What is Camber in Highways Construction? Geometric Design of Highways

Camber is also called as Cant; Which is defined as a cross slope that is provided to raise the middle of the road surface in order to drain off the water from the road surface. The camber is provided in the traverse direction.

Need for Camber in Road Construction

 

The main objectives of providing camber for road construction are:

1. Surface protection [ Mainly for the bituminous or gravel roads]
2. Facilitate Quick drying of the Pavement. This helps to increase the safety
3. Proper drainage which helps to protect the sub-grade.

Camber Slope or Camber Angle

The camber must not be provided with steep slope, which in turn result in the erosion of the surface. The camber is measured in 1 in n or in n%. For Example 1 in 50 or 2%;

The camber values for different road type and weather conditions are specified by Indian Road Congress (IRC) which is shown in table-1 below.

Table.1: IRC Camber Values  

SURFACE TYPE	HEAVY RAIN	LIGHT RAIN
Concrete/Bituminous	2%	1.7%
Gravel/WBM	3%	2.5%
Earthen	4%	3%

Types of Camber

 

The camber provided can be either:

1. Parabolic Camber
2. Straight-line Camber
3. Combination of Parabolic and Straight line

Road Camber Specification Based on Different Authorities

You May Also Like to Read:

1. What is Camber in Road Construction?
2. Dimensions and Weight of Road Vehicles - Geometric Design of Highways