1 Traffic Surveys

1.1 Introduction

The Project Corridor comprises of part of State Highway i.e. SH-39 (Merta-Beawar),
one Major District Road (Lambiya to Jaitaran) and one village road (Ras to Mangliyawas).These
stretches of the road pass through three districts of the State i.e. Ajmer, Nagaur and Pali. The
total length of Project Road is about 138.00 km.
Traffic on Phalodi - Jodhpur section of SH-61 is characterized by a variety of transport
modes ranging from pedestrian, bicycles and other non-motorised vehicles to passenger cars,
two and three wheelers, trucks and buses. Added to this there is a high intensity of road side
parking of vehicles in some location in front of industries. Information about traffic is
indispensable for any highway project since it would help for design of pavement, fixing the
number of traffic lanes, design of intersection and economic appraisal of the project. Traffic
surveys are proposed to be carried out to identify the present and likely future traffic problems
to device the suitable remedial measures and to evolve appropriate details therefore. These
traffic surveys are carried out with the following primary objectives.

> To determine the characteristics of traffic movement on the project road.

> To collect the historical growth in the project road
> To assess the future growth rate during the future design life of the project.
> To determine the travel pattern as well as types and weight of the commodities
carried out by trucks.
> To determine the spectrum of actual loads and the vehicle damaging factor of
commercial vehicles.
> To determine the turning movements of traffic at intersections
> To identify traffic bottlenecks and the need for the bypasses to congested urban
areas.
> To determine parking area and facility requirements.

In order to fulfil the above objectives, the following traffic surveys were carried out in the
project section.
1 Classified Traffic Volume Count
2 Origin & Destination & Commodity Movement Survey
3 Speed & Delay (Travel Time) studies/survey
4 Axle Load Survey
5 Classified Turning movement surveys
6 Accident data collection and analysis.
7 Pedestrian / Cattle movement Surveys
8 Willingness to Pay Toll Surveys
Adopted Methodology
The traffic survey locations for the above traffic studies were selected after a detailed
reconnaissance survey and detailed discussions with the concerned Resident Engineer,
RSRDC (Unit-II), Ajmer and Executive Engineers of PWD. The locations of traffic surveys and
broad methodology for these surveys were discussed and finalized in consultation with RSRDC
officials. All the traffic surveys were carried out as per the guidelines contained in IRC: SP 19
2001, IRC: 102-1988, IRC: 09-1972 and as per requirement of TOR. The time schedules for the
surveys were prepared as per the requirements of the study.
The detailed methodology adopted for various traffic surveys is discussed below:
1.2 Classified Traffic Volume Count
Traffic volume count studies are the initial steps of any road project whether
improvements or new construction. These studies are the base for deciding the components of
the road way, such as width of road way, nos. of lanes required, design of pavement etc.

The project corridor has been divided into five homogeneous sections according to
the presence of major intersections and/or urban settlements that impact on the traffic
movement characteristics. The five sections are given as follows.

SL.No. Chainage Name of Section

Information about traffic is essential for the highway project since it forms the basis for
deciding the number of lanes, design of intersections, design of pavement as well as
economic appraisal of the project. Traffic studies require collection of basic information
regarding the current level of traffic and its characteristics viz., volume, composition,
origin and destination studies, axle load spectrum, speed and delay studies, turning
movements, vehicle occupancy etc. These studies generally consist of mode wise traffic

estimates, travel patterns of passenger and freight (goods) etc.