Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 21 views

    LEC (1) History of Highway Engineering

    Uploaded by

    Hamza Makien
    The document discusses the history of highway engineering from ancient times to modern times. It describes how roads evolved from human pathways to large scale construction by ancient civilizations like Romans and later developments by French, British and modern techniques.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    LEC (1) History of Highway Engineering

    Uploaded by

    Hamza Makien
    21 views8 pages
    The document discusses the history of highway engineering from ancient times to modern times. It describes how roads evolved from human pathways to large scale construction by ancient civilizations like Romans and later developments by French, British and modern techniques.

    Original Title

    LEC (1) History of highway engineering,

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses the history of highway engineering from ancient times to modern times. It describes how roads evolved from human pathways to large scale construction by ancient civilizations like Romans and later developments by French, British and modern techniques.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    21 views8 pages

    LEC (1) History of Highway Engineering

    Uploaded by

    Hamza Makien
    The document discusses the history of highway engineering from ancient times to modern times. It describes how roads evolved from human pathways to large scale construction by ancient civilizations like Romans and later developments by French, British and modern techniques.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 8

    Bright Star University, El Brega

    Faculty of Aeronautics
    Roads and Airports Department

    Lecture (1)

    History of Highway
    Engineering

    Transportation Engineering II (RAE243)

    Mr. Hamza Makeen


    Lecture (1): History of Highway Engineering Mr. Hamza Makeen

    Lecture (1)
    History of Highway Engineering

    1.1 Overview

    Road transport is one of the most common modes of

    transport. Roads in the form of track ways, human

    pathways etc. were used even from the pre-

    historic times. Since then many experiments were

    going on to make the riding safe and comfort.

    Thus, road construction became an inseparable

    part of many civilizations and empires. In this

    Lecture we will see a brief about highway

    development and planning.

    1.2 History of highway engineering

    The history of highway engineering gives us an

    idea about the roads of ancient times. Roads in

    Rome were constructed in a large scale and it

    2
    Lecture (1): History of Highway Engineering Mr. Hamza Makeen

    radiated in many directions helping them in

    military operations. Thus, they are considered to

    be pioneers in road construction. In this section

    we will see in detail about Ancient roads, Roman

    roads, British roads, French roads etc.

    1.3 Ancient Roads

    The earliest mode of transport was by foot. These

    human pathways would have been developed for

    specific purposes leading to camp sites, food,

    streams for drinking water etc. The next major

    mode of transport was the use of animals for

    transporting both men and materials. Since these

    loaded animals required more horizontal and

    vertical clearances than the walking man, track

    ways emerged.

    3
    Lecture (1): History of Highway Engineering Mr. Hamza Makeen

    1.4 Roman Roads

    The earliest large-scale road construction is

    attributed to Romans who constructed an extensive

    system of roads radiating in many directions from

    Rome. They were a remarkable achievement and

    provided travel times across Europe, Asia Minor,

    and North Africa. Romans recognized that the

    fundamentals of good road construction were to

    provide good drainage, good material and good

    workmanship. Their roads were very durable, and

    some still exist.

    1.5 French Roads

    The next major development in the road

    construction occurred during the regime of

    Napoleon. The significant contributions were

    4
    Lecture (1): History of Highway Engineering Mr. Hamza Makeen

    given by Tresaguet in 1764 and a typical cross

    section of this road is given in Figure (1). He

    developed a cheaper method of construction than

    the lavish and locally unsuccessful revival of

    Roman practice. The pavement used 200 mm pieces

    of quarried stone of a more compact form and

    shaped such that they had at least one at side

    which was placed on a compact formation.

    Figure (1) French roads

    5
    Lecture (1): History of Highway Engineering Mr. Hamza Makeen

    1.6 British Roads

    The British government also gave importance to

    road construction. The British engineer John

    Macadam introduced what can be considered as the

    best scientific road construction method. Stone

    size was an important element of Macadam recipe.

    By empirical observation of many roads, he came

    to realize that 250 mm layers of well compacted

    broken angular stone would provide the same

    strength and stiffness and a better running

    surface than an expensive pavement founded on

    large stone blocks.

    6
    Lecture (1): History of Highway Engineering Mr. Hamza Makeen

    Figure (2) British Roads

    1.7 Modern Roads

    The modern roads by and large follow Macadam's

    construction method. Use of bituminous concrete

    and cement concrete are the most important

    developments. Various advanced and cost-effective

    construction technologies are used. Development

    of new equipment helps in the faster construction

    7
    Lecture (1): History of Highway Engineering Mr. Hamza Makeen

    of roads. Many easily and locally available

    materials are tested in the laboratories and then

    implemented on roads for making economical and

    durable pavements.

    Figure (3) Modern Roads

    You might also like