Road

Have you ever wanted to know more about roads? I didn't think so. That’s why this is the perfect episode for you to doze off when you can’t sleep tonight. Just think about the word dirt long enough and it will probably have the same effect. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Road.

A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles,

Motorized and non-motorized,

And pedestrians.

Unlike streets,

The main function of roads is transportation.

There are many types of roads,

Including parkways,

Avenues,

Controlled access highways,

Freeways,

Motorways and expressways,

Tollways,

Interstates,

Highways,

Thoroughfares,

And local roads.

The primary features of roads include lanes,

Sidewalks,

Pavement,

Roadways,

Carriageways,

Medians,

Shoulders,

Verges,

Bike paths,

Cycle paths,

And shared-use paths.

Historically,

Many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or some maintenance.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,

OECD,

Defines a road as a line-of-communication traveled way using a stabilized base other than rails or airstrips,

Open to public traffic,

Primarily for the use of road motor vehicles running on their own wheels,

Which includes bridges,

Tunnels,

Supporting structures,

Junctions,

Crossings,

Interchanges,

And toll roads,

But not cycle paths.

The Eurostat,

ITF,

And UNECE Glossary for Transport Statistics Illustrated defines a road as a line-of-communication traveled way open to public traffic,

Primarily for the use of road motor vehicles using a stabilized base other than rails or airstrips,

Included are paved roads and other roads with a stabilized base,

E.

G.

Gravel roads.

Roads also cover streets,

Bridges,

Tunnels,

Supporting structures,

Junctions,

Crossings,

And interchanges.

Toll roads are also included.

Excluded are dedicated cycle lanes.

The 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic defines a road as the entire surface of any way or street open to public traffic.

In urban areas roads may diverge through a city or village and be named as streets,

Serving a dual function as urban space easement and route.

Modern roads are normally smoothed,

Paved,

Or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel.

Australia Part 2,

Division 1,

Clauses 11-13 of the National Transport Commission Regulations 2006,

Defines a road in Australia as an area that is open to or used by the public and is developed for or has one of its main uses,

The driving or riding of motor vehicles.

Further,

It defines a shoulder,

Typically an area of the road outside the edge line or the curb,

And a road-related area which includes green areas separating roads,

Areas designated for cyclists,

And areas generally accessible to the public for driving,

Riding,

Or parking vehicles.

In New Zealand the definition of a road is broad in common law where the statutory definition includes areas the public has access to by right or not.

Beaches,

Publicly accessible car parks and yards,

Even if privately owned,

Riverbeds,

Road shoulders,

Verges,

Wharves,

And bridges are included.

However,

The definition of a road for insurance purposes may be restricted to reduce risk.

In the United Kingdom the Highway Code details rules for road users,

But there is some ambiguity between the terms highway and road.

For the purposes of the English law,

Highways Act 1980,

Which covers England and Wales but not Scotland or Northern Ireland,

Road is any length of highway or of any other road to which the public has access,

And includes bridges over which a road passes.

This includes footpaths,

Bridleways,

And cycle tracks,

And also road and driveways in private land and many car parks.

Vehicles excise duty,

Or road use tax,

Is payable on some vehicles used on the public road.

The definition of a road depends on the definition of a highway.

There is no formal definition for a highway in the relevant Act A,

1984 ruling,

Said the land over which a public right of way exists is known as a highway,

And although most highways have been made up into roads,

And most easements of way exist over footpaths,

The presence or absence of a made road has nothing to do with the distinction.

Another legal view is that while a highway historically included footpaths,

Bridleways,

Driftways,

Etc.

,

It can now be used to mean those ways that allow the movement of motor vehicles,

And the term rights of way can be used to cover the wider usage.

In the United States,

Laws distinguish between public roads,

Which are open to public use,

And private roads,

Which are privately controlled.

The assertion that the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally accepted.

In many cases,

Animals do not follow constant paths.

Some believe that some roads originated from following animal trails.

The ick-kneeled way may exemplify this type of road origination,

Where human and animal both selected the same natural line.

By about 10,

000 B.

C.

,

Human travelers used rough roads or pathways.

The world's oldest known paved road was constructed in Egypt sometime between 2600 and 2200 B.

C.

Stone paved streets appear in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 B.

C.

Corduroy roads,

Log roads,

Are found dating to 4000 B.

C.

In Glastonbury,

England.

The Sweet Track,

A timber track causeway in England,

Is one of the oldest engineered roads discovered and the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe.

Built in winter 3807 B.

C.

Or spring 3806 B.

C.

Tree ring dating,

Dendrochronology,

Enabled very precise dating.

It was claimed to be the oldest road in the world until the 2009 discovery of a 6000 year old trackway in Plumstead,

London.

Brick paved streets appeared in India as early as 3000 B.

C.

In 1995 B.

C.

,

An early subdividing or roadways evidenced with sidewalks built in Anatolia.

In 500 B.

C.

,

Darius the Great started an extensive road system for the Archimandite Empire,

Persia,

Including the Royal Road,

Which was one of the finest highways of its time,

Connecting Sardis,

The westernmost major city of the empire,

To Susa.

The road remained in use after Roman times.

These road systems reached as far east as Bactria in India.

In ancient times,

Transport by river was far easier and faster than transport by road,

Especially considering the cost of road construction and the difference in carrying capacity between carts and river barges.

A hybrid of road transport and ship transport beginning in about 1740 is the horse-drawn road,

In which the horse follows a cleared path along the riverbank.

From about 312 B.

C.

,

The Roman Empire built straight,

Strong stone Roman roads throughout Europe and North Africa,

In support of its military campaigns.

At its peaks,

The Roman Empire was connected by 29 major roads moving out from Rome and covering 78,

000 kilometers,

Or 52,

964 Roman miles of paved roads.

In the 8th century A.

D.

,

Many roads were built throughout the Arab Empire.

The most sophisticated roads were those in Baghdad,

Which were paved with tar.

Tar was derived from petroleum,

Accessed from oil fields in the region,

Through the chemical process of destructive distillation.

The Highways Act 1555 in Britain transferred responsibility for maintaining roads from government to local parishes.

This resulted in a poor and variable state of roads.

To remedy this,

The first of the Turnpike Trusts was established around 1706 to build good roads and collect tolls from passing vehicles.

Eventually there were approximately 1,

100 trusts in Britain and some 36,

800 kilometers of engineered roads.

The Rebecca Riots in Carmarthenshire and Riyadhair from 1839 to 1844 contributed to a royal commission that led to the demise of the system in 1844,

Which coincided with the development of the U.

K.

Railway system.

In the late 19th century,

Roading engineers began to cater for cyclists by building separate lanes alongside roadways.

From the beginning of the 20th century,

Roads were increasingly built for tourism and also to create jobs.

A typical example of the stimulation of tourism is the Great Dolomite Road,

While the creation of the panoramic coastal road,

Strada Costiera,

Between Duino and Barcola in 1928,

Was very much focusing on creating jobs.

In transport engineering,

Subgrade is the native material underneath the constructed road.

Road construction requires the creation of an engineered continuous right-of-way,

Or roadbed,

Overcoming geographic obstacles and having grades low enough to permit vehicles or foot travel,

And may be required to meet standards set by law or official guidelines.

The process is often begun with the removal of earth and rock by digging or blasting,

Construction of embankments,

Bridges and tunnels,

And removal of vegetation,

This may involve deforestation,

And followed by the laying of pavement material.

A variety of road building equipment is employed in road building.

After design,

Approval,

Planning,

Legal,

And environmental considerations have been addressed,

Alignment of the road is set out by a surveyor.

The radii and gradient are designed and staked out to best suit the natural ground levels and minimize the amount of cut and fill.

Great care is taken to preserve reference benchmarks.

Roads are designed and built for primary use by vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Storm drainage and environmental considerations are a major concern.

Erosion and sediment controls are constructed to prevent detrimental effects.

Drainage lines are laid with sealed joints in the road easement with runoff coefficients and characteristics adequate for the land zoning and stormwater system.

Drainage systems must be capable of carrying the ultimate design flow from the upstream catchment with approval for the outfall from the appropriate authority to a watercourse,

Creek,

River,

Or the sea for drainage discharge.

A borrow pit,

Source for obtaining fill,

Gravel,

And rock,

And a water source should be located near or in reasonable distance to the road construction site.

People from local authorities may be required to draw water or for working,

Crushing,

And screening of materials for construction needs.

The topsoil and vegetation is removed from the borrow pit and stockpiled for subsequent rehabilitation of the extraction area.

Side slopes in the excavation area not steeper than one vertical to two horizontal for safety reasons.

Old road surfaces,

Fences,

And buildings may need to be removed before construction can begin.

Trees in the road construction area may be marked for retention.

These protected trees should not have the topsoil within the area of the tree's drip line removed,

And the area should be kept clear of construction material and equipment.

Compensation or replacement may be required if a protected tree is damaged.

Much of the vegetation may be mulched and put aside for use during reinstatement.

The topsoil is usually stripped and stockpiled nearby for rehabilitation of newly constructed embankments along the road.

Stumps and roots are removed and holes filled,

As required before the earthwork begins.

Final rehabilitation after road construction is completed will include seeding,

Planting,

Watering,

And other activities to reinstate the area to be consistent with the untouched surrounding areas.

Processes during earthwork include excavation,

Removal of materials to spoil,

Filling,

Compacting,

Construction and trimming.

If rock or other unsuitable material is discovered,

It is removed.

Moisture content is managed and replaced with standard fill compacted to meet the design requirements,

Generally 90-95% relative compaction.

Blasting is not frequently used to excavate the roadbed as the intact rock structure forms an ideal road base.

When a depression must be filled to come up to the road grade,

The native bed is compacted after the topsoil has been removed.

The fill is made by the compacted layer method,

Where a layer of fill is spread then compacted to specifications under saturated conditions.

The process is repeated until the desired grade is reached.

General fill materials should be free of organics,

Meet minimum California bearing ratio,

CBR results,

And have a low plasticity index.

The lower fill generally comprises sand or a sand-rich mixture with fine gravel,

Which acts as an inhibitor to the growth of plants or other vegetable matter.

The compacted fill also serves as lower stratum drainage.

Select second fill sieved should be composed of gravel,

Decomposed rock or broken rock below a specified particle size,

And be free of large lumps of clay.

Sand-clay fill may also be used.

The roadbed must be proof-rolled after each layer of fill is compacted.

If a roller passes over an area without creating visible deformation or spring,

The section is deemed to comply.

Geosynthetics such as geotextiles,

Geogrids,

And geocells are frequently used in the various pavement layers to improve road quality.

These materials and methods are used in low-traffic private roadways,

As well as public roads and highways.

Geosynthetics perform four main functions in roads—separation,

Reinforcement,

Filtration,

And drainage—which increase the pavement performance,

Reduce construction costs,

And decrease maintenance.

A completed roadway is finished by paving or left with a gravel or other natural surface.

The type of road surface is dependent on the economic factors and expected usage.

Safety improvements,

Such as traffic signs,

Crash barriers,

Raved pavement markers,

And other forms of road surface marking are installed.

According to a May 2009 report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials,

AASHTO,

And TRIP,

A national transportation research organization,

Driving on rough roads costs the average American motorist approximately $400 a year in extra vehicle operating costs.

Drivers living in urban areas with populations more than 250,

000 are paying upwards of $750 more annually because of accelerated vehicle deterioration,

Increased maintenance,

Additional fuel consumption,

And tire wear caused by poor road conditions.

When a single-carriageway road is converted into dual-carriageway by building a second separate carriageway alongside the first,

It is usually referred to as a duplication,

Twinning,

Or doubling.

The original carriageway is changed from two-way to become one-way,

While the new carriageway is one-way in the opposite direction.

In the same way as converting railway lines from single-track to double-track,

The new carriageway is not always constructed directly alongside the existing carriageway.

Roads that are intended for use by a particular mode of transport can be reallocated for another mode of transport,

I.

E.

By using traffic signs.

For instance,

In the ongoing road space reallocation effort,

Some roads,

Particularly in city centers which are intended for use by cars,

Are increasingly being repurposed for cycling and or walking.

Like all structures,

Roads deteriorate over time.

Deterioration is primarily due to environmental effects such as frost heaves,

Thermal cracking,

And oxidation often contribute.

However,

Accumulated damage from vehicles also contributes.

According to a series of experiments carried out in the late 1950s called the AASHO road test,

It was empirically determined that the effective damage done to the road is roughly proportional to the fourth power of axle weight.

A typical tractor-trailer weighing 80,

000 pounds with 8,

000 pounds on the steer axle and 36,

000 pounds on both of the tandem axle groups is expected to do 7,

800 times more damage than a passenger vehicle with 2,

000 pounds on each axle.

Potholes on roads are caused by rain damage and vehicle breaking or related construction work.

Pavements are designed for an expected service life or design life.

In some parts of the United Kingdom,

The standard design life is 40 years for new bitumen and concrete pavement.

Maintenance is considered in the whole life cost of the road,

With service at 10,

20,

And 30-year milestones.

Roads can be and are designed for a variety of lives,

8,

15,

30,

And 60-year designs.

When pavement lasts longer than its intended life,

It may have been overbuilt,

And the original cost may have been too high.

When a pavement fails before its intended design life,

The owner may have excessive repair and rehabilitation costs.

Some asphalt pavements are designed as perpetual pavements with an expected structural life in excess of 50 years.

Many asphalt pavements built over 35 years ago,

Despite not being specifically designed as a perpetual pavement,

Have remained in good condition long past their design life.

Many concrete pavements built since the 1950s have significantly outlived their intended design lives.

Some roads,

Like Chicago's Wacker Drive,

A major two-level and a 1.

3-level roadway in the downtown area,

Are being rebuilt with a design service life of 100 years.

Virtually all roads require some form of maintenance before they come to the end of their service life.

Proactive agencies use pavement management techniques to continually monitor road conditions and schedule preventative maintenance treatments as needed to prolong the lifespan of their roads.

Highly advanced agencies monitor the road network surface condition with sophisticated equipment such as laser or inertial profilometers.

These measurements include road curvature,

Cross-slope,

Asperity,

Roughness,

Rutting,

And texture.

Software algorithms use this data to recommend maintenance or new construction.

Maintenance treatments for asphalt concrete generally include thin asphalt overlays,

Crack sealing,

Surface rejuvenating,

Fog sealing,

Micro-milling or diamond grinding,

And surface treatments.

Thin surfacing preserves,

Protects,

And improves the functional condition of the road while reducing the need for routing maintenance,

Leading to extended service life without increasing structural capacity.

Other concrete pavements that develop faults can be repaired with a dowel bar retrofit,

In which slots are cut in the pavement at each joint,

And dowel bars are placed in the slots,

Which are then filled with concrete patching material.

This can extend the life of the concrete pavement for 15 years.

Failure to maintain roads properly can create significant costs to society.

A 2009 report released by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials estimated that about 50% of the roads in the U.

S.

Are in bad condition,

With urban areas worse.

The report estimates that urban drivers pay an average of $746 per year on vehicle repairs,

While the average U.

S.

Motorist pays about $335 per year.

In contrast,

The average motorist pays about $171 per year in road maintenance taxes,

Based on 600 gallons per year and .

285 cents per gallon tax.

Distress and serviceability loss on concrete roads can be caused by loss of support due to voids beneath the concrete pavement slabs.

The voids usually occur near cracks or joints due to surface water infiltration.

The most common causes of voids are pumping,

Consolidation,

Subgrade failure,

And bridge approach failure.

Slab stabilization is a non-destructive method of solving this problem,

And is usually employed with other concrete pavement restoration methods,

Including patching and diamond grinding.

The technique restores support to concrete slabs by filling small voids that develop underneath the concrete slab at joints,

Cracks,

Or the pavement edge.

The process consists of pumping a cementous grout or polyurethane mixture through holes drilled through the slab.

The grout can fill small voids beneath the slab and or subbase.

The grout also displaces free water and helps keep water from saturating and weakening support under the joints and slab edge after stabilization is complete.

The three steps for this method after finding the voids are locating and drilling holes,

Grout injection,

And post-testing the stabilized slabs.

Slab stabilization does not correct depressions,

Increase the design structural capacity,

Stop erosion,

Or eliminate faulting.

It does,

However,

Restore the slab's support,

Therefore decreasing deflections under the load.

Stabilization should only be performed at joints and cracks where the loss of support exists.

Visual inspection is the simplest manner to find voids.

Signs that repair is needed are transverse joint faulting,

Corner breaks,

And shoulder drop-off and lines at or near joints and cracks.

Deflection testing is another common procedure used to locate voids.

It is recommended to do this testing at night as during cooler temperatures,

Joints open,

Aggregate interlock diminishes,

And load deflections are at their highest.

Ground penetration radar pulses electromagnetic waves into the pavement and measures and graphically displays the reflected signal.

This can reveal voids and other defects.

The epoxy core test detects voids by visual and mechanical methods.

It consists of drilling a 25-50mm hole through the pavement into the sub-base with a dry-bit rotohammer.

Next,

A two-part epoxy is poured into the hole,

Dyed for visual clarity.

Once the epoxy hardens,

Technicians drill through the hole.

If a void is present,

The epoxy will stick to the core and provide physical evidence.

Stabilization materials include pozzolan cement grout and polyurethane.

The requirements for slab stabilization are strength and the ability to flow into or expand to fill small voids.

Colloidal mixing equipment is necessary to use the pozzolan cement grouts.

The contractor must place the grout using a positive displacement injection pump or a non-pulse progressive cavity pump.

A drill is also necessary,

But it must produce a clean hole with no surface spalling or breakouts.

The injection devices must include a grout packer capable of sealing the hole.

The injection device must also have a return hose or a fast control reverse switch in case workers detect slab movement on the uplift gauge.

The uplift beam helps to monitor the slab deflection and has to have sensitive dial gauges.

Joint sealing,

Also called joint and crack repair,

This method's purpose is to minimize infiltration of surface water and incompressible material into the joint system.

Joint sealants are also used to reduce dowel bar corrosion and concrete pavement restoration techniques.

Successful resealing consists of old sealant removal,

Shaping and cleaning the reservoir,

Installing the backer rod,

And installing the sealant.

Sawing,

Manual removal,

Plowing,

And cutting are methods used to remove the old sealant.

Saws are used to shape the reservoir.

When cleaning the reservoir,

No dust,

Dirt,

Or traces of old sealant should remain.

Thus,

It is recommended to water wash,

Sandblast,

And then air blow to remove any sand,

Dirt,

Or dust.

The backer rod installation requires a double-wheeled steel roller to insert the rod to the desired depth.

After inserting the backer rod,

The sealant is placed into the joint.

There are various materials to choose for this method,

Including hot pore bituminous liquid,

Silicon,

And pre-formed compression seals.

Careful design and construction of roads can increase road traffic safety and reduce the harm,

Deaths,

Injuries,

And property damage on the highway system from traffic collisions.

On neighborhood roads,

Traffic calming,

Safety barriers,

Pedestrian crossings,

And cycle lanes can help protect pedestrians,

Cyclists,

And drivers.

Lane markers in some countries and states are marked with cat's eyes,

Or bots dots.

Bots dots are not used where it is icy in the winter,

Because frost and snow plows can break the glue that holds them to the road,

Although they can be embedded in short,

Shallow trenches carved in the roadway,

As is done in the mountainous regions of California.

For major roads,

Risk can be reduced by providing limited access from properties and local roads.

Crate-separated junctions and median dividers between opposite-direction traffic to reduce the likelihood of head-on collisions.

The placement of energy attenuation devices,

E.

G.

Guardrails,

Wide grassy areas,

Sand barrels,

Is also common.

Some road fixtures,

Such as road signs and fire hydrants,

Are designed to collapse on impact.

Light poles are designed to break at the base rather than violently stop a car that hits them.

Highway authorities may also remove larger trees from the immediate vicinity of the road.

During heavy rains,

If the elevation of the road surface is not higher than the surrounding landscape,

It may result in flooding.

Speed limits can improve road traffic safety and reduce the number of road traffic casualties from traffic collisions.

In their World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention report,

The World Health Organization and WHO identify speed control as one of various interventions likely to contribute to a reduction in road casualties.

Road conditions are the collection of factors describing the ease of driving on a particular stretch of road,

Or on the roads of a particular locality,

Including the quality of the pavement surface,

Potholes,

Road markings,

And weather.

It has been reported that problems of transportation participants and road conditions are the main factors that lead to road traffic accidents.

It has further been specifically noted that weather conditions and road conditions are interlinked,

As weather conditions affect the road conditions.

Specific aspects of road conditions can be of particular importance for particular purposes.

For example,

For autonomous vehicles such as self-driving cars,

Significant road conditions can include shadowing and lighting changes,

Road surface texture changes,

And road markings consisting of circular reflectors,

Dashed lines,

And solid lines.

Various government agencies and private entities,

Including local news services,

Track and report on road conditions to the public so that drivers going through a particular area can be aware of hazards that may exist in that area.

News agencies,

In turn,

Rely on tips from area residents with respect to certain aspects of road conditions in their coverage area.

Reviews

A nice, boring article on roads. Fell right asleep 😴 💤

As soon as you started giving the definition of “road” in different countries, I knew you had a winner on your hands. 🙄😴👏🏻