Design of a Route around the Global Village Entrance - Dissertation Example

Roadways and highways are usually designed for a certain period that ranges from 10 to 20 years after which improvement and rehabilitation are carried out to make them serve their purpose. A route that provides access to areas also falls in the same predicament. Increase in the number of motor vehicles caused by the increase in the population and rise of the middle class is a major factor contributing to the inadequacy of routes that forces engineers and urban planners to redesign and improve the constrained roads.

The main objective for the geometric design of routes is to increase the efficiency and safety of both the motorized road users and the non-motorised. These designs also reduce the cost of operation of vehicles since less fuel and time is consumed in traversing the routes. On the environmental aspect, good geometric designs mean minimum congestion and less emission of greenhouse gasses. The route connecting road E311 and E611 from global village entrance needs improvement and redesign in order to accommodate the Hamden sports complex.

This has been caused by increased traffic congestion due to the number of activities in the region. This Traffic congestion is characterized by slower vehicular speed, longer trip time and huge queues. As traffic demand approaches the capacity of the route, huge traffic congestion sets in, and when vehicles are not moving for a period of time, it is commonly referred to as traffic jam that is a very annoying phenomenon to both drivers and passengers. A direct linkage on this route exists between transportation investment on the sports complex, travel conditions (congestion) by the road users, those assessing the facility and economic productivity.

Transportation accounts for a share of the final price on fare charged to those hiring taxis and buses, ranging from one percent to 14 percent, depending on the commodity, service and the distance moved (U.S Department of Transportation, 2005). All this adds up to a staggering amount of costs imposed on travelers by congestion on route E311 and E611. Hence the need for the geometric design on the route, that focuses majorly on the route alignment, the road profile and the cross-section that shows the pavement structure and drainage features among others.

This literature will review the design of roads and highway geometric designs, the need for designs and redesign, the causes of congestion, factors that influence traffic congestion, the impact of these congestions on both the social and economic condition of the region. The region surrounding the HAMDEN SPORT COMPLEX is experiencing a very high level of immigration resulting in very high pressure on the carrying capacity of the two routes on the physical and social infrastructure. The most prominent manifestation of this scenario is the persistence of traffic congestion being experienced along with the sports complex.

A route geometric design deals with the placement of physical structures of the road according to the standards and constraints in order to increase efficiency.it is usually a three-dimensional layout that incorporates the route cross-section, route profile, and alignment.