The role of road designers has evolved as the road system has matured. The complexities faced by road designers have increased dramatically, especially over the past twenty years. This article provides a brief review of road design in Western Canada and some of the current misunderstandings which seem to prevail.

The Early Years

Through the 1920¡¯s and 1930¡¯s, the emphasis in Western Canada was to provide road links to isolated communities. Problems associated with too many horses and cars on roads were recognized. With the increasing move away from the railway and horses towards cars and trucks, Road Design and Traffic Engineering inevitably became recognized disciplines.

Engineering and road construction crews would arrive in an area and the local community would open its arms. (Finally a road would be constructed!) The Engineer-in-Charge was an important person, often afforded special luxuries not provided to the rest of the engineering crew (e.g. a larger tent). After all, the Engineer was probably the only one who knew how to run the level and transit. The crew would sharpen stakes (considered a punishment) used to mark the alignment of the road. Communication to headquarters was limited, if it existed. The ¡°Chief Engineer? would make an appearance once during the year. Design often involved a great deal of judgement by the Engineer. Often, the grades were set by eye and topographical obstacles were avoided by changing the alignment.

Roads constructed during this period often became impassible during bad weather. In urban areas, a typical design may have involved the placement of logs on end as a base for natural gravel. The Road Designer was primarily faced with the physical challenges of establishing a road (often an upgraded trail) using primitive equipment by today¡¯s standards. It was not until the late 1930¡¯s that the term geometric design was introduced and the dimensional aspects of highway design recognized as a special area within the field of highway engineering? (Traffic Institute, Northwestern University, Geometric Design Workshop Notes).

The 1940¡¯s brought new emphasis on all weather roads (gravelled and generally poorly drained). This period also involved significant improvements to vehicles. A great deal of engineering know-how was gained during the Second World War. As a result of complexities in design, both rural and urban engineers recognized the benefit of completing some of the engineering in advance of construction in order to address physical constraints and account for vehicle characteristics (e.g. soil selection, superelevation).

Traffic Engineering and Highway (Roadway) Engineering were well-established disciplines. Traffic Engineering was actually a recognized discipline before Geometric Design (Source: Traffic Institute, Northwestern University, Geometric Design Workshop Notes).

Geometric Design Engineering involves the visible road dimensions with the objective of integrating the vehicle, driver, and traffic. The Road Design Engineer, therefore, focused on vehicle performance characteristics, driver behaviour and response, and the physical aspects of the driving environment. The objective was to develop an efficient and safe road facility.

Traffic Engineering, on the other hand focused on studying the movement of vehicles and people along the road with an emphasis on establishing a safe and efficient transportation system. Both of these engineering disciplines provided input to the refinement of road design standards and practices. Geotechnical Engineering was also a recognized discipline and played an important role in shaping today¡¯s design practice (e.g. grade heights, slopes). The terms Highway Engineering and Municipal Engineering evolved due to the significant differences in engineering issues even though both dealt with roadway design. The Highway Engineer was faced with high speeds and significant physical constraints (e.g. mountains, valleys, and rivers). The Municipal Engineer was faced with increasing traffic congestion and the local politics of development.

Advanced design work during the 1940¡¯s would often be completed at headquarters using limited survey information and field notes taken during site reconnaissance missions. Aerial photography was also used to support design efforts. In most cases, it was the construction engineering crew who would complete advanced-engineering work during the winter months.

Local communities still looked forward to the engineering crew¡¯s arrival in the spring. The Engineer was still considered an important person and was afforded special luxuries such as a larger bunk in the trailer and was given an office car. Also, the Engineer was likely the only person given a trailer. Detailed Design involved cross-section surveys just in advance of the Cat-and-Scraper. The engineering crew (approximately ten to fifteen people) would spend the night hand drafting the cross sections, plotting the grade line, and preparing slope stakes for the next day under the light of Coleman lamps. The Engineer used a great deal of judgement in balancing earth quantities and addressing the geotechnical issues.

The Geotechnical Engineer was called upon as needed. The Engineer avoided minor shifts in the vertical and horizontal alignments due to the amount of manual labour required and the resulting risk of mutiny by the crew. Consideration was given to vehicle performance on grades and curves. In order to achieve a stable roadbed, soils testing and soil selection was completed in the field by the Engineer.

The contractor¡¯s Superintendent also began taking on a stronger role. Often the Super- intendent and Engineer would resolve the daily design issues together (like Design/ Build).

This period involved a greater focus on the engineering of a roadway than in previous years. The Engineer exercised authority and judgement regarding the design and construction of the road facility. Many of the design principles established during this period are still applicable today. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) developed seven policies between 1938 and 1944. These policies were published in separate brochures and constituted the first effort throughout the world to address specific issues of geometric design of roads. These were later bound together in 1950, as "Policies on Geometric Highway Design" (Traffic Institute, Northwestern University, Geometric Design Workshop Notes). The Engineer also spent a great deal of time keeping crews out of jail during some of these early years.

The theme of the 1950¡¯s was "get them out of the dust". Paved roadways brought a new importance to construction techniques and the structure of the road prism. Paved roads also meant increased speeds and greater cost. In many instances specialized design teams were formed at headquarters (or area offices) recognizing the complexity of the design. Design also became a process, which culminated in a "handing over" to the construction engineers. Construction staff assumed final design responsibility. In a sense the Design Engineer became office bound; although, a prerequisite to acceptance in the design section was to have a significant amount of construction experience. Policies were often established within a road authority regarding design changes and signing authority. Construction also became more sophisticated with new types of equipment and the ability for improved production. The need for construction scheduling and monitoring in the field became more important.

Many of the roads previously constructed were in need of reconstruction in order to accommodate paved surfaces. The Municipal Engineer faced greater challenges with traffic congestion and conflicts with underground facilities. The Planning Engineer was also on the scene. Planning included the development of a vision for the future. Road network analysis focused on road classification and development of applicable design parameters. The Quality Service Index (QSI) was a term often used in planning circles. The relationship between land use and transportation and the term level-of-service evolved.

Advanced design engineering work during the 1950¡¯s involved new complexities with detailed survey, mapping, photo interpretation, soils testing, drainage studies, traffic assessments, geometric design principles, scheduling, and more sophisticated contracted documents. Design involved consultation with a greater number of "Speciality" Engineers. Greater emphasis was placed on the vehicle and the driver.

Property acquisition also became more important. For example, prior to 1950, it was not unusual for the Engineer to construct a dugout on a prairie farmer¡¯s field without asking. By the 1950¡¯s the Land Negotiators arrived on the scene and would provide input affecting the alignment of the road. Expropriation of property was often required and Governments would support the engineering effort by exercising expropriation powers.

The Road Designer¡¯s role expanded. In 1954, A Policy on Geometric Design of Rural Highways was adopted as a complete reworking of the separate policies previously published by AASHTO, known as the "Blue Book". A companion volume entitled A Policy on Design of Urban Highways and Arterial Streets was published by AASHTO in 1957; known as the "Red Book" (Traffic Institute, Northwestern University, Geometric Design Workshop Notes). These books became primary references for road designers (Highway and Municipal Engineers). The concept of Geometric Design Standards for Canadian Roads and Streets was initiated in 1958, when the Geometric Design Committee of the Canadian Good Roads Association undertook the preparation of a manual of design standards applicable to all road design in Canada.? (Roads and Transportation Association of Canada, Manual of Geometric Design Standards for Canadian Roads, 1986 Metric Edition). The Construction Engineer was still welcomed into the community in the spring; however, there was a growing suspicion about the impact construction would have. The Construction Engineer would have to ask before entering on private property. The survey crew chief and soils inspectors were given cars (usually the engineer¡¯s old car).

The Production Years

The 1960¡¯s and 1970¡¯s introduced a new era of traffic safety and more sophisticated designs. Road designers and Traffic Engineers focused on the relationship between the vehicle, the driver, and the road. Road designers focused on physical characteristics and traffic engineers focused on operational efficiencies. Both the Road Designer and the Traffic Engineer reviewed accidents to determine possible improvements to designs.

In large agencies, the Road Design Engineer, the Traffic Engineer, and the Traffic Safety Engineer (a new position) formed part of the team responsible for establishing design policy, practice, and standards. The Construction Engineer was also involved with development of geometric design standards; however, the focus was on development of contract specifications, estimating, scheduling, and materials. The Geotechnical Engineer, the Land Negotiator, and the Maintenance Engineer continued to evolve as key persons providing input to design. The Environmental Engineer became an important source of input to the design process.

In smaller agencies, the Geotechnical Engineer assumed the responsibilities of the Environmental Engineer. The Design Engineer also became more involved in public consultation. This period involved a greater sophistication in performance characteristics (grade and pavement performance, travel efficiency, and movement of goods).

Most large agencies operated a research lab. For example, Saskatchewan developed an indoor environmentally controlled test track for research into pavements and road embankments (one of approximately three in the world). Alberta and British Columbia contributed significantly to design standards and traffic analysis. Alberta was known for its pavement structures and British Columbia was recognized for traffic engineering and construction in mountainous terrain.

The Western Canadian Highway Officials (WACHO) conference was a "nuts and bolts" conference focused on the exchange of engineering expertise in Western Canada. This conference covered Planning, Design, Construction, Maintenance, and Research. Design Engineers were actively communicating on the finer aspects of road design and traffic safety.

The Road Designer¡¯s role continued to expand during the 1960¡¯s and 1970¡¯s. It often involved compilation of a significant amount of input from the "speciality fields". The Design Engineer was often faced with balancing the interests of the "specialists", minimizing cost, and maximizing the return to the public. Transportation was at the political forefront along with health and education. Budgets were good and many roads were built. This era could be coined the production era. Contractors made money and engineers operated with acceptable levels of resources. The manual, Geometric Design Standards for Canadian Roads and Streets, was published in 1963. The AASHTO Blue Book, A Policy on Geometric Design of Rural Highways, was updated in 1965.

The 1960¡¯s and 1970¡¯s provided the majority of Road Designers with new tools for optimizing designs. Mainframe (or mini) computer systems required the Road Designer to become familiar with Job Control Language (JCL), Application Commands, and the interpretation of huge volumes of data. The latter part of the 1970¡¯s could be characterized as the information overload era. The Road Designer¡¯s role expanded to include knowledge of the Earthwork Systems, Accident Information Systems, Traffic Volume and Analysis Systems, Quality Control Reporting Systems, Road Inventory Systems, Gravel Pit Material Inventory Systems, Capital Programming Systems, Capital Budget Control Systems, to name a few. A "Systems Group" maintained these engineering tools. The Design Engineer and staff were responsible for preparing the coding sheets and submitting them to the Systems Group. The Systems Group (often known as the Computer Priests) dictated schedule, input form, and the quality of outputs for the Design Engineer.

The Design Engineer¡¯s role began to resemble that of a negotiator rather than a designer. The Engineering Technologist¡¯s role became more important and often the key to successful completion of the design. The Design Engineer became more entrenched in dealing with the public, long-range programming, greater precision in design, and cost estimates. The Planning Engineer, the Design Engineer, and the Construction Engineer were often a team responsible for the development of capital programs including safety, signing, special construction, and special maintenance programs. Liaison with the speciality fields became more important as the number of design considerations and constraints grew.

The volume of paper eventually buried the Road Designer¡¯s desk. This meant that the designer became somewhat detached from the actual design. There was no longer time to gain an intimate knowledge of each cross section (previously developed by manual plotting) and gain a ¡°feel? for the design. The Construction Engineer and staff were still responsible for the final design. The Construction staff spent many late nights in field offices adjusting grade lines and cross sections created by designers. Office designers had access to computers and the field staff manually plotted and measured volumes. It was only after construction was completed that construction staff used computers to calculate final pay quantities.

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