14 Kuwait Highway Design Manual Chapter 1 Highway Classification HIGHWAY CLASSIFICATION Kuwait Road Hierarchy Kuwait has a defined road hierarchy, which assists in standardising the approach to highway design and maintenance, and benefits the end user through a logical and systematic classification of roads. The different categories of road within the hierarchy, together with their principal distinguishing features, are shown in Table 1.1 Table 1.1: Kuwait Road Hierarchy Road Class General Description Local Roads + Intended for short journeys only + No access control + Access to adjacent land must be achieved Secondary Roads Intended to distribute traffic through a district or to serve a place of local importance + Minimal access control + Access to adjacent land is very important Primary Roads * Intended for through traffic, but with lower design standards than the Special Road Network = Access by means of at-grade intersections (signalised or roundabout) or grade separated interchanges Access to adjacent land becoming a relevant consideration ‘Special Roads * Intended for fast and free-flowing through trafic + Full access control using grade seperated interchanges, or + Service roads that serve land adjacent to the highway and connect to the main line by free-flow ramps Special and Primary Roads are always divided roads (with a median), whereas Local Roads are undivided. Secondary Roads may be either divided (major/urban) or undivided (minor/rural). Figure 1.1 illustrates the principles of the road hierarchy by reference to a typical neighbourhood The present road hierarchy has been determined and the future pattem established’: Figure 1.2 shows the network of roads as defined for the year 2012 The road hierarchy distinguishes between roads on the basis of differences in traffic service and land service, making it a suitable tool for both planning and engineering design purposes. It also separates different classes of roads on the basis of required highway design features. PageKuwait Highway Design Manual Highway Classification Chapter 1 Illustration of the Road Hierarchy Figure 1.1: Page 12@ ROUTE NUMBER SPECIAL ROAD NETWORK (SRN) PRIMARY ROAD NETWORK (PRN) PROPOSED ROADS 2 8 10Km Figure 1.2: Kuwait Road Hierarchy Source: Kuvait Trafic Slans Manual? ‘Kuwait Highway Design Manval Chapter 1 Highway Classification Page 73Kuwait highway Design Menval Ghapter 1 Highway Clessifcation 1.2 It is necessary to distinguish between urban and rural areas. Note that this refers to the predominant characteristics of the adjacent land use and does not necessarily conform to any legal or administrative boundaries. Table 1.2 summarises the principal features of each road class. Table 1.2: Characteristics of Roads by Class [ Local Secondary | Primary Roads | Special Roads Roads Roads Land service | Land access | Land access | Land access a | No access or the primary | andtrafic | secondary restricted consideration | movement of | consideration | access from equal service roads importance Traffic Traffic Land access | Traffic Optimum service movement the | and traffic | movement the | mobility secondary | movement of | primary consideration | equal consideration importance Typical Urban: as | >100m Urban: >200m | Urban: >tkm intersection | required Rural: >1.5km | Rural: »2km ‘spacing Rural: >100m Nature of | Interupted | Interrupted | Uninterrupted | Free flow traffic flow | flow flow flow except at intersections Vehicle type | Passenger | Alltypes__| alltypes ‘All types andservice | except semi- vehicles | trailers and above" Connect to | Secondary | Primary Special Roads | Special Roads Roads Roads Primary Roads | Primary Roads Local Roads | Secondary | secondary Roads Roads Local Roads “in ndustil areas, Secondary Roads should accommodate al types of vehicle “In industrial and in rural areas, trucks may have to be catered for. Speed limits on roads may differ, even within the same class of road. In selecting the posted speed, that is, the speed limit displayed to drivers by means of road signs, it is normal practice to undertake a vehicle speed survey, and to adopt a value close to the observed 85th-percentile speed, Determining the Road Class In Kuwait, it is the planners’ role to review and determine the road class and the width of the right of way. Given this information, the highway designer should review the traffic volumes and the functional requirements of the road, and then determine the appropriate standards for all elements of highway provision in accordance with the guidance contained in this manual. In areas where new development is taking place, it may be beneficial for the works to be phased, possibly providing a lower, interim, standard of provision while always Page 141.3 Kuwait Highway Design Manual ensuring that the ultimate configuration can be achieved. Similarly, where redevelopment of an existing area occurs, itis important that the class of the road be reviewed to check whether its status has been affected by the redevelopment, The design details and facilities to be provided on a road are not entirely dictated by its class. The cross section for a secondary road for example, may vary from a one- way street to a four-lane divided road. The geometric design of the road is affected by the following factors: * Design speed * Design vehicles * Composition of the traffic stream * Pedestrians * Safety + Traffic volume + Adjacent land use * Climatic conditions * Terrain + Economics of the area * Aesthetics * Sociological factors "Public preferences In certain areas of Kuwait, it is particularly difficult to classify roads from their adjacent land use, and therefore at some locations roads may not display the characteristics typical of their class. For example, the number of accesses may be higher than average, more parking may occur, or there may be a greater than normal number of intersections. Should the designer consider that the road class is inappropriate under the specific circumstances, he should review and agree the class with both the Ministry of Public Works and Kuwait Municipality. The following sections introduce each of the classes used in Kuwait, Local Roads A significant percentage of a city network comprises local roads, which are designed to allow vehicles to reach the frontage of properties from a secondary or primary road. The main function of local roads is to provide land access, and they generally carry low volumes of traffic. They serve residential, commercial or industrial land uses. Trips made on local roads will generally have an origin or destination actually on the local road or in immediately adjoining areas. In planning the layout of a local road network, care should be taken to avoid creating routes which could be attractive to through traffic, or which encourage high speeds to the detriment of safety. AAs this is the lowest class in the road hierarchy, direct access is permitted to all abutting properties Local roads can be grouped into two categories, rural local roads and urban local streets PagersKuwait Highway Design Manus! chapter Highway Classification 14 15 16 Secondary Roads The function of secondary roads is to collect traffic, from local roads to primary roads, and to distribute traffic flow from primary roads back to the local roads. Access to properties is normally allowed on secondary roads. In rural areas, the function of secondary road is twofold, to provide access to adjacent land and to carry traffic into areas with sparse development. Primary Roads Primary roads are of a lower design standard than special roads. Their intersections with other primary roads and lower class roads can be either grade-separated or at grade (roundabouts or signalised). Primary roads are intended to carry large volumes of traffic moving at medium to high speed, and are used by a broad range of vehicle types, because they distribute traffic from the higher class roads to the lower class roads and vice versa. Special Roads Special Roads are designed to move heavy volumes of high-speed traffic (under free flowing conditions). Special roads form only a small percentage of the roads in the road network, but they perform a crucial role in segregating fast through traffic from slower moving local traffic. High traffic volumes generate the need for a Special Road, which in turn necessitates fully controlled access. This is achieved with either grade-separated interchanges, or service roads that serve land adjacent to the highway and connect to the main line by free-flow ramps. In rural situations, the function of a special road is to connect major cities or industrial areas, and to provide the major routes for international traffic movements. In urban areas, the function is to provide high-standard routes connecting areas of major traffic generation. Third Kuwait Master Plan Review (draft, 1997). ? Kuwait Traffic Signs Manual, 1988. Page 1S