University of Virginia Library

Special Courses in Highway Engineering

In recognition of the growing interest in Good Roads in Virginia
and the immense economic importance of the construction of such
roads in all parts of the Commonwealth, the University will offer during
the Spring Term of 1910 a special course of instruction in Highway
Engineering. The work will begin March 28th and continue for
nine weeks. It will embrace the following special courses:

• A. Construction of County Roads. Prof. Newcomb.

• B. Construction of Streets and Pavements. Prof. Newcomb.

• C. Plane Surveying and Levelling. Mr. Johnson.

• D. Topographical Drawing. Mr. Gallalee.

• E. County Road Bridges. Prof. Thornton.

• F. Illustrated Lectures on Road Materials and Construction.

A brief syllabus of each of these courses is given below. In addition
to the lectures a large volume of practical instruction will be offered in
field-work, drafting, computation, and laboratory work on road materials.
The entire course embraces fifty-seven (57) lectures and
twenty-seven (27) practical exercises.

In order to render this course accessible to as large a number as
possible, the lectures will be made as simple as is consistent with a
sound presentation of the topics discussed. The only preparation absolutely
necessary will be a working knowledge of numerical arithmetic,
and the ability to solve a right-angled triangle. The earnest and
assiduous student will be able to make steady progress, if he has this
modest beginning.

Admission to the course is free to any regularly matriculated student
of the Department of Engineering. For special students a single fee
of $25 will be charged to cover the instruction, theoretical and practical,
in the entire course. A limited number of free scholarships will
be offered to well prepared men, citizens of Virginia, provided they
present in addition to the usual credentials of character and scholarship
a written recommendation from the County Board of Supervisors
of their respective counties, certifying that the applicant needs the aid
of the scholarship and expects to accept employment on Highway
Work in Virginia.

Such students will be charged only a fee of $3.00 for the use of instruments
and apparatus.

For further details address

WILLIAM M. THORNTON, L. L. D.,
Dean of the Department of Engineering,
University of Virginia.

A. Construction of County Roads.

• Lecture I. Location of County Roads. Drainage, Grades, Curves,
  Width, Traction on Roads.

• II. Construction of Earthen Roads. Use of ploughs,
  carts, scrapers, and graders.

• III. Cost of Earthen Roads. Earthwork, ditches, culverts,
  retaining walls, bridges.

• IV. Maintenance of Earthen Roads. Use of Road Machines
  and of the Split Log Drag.

• V. Construction and Maintenance of Gravel Roads. Geological
  distribution of road gravel.

• VI. Testing of Road Materials. Qualities of trap, granite,
  schistose rocks, limestones, gravels.

• VII. Construction of Broken Stone Roads. Quarrying,
  Rock Crushing and Screening.

• VIII. Construction of Broken Stone Roads. Subgrade,
  drainage, foundation, spreading, rolling.

• IX. Maintenance of Broken Stone Roads. Watering,
  patching, regrading, resurfacing, rerolling.

• X. Road Preservation and Dust Prevention on Broken
  Stone Roads.

• XI. Construction and Maintenance of Sand-Clay Roads.

• XII. Equestrian Roads and Horse Race-Tracks.

• XIII. Written Test Examination.

B. Construction of City Streets and Pavements.

• Lecture I. Pavement Economics and Street Designs. Establishment
  of Street Grades.

• II. Street Drainage and the Construction of Curbs and
  Gutters.

• III. Foundations for Streets and Pavements. Subgrade,
  drainage, and constructing the foundation.

• IV. Sheet Asphalt Pavements. Materials, preparation,
  handling, grades, durability.

• V. Sheet Asphalt Pavements. Methods of Construction,
  Maintenance and Repair.

• VI. Miscellaneous Asphalt Paving Materials. Rock asphalt,
  asphalt blocks, asphalt macadam, coal tar.

• VII. Brick Pavements. Materials for foundation and pavement.
  Testing paving bricks.

• VIII. Brick Pavements. Construction and Maintenance.
  Grades and repairs.

• IX. Stone Block Pavements and Cobble Stone Pavements.
  Construction and repairs.

• X. Wood-Block Pavements. Materials, Construction and
  Maintenance.

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• XI. Comparison of Pavements as to Cost, Life, Traction,
  Repairs, Sanitation.

• XII. Side-Walks. Materials, Construction, and Maintenance.

• XIII. Bicycle paths and Bicycle Race Tracks.

• XIV. Written Test Examination.

C. Plane Surveying and Levelling.

• Lecture I. Construction and Adjustment of the Level. Differential
  Levelling. Keeping the Field-notes.

• II. Profile Levelling. Establishment of Grades and of
  Vertical Curves. Construction of Profiles.

• III. Construction and Adjustment of the Compass. Traversing,
  Keeping the Field-notes.

• IV. Balancing the Compass Survey by Latitudes and Departures.
  Platting the Survey.

• V. Computation of Areas from the Field Notes. Determination
  of Areas from Plats.

• VI. Construction and Adjustment of the Transit. Keeping
  the Field-notes in Transit work.

• VII. Running the Preliminary Line. Construction of the
  Plat and the Profile.

• VIII. Locating Circular Curves on the Map and in the Field.
  Keeping the Field-notes.

• IX. Cross-Sectioning and Slope-Staking. Preliminary estimates
  of Earth-work.

Each lecture has an associated exercise in the field or in the computing
room. A written test examination on the subjects of the lectures
concludes the course.

D. Topographical Drawing.

• Plate I. Free-hand lettering. Small letters, capitals, numerals,
  borders, titles.

• II. Platting hub-lines and graphical determination of areas.

• III. Platting preliminary lines and profiles for the same.

• IV. Platting cross-sections on the preliminary and interpolating
  contours.

• V. Platting paper locations with curves and earthwork.

• VI. Contoured maps for borrow-pits and spoil banks, with
  estimates of earthwork.

• VII. Mechanical Lettering. Small letters, Capitals, Roman
  numerals.

• VIII. Conventional signs in Topographical Drawing.

• IX. Complete topographical map. Tracing and blueprinting
  the map.

One plate will be assigned each week to be executed in the Drafting
Room, under the direction of the Instructor.

E. Design and Construction of County Road Bridges.

• Lecture I. Parallelogram of Forces. Force Polygon. Funicular
  Polygon. Composition and Resolution of Forces.

• II. Principle of Moments. Bending moments and shearing
  forces on beam bridges.

• III. Moment of Resistance of bent beams. Design of Timber
  Beam Bridges.

• IV. Graphical determination of the Moment of Resistance.
  Design of Steel Beam Bridges.

• V. Reinforced Concrete. Design of reinforced concrete
  beam bridges.

• VI. Rolling axle loads and equivalent uniform loads. Dead
  Loads, Live Loads, Impact.

• VII. Bridge Abutments in Masonry and in Concrete. Bridge
  Piers, Foundations.

• VIII. Analysis and design of Howe truss highway bridges.
  Wind stresses, Structural details.

• IX. Box Culverts. Pipe Culverts, Arched Culverts in
  Masonry and concrete.

With each lecture is associated a Plate executed in the drafting room
or an equivalent exercise in computation. A written test examination
on the subject of the lectures concludes the course.

F. Illustrated Lectures on Road Materials and Construction.

• Lecture I. Demonstration lecture on road material under abrasion
  tests.

• II. Lecture on quarrying, stone crushing, and screening
  with lantern illustrations.

• III. Demonstration lecture on the preparation of specimens
  and testing of stone under compression and impact.

• IV. Lecture on the construction and maintenance of
  broken stone roads. Lantern illustrations.

• V. Demonstration lecture on the binding power of stone
  dust in the road surface.

• VI. Lecture with lantern illustrations on the construction
  of dustless roads.

• VII. Biographical lecture on the great Road Builders—
  English, French, and German.

• VIII. Lecture with lantern illustrations on Sand-Clay roads,
  and the maintenance of Earthen roads.

• IX. Lecture on the rise and progress of State Highway
  Construction in Virginia.

Cost of Text-Books and Drawing Materials.

           

Baker, Treatise on Roads and Pavements	$5.00
Wentworth, Surveying	.80
Daniel, Topographical Drawing	1.50
Merriman, Strength of Materials	1.00
Drawing Instruments and Materials	8.00
Total	$16.30