What is Civil Engineering ?

Transportation Engineering
Transportation Research
photos courtesy of Dr. J. Morrall

The following are only a few of the countless research projects which have been completed or are currently still underway in the area of Transportation Engineering.


A research study of Long Combination Vehicles.
Engineers must be aware of the stopping time of these extra long vehicles, their stability on various types of roadways, and the cornering radius required to navigate these roadways.

High Load Corridor Study

Passing Lane Study

Parks Canada hopes to keep the Trans Canada Highway a two lane facility as long as possible so they pioneered the concept of a system of passing/climbing lanes in the early 1980s. Civil engineers were hired to study the need for passing lanes and their effect on the level of service.

Study of Bicycle Facilities - Road Safety Audit - (a tool that ensures that safety is considered before a path or structure is planned, designed and constructed by having the project examined by an independent, qualified individual who reports on the project's safety performance)

Research being conducted on negative surface texture and colour retention of coloured high friction surfacing materials.

Setting the Standard: 27/01/2000 issue of the New Civil Engineer

photos scanned, with permission from NCE