• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.125-133
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• 2008

Achieving consistent geometric design is an important goal in highway design to ensure obtaining safe, economical and smooth traffic operation. Most evaluation of consistency is based on 'speed change' in speed profile. According to literature, the speed depends on geometric elements, speed on tangent section prior to a curve, and background around roads. Especially, the radius is the most main element mentioned in various literature. Therefore, this paper shows two ways of calculating horizontal radius on real road, that is, three-dimensional road. First of all, the radius of horizontal curve is calculated based on physical method. The calculated radius contains not only superelevation but also longitudinal grade while the current minimum radius is calculated by considering superelevation and side friction according to the point-mass equation. Secondly, the problem of composed curves with distorted appearance by overlaying sag or crest vertical alignment has been known. To quantify the extent of distortion effects, the method of calculation of real seen so called 'Perspective Radius' is developed. The paper presents the perspective radius and recommended perspective radius.