Hill Road Unit1

Hill Road(EG 3206 CE)
Mahesh Bhattarai
BE, Civil Engineering
Institute of Engineering, Purwanchal Campus
Tribhuvan University
Online Classes for students of DCE(III-II)

Shree Rastriya Secondary School, Itahari
Enrolled under CTEVT programme
October, 2020
Unit 1
Introduction to Hill Roads

Introduction
A hill road may be defined as the one which passes through a terrain with a cross
slope of 25% or more.
There may be sections along hill roads with the cross slope less than 25%, especially
when the road follows a river route. Even then these sections are also referred to
as hill roads.
Hence, to establish a hill road overall terrain must be taken into account.
Introduction
The hilly regions generally have extremes of climatic conditions, difficult and
hazardous terrains,
topography and vast high altitude areas.
The region is sparsely populated and basic infrastructural facilities available in plain
terrain are absent. Hence, a strong stable and feasible road must be present in hilly
areas for overall development of other sectors as well.
Why Hill roads?
The essence of hill road in Nepal is supported by the points below:
• Due to the geography( Physiographic Distribution of Nepal) of Nepal. Excluding
Terai region which has 17% of total land cover, Nepal has most of its land
covered with hills and mountains.
• Nepal being agricultural country, the hill roads provides connectivity for
agricultural products and its market. Hills are also the sources of water, forest,
herbs and minerals.
• Nepal has been tourist destination for years and roadways connectivity is must.
• Hill roads gives access to remote hills and helps other infrastructures of
development to reach there.
• Waterways (not feasible), railways and air route (being costly) are not promising
option.
Design and Construction Problems
Design and Construction of roads in hills and mountain are more complex than in plain terrain. It
is due to several factors associated in the region. They are:
• A hilly or mountainous area is characterized by highly broken relief with vastly differing
elevations and steep slopes, deep gorges etc. which may unnecessarily increase road length.
• The geological condition varies from place to place.
• Hill slopes stable before construction may not be as stable due to increased human
activities.
• There may be variation in hydro-geological conditions which may easily be overlooked
during design and construction
• Due to highly broken relief construction of special structures should be done at different
places. This increases the cost of the construction.
• Variation in the climatic condition such as the change in temperature due to altitude
difference, pressure variation, precipitation increases at greater height etc.
• High-speed runoff occurs due to the presence of high cross slopes.
• Filling may overload the weak soil underneath which may trigger new slides.
• The need of design of hairpin bends to attain heights.
Special Consideration in Hill Road Design
Alignment of Hill Roads
Selecting an alignment in the hilly region is a complex task. The designer

should attempt to choose a short, easy, economical and safe comforting
route.
Alignment of Hill Roads
Selecting an alignment in the hilly region is a complex task. The designer should
attempt to choose a short, easy, economical and safe comforting route.
General considerations
When designing hill roads the route is located along valleys, hill sides and if
required over mountain passes.
Due to complex topography, the length of the route is automatically increased.
Due to harsh geological conditions, special structures also have to be provided.
Apart from the highly broken relief which has a fixed role in
determining the alignment and location of special structures, climatic
and geological conditions are also important.
In locating the alignment special consideration should be made in
respect to the variations in:
1. Temperature
2. Rainfall
3. Atmospheric pressure and winds
4. Geological conditions
Temperature
 Air temperature is in the hills is lower than in the valley. The
temperature drop being approximately 0.5° per 100 m of rising.
 On slopes facing south and southwest snow disappears rapidly and
rain water evaporates quickly while on slopes facing north and
northeast rain water or snow may remain for the longer time.
 Unequal warming of slopes, sharp temperature variations and erosion
by water are the causes of slope facing south and southwest.
Rainfall
 Rainfall increases with increase in sea level.
 The maximum rainfall is in the zone of intensive cloud formation at

1500-2500 m above sea level. Generally, the increase of rainfall for
every 100 m of elevation averages 40 to 60 mm.
 In summer very heavy storms may occur in the hills and about 15 to
25% of the annual may occur in a single rainfall. The effects of these
types of rainfall are serious and should be considered well.
Atmospheric pressure and winds
 It decreases with increase in elevation.
 At high altitudes, the wind velocities may reach up to 25-30 m/s and
depth of frost penetration is also 1.5 to 2 m.
 Intensive weathering of rocks because of sharp temperature

variations which cause high winds.
Geological conditions
 The inclination of folds may vary from horizontal to vertical
stratification of rock. These folds often have faults. Limestone or
sandstone folds may be interleaved with layers ofclay which when
wetted may cause fracturing along their surface. This may result in
shear or slip fold.
 The degree of stability of hill slopes depends on types of rock,

degree of strata inclination or dip, occurrence of clay seams, the
hardness of the rocks and presence of ground water.
Special Consideration in Hill
Road Design
When locating the route an engineer must

study the details of geological conditions of
that area and follow stable hill slopes where
no ground water, landslides, and unstable
folds occur.
Gradient
In hill roads, a heavy amount of earthwork is required. So to reduce the
earthwork for reducing construction cost the gradients selected are
close to maximum.
Although steep gradients help in reducing earthwork and length of road,

it also causes increased fuel consumption and reduction in operating
speed as the vehicles will be on low gears which will use more energy.
So both these factors must be taken into account and a suitable

solution should be chosen.
Gradient
Special • The cumulative rise or fall in elevation
Consideration in should not exceed 100 m in mountainous
terrain and 120 m in steep terrains.
Hill Road Design • Vertical curves are designed as the
square parabola.
• The curves should be provided at all
grade change exceeding those
indicated in the table below:
Special Consideration in
Hill Road Design
Design of Hair Pin bends
When inscribing a curve inside a turning angle the length
of the route will be substantially reduced, which result
in steep gradients.
In such circumstances, it is preferred to round off the
route by circumscribing the curve rather than inscribing
the curve around the turning point. Such compound
curves are called hairpin bends or reverse loops.
A hairpin bend is located on the hill section having the

minimum cross slope and maximum stability. It must be
safe against landslide and ground water seepage.
Some important considerations
 Road bed should be located sufficiently above and away from the maximum water
level.
 When the road bed is near to the waste water course embankment slope should
be well protected and stabilized.
 More care should be given to geological and hydrological structures.
 Best alternatives should be selected for crossing water sources.

Special
Consideration in Hill
Road Design
Best alternatives should be
selected for crossing water
sources.
For example, as shown in figure a road is to
be connected from A to B.
The first alternative runs through alluvial
making a bridge. However, it may not be
feasible unless there are strong foundations
which may increase construction cost greatly.
The second alternative is located above the
alluvial fan through which the bridge length is
greatly reduced Similarly, other options like
route III or IV may also be chosen depending
upon the economic comparison.
Thank you!
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Hill Road(EG 3206 CE)

Online Classes for students of DCE(III-II)

Introduction to Hill Roads

Selecting an alignment in the hilly region is a complex task. The designer

 The maximum rainfall is in the zone of intensive cloud formation at

 Intensive weathering of rocks because of sharp temperature

 The degree of stability of hill slopes depends on types of rock,

When locating the route an engineer must

Although steep gradients help in reducing earthwork and length of road,

So both these factors must be taken into account and a suitable

A hairpin bend is located on the hill section having the

 More care should be given to geological and hydrological structures.

 Best alternatives should be selected for crossing water sources.

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