROM THE CUL-DE-SAC TO THE HOUSING ARF~ EXCEPT AT END
Of CUL-DE-SAC.
THIS GIVES ADDED ADVANTAGE THAT PARKING IS WITHIN
HOUSING AREA AND WALKING DISTANCE IS MINIMISED.
LAYOUT IN WHICH ACCESS IS A SERIES Of CULS-DE-SAC.
LAYOUT IN WHICH ACCESS IS A SERIES Of LOOP ROADS USED IN COMBINATION
WITH CULS-DE-SAC.
LAYOUT IN WHICH ACCESS IS BY MEANS Of A SERIES Of INTERCONNECTED
DUAL USE (VEHICLE/PEDESTRIAN)
AREAS.
LAYOUT IN WHICH DWELLINGS ARE GROUPED AROUND A SINGLE DUAL USE
AREA.
(THIS IS A SPECIAL CASE OF THAT OUTLINED ABOVE)
LAYOUT INCORPORATING CULS-DE-SAC, PEDESTRIAN
MEWS COURT AREAS LINKED IN SERIES.
SEGREGATED
J
easily administered standards must be'
tempered to allow for innovation and
solutionswhich suit the special characteristics of each scheme".
Figs.3 and 3(a)
Architect:
High Kingsdown,
Stage I Whicheloe
S"ge 2 BuUdlng
Parking Off Perimeter Road
No Cars Within Housing Area
Bristol
MacF.arlane Partnership
Pari,,"".'. 'Bri"ol) Ltd.
_.E._ .. ~
us:.
.
Fig.2
It also says: "that the standards at
present required by some highway
authorities are in excessof those required
for safety and convenience; and that a
[ __
'::----0.
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APRIL 1Sn
AREAS AND
CJOOoaao
'.
.
DOC
THE JOURNAL
OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
15
Fig.4
Eaglestone, Milton
Archirect:
Keynes
Culs-de-Sac penetrate housing
scheme to parking courts
Ralph Erskine
:::
---
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p
1200m
C Sire plan.
1
factor of all; the wishes of the people who
are going to live in the housing areas
being designed.
It is clear that for satisfactory design of
housing it is absolutely necessary to have
diversity of design. People must be able
: \ to make choices between different forms
of home environment. This means that
the highway engineer - a key figure in
the design process - must be flexible
and creative in his approach.
It is not possible in the space available
\ to examine ways in which road design
affects layout of housing areas, however
it is possible to present a few examples of
variety of approach which can be used in
the design of access roads. These
examples illustrate the possibility of
adapting design response to the needs of
a particular community and environment.
NEW SCHEMES
Many different types of layout have been
used in new housing areas. Seven types
are shown in Figure 2. The sole purpose is
to illustrate the variety of solutions
possible and to underline the need for an
open-minded approach by all involved in
housing layout design.
Each of the seven types are symbolised
by a diagram. In each case the circle
represents a radial road round the housing
area which in a particular case may exist
in total 0 r in part.
High Kingsdown, Bristol
Although one cul-de-sac has been
incorporated in this scheme it is not
essential to the type of layout used. This
example belongs to that type of housing
layout which does not permit private cars
to penetrate the scheme. Instead residents and visitors park ~heir cars at the
edge of the housing area and walk to the
dwellings (Figures 3 and 3[a}).
16
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
Thus an environment is produced
which is safe for children and free of
traffic noise and pollution.
adjacent to the road can be screened.
In this case two-way lane, 5m wide
roads have been used [Figures 6 and
6(a)).
Eagtestone, Milton
Keynes
The short culs-de-sac penetrate the
housing area and terminate in garage
courts. There is no access from the
culs-de-sac to the housing area except via
the garage court. The garage courts form
a rectangle separating parked cars from
the housing area.
By using this type of layout cars can
penetrate the residentiaI area thus
minimising the walking distance to the
dwellings. At the same time cars are kept
in their own precinct and the advantages
of safety, freedom from noise and
disruption by the cars are retained (Figure
4l.
Area 7 Andover
. As with the other types of layout, many
different interpretations are possible. The
one illustrated (Figure 51 uses straight
spine access roads with shorter culs.desac branching off at right angles and is
probably
the
arrangement
most
commonly adopted in the recent past.
In this e"xamplethe spine roads are 5m
wide with short lengths widened to 7.5m
to allow parallel parking at the side of the
road. The branch culs-de-sac are 5m wide
and have an adjacent parking strip 4.8m
to allow parking.
Langdon Hills. BlI;sildon
Roads can encourage high speeds as
well as being often dull and monotonous.
By curving the access roads speeds are
restricted and a constantly changing view
along the road results.
An additional advantage is the comparativeease with which vehicles parked
Halton Brow,
Runcorn
At "The Brow" in Runcorn culs-de-sac
access roads take an informal, organic
form. As a result the road network ceases
to be obtrusive and becomes an integral
enhancing etement of the residential
environment lFigure 7).
The roads are designed as one lane,
two-way roads with a basic width of
2.75m, passing places are provided and
parking is in small informal areas off the_
access roads. The ground is modelled to
form a bank at the sides. This has the
effect of making parking at the side of the
2.75m road impossible and the layout is
so arranged that to park on the access
road, as well' as virtually blocking the
road, would entail the driver in an
unacceptably long walk to the dwellings.
B~ookside 4, Telford
The serpentine access roads in this
layout are 2.75m wide (Figure 8).
They operate as two-way single lane
roads, the forecourts of the paired
garages acting as passing places and in
some locations taking the place of
hammerheads and turning circles.
Using garage forecourts as passing
places has the advantage of ensuring that
the passing places are not used for
parking.
The curved alignment and narrow road
width induce low speeds and caution.
(Note: Part only of the Brookside 4
housing area is shownl.
Hounslow Heath, Hounslow
In this layout cars are given similar
APRll19n
A network
Fig.5 Area 7 Andover
Architects: GLC
•
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•
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freedom to that of pedestrians, and both
are required to maintain a similar speed
[Figure 91.
They are constrained
to very slow
speeds by the designer's use of a number
of expedients. Very sharp bends are used
frequently in the road layout and where
straights are used they are very short so
that a driver cannot appreciably increase
his speed before the next corner. The
Q)
APRIL 19n
Figs.6 and 6(a) Langdon
Architects: Basildon DC
loop roads go through
narrow
gaps
between buildings, This has the effect of
inducing
caution.
Unfortunately
this
scheme will not be built due to exces.
sively high noise levels' from
nearby
Hills, Basi/don
THE :JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION
A network
OF HIGHWAY
of cu/s-de-sac
ENGINEERS
17
1
Plan Qf the Estate
Heathrow Airport.
Fig.7 Halton Brow, Runcom
-Architects: Runcorn DC
Fig.8 Brookside 4, Telford
Architect: Telford DC
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18
THE HIGHWAY
j
II
.••.. j
ENGINEER
A network of culs-de-sac
Loop roads in combination
with culs-de-sac
Millers Court. ChlBwlck.
Hammersmijh. London.
In this small infill site the road is a fully
integrated design element. The architect
has treated the road surface with as much
careful attention to form, proportion,
texture and detail as he has treated the
elevation of the buildings.
The result is an enclosed space both
intimate and full of character. In such
spaces motorists drive slowly and with
care (Figure 101CaTSare slowed down on entering the
housing area by the rough-textured
cobbled surface at the start of the access
road, by the raised section of cobbles and
by the curvature of the road. The white
wall facing alerts the night driver. The
road curvature leads to the central square
(Figures 11 and 12).
The strategically placed and elevated
planting boxes provide some screening
for the cars, act as spaca dividers, ensure
that drivers will not exceed walking pace
and add an element of soft landscaping
which acts as a foil to the other materials.
lines drawn by the pavers in the asphalt
help impart a human scale to the space,
and at the same time delineating parking
spaces. These lines are linked to the
building modules and so are a strong
unifying element (Figure 13).
Christchurch Site. Victoria Park.
HaCkney. london
In this intelligent and sophisticated
development the designer has used a
variety of methods to provide vehicle
access. For example, a cul-de-sac terminOatesin Vicars Close, Pennethorne Close
leads to a mews court and between these
two areas is a pedestrian-only precinct.,
The result is a number of spaces linked in
series providing a neighbourhood of great
interest and variety. Other spaces linked
in parallel add to the diversity and choice
-of route for the.pedestrian.(Figljre 141:
Vicar's Close is the end of a curved
cul-de-sac access road. This relaxed,
informal space leads into a pedestrianonly precinct via the gap in the low wall
to the left of the photograph (Figure 151This precinct provides a safe area for
children's play and a quiet place away
from the noise of traffic. lt leads, in turn,
to a mews court via the gateway in the
high wall seen in the middle diStance of
Figure 16.
The brick paved surface of the mews is
in contrast to the normal asphalt surface
of roads for traffic. This has the effect of
inducing a feeling of caution in the
driver (Figure 17).
Another feeling of caution; coupled
with a sense of enclosure, comes from
the space which has been created. The
entrances to the dwellings have been
recessed in order to provide a small,
private outdoor space as a transition to
the semi-public mews. The mews leads to
another pedestrian precinct in the background [Figure 18),
The pedestrian can walk from the
mews through the gate to this second
pedestrian area below and. from there,
through the gateway in the low wall to
the end of a second cul-de-sac, St. Agnes
Close [Figure 19 and 19(a)).
APRIL 19n
I~
Fig.9
A series of inter-connected dual use
(vehicle/pedestrian) areas
Hounslow Heath, Hounslow
Architect:
GLC
C>N
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Millers Coun, Chiswick, Hammersmith
Architects:
London
Dual use pedestrian
Chapman Taylor Pannership
Access Road
vehicle court.
Acc~ss road
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APRIL 19n
THE JOURNAL
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ENGINEERS
19
Fig. 11
~i
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!
As can be seen on the layout plan, .St.
Agnes Close is U-shaped around Block 1.
This device has maximised the length of
tha
cul-de-sac
and
proponionately
increased the number of parking places
which could be supplied.
By constructing a leg of the L.shaped
Block 2 parallel to Gore Road the designer
has closed the founh side of the space
lFigur~ 20J and greatly enhanced the
sense of privacy.
Although vehicles must retrace their
route to the cui-de-sac the pedestrians
have been given egress directly into Gore
Road.
This short cul.de-sac leads off the
access road to Vicars Close. Two bollards
are sufficient to delineate the edge of the
road and the normally obligatory upstand
kerb is clearly unnecessary (Figure 21).
The line of the road is emphasised by
Fig. 12
20
THE HIGHWAY
\
ENGINEER
APRll19n
Fig. 13
Fig.14
Christchurch Site, Victoria Park
Hackney, London
Architect: John Spence and Panners
Pedestrian
Curde~Sac Access Road
only coun. Mews coun
IV
1
VICTORIA >ARK
CHRISTCHURCH
GENERAL
LAYOUT
SITE'
VICTORIA
PLAN
~,ll
1977
THE JOURNAL
OF THE INSTITUTION
HACKNEY
-I-I ..
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APRil
PARK'
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Llo:I...-.oU. ~
OF HIGHWAY
Iwn
ENGINEERS
21
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I
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Fig. 15
the orientation of the brick paving. {Figure
22).
In the location a change in level has
been used to provide a pedestrian access
clear of the cars and leading direct to the
pedestrian precincts.
Cars have been placed on a recessed
level below that of the pedestrians and of
Victoria Par\( Road rendering them less
conspicuous.
Cars are slowed by means of the
section of footpath which projects out in
front of the entrance to the cul-de-sac.
Here a!so the device of using a different
coloured
and textured
surface
is
employed.
It is the writer's view that until quite
recently the critics have been largely
justified ~
Highway engineers have, too often, in
the design process, concentrated almost
Fig. 16
22
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
APRll19n
POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA COURSE IN
TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION
ENGINEERING
AT PORTSMOUTH POLYTECHNIC
The Course
In 1968 the Department of Civil Engineering at Portsmouth Polytechnic established a Postgraduate Diploma Course
in Traffic and Transportation, which is run annually during the Autumn. Today's traffic problems require the co-operation
of Civil, Municipal and Highway Engineers, Town Planners, Architects, Economists, Mathematicians and people in
associated professions. The course has been designed to enable people of Graduate status from these professions, who
are working in the various branches of local and central government, the public services and private organisations, to
supplement and to broaden their basic knowledge of the techniques of Traffic Engineering and Transportation. The twin
objective of the course is to cover basic technology and to provide an opportunity for an examination of the assumptions
which underlie the analysis of transport needs ..
. Syllabus
The syllabus includes lecture series on:.
Traffic and Travel Surveys,
Traffic Engineering,
Transportation Planning,
Economics,
Law,
Town Planning,
Statistics,
Computer Programming,
Highway Design (Option 1)
Transport Systems and Transport Policy(Option 21
Coursework
A choice of coursework is available which includes projects on highway design, traffic studies and transportation.
The transportation project requires team work and the direct application of material from lectures on computer
programming, economics, town planning and transportation. Other projects are of a more individual nature.
Design StUdy
During the four months following the course, course members are required to prepare a report on a subject of their
own choice.
Awards
The award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Traffic and Transportation Engineering is made to course members who
satisfy requirements with respect to written examinations, coursework and design study.
Course Dates are:Monday 3rd October to Friday 16th December, 1977.
Further Information
If you would like a brochure, or further information on a specific point, please fill in the reverse side of this leaflet
and return it to the Polytechnic. Postage is prepaid.
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BUSINESS
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Portsmouth Polytechnic,
Alexandra House, Museum Road,
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exclusively on technical aspects of design
and omitted to give due consideration to
environmental and aesthetic aspects of
their work on access roads. This is clearly
no! because engineers do not consider
APRIL 19n
these asPects important. Is it because
they believe that if they can get the
engineering right the other factors will
take care of themselves? If so this attitude
has not been a fruitful one. Is it because
they believe it is their job to take care of
the engineering and others will look after
the aesthetic and environmental aspects?
The writer believes that it is only through
an interest in, and feeling of responsibility
THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
I
•
ENGINEE'RS
I
23
/
Fig. 19
Fig. 19(a)
for, all aspects of road design that the
highway engineer will be able to _enter
into a fully participating partnership with
, the housing architect.
,
It would appear that this interest is not
yet very prevalent. Why is it for example
that virtually all the articles in the Institution's Journal are concerned with such
matters as traffic surveys, computer programmes and engineering materials for
road design? Why is it thet libraries
dealing with roads have countless books
about the technical aspects of road,
design and almost none about environmental espects?
The critics are also often right when
, they question the premises used in access
road design. Because, even though
concentration has been given to engineering considerations, it is highly questionable that the premises used have always
been correct. The premises - under
question are well-known so only one is
mentioned here - that relating to design
speed.
Too' often in the past accessed roads
have been design8cl as though 30mph
was a statutory minimum instead of a
maximum. Is it possible to justify the
saving of, at the most, two minutes in
average journey time at the expense of
creating an intimate and peaceful environment in which people can relax away
from the speed and noise of contemporary urban life? When we design access
roads do we fully appreciate that in many
areas most peopla do not own a car? ,The- ,
average ownership' was' 0.40 cars per
dwelling for publichouslng and 0.62 cars
per dwelling for housing in England as a
whole at the time of the 1971 census.-
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24
THE HIGHWAY
E~GINEER
APRIl19n
'.
Fig.20
When we design access roads for cars we
are often designing for the' minority.
Another criticism is concerned with "the
standards applied for the accommodation
of service vehicles. Should
roads be
.
.
designed for the comfort and convenience
of people living in the housing. areas or for
the convenience of removal contractors
and managers and operators of refuse
disposal facilities? Obviously some reason-
able compromise must be reached, but is
the compromise always reasonable from
. the point of view of the householder who
wants
a quiet pleasant environment?
Should access roads and junctions
be
designed
to take 40ft long removal
contractors vehicles or should the contractor use' vehicles appropriate to the
scale of properly designed housing areas?
Should refuse veh1cles always be able to
approach within 150ft of each dwelling or
should, in some cases, trollies be used to
allow longer carting distances?
The pu rpose of this Paper has been
simply to underline the existence of the
conflict and to illustrate that there, are
viable alternatives to current wisdom. If
the conflict is to be resolved it must be by
. means
of
open-minded
discussion
throughout those professions which share
responsibility
for the design
of the'
residential environment. As part of this
discussion there .is one viewpoint which
the writer would like to underline
in
conclusion ..
Why is the Institution's Journal full of
text, diagrams and formulae as opposed
, to, say, the "Architectural
Review" which
is full of attractive photographs? It is not
suggested that one extreme is better than
the other, nor is it being. suggested that
particular journals should necessarily not
pay more attention. to one aspect of'
design rather than another. But it is
suggested that if professional designers
identify with one particular aspect of
design to the exclusion of others then this
polarisation of interest may be one of the
most
important
factors
causing
the
present difficulties.
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APRIL 19n ..
-THE JOURNAL
OFTHE
INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
25
I
MOSS
Modelling Systems
G.S. Craine. BSc. MICE. MIMunE. MIHE, J.M: Houlton, MSc, DipTech,
MBCS, and E. Malcomson, BSc(Eng), MICE, MIHE
1. INTRODUCTION
MOSS stands for MOdelling SyStems
and describesthe concept of the use of a
computer system for building digital
models in the form of spatial co-ordinates
with associated attributes. The system
provides facilities for the storage of
models and a comprehensive set of easily
used computational options which allow
the user to create, develop and display
models(1).
Initially the system was developed for
the representation of land surfaces, both
natural and man-made,for use in highway
engineering. The fundamental simplicity
of the MOSS concept will allow models
to be created and processed for dis-
ciplines outside the field of highway
engineering and provides a base for other
computer developments in the fields of
engineering and planning.
2. EVOLUTION OF THE SYSTEM
MOSS hasdevelopedfrom a study of the
problems of defining earthworks and the
computer storage of ground surfaces in
the form of digital models. As a result of
experiencewith square grid, random point
and triangular models it was found that
the ground can best be defined by a
combination of feature lines for the
definition of irregular or acute ground
profiles such as existing roads, railways,
etc, and contours or general lines for the
recording of ground curvature. These
lines or strings are composed of three
dimensional co-ordinates and form tha
digital model of the ground surface.
It became apparent that the designed
earthworks and surfaces could be described in identical manner to the existing
ground surface. Further investigation
showed that the concept could be
simplified because the angular nature of
. earthworks .required only road feature
lines to define channels, kerbs, backs of
verges, embankment toes, etc. Road
feature lines are similar to ground feature
lines but are generated by the designer
and are stored as strings of three
dimensional co-ordinates. Bacause a
global co-ordinata system is used it is
simple to generate the features of the
I
.
G,S. Craine
BIOGRAPHIES
Mr Cm;ne is Management Information Engineerin the Surveyor's Department, Durham CC.
His early training was as a mine
engineer with the NCB and he
obtained his mine surveyor's certificate
in 1962. He then obtained a CNAA
degree in civil engineering at Sunderland Polytechnic and joined his present
employers.
'
After experience of road and bridge
design and motolWay contracts he
was appointed as. Computer Engineer
providing a service to both the county
and the RCU Sub-Unit. In 1971 he was
appointed to his present post where he
has responsibi1itiesfor computing and
project planning.
Mr Houlton is Principal Engineer,
Management Systems with
the
Surveyor's Department, West Sussex
CC.
He graduated in 1965 with a
mechanical engineering degree having
26
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
J,M. Houlton
worked as a student engineer for International Computers Ltd. A year later
he obtained an MSc at Birmingham
University and stayed for a further two
years as a research assistant in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, working on the computer-aided
design of mixed flow pumps and fans.
This led to the use of inter-active
graphics.
In 1968 he moved to West Sussex
CC as a Senior Systems Analyst to
develop computer-aided highway
design. He is now one of nine Principal
Engineers in a department of 350 and
is responsiblefor project planning and
the development and use of computer
techniques for all aspects of the
department's work.
Mr Malcomson has been Computer
Applications
Engineer,
Surveyor's Department, Northamptonshire CC since 1965. He is responsible
for project planning and the development and support of computer techniques for the Department.
E. Malcomson
....
He graduated in 1965 with a civil
engineering degree from London
University and took up an appointment
as Assistant Engineerwith East Riding
CC. He gained ex.periencein roed and
bridge design and was responsible for
supervising the construction of several
schemes.
SUMMARY
The MOSS system is a completely
new approach to the use of computers
for solving a wide range of problems in
the engineering and planning fields
and exploits the sophistication of
current computing machinery.
The Paper shows that the data
structures adopted in MOSS are
fundamental in concept and have
a/lower;J the integration of many
applications into one system. The
application of MOSS to a range of
problems, including aerial survey and
ground surveying, highway design and
spatial
information
systems
is
described.
APRIL 19n
/
f
highway because they have B known
relationship with the lines defining the
road alignments. Thus the engineer is
creating the ground model of the finished
earthworks. Because both the road and
ground models are dealt with in the same
way the ground model can be updated
with the new construction. This facility is
useful where schemes are to be constructed in several stages.
A simple concept has evolved which
makes it possible to store both ground
and highway models in the same way.
The system can operate on both types of
models with the same program logic, for
instance, the method of editing or plottin!J
road or ground strings is the same.
The system is therefore uninfluenced
by the type of string and now the concept
of holding models in string form can be
further generalised. Any surface or object
that can be adequately represented as
lines in a three dimensional space can be
stored and operated on by the system.
The major advantage of such a storage
concept is that different applications can
interface with one another through the
stored data. For example, a model can be
created from data produced by both
ground survey and aerial survey methods,
or a plotted drawing can be produced of a
composite model of a highway formed
from a' ground model, road model, street
furniture and building models.
3. CONCEPTS OF MOSS
This section summarises the concepts
which are inherent in the MOSS system.
The system will store and operate on
models which are sets of data representing either a physical entity such as the
surface of an area of land or a logical
entity such as a model of traffic noise.
Each model is composed of Bny
number of strings of data. A string can be
of any length and is composed of any
number of elements or points. An element
can consist of any number of items of
data and will generally include spatial coordinates, in which case they must
occupy the- first three positions in the
elemant. The format of each etement nf
data must be constant throughout a given
string and is defined in an index of string
details. Every model is referenced by a 32
character name and each string within a
model has a unique four character label.
Where spatial co-ordinates form part of
an element in most instances each
element is assumed to be joined to the
preceding and succeeding elements by an
imaginary line.
Examples of strings are contours
(2 dimensionalf; topographical feature
lines (3 dimensional); road networks,
proposed road alignments (6 dimensional:
x, y, z, chainage, bearing, radius);
drainage systems (8 dimensional: x, y, z,
gradient, pipe shape codes, roughness
coefficients, dry weather flow, influx
volumes etcf.
Models can be used to define any
surface or network e.g.
Surface models; Existing ground, substrata, proposed works, structures and
bridge geometry, Stockpiles
Feature models: Ground detail, street
furniture
Network models: Road, public utility and
APRIL 19n
drainaga networks
Abstract
models: Noise and visual
intrusion.
The important fact is that several applications i.e. bridge geometry, surveying
etc., which were previously considered
independent, have been united by
developing a common storage concept
basl!ld on the spatial co-ordinates, 'which
are the only common property.
Thus the advaniage of MOSS is that all
information is supported by a single
system with common files and processing
options such as plotting and editing, with
the added facility of being able to
compare the stored information from
several sources.
'
4. THE COMPUTER SYSTEM
The computer system consists of a set of
file handling routines which deal with the
storage Bnd retrieval of models and
stri ngs. '
The user has access to the stored data
, and the computational functions of the
system through the use of a Saries of
simple option commands. Major options
define major functions of the systBm
which operate on a model such as model
generation, editing and updating, the
determination of areas and volumes and
highway engineering functions. Within a
major option are a series of minor options
which generally perform operations on
one or more strings within a model. The
facilities provided by the system fall into
two grou ps, those of a -ganeral nature
which relate to the storage, editing and
plotting of models and those for specific
applications.
To simplify the use of the system,
where sets of options are frequently used
with varying data a facility is provided to
group options into "macro-options"
which can then be invoked with a
minimum of data.
The file structure has been designed to
facilitate the use of graphical display
devices such as visual display units and
dig itaI plotters.
The program has been written in a high
level portable subset of FORTRAN and
has been implemented on IBM, ICL,
UNIVAC and COC computers: Input data
can be read as either fixed or free format
and the system contains data vetting
facilities and comprehensive warning and
error messages.
6. GENERAL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS
lal Maintenance And Updating Of
Models
MOSS provides a comprehensive set of
options to manipulate models and strings.
These ,include:Creation, deletion, copying and merging
of models.
Altering values in elements within strings.
Adding new elements to strings.
Changing or deleting elements in strings.
Adding or delating complete strings.
Joinin g strings.
Creating new, strings from part of other
strings, the extent of which is defined
either by specific points or points of intersection.
The definition of the security of a model,
whether it may be updated or whether it
may only be read and not amended.
Further options are provided to aid the
maintenance of the computer files used
by the system such as creation reorganisation, safe copying and retrie~al.
The input data. required to achieve
these functions is very simple and
extremely well suited to computer
terminal use.
lbl Display of Models
A major advantage of MOSS is the
immediate acceptance by designers of the
co~cept of the computer S!0rage of
stnngs because of its direct comparison
with working drawings. It follows that
~OSS .has the capability to output
Information to a graphical device in a very
efficient way.
A comprehensive set of options is
available to allow the user to define the
area of inter~t and strings to be displayed. The output can either be in ,plan
form, isometric or perspective views,
vertical and horizontal sections or cross
sections.
For plan drawing, strings can be interpreted according to type and drawn with
a variety of line and symbol types and the
macro facility allows the user to define
almost any shape of symbol or line types.
For example a network model of gas
pipes may include information at each
node concerning the existence of valves,
compressors, pipe diameters etc., and the
plotted output could interpret this information as appropriate symbols. On drawings of ground surveys, hedges, fences
and spot heights can be shown according
to standard survey practice.
A "mask" feature is available which
permits the selection or rejection of
selected strings within a plot. An example
of its use when producing contract drawings is to plot the highway model and
then overplot the channel strings, selected
by an inclusive mask, as a series of spot
levels~.
When the output device is a digital
plotter the "picture" of a model can be
any size and the system will 'automatically
split the picture to fit pages of specified
size.
Sectional information' in the form of
cross-sections and long sections can be
extracted from the stored models and
planed. To aid the design of merging
alignments and crossfalls several strings
can be projected onto a common reference string and be drawn as a comprehensive vertical profile. Cross-sections, as
well as being a useful visual aid, are the
basis for determining contours.
Isometric and perspective views may be
taken of any models whether they contain
networks or land surfaces. They can
prove effective for checking ground
models and upon completion of a
highway design perspective, views may
be taken of the road within the existing
grou nd model to assist the designer in
ensuring it is aesthetically acceptable.
Icl Reporting of Models
The display facilities are the most
convenient form of reporting a model but
it is also necessary to list the model and
string contents and determine string
relationships. The basic reporting features
THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
27
air
survey
,,
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28
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
APRIL 1977
.
\
\
are of two types; status reports which list
the contents of either the models within a
file, the strings in a model or the contents
of individual strings and geometric reports
which determine the intersection of
strings etc..
Sectional information is a form of
reponing, and sections are extracted by
retrieving the points at which the section
intersects strings, if necessary causing
linear interpolation along that string to
determine the third dimension and,
additionally, in-filling sparse sections with
information taken at right angles to the
section. These sections may be stored for
funher processingor plotted as previously
described.
.improve the information by using high
order interpolation. The onus always
remainswith the user to ensure the model
is adequately defined.
6. SURVEYAPPLICATION
MOSS permits the creation of models by
either ground or air surveytechniques and
models may comprise data from both
methods. It is imponant to remember that
the model of the land form is only a digital
representationof the complex surface and
the number of strings and number of
points in the strinGs dictate the accuracy
of the surface interrogation. The options
that extract sections only use linear interpolation and no attempt is made to
lal Creation Of Digitised And Air
Survey Models
Oigitising is a rapid means of collecting
information in string form from existing
plans or optical models such as occur in
stereo plotting machines.
MOSS provides for the creation of
models of contour and three dimensional
strings from data produced as an automatic process from stereo-plotting equipFig.2
--,
ground
APRIL 1977
survey
THE JOURNAL
OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
29
...,
/
,
ment as used by aerial survey companies,
table digitisers or by manual means.
Where the data results directly from a
machine process it is unlikely to ,be
suitable for direct input to MOSS and a
preprocessor is provided for use when
information is taken .from stereoploning
machines or table digitisers.
The preprocessor verifies and transforms strings of date from machine coordinates to true co-ordinates and
removes excessivepoints from the strings
subject to specified tolerances in the
horizontal and vertical planes. The data is
finally reformatted to conform to the
specifications required by MOSS.
Once the information is stored the
strings are plotted and verified to ensure
its acceptability prior to use for design
and earthwork calculations, (Figure 1].
lbl Ground Surveying
A complete ground survey, analysis and
drawing procedure can be defined in
MOSS, with the added advantage that
the models so created can be further
utilised for new works design, area and
earthwork calculations.
Survey control stations are created
either from computations of triangulatiol's, resection or traversing exercises, or
by direct input,
The field observations of detail then fall
into categories according to the type of
surveying employed. MOSS standard field
~heetsprovide for the observations from:Vertical staff stadia tacheometry.
Self reducing tacheometers observing either slope distance/verticaI
tangent or horizontal distance/level
difference.
(iiil Electronic measuring devices such
as 01 10 and 01 3 distomat.
[ivl Chain and offset with the optional
addition of reduced level.
Certain features such as hedges,
fences, waterlines, ditches, and features
with unique point definitions such as
manholes, gulleys, trees and poles, and
spot levels, are all recognised by MOSS
by a simple labelling system applied by
the surveyor to either a sequence of
observations for a feature, or to each
observation individually. In the tatter case,
all observations with the same label are
collected together before sending the
results to the filing system for storage,
On a special instruction, the plotting of
this type of model is carried out by interpreting the labels and representing the
feature with the appropriate symbol.
(Figure 2).
Any errors found from the plot, or upon
field verification, can be edited using the
MOSS editing functions, and a final
drawing made which requires only minor
manual burnishing to be acceptable..
Upon interrogation 'by other options in
MOSS, for example 'area' and volume
calculations, all features in the model
which do not represent the surface levels
are ignored.
".
The "string" concept for recording
features introduces a discipline into the
ground survey method but once accepted
the system can automatically produce
interpreted plots direct from the field
observations.
[i)
(ii)
30
THE HIGHWAY
. 7. HIGHWAY APPLICATION
The design of a highway scheme can be
considered as a seriesof engineering procedures. Each procedure involves the use
of a seriesof major options and these will
be both the general purpose options and
highway design options.
Initially a model of the original ground
"surface will be recorded either by air or
ground survey methods as previously
described. If geological strata influence
the earthwork quantities, models should
be created for the various rock strata.
These models will be created from
borehole information and can take the
form of contours of the conjectured
surface or a series of strings linking the
boreholes in a triangular pattern.
The MOSS design technique is to
create a model of th9 proposed highway
consisting of a series of strings representing the major features such as centre
lines,channels and verges. These features
are created by simple offsetting from the
alignment strings and the initial step is to
define the "master alignments" which
geometrically define the proposed highway. The feature strings are generated by
specifying their horizontal and vertical
relationships to a master alignment or
previously generated feature string. This
is followed by the generation of the line or
feature that occurs at the intersection of
the road and ground model, known es the
interface string, to complete the road
model in readiness for the area and
volume calculations.
The general editing functions will be
used to remove redundant sections of
strings where they intersect other features
and to insert non-standard features such
as nosings to complete the model.
Throughout the design plots of the model
will be necessaryfor p'rogresschecks and
to assist the planning of the subsequent
design and editing.
Once the model of the highway surface
is complete sections and perspectivescan
be determined and plotted to check the
visual impact of the scheme. Topsoil and
seedingquantities are determined by constructing a boundary around each of the
areas of interest and totalling the
calculated quantities for each of these
areas.
A further model is created from the
completed road model to describe the
formation surface, prior to the" determination of earthwork volumes. The volumes
between this model and the ground
model can be determined by either taking
sections along a string or by defining a
boundary and taking elemental sections,
depending upon the complexity of the
situation.
The follOwing sections describe the
more important highway design facilities
in greater detail.
lal Alignment Analysis
The alignment strings form the, basic
strings from which all road feetures are
generated. These strings are created in
two stages as in the conventional design
process, the horizontal geometry is
designedfirst and the levels are added by
the vertical alignment options later.
Sufficient points must be created by the,
horizontal alignment programs to ensure
adequate digital representation of the"
designed line and a chord/arc tolerance
can be specified by the user.
MOSS provides a comprehensive range
of design options including conventional
horizontal alignment design with an
improved version of the program HORAL
and cubic spline alignments. Levels can
be added to the horizontal geometry by
options based on conventional vertical
alignment techniques or the vertical cubic
spline method.
The cubic spline alignment options
were created within MOSS to provide the
greater level of designer interaction that is
required for detailed schemes. The cubic
alignments are located on plan using
piano wire which permits the designer
complete involvement to finalise the
horizontal geometry. The piano wire is
accurately approximated by a series of
splined cubic curves. The program
calculations ensure continuity of gradient
and curvature between adjacent cubic
curves and ensure that the alignment
geometric considerations ara satisfied.
The flexibility of the method easily lends
itself to design in urban areas and of
minor improvements which provide some
of the greatest problems to the de.
signer.121
- The role of the master alignment in
highway design is that it fathers a series
of features that are related to it by simple
horizontal and vertical offsets. In this way
a complete design of an interchange can
be prepared by the careful selection of
several master alignments.
Where feature lines cannot be located
in plan by this offsetting technique
secondary alignments are used which
employ the horizontal alignment options
to determine their horizontal geometry,
but the levels are added by defining a
relationship to a previously designed
string. Examptesof the use of secondary
alignments occur where roads narrow,
bends widen and where, on complax
interchanges,
the
constraints
for
horizontal and vertical geometry are not
coincident in a 'singlestring.
Ibl Geometric Design
The geometric design option provides a
range of facilities for the creation and
amendment of feature strings relative to
previously designedstrings and is used to
generate the highway features such as
channels, kerbs and verges.
The geometric design facility differs
from other MOSS facilities in that it
creates strings by reference to other
strings and for this reason it is possible to
generate strings in a' new model with
reference to strings in an existing model.
This feature is used to generatethe model
depicting the road formation from the--strings in the road surface model.
The facilities can be considered in two
groups; those for the generation of coordinates in the horizontal plane and
those for the vertical plane. The horizontal
geometry of successive parts of a road
model string can be created or amended
relative to a master alignment string or
other strings using offsat functions such
as constant offset. linear and reverse
curves. The co-ordinates of points on the
ENGINEER
APRIL 19n
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1491.963
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Fig.3
new string are generated normel to those
on the reference string. Where a widening
function is used sufficient points are
generated in the new string to ensure
adequate..definition .of the string according to a predetermined chordlarc tolerance. The vertical geometry of the string
is generated either by specifying a
constant or variable crossfall relative to a
reference string or by the application of a
vertical offset similar to those defined for
horizontal offsets.
Because the generation
of
the
geometry of new strings is in two phases,
firstly in the horizontal, then the vertical
plane, a further level of flexibility is introduced in that horizontal and vertical
relationships may be to different reference
strings. Also. when the levels for a new
string are determined, the points do not
need to be opposite those on the
reference string. The advantage of this
feature is obvious when adding levels to a
string designed by the horizontal alignment options. Slip road alignmants are of
this type and where they convargel
diverge from the main carriageway their
levels may be determined by a continuation of the existing carriageway crossfall.
Special facilities are available for use in
the design of roundabouts.
lcl Sections. Interface. Areas and
Volumes
Sections may be extracted from any
model by a range of options which can
APRIL 19n
rlt
t .gUf.
J
4
Fig.4
determine a long section along a specific
line, a section along a single line and
sections at right angles 'to a specified
string. Sections through the ground and
geOlogical streta will essist the location of
vertical alignments and cross sections
through the ground and completed road
models can be ploned as visual aids for
contractual use.
The interface line between the road and
ground model is termed the toe of the
batter and is determined by taking
sections normal to a reference string,
usually the back of verge and extending a
slope until it intersects the ground. These
slopes may be of simple form or a
combination of several slopes with or
without berms and may be extended from
the road to ground or vice versa.
By defining a boundary of an area
within a model. the 9nc'0~1j plan slope or
surface area can be computed, and
optionally multiplied by a corn;tant representing a unit conve"llion factor or depth
to give a crude vOlume. Boundaries are
set up by defining individual points, or
parts of existing strings snd can be stored
temporerily or permane1"t1yif their use is
likely to be repeated. Pa~ ~f strings are
defined by start ar.d en.~!-)ointswh:ch can
be the intersection wit:"! another string, an
intersection with I! nQrmal frnm a given
point, or the start or lmd '1f the !ltring
itself. Th03e b')lmdarias lire used in
several MOSS QPtilJn~,providing a simple
common mElthod of inte:rogBting the
THE JOURNAl
contents of a model.
Several options are available for the
determination of volumes for various
situations and accuracies. Volumes are
usually determined between two models
but for preliminary design a standard
profile can be defined to give repid
results. For streightforward lengths of
highway the volumes can be determined
by taking cross-sections through the
models normal to a string such as a
master alignment string. In complex areas
and interchanges volumes can be determined by defining the boundary string
around the area, cutting the main alignments at appropriate places. The volumes
are computed by taking parellel sections
through the area enclosed by the
boundary, computing the areas of these
sections and multiplying by the section
interval. In this way errors introduced in
• the previous conventional cross section
approach to volume calculation along a
given (curvedl alignment are eliminated.
The direction of the parallel sections is
specified for each calculetior. and a
comparison of accurecy can be obtained
by specifying a different section direction
for a further calculation. Experience has
proved that for normal section intervals
the total volumes can be expected to
compare within 2-3 per cent.
ldl Setting Out
Setting out of Bny feature represented by
a string is possible in MOSS. Options
OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
31
section
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-
.--.-
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Fig. 5
provide setting out information for two
instruments and intersecting rays, one
instrument and deflection angles, or
C'ftsets from a baseline. Alignments,
channels, interfaces, fence lines, the
position of level profiles at a constant
offset from an alignment string are aU
dealt with in the same way. Because
every string is independently related to
the overall co-ordinate system it is more
practical to initially set out the fence and
interface lines prior to stripping of topsoil,
followed by the level profile strings to
assist construction and then the channel
strings, rather than offset from the
theoretical alignment string.
\
Extensive use can be made of the
plotting facilities to produce site information inCluding plan drawings detailing
either all levals or only the carriageway
levels.
Fig.6
\
---------- ..... -..--- ..-JAooI-lAI
....--- - ..-- .. -
po-
contract
32
THE HIGHWAY
--
........,
ENGINEER
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--........ -.. _---
--
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nformation
iA>._
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APRil 1977
f
.<
8. HIGHWAY EXAMPLE
The example selected illustrates the application of the .MOSS concept to the
design of an interchangewhich previously
could only be completely designed by
manual methods.(3J
The ground model for the area is
prepared from aerial survey information
and consists of contours and 3D strings.
The required interchange is shown in
Figure4 and initially the number of master
alignments must be determined from
which all the features can be created by
simple geometric offsening. The six
alignments chosen are shown in Figure 3
and those depicted by broken lines are of
subsidiary form and obtain their levels by
crossfall from the adjacent channel
strings. The design proceeds by generating the channel strings, then the verges,
followed by the interface strings. String
editing is required to complete the road
model as shown in Figure 4. The various
topsoil and soiling quantities are determined by creating the relevant boundaries
from features in the road model.
Design progress is checked using the
planing options. Figure 5 illustrates the
planing feature allowing the projection of
the slip road alignments on to the main
vertical alignment for checking final
crossfalls. The potential for using ploned
output for contract drawings is shown in
Figure 6 which illustrates a small section
of the carriageway with levels overploned
on the channel strings. Cross-sections
may also be extracted from the completod
model and produced as a construction
aid.
The sub-surface model, which depicts
the formation surface, is generated from
the road model. The model is similar to
that in Figure 4 but it is necessary to edit
the model adjacent to the overbridge to
Table 1 : Comparison
Axis
Angle
-
Cut
give sub-surfece continuity prior to
determining volumes.
The earthwork volumes are determined
by generating a boundary encompassing
the interchange and <then taking a series
of parallel sections at a specified angle
and interval through both the ground and'
sub-surface models. The cross-sections
produced are used to determine the
overall volumes. Tv compare the accuracy
of both the modelling and the earthwork
calculation techniques several volume
calculations were made in which the
direction of the sections were specified at
every 45 degree increment of bearing. The
results of the calculations are given in
Table 1 and show agreement to within
1.07per cent of the mean value.
The conclusions to be drawn from
these results are that the quality of the
model and the method of parallel sections
for earthworks computation are extremely <
good. Similar results have been obtained
from other earthwork calculations and
confirm the accuracy of the MOSS
concepts.
9. GENERAL APPLICATIONS
From the outset MOSS was intended as a
general system for storing and manipulating data related to spatial co-ordinates
and it has been used for applications
other than highway design.
The ground survey techniques, area
end volume facilities have widespread use
for determining volumes for quarries and
gravel pits which may be required for
waste disposal. Land forms may be
designed and assessedfor visual impact,
utilising sections and perspectivas, when
associatedwith land reclamation projects.
Facilities are available which permit
geographic and economic modelling for
the selection of optimum corridors for
detailed design studies{4}. Features of
of Earthwork
Fill
Volumes
% .Diff .
To tal
,
0
305.0
163987.0
164292.0
+
0.62
45
302.0
161229.0
161531.0
-
1.07
90
133.0
162433.0
162566.0
-
0.43
135
202.0
164190.0
164392.0
+
0.68
180
307 •0
163858.0
164165.0
+
0.55
215
293.0
161590.0
161883.0
-
0.85
270
139.0
162375.0
162514.0
-
0.47
315
187.0
164665.0
164852.0
+
0.97
233.5
163040.87
163274.37
Abs. 0.70
APRIL 19n
,
THE JOURNAL
interest such as housing sites, factories,
railways, rivers etc. are simulated by cost
areas and cost lines through which
minimum cost routes can be determined.
The OrdnanceSurvey (OS) digital maps
can be stored as models. The general
MOSS facilities permit creation of
boundaries, editing and updating with
new information. Property boundary
information is required for development
control monitoring of planning applications. This information can be either
obtained from OS digital maps or
recorded separately from digitised plans.
These boundaries and associated information can be compared with adjacent land
areasand monitored for general land use
and availability.
Perhaps the greatest future potential of
MOSS is for recording network information. Network models may be created to
describe highways or public utility
apparatus. The networks may be used as
an updatable master indexing system to
other files of information, not necessarily
MOSS files. Summarised highway information such as traffic accident data, traffic
flow information, maintenance records
and street lighting information can be
stored in the network strings. This allows
statistical correlation of the data from
several sources and the display options
allow the information to be superimposed
on the network to produce visual
evidence of correlation.
10. CONCLUSION
MOSS is a completely new approach to
the use of computers for the solution of a
wide range of problems associated with
spatial information and has integreted
many previously separate applications
into one system. Its creation from first
principle has allowed.the development of
user orientated techniques which exploit
the Sophistication of current computer
developments.
Graphical presentation is an integral
feature of the concept and where MOSS
is currently being ,:!mplQyed.for highway
design with supporting ploner and
graphic display units there has been a
complete change of. anitude to design
with the emergence of a computer aided
design environment
11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The MOSS system has been developed
by a consortium of three countries,
Durham, Northamptonshire and West
Sussex. The authors would like to thank
the three County Surveyors, Mr J.R.
Tully. OSE, SSc, FICE, FIMunE, FIHE,
Mr M.N.T. Conell, FICE, FIMunE and Mr
W.C.S. Harrison, CBE, ERD, FICE, MIHE,
for their continued support.
12. REFERENCES
III MOSS Manual, Moss Consortium,
Northamptonshire CC
(21 Craine, G.S. Cubic Spline Alignments.
Proceedings of PTRC Detailed Road
Design Seminar, June, 1973.
(3) MOSS Technical Note No.3 - Design
of an Interchange. Moss Consortium.
14) Craine, G.S. and Heatherington, $.
Optimum Route Location. Proceedings of
PTRC Highway Planning Seminar, July,
1974.
OF THE INSTITUTION
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
33
Road Surfaces ..in Hot Weather
Following the request to members to
inform the Construction Board of their
experiences on the effect of prolonged
hot weather on road surfaces.the Board
has received some very useful information
from individuals, authorities and organisations.
.This article consolidates these views
and is published both for the information
of membersand so that Branchescan use
the information as a basis for a workshop
type meeting.
The response to the Board's request
can be seplJf8ted into two categories
(i) Surface dressing and (iiJ Other
surfaces, plJrticularly hot rolled asphalt
and the remedial treatment given to both
categories. A further aspect which later
contributors have referred to is the effect
in some areas of the severe frost conditions coupled with high rainfall since the
summer.
Surface Drassing
In general dressings applied in 1976 were
successful. Road temperatures exposed
to the sun can exceed air temperatures in
the shade by as much as 2(l°C and there
were 7-8 weeks in 1976 when the road
temperature could. have exceeded the
e.v.t. of the binder used.
In some places surface dressing work
was suspended when the road surface
temperature was between 40° and 50°
but a successful dressing was laid on a
motorway with contra-flow traffic control
thus permitting the newly-dressed lanes
to be closed when the RST exceeded
40°C. The binders used were 46 evt tar
and 300 sec tar bitumen blend.
Another successful outcome in an
urban area was achieved by delaying
work until the RST had dropped. A 200
sec viscosity binder with a rate of spread
of 1.1 to 1.2 litre per m2 with 14mm precoated chippings was used on Marshall
category 2 and 3 roads.
One county reported no trouble on
roads dressed using Surfix C emulsion
and the faning-up on roads carrying
medium to heavy traffic. occurred on
roads previously dressed with either
bitumen or tar/bitumen binders.
The general opinion was expressed that
the continuous high day and night
temperatures caused sub-strata to soften
to such a depth that the traffic consolidated the material and forced the
binder to the surface. Dressings on hard
sub-strata remained stable and old dressings on concrete were not affected. The
hardening in winter of high viscosity
• ,HE Journal.
34
Ocrober 1976
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
binders used in dressings where Iinle
chipping embedment' took place has
resulted in a loss of stone.
From the survey is can be concluded
that the major factors to observe so far as
surface dressing is concerned are the
avoidance of build-up of previous dressings, the careful choice of binders,
seeking information on the use of high
viscosity binders and the need for
stringent traffic control.
only of this country but of others also and
reports from overseas indicate that
deformation takes place with other
materials as well as rolled asphalt and the
problem does not lead to a conclusion
that rolled asphalt should be abandoned
aspecially as othe r factors such as surface .
texture must be taken into account.
Mr D. Brien recently gave a Paper to
the Society of Chemical Industry entitled
"Design Asphalt - Research" and this
will be published in a future issue of "The
Highway Engineer". Members will find
Remedial Works on Surfacathis useful for UK practice and in it he
Dressed Roads
studies aspects of aggregate content,
filler content and types of binder. Mr V.A.
In the short-term sanding and gritting
Knight's Paper at the ACMA Seminar in
with stone dust helped to prevent the
Manchester in November, 1976 also
surface from picking up but any improved
provides interesting and provocative readtexture is temporary.
ing.
Chippings can be rolled in if the surface
Trials have taken place using high
is rich and whilst these may be retained in
Penetration Index bitumen and successful
warm weather the chippings are likely to
carpets have been laid on heavilybe lost in the fOllowing winter. Adhesion
trafficked roads in the summer of 1976.
is improved if the chippings ere heated.
Recent experience indicates that dangers
Surface dressing with selective use of
which have been forecast in .the' use of
chip size e.g. 20mm in the fatted areas,
high PI bitumen are not to be discounted.
14mm elsewhere or variation in the binder
A failure occurred where material was laid
distribution by regulating the spray-tar
on an existing road in cold conditions.
has also been used.
The experimental stage using high PI
Carbonisation of the binder by heating
index bitumen is illustrated by these
with oil-fired or infra-red heaters has been
cases.
widely used. The binder is not usually
Looking abroad. France has had bad
removed completely 'to restore deep
deformation troubles for many years. A
texture and there is some evidence that
number of causes can be stated e.g. axle
the thin residual film of binder cause the
loads up to 13 tonnes, high degree of
initial improvement in skid resistance to
overloading, use of aspheltic concrete
drop to the value similar to the untreated
with rounded gravel. The French prosurfaces. Further investigation into skid
duced a new material for the base course
resistances after carbonisation would be a
and which is now being uf?8dto wearing
worthwhile exercise.
course level with the addition in some
An expensive operation and thus only
cases of a surface dressing. This material
used selectively is heating' fatted areas
is Grave-Bitumen and the changes in the
with high-pressure propane gas.
specification were:tal A high proportion of crushed aggreDeformation of Bituminous
gate was used in place of rounded
Pavements
aggregate;
(b) the filler content was increased; and
Whilst last summer was exceptional
(cl a higher pen bitumen was used with a
deformation was already taking place on
lower bitumen content,
heavily-trafficked roads and the higher
road temperatures increased the rate of
This has been found successful in withstanding deformation. France only uses
deformation.
A detailed .survey of a motorway
high PI bitumen in cold areas and are
showed that deformation is mainly conconcerned about the fetigue life. The
French experience confirms it should be
fined to the slow lanes and it is absent
under bridges where the road is protected
confined to the wearing courSe. TRRL
from the direct rays of the sun.
Supplementary Report 242 deals with
Road temperatures of up to 50°C have
Grave-Bitu men.
been recorded but the slow lane surface
South Africa. with similar experience to
temperature was some 5°C lower than
UK with hot-rolled asphalt, altered their
the middle and fast lanes. Whether this is
specification to give a tighter envelope for
grading and required a Marshall test for
due to improved air circulation by moving
traffic or the shading effect of traffic
the whole material. As they use a
could be further investigated but it is' _ relatively thin layer of bituminous inaterial
contrary to the view that the higher
on a non-bituminous base their experience is not strictly comparable.
temperatures of tyres cause the slow lane
Our Northern Ireland colleagues report
temperature to be higher.
that whilst faning up of road surfaces has
Deformation has been a feature not
APRIL 19n
"
i..
I
1I.
J
been more noticeable this year, a more
pronounced feature of the hot summer
was the longitudinal cracking and subsidence of roads over bog ramparts. This
is due to the underlying peat drying out
and some doubts have been expressed
whether tar peat will become re-saturated
and resume its former characteristics.
at Palace Hotel, Torquay
Contributors referred to the inadequate
design methods and the Marshall method
was strenuously advocated. Other factors
on Thursday and Friday, June' 2nd-3rd, 19n
I
which were mentioned were the use of
pitch bitumen, the use of _single-sized
washed sands and the high bitumen
content of mixes.
Golf, sailing competition, civic reception
Remedialwork consists of resurfacing
and luncheon
but as deformation was already taking
place due mainly to the increased traffic
-Ioadings-the-acceleration-in-deformation--I--------------------------------1-----during the hot summer should act as a
CONFERENCE SPEAKER:
spur to go on searchingfor the best ways
of overcoming the problem.
A. SILVERLEAF, Director, TRRL
A subsequentproblem has followed the
shrinking of clay formations during the
hot dry spell with consequent deformation and cracking of surfaces - particuDetails from Branch Secretary, A.F. Cousins,
larly on minor roads. The heavy rains of
23 Charlotte Street, Bristol BS1 5PZ
the autumn infiltrated thus weakening the
road structure and the ponding of water
Tel: Bristol 24868
on the surface, especially when it froze,
produced hazardousconditions especially
associated with maintaining the road
and advice and will be pleasedto receive
for two-wheeled vehicles.
structure within the limited budget will be
reports from any Branch meetings where
Highway engineers know the solution
discussedat a joint colloquium which the
the subject is debated.
to this problem and are only too aware of
Institution and the Institution of Civil
In addition to referencesin the text the
the expenditure involved which will be
Engineers are, holding during 1978.
Board acknOWledgesthe assistance given
considerable because of the reduction in
Further details will appear in the Journal.
by Mr D.A. Robinson, Road Surfacing
maintenancefunds at the present time.
The Construction Board is indebted to
Dressing Association, in compiling the
This and other maintenance problems
those who wrote giving their experiences
section on surface dressing.
SOUTH-WESTERN BRANCH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
(
(Continued
ftom page 31
The Institution
the Future
and
with all matters associated with the
design, construction and maintenance of
highways. This Board organisesseminars,
conferences and publishes Papers in the
Journal to-keep members up to date with
current matters in this field.
(2l A Transportation Board which has
acted similarly to the other Board in the
field of planning for transport and has
organised transportation
workshops,
transportation topics and transportationretated articles in the Journal. Many
branch meetings deal with aspects of
transportation.
The Institution offers a post graduate
diploma in Transportation Engineering
which has been brought up to date to
deal with the modern situation.
The Professional and Public Image
of the Institution
fully conveyed to many professionals,
the public, politicians and the medle,
the significant
involvement
of Its
mambers in the practice of transportation engineering and the contribution they make to the netlonal transportation scene, es well a8 to highways.
Furthermore, in recent years, the
output of graduates with transportation
qualifications from universities and polytechnics has increased considerably, but
not all are aware of the Institution's role in
the field with the result that they are
gravitating
towards
non-engineering
bodies with a consequent loss in the
adequacy of their understanding of the
need for professional practical engineering answers to transportation problems.
This situation as far as engineers are
concerned results in a professional
vacuum for some of those engaged upon
transportation engineering.The Institution
can respond to these circumstances and
maintain the UK lead in this new
discipline as opposed to some of the
other less sophisticated techniques of
other countries.
In seeking to highlight the Institution's dominant role In transportation
engineering, professional standards
must be maintained In ell our fields of
influence and not to dilute membership by including non-profeaslonets.
The meetings, articles, workshops, visits
and study tours have all met with success
but it is vital that the profession and
public at large is swanethat the Institution
caters for not only highway engineersbut
also transportation engineers.
In short the developmentshave resulted
in very successful activities within the
Title
Institution, but its professional image still
inadequately reflects their wide spectrum _ Finally having resolved to make it known
and high standards.
mone broadly how far the Institution is
The Institution has not yet successinvolved in highway engineering and
APRIl19n
transportation engineering it has to
recognise that current international terminology includes highways as a sector
within transportation. Should not the
Institution indicate to aII that our activities
deal with not only highways' design and
construction but also relevant transportation matters7 In short that we are in the
field associated with highways and
pianning for transport right fro m the
beginning and able to contribute to the
evaluation and resultant implementation
of the most appropriate mode of movement which does-not mean competition
with other modes but giving each mode
its rightful opportunity to be part of the
transport scene.
The Nex:t Step
Council and all eighteen branch Committees have debated both the need for a
change in the title and what that title
should be and there is a large measure of
support for the inclusion of the word
TRANSPORTATION in the name. The
two alternatives are:
The Institution of Transportation and
Highway Engineers
and
The Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers
It is the intention of Council to
consult
the membership
on the
proposal shortly and.' hope 8 large
number of members will respond.
THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTION
T.D. Wilson
President
OF HIGHWAY
ENGINEERS
35
New plant, equipment and materials
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FENCING SYSTEM
With the tremendous increase in building
work now being' undertaken by British
companies abroad, BSpeclally in the
Middle East, the demand for secure and
easily erected site perimeter or compoUnd
fencing has greatly increased. Contractors
are finding that suitable fencing materials
are either expensive or very difficult to
obtain locally.
Consequently Jetty (UK) ltd .• 123
Talbot Road. Black pool. have introduced a patented panel system fence
called Owikfence manufactured entirely
from galvanised steel.
The system is very economical because
it is re-usable and can be quickly erected
and dismantled by unskilled labour. Both
l:
Right & centre left:The patented panel
svstem in galvanised
steel from Jettv (UK)
Ltd. of Blackpool
third a maximum lift of 5.29m, a closed
height of 2.88m and a full free lift of
1.81m. The smallest has a lift height of
4.38m, a closed height of 2.57m level with
the top of the driver's cab - with a full
free lift of 1.51m.
An advantage of the low closed height
of the masts to the construction industry,
claim the makers, is the reduced likelihood of road transportation between sites
being hindered by overhead obstructions.
To reduce risk of overloading, a, patented
visual indicator is incorporated on the
mast side which, at a glance, indicates
safe working loads appropriate to the
mast extension.
The design of the system is that it gives
maximum visibility through the mast
when it is fully extended, a particular
advantage- when operating on rough
terrain and vital when approaching a
stacking position.
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The lamps combine stability with an
aesthetically pleasing appearance and the
moulded plastic casing provides maximum
protection for the polycarbonate lens.
Each lamp case is secured by a single
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ROAD DANGER LAMPS
posts and panels are lightweight and can
be palletised, thus making transport
relatively inexpensive whether by container or conventional sea freight.
THREE STAGE MASTS
A range of three stage masts
gIVIng
the benefits of high maximum lift heights,
full free lift and a low closed height on a
construction rough terrain fork lift truck
has been introduced by Bonser Engineering Ltd., Glltbrook,
Nottlnghamshire. Available with the Bonser RT
25OOK,two and four wheel drive trucks
and the company', LS45 and 55 rough
terrain trucks, the three stage masts are
available in four sizes.
The largest has e maximum lift height
of 7.58m enabling floors of buildings
above ground level to be reached; closed
height is 3.64m and the mast has a full
free lift of 2.57m. Next in the range has a
lift height of 6.21m, closed height of
3.18m and a fu II free lift of 2.12m; the
.
36
THE HIGHWAY
ENGINEER
Now available from T1ldawn Electronics
ltd, Arden Forest Industrial Estate,
Tything
Road. Alcester,
Warwick.
shire. is the Hazard Blitz range of high
powered road danger lamps. Suitable for
use on major roads and motorways the
Hazard Blitz incorporates circuitry suitable
for providing strobe-lighting - a high
powered flashing light visible for long
distances In severe weather conditions.
The Hazard Blitz high-powered road
danger lamp from Tildawn Electronics
Ltd
centre bolt and the "clip-together" design
of the two casing halves ensures firm
fitting of the body together with. good
weatherproofing properties and resistance
to damage or vandalism.
The Bonser RT
2500K construction
rough terrain "ork lift
truck incorporating
the three stage mast
option
APRIL 19n
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