An-Najah National University 
Faculty of Graduate Studies 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 GIS as a Tool for Route Location 
 and Highway Alignment  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By 
Emad Basheer Salameh Dawwas 

 
 

Supervisor 
Prof. Sameer A. Abu Eisheh 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of 
Master in Highway and Transportation Engineering, Faculty of 
Graduate Studies, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine  

2005 



 

 

II
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

 

III

Dedication 

I present this work to who gives every thing and doesn’t wait any thing. To 

the candle that is burnt to light my way…………… My Mother. 



 

 

IV

Acknowledgement 

First of all, I thank my God for all the blessings, he bestowed on me and 

continues to bestow on me. 

It is with sincere gratitude and pleasure that I express my profound 

acknowledgement to my supervisor: Prof. Sameer Abu Eisheh, An-Najah 

N. University, who has been most gracious, diligent, and resourceful in his 

efforts to accomplish this study and write up this thesis. 

Special thanks go to Eng. Abullah Abdullah, Ber Zeit University, for his 

technical support and his valuable suggestions. These thanks are also to all 

lecturers and professors who advised during the preparation of this study. 

Finally, I would like to express my utmost appreciation to my filmily, and 

my friends for all kinds of support, knee interest and concern. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

 

V

Table of Contents 
Content Page 
Committee Decision ……………………………………………… II
Dedication ………………………………………………………… III
Acknowledgment …………………………………………………. IV
Table of Contents ………………………………………………… V
List of Tables ……………………………………………………... VIII
List of Figures …………………………………………………….. IX 
List of Appendices…………………………………………………  XI 
Abstract …..………………………………………………………. XII
1.   INTRODUCTION…………………………………………… 2
 1.1  Background…………………………………………... 2
 1.2 Objectives……………………………………………. 2
 1.3 Importance of the Study……………………………… 3
 1.4 Study Area…………………………………………… 4
 1.1 Study Outline………………………………………… 4
2.  LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………. 8
 2.1 GIS Applications in Transportation Planning………... 8
 2.1.1 Introduction…………………………………………... 8
 2.1.2 Worldwide GIS Application in Transportation Studies 8
 2.1.3 Local GIS Applications in Transportation and Traffic 12
 2.2 GIS Studies in Route Location and Highway 

Alignment……………………………………………. 14
3.  METHODOLOGY…………………………………………… 20
 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………... 20
 3.2 Data Collection and Variables Identification………… 21
 3.3 Software Selection…………………………………… 24
 3.3.1 GIS Software……………………………………..…... 24
 3.3.2 CAD Software Used………………………………… 25
 3.4 GIS Model Building………………………………….. 26
 3.4.1 Input Data Phase……………………………………... 29



 

 

VI
 3.4.2 Define Alternatives Phase……………………………. 30
 3.4.3 Design Phase…………………………………………. 33
 3.4.4 Analysis Phase……………………………………….. 33
 3.4.5 The Evaluation and Final selection Phase...……......... 35
 3.5 Weighting System……………………………………. 35
 3.5.1 Environmental Assessment…………………………... 36
 3.5.2 Modified Weighting and Ranking System…………… 38
4.  PPLICATION………………………………………………… 42
 4.1 Introduction…………………………………………... 42
 4.2 Existing Roads Conditions…………………………… 42
 4.3 Data Collection………………………………………. 44
 4.3.1 Topography…………………………………………... 45
 4.3.2 Agricultural Lands…………………………………… 46
 4.3.3 Natural Reserves, Forests and Biodiversity Areas…… 46
 4.3.4 Palestinian Built-up Areas and Population…………... 48
 4.3.5 Water Resources……………………………………... 48
 4.3.6 Israeli Settlements and Separation Wall……………... 52
 4.3.7 Existing Roads……………………………………….. 52
 4.3.8 Cultural Sites…………………………………………. 52
 4.3.9 Geology………………………………………………. 56
 4.4 Data Preparation Phase………………………………. 56
 4.5 Alternatives Generation Phase……………………….. 63
 4.5.1 Exploration for Continuous Path…………………….. 64
 4.5.2 Preliminary Centerline Selection…………………….. 77
 4.5.3 Final Centerline Selection……………………………. 80
 4.6 Design Phase…………………………………………. 80
 4.6.1 General Design Considerations and Assumptions…… 82
 4.6.2 Horizontal Alignment Design………………………... 85
 4.6.3 Vertical Alignment Design…………………………... 85
 4.7 Analysis Phase……………………………………….. 89
 4.8 Evaluation and Final Selection Phase………………... 102



 

 

VII
 4.8.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of All Alternatives….. 102
 4.8.2 Final Selection……………………………………….. 105
5.  CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………… 108
 5.1 Conclusions…………………………………………... 108
 5.2 Recommendations……………………………………. 110
     REFERENCES……………………………………………….. 112
     APPENDICES………………………………………………… 115  
ب .…………………………………………………………الملخص 

 



 

 

VIII

List of Tables 
 

Table No.  Page

Table (1) Important Considerations from the Public and 
Involved Government Agencies…………………......

 
 

37
Table (2) Impact Weighting System Source  ............................. 

 

 

38

Table (3) Modified Impact Weighting System ……………... ... 
 

 

39

Table (4) Buffer Zone Around Some Restricted Features ……. 
 

 

59

Table (5) The Cross Section Components  …………………… 
 

 

82

Table (6) Equations of Crest and Sag Vertical Curves  ………. 
 

 

86

Table (7) K Value for Crest and Sag Vertical Curve  ………… 
 

 

87

Table (8) Final Results of the Analysis Phase  ……………….. 
 

 

100

Table (9) Estimation of the Amount of Impacts Using 
Weighting System…………………………………... 

 
106

 



 

 

IX

List of Figures 
 

Figure No.  Page

Figure (1) The Location of the Study Area………………………. 5

Figure (2) The Detailed Study Area……………………………… 6

Figure (3) Phases of Highway Alignment Selection Process…….. 21

Figure (4) Layers of Different Features as Represented………….  25

Figure (5) Sample of SDSK Output……………………………… 27

Figure (6) The Flowchart of the Developed GIS Model…………. 28

Figure (7) Flowchart of Red and Green Method…………………. 31

Figure (8) Existing Roads Connecting Nablus and Jenin………... 43

Figure (9) Study Area According to Agricultural Value…………. 47

Figure (10) Existing Biodiversity, Forsets and Natural Reserves…. 49

Figure (11) Palestinian Built-up Areas in the Study Area………… 50

Figure (12) Existing Water Resources in the Study Area…………. 51

Figure (13) Israeli Settlements, Seperation Wall and Isolated Areas 53

Figure (14) The Existing Road Network…………………………... 54

Figure (15) Existing Cultural Sites in the Study Area…………….. 55

Figure (16) Geological Faults in the Study Area………………….. 57

Figure (17) Simplification of Overlapping Problem………………. 58

Figure (18) Final Layers of the Study Area Features……………… 61

Figure (19) 3D Model of Study Area……………………………… 62

Figure (20) Forbidden and Permissible Areas for Trial 1…………. 67

Figure (21) Final Forbidden and Permissible Areas for Trial 1…… 68



 

 

X

Figure (22) Forbidden and Permissible Areas for Trial 2…………. 69

Figure (23) Net Selected Area in Trial 2…………………………... 70

Figure (24) Selected Permissible Areas with 50m Buffer in Trial 2 71

Figure (25) Permissible and Forbidden Areas According to Trial 3 73

Figure (26) Extracted Continuous Paths in Trial 3………………... 74

Figure (27) The Study Area Classified According to the GCM…... 76

Figure (28) Using PE in Selecting Preliminary Centerline………... 78

Figure (29) Preliminary Centerline of Alternative One and Two…. 79

Figure (30) Final Centerline of Alternative Two and Three………. 81

Figure (31) ROW Cases…………………………………………… 84

Figure (32) Sample of Cut and Fill Bounderies and Cross-section... 88

Figure (33) Sample of Imported Data from SDSK………………... 90

Figure (34) Impacted Area Simplification………………………… 90

Figure (35) Impacted Areas of Alternative One and Two…………. 92

Figure (36) Cut and Fill between Design and Ground Surface……. 93

Figure (37) Cut and Fill Output of Alternative One……………….. 94

Figure (38) Built-up Areas Served within Five Kilometers……….. 95

Figure (39) Areas within 150m Noise Zone of All Alternatives…... 97

Figure (40) Faults Crossed by Alternative One …………………... 98

Figure (41) All Alternatives with respect to the Point Features........ 99

 



 

 

XI

List of Appendices  
 

Appendix   Page

Appendix A GIS Software……………………………………… 116

Appendix B Data Collection……………………………………. 124

Appendix C Alternative Three Figures…………………………. 127

Appendix D Analysis Phase Output……………………………. 130

 



 

 

XII

GIS as a Tool for Route Location 
and Highway Alignment 

By 
Emad Basheer Salameh Dawwas 

Supervisor 
Prof. Sameer A. Abu Eisheh 

Abstract 

Selecting best route location and highway alignment process is a 

complicated one, due to the many variables that must be taken into 

consideration for achieving the best results. Geographic Information 

Systems (GIS) can easily model such variables, including topography, 

environment, built-up areas, and geology variables. This study took 

advantages of GIS capabilities that offer the ability to overlay maps, merge 

them, and perform spatial analysis on various layers of information in 

either two or three dimensions. 

In this study, a GIS model for route location and highway alignment was 

developed and used to generate alternate highway route applications. After 

these alternatives were preliminarily designed using CADD software 

(Softdesk 8.0), the model was used to analyze, evaluate, and then select the 

alternative with least impacts on environmental, economical, and political 

aspects.  

In this study, the GIS model was tested on an application that aims to select 

the best alternative of three suggested highway alignments. This selected  

highway is supposed to connect two major cities in the north of the West 

Bank (Nablus and Jenin). In this application, the advantages of the 

developed model was clear in the preliminary stage of alternatives 



 

 

XIII

generation where it was possible to avoid impacting of the different 

sensitive areas. In addition, a lot of information can be concluded once the 

user identifies a suggested route because the profile can be developed and 

drawn immediately. In final stages of analysis and evaluation, the model 

showed high capabilities in analyzing the impacts of each alternative, using 

buffering and spatial relations between the different features and the 

suggested alternatives, and then evaluating these impacts.  

The results of this study clearly showed the applicability and potential of 

using GIS as a tool in route location and highway alignment with least 

potential impacts.  



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION 



 

 

2

Chapter One 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1  Background 

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly used in civil 

engineering applications. Transportation and highway engineering is one 

field which has been affected by developments in GIS aspects, as spatial 

variables, including environmental, topography, built-up areas, and geology 

related variables, can be easily modeled. Such criteria are taken into 

consideration in the selection of route location and the design of highway 

alignment processes that are usually perceived as rather complicated. 

Therefore, this complexity motivates highway engineers to give more 

attention to GIS applications in route location and highway alignment, due 

to their ability to consider many spatial variables simultaneously.  

1.2 Objectives  

The task of selecting the optimal route alignment for highways is an 

application of transportation engineering that can benefit from GIS 

technology. The main objective of this study is to take advantage of this 

technology that offers an opportunity to overlay maps, merge them, and 

perform two and three-dimensional spatial analysis on various layers of 

information. Therefore, the procedure will be established to perform the 

analysis of the preliminary location of highway routes, this will be applied 

to a real world case study for a new route between Nablus and Jenin in the 

northern part of West Bank.  

 



 

 

3

1.3  Importance of the Study 

The importance of this study comes from the use of a developed GIS model 

in highway alignment preliminary selection, analysis, evaluation, and final 

selection. The developed GIS model and its different extensions, especially 

3D Analyst, have many of advantages in highway alignment selection field. 

The following points show these advantages: 

1. In the preliminary stage of route selection, it is possible to avoid 

impacting the different sensitive environmental areas such as 

valuable agricultural and biodiversity areas, forests, and water 

resources, such as wells and springs. Such option remains possible 

because all layers can be shown simultaneously.   

2. A lot of variable details can be reached once the user identifies a 

suggested route because the profile can be developed and drawn 

immediately. GIS provides preliminary dynamic evaluation of the 

suggested route: 

•  It is easier to select the preliminary centerline when there is a 3D 

topography for the study area, which makes it possible to avoid any 

steep slope. 

• Using 3D model of the study area, the user can take a clear enough 

impression about the suggested center line by producing an 

immediate profile for the different segments of the center line. On 

the other hand, the length of each route is shown. 

3. In final stages of analysis and evaluation, GIS has high capabilities 

in analyzing the impacts of the suggested highway, using buffering 



 

 

4

and spatial relations between the different features and the highway, 

and then evaluating the proposed road depending on its impacts.  

4. Finally, the user can visually certain the chosen alignment as well as 

he/she can see the final designed highway in three dimensions and 

can simulate driving through the highway. 

1.4  Study Area 

The study area is located in the northern part of West Bank. The area is part 

of two main districts, Nablus and Jenin, as shown in Figure (1). There are 

two main reasons behind selecting this area for the application of this 

study. First is the variety of land use and topography of the study area that 

extends from Nablus in the south to Jenin in the North as shown in Figure 

(2). Such variety shows the capabilities of GIS in spatial analysis in two or 

three dimensions. Second is the availability of environmental and 

socioeconomic information necessary for the analysis and evaluation 

phases of the intended model. 

1.5  Study Outline 

This study is composed of five chapters. Chapter One includes the 

background of using GIS in transportation and highway alignment, study 

area, aims and objectives, the importance of the study, and the study 

outline. Chapter Two presents a review of the developments in the 

application of GIS in the transportation sector, especially in highway 

alignment selection. Chapter Three explains the data collection and its 

examination, it has also the description of the developed GIS model. 

Chapter Four deals with the application of the developed GIS model. 

Finally, Chapter Five presents the conclusions and recommendations. 

 



 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Figure (1)  Location of the Study Area in the Northern part of West Bank 
 

Study Area 



 

 

6

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Palestinian Built-up
Settlement
Isolated Area
High Agriculture
Moderate Agricul
Low Agriculture
Biodiversity
Forest
Natural reserves
Marj Sanoor

Contours of 50m interval
Seperation Wall
Start and End

5 0 5 Kilometers
N

Figure (2) Detailed Study Area 
 



 

 

7

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWO 

Literature Review 

 



 

 

8

Chapter Two 

LITERATURE REVIEW 

2.1 GIS Applications in Transportation Planning  

2.1.1 Introduction 

GIS can have a significant role in transportation planning because GIS can 

help capture, store, analyze, and display geographical information based on 

its location character and link it with transportation planning variables. The 

use of GIS is particularly useful in transportation since it is an effective 

way to integrate the information needed to support many criteria for 

transportation planning, evaluation, and analysis. 

GIS play a main role in transportation application planning. It is useful to 

address complex tasks in policymaking, planning, analysis, evaluation, 

design, construction, and maintenance of different types of transportation 

facilities. In addition, it provides database management for extending 

human memory, spatial analysis for rigorous computation, and map display 

for visualization of large amounts of information about transportation 

networks. 

2.1.2 Worldwide GIS Application in Transportation Planning 

A large number of studies regarding use of GIS in transportation planning 

were prepared around the world. One of these studies was titled ‘A 

Methodology Using Geographic Information Systems to Evaluate 

Socioeconomic Data Concerning Impacts of Highway Bypasses in 

Oklahoma’ was prepared by Jonathan, Allen, and Amanda (2000). This 

study focused on developing a methodology for selecting and aggregating 



 

 

9

socioeconomic data that will be useful in assessing the impacts of highway 

bypasses on towns in Oklahoma. GIS technology was used in this study to 

develop a comprehensive modeling framework that will allow the users to 

assess quantitatively the potential economic impacts bypasses may cause. 

Within this framework, bypass alternatives were selected and evaluated via 

five primary factors: total cost, ability to serve traffic, number of residential 

and commercial displacements, effect on the local businesses, and 

environmental considerations along the route.  

Alternative routes could be easily derived and compared to find the best 

one, including the possibility of not constructing a new bypass but 

widening and improving the existing route instead. This aspect of the 

project set it apart from other studies of highway impacts analyses.  

As part of this study an automatically updated GIS database for Oklahoma 

highway network was constructed to keep the planners and engineers well 

informed to the activities and needs of communities throughout Oklahoma. 

By properly developing and maintaining the GIS database and using the 

developed model, users would be able to identify a proposed new bypass 

route graphically on a map, identify the bypassed highway section, and 

quickly calculate estimates of affected businesses and other economic 

activities within a specified distance of these routes. This identification, 

combined with the impact models developed by using past bypass 

experiences in Oklahoma, provides the users with a reasonable estimate of 

changes that could be expected for the proposed bypass route and replaced 

highway section. 

The methodology for determining the impacted area of a bypassed city 

involves several steps. First, the path for either an older, already-bypassed 



 

 

10

route or a proposed new route was selected. Using the predefined functions 

developed for this project, the user “traces” over the old or proposed route 

with the cursor, and ArcView created an impact buffer around the selected 

street or proposed highway at a distance defined by the user. In the second 

stage of buffering, ArcView selected all impacted streets and side street 

segments intersected by the initial buffer and created a second buffer 

around all these segments.  

During the third and final phase of the buffering and selection process, 

ArcView chose all block groups that intersect the buffer from the second 

stage. After completing this process for both the old and new routes, 

ArcView passed the tabular data relating to the selected block groups for 

the outlined routes to an analytical model for impacts analysis or for direct 

computation of summary measures along the routes. By identifying 

impacted zones in this manner, the user can select and analyze the 

potentially impacted areas and the data relating to these areas more 

accurately. When the analyses of the impacts of past bypasses are 

complete, determining the impacts of such bypasses on any highway will 

be a relatively rapid process, compared to such analyses made without GIS. 

Another study related to the improvement of highway planning with the 

help of GIS was prepared by West (1999). A major highway planning 

project took place over a period of years and involves a wide range of 

engineering and technical specialties.  

The study aimed to compare between the traditional methods of doing 

highway planning with the method of using GIS. Traditional methods of 

performing highway planning dealt primarily with analyzing spreadsheets, 

using planimeters to calculate areas, and using hardcopy maps with 



 

 

11

overlays.   Non-intelligent CAD data was also used to display and overlay 

specific data to the environmental planner. GIS technology gave the 

planner powerful tools to perform spatial analyses, such as the tools to 

identity, merge, clip, buffer, and joining of tabular data. 

Some common benefits of using a GIS on highway planning processes 

were mentioned in the study, like: 

• Improved access to data, which means earlier project completion  

• Better access allows more sophisticated analyses  

• Heightened system performance encourages users to better utilize 

data  

• Cost effective due to time saving processes  

The study finally discussed the limitations and the capabilities of different 

GIS software like ArcInfo and ArcView in highway planning. ArcInfo 

tools were used to perform specific tasks that ArcView could not handle 

due to software limitations.   Importing data could be performed in 

ArcView or ArcInfo, while reprojecting data seemed to work better with 

ArcInfo.  Building topology for each dataset was very important to do 

because polygons need to be created for wetlands, new alignments, and 

property owners.  Stationing is also done in ArcInfo, but it can also be done 

in the CAD environment.  This step was necessary to identify each 

wetland.    Positioning of the data was critical when producing map sheets.  

Because of ArcView's limitations, the data was rotated in ArcInfo and then 

taken into ArcView for plotting. 

 



 

 

12

2.1.3 Local GIS Applications in Transportation Planning and Traffic 

There is a limited number of studies regarding use of GIS in transportation 

planning in Palestine. Transportation planning was part of study that was 

prepared by Abu Gharbiyyeh (2001). One objective of this study was to 

describe the capabilities of GIS in transportation planning, and on the other 

hand to study the role of GIS and how it could play a role in Palestine by 

developing this system. 

The study introduced a general background of the planning situation in 

Palestine. The reasons for introducing GIS at Palestine were described, as 

well as the obstacles that face the application of GIS in regional planning in 

Palestine. The need of a GIS system for Palestinian Planning was described 

and the current situation of the Palestinian information system was 

discussed. 

The study also contained a practical application of GIS by viewing 

techniques that could be used to upgrade the master plan of Bethlehem 

City. History and the predominant situation in Bethlehem were outlined. 

The use of GIS in the maps production process was presented by discussing 

how GIS could be used to upgrade the exiting land use road networks of 

Bethlehem.  

Finally, the study provided a proposal to develop GIS in Palestine by 

outlining a framework for the establishment of Mapping Authority of 

Palestine (MAP).The requirement to fulfill the functions of MAP and 

Implementation Strategy and program were given to assure the effective 

use of GIS in Palestine.  



 

 

13

An other study titled ‘The Use of Traffic Assessment Modeling Technique 

in Evaluating and Testing Transportation Policies and Projects Nablus City: 

Case Study’ was prepared by Douleh (2000). Since the scientific methods 

are the tools for proper planning, the estimation of origin-destination trip 

matrix and traffic assignment were the basic methods that were studied, 

discussed and. utilized in this study. Stochastic User Equilibrium 

assignment was the method used for traffic assignment processes, while the 

multiple path matrix estimation was used for the estimation of origin-

destination trip matrix. These methods gave acceptable simulation for the 

travel behavior and travel patterns, where an equilibrium condition in the 

traffic flow pattern over the street network was observed. GIS based 

computer software, TransCAD, was used in this study. TransCAD is a 

powerful tool for transportation planners in terms of GIS support for 

planning and modeling. Traffic assignment and origin-destination trip 

matrix estimation were parts of the transportation planning demand module 

in TransCAD. 

In this study, the physical and operational characteristics of the links and 

nodes of the transportation network were defined, and the origin-

destination trip matrix was estimated, the simulation for the existing traffic 

conditions was made also. 

GIS had been used in traffic issues on the local level, such as in the 

analysis of data accidents, studying and understanding why accidents 

occur, identifying accident prone-location, and aiding in the choice of 

proper safety programs or countermeasures. In this direction, a study that 

was prepared by Kobari (2000). In this study, a GIS-oriented database 

using TransCAD software was developed as a tool in improving 



 

 

14

quantitative accidents data analysis. The database was applied for a two-

year study period (1997-1998) for Nablus City. This database was of great 

use in road safety improvements and management. This study included a 

number of phases: establishment of detailed database with information on 

accidents, traffic characteristics and physical road data; integration of these 

databases into a GIS; and definition and development of GIS-based 

applications to road safety and management. 

The general aim of Kobari's study was to develop a safety management tool 

by establishing an accident database for the City of Nablus using 

Geographic information System (GIS). This database had the ability to deal 

with systematic statistical analysis of accidents, safety management, and 

the evaluation of safety improvements. An integrated spatial database of 

accidents was established that included information of road-physical and 

traffic flow characteristics. The developed system was applied to the 

analysis of a number of specific road safety issues such as pedestrian 

accidents, children accidents near schools, and area-wide analysis in a 

certain neighborhood. Finally the hazardous locations in the study area 

were identified. The results of this study clearly showed the applicability 

and potential of using GIS as a tool in road safety management and 

improvement.                        

2.2 GIS Studies in Route Location and Highway Alignment 

Route location and highway alignment presents a highly complex decision 

environment in which a variety of social, environmental, and economic 

factors must be defined, analyzed, and evaluated. There are several studies 

that benefit from the GIS for this purpose; one of these studies was 

prepared by Bailey (2003). 



 

 

15

The design and development a GIS-based corridor route planning 

methodology called Analytic Minimum Impedance Surface (AMIS) was 

described in this paper. This methodology facilitated choice of a route 

corridor for a section of a proposed interstate highway connector in the 

southeastern U.S. Also it would both provide comparative information 

about pre-selected corridors and/or aid in the selection of corridors based 

on user-defined path inputs or endpoint location specifications.  

The area of this study was located in a complex karst landscape possessing 

a variety of landforms and geologic characteristics. Much of the study area 

was dissected by a dense network of streams and steep gradients and cliffs 

were common. Although this area was mainly rural, containing large 

sections of a National Forest, several pockets of development were found 

in the study area.  

Five classes of data were defined in this study  

• Environmental: Unique habitat, archaeological feature and streams 

• Man-made public Features: Hospital, water tank, school and airport 

• Dirt and rock: Oil and gas wells, mine, quarry and 15-25% Slope 

• Socioeconomic: Land value, poverty rate and Population growth rate 

• Picnic area: Picnic area, national properties register, state park 

The study discussed how the various data inputs; including the classes 

above; elicited and aggregated into a decision support model. AMIS 

combined system priorities, such as economic development and 

connectivity improvement, with varied but specific features, such as 



 

 

16

wetlands, schools, median incomes or areas where endangered species 

were located. Both the system priorities and features could be user-

specified.  

Input was in both written and electronic data format, while the output was 

displayed on standard GIS software. AMIS was therefore built using 

iterative process that incorporated input from engineers, planners and 

environmental specialists. 

GIS database for AMIS was constructed to the same resolution as the 

underlying terrain data; 30 meter digital elevation models (DEMs). All of 

the vector data was converted to raster grids within ArcInfo. The integer 

value of each grid cell was taken directly from the calculated values for 

that data layer. Once all the raster layers were completed, ArcInfo then 

added the values of all cells in the corridor study area. The result was an 

impedance surface, representing the sum of all the calculated costs on a 

per-cell basis. Using Avenue scripts within ArcView, the routing function 

was invoked with a button which then allows the user to specify where the 

route should terminate. Finally ArcView determines the least cost route to 

that cell and drew it onscreen as a graphic element. 

Another study related to use of GIS in route location was prepared by 

Sadek, Kaysi and Bedran (1998). In this study, an integrated GIS 

framework was developed as a decision-aid tool for a multi-criteria 

evaluation of route alignments. The framework integrated specialized slope 

stability and roadway design packages within the ArcView user friendly 

environment. The objective was to allow for multi-criteria analysis and 

evaluation of route alignments based on the integration of: topographic, 

geometric design, geologic and geotechnical slope stability analyses, 



 

 

17

environmental impact, and community disruption evaluation. The 

developed layout assessment approach worked within an integrated GIS 

platform. It had three basic elements: a digital model of the study area, an 

integrated computer-based module, and an assessment framework.                                    

Different types of data layers were required to create a geographically 

referenced database or model for a given region, depending on the type of 

analyses and anticipated applications. The GIS model could be thought of 

as a geographically referenced base consisting of data layers of various 

types. The required layers of information relate to the application being 

implemented. The more the data layers, the more complete the model is; 

however, for developed application, the following layers were needed; 

Political and administrative, existing roads, existing structures, land-cover, 

land-use, topography, rivers/streams, geology, soil, and depth to water 

table. 

The proposed framework provided the decision-maker with a set of 

evaluation criteria associated with any given route layout. The 

development of the integrated approach was a complex and tedious task 

given the numerous and varied possible assessment criteria. The computer-

based approach is built using the ArcView GIS package and it integrates 

the AutoCIVIL specialized roadway design package. The system engine 

and the interface environment was ArcView. Customized ArcView menu-

driven interface was specifically developed by the authors to provide a 

user-friendly analysis system. The user interfaces with the evaluation tool 

through ArcView using customized pull down menus. The system itself 

was a mix of PC ARCINFO and ArcView scripts in Avenue languages, 

CAD scripts, and LISP functions. The resulting computer-based approach 



 

 

18

could be broken down into several distinct steps. The user only needs to 

define the road alignment on the GIS model of the study area (by defining 

a series of points, interactively, using the mouse or by assigning particular 

coordinates). The rest of the analysis was automatically run: the developed 

tool would call upon and use the various platforms and customized scripts 

and computer codes, moving sequentially through all the steps without 

intervention by the user. A report characterizing the specified route 

alignment based on the assessment criteria is automatically generated 

The assessment framework builds on the results of the analyses conducted 

in the step by step procedure. The final report that the engineer can use to 

evaluate a given alignment includes factual information resulting from the 

analyses. Possible alignments are evaluated based on two sets of criteria. 

First, traditional evaluation criteria focusing on geometric design factors 

and impact on man-made features are considered. Second, the developed 

assessment framework builds on the GIS platform to generate specific 

environmental and geotechnical criteria for route layout evaluation. 



 

 

19

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

CHAPTER THREE 

MEHTODOLOGY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



 

 

20

Chapter Three 

METHODOLOGY 

3.1 Introduction 

This chapter explains how decisions to select a new highway alignment are 

made and highlights the major elements of the process. The process for 

highway alignment selection is a rational one that intends, among other 

aims, to furnish unbiased information about the effects that the proposed 

highway will have on the highway environment. The traditional highway 

selection process is modified here to reflect using GIS in an integrated 

model. The process therefore comprises five basic phases, which are 

interrelated. The information acquired in one phase of the process will be 

helpful in the later phases. These phases are: 

• Data Collection and Variables Identifications 

• Software Selection 

• Input of Existing Data 

• Defining Alternatives 

• The Evaluation of Alternatives and Final Selection 

These phases are described and illustrated in Figure (3), and each one of 

these phases is explained in the following sections. 

 

 



 

 

21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.2 Data Collection and Variables Identifications 

The Data Collection stage of the study involves the assembly of all relevant 

information to undertake the highway alignment selection. Highway 

alignment selection should be built on a comprehensive body of 

information. This information should be prepared in digital format, as a 

base model for the region of interest. The data collection process is a 

critical and time intensive stage. At the beginning of any project, the 

database requirements should be set as part of the objectives. These 

objectives include the required data layers, the features required in each 

layer, the attribute data needed for each feature type, and how to code and 

Data Collection and 
Variables Identifications 

Software Selection 

Input of Existing Data 

Defining Alternatives 

The Evaluation and Final 
Selection 

Figure (3) Phases of Highway Alignment Selection Process 



 

 

22

organize these attributes. For highway construction projects, all types of 

data about the suggested highway alignment should be collected. This data 

depends on the study area characteristics and the priorities of the designer. 

In general, the following data categories should be collected: 

1. Topographic Data: Usually contour maps are prepared for the study 

area which is very useful to avoid rough topography. Using GIS, three-

dimensional model of the study area can be built. This model is very 

useful in selecting a primary center line of the suggested highway 

because the user can see the topography of the study area as it is in 

reality and to show the final highway in three dimensions. On the other 

hand, it is very important from economic point of view to estimate the 

earthwork; cut and fill volumes and to reduce the operational cost of the 

suggested highway by reducing the grades of designated highway. 

2. Environment Data: Environmental data is necessary to specify the 

impacts of the suggested highway on the surrounding environment 

where the highway will be laid down. This data is to be divided into 

several classes and each class of them is to be represented in a separate 

layer. Collected environmental data contains  the following data: 

• Agriculture Lands: Constructing new highway will result in the 

direct and indirect loss of agricultural lands. This loss ranges from 

lost income from land and crop damage to yield reductions on fields 

adjacent to construction. The government in this case compensates 

farmers for the removed lands from agricultural production.  

Therefore, it is necessary to classify these areas according to their 

agricultural value. 



 

 

23

• Natural Reserves, Biodiversity areas, and Forests: Data about these 

lands is very important due to their environmental role and due to its 

recreational role as well. 

• Water Resources: It is very important to collect data about water 

resources either ground or surface resources. These resources should 

be avoided by any highway project, because any serious source of 

pollution in the road will affect the water resources in the project 

area. Polluting these resources will, on one hand, destroy a main 

domestic water resource. On the other hand, it will destroy a major 

agricultural supply of water in the region. Therefore, the highway 

should be laid down without causing any significant harm to the 

exist water resources.  

3. Built-up Areas and Existing Infrastructures Data:  To avoid 

demolishing of built up areas and available infrastructures. Also 

constructing a new highway could cause residential and commercial 

relocations and significantly disrupts traffic during the construction. In 

addition, distribution built-up areas' population is necessary, in highway 

location, to determine the population served by it.  

4. Geopolitical Data: Geopolitical aspects play a main role in all 

infrastructures development, especially in highways development. For 

any proposed highway project, data about all political obstacles should 

be collected and these obstacles should be defined and classified. These 

obstacles could be special regulation on the study area or it could be 

found on the ground such as settlements, military areas, and the 

Separation Wall. 



 

 

24

5. Data of Cultural Sites: Collecting of this data depends on the historical 

importance of the study area. Historical and cultural sites must be 

defined for any new highway project. This is necessary to avoid 

demolishing these sites and affecting its touristic role as well. 

3.3 Software Selection 

In this study, GIS is used as the main software to build the intended model. 

Also Computer Assisted Drafting and Design (CADD) package is used to 

do some specific processes, such design the horizontal and vertical 

alignments, to avoid the limitations of the GIS software. 

3.3.1 GIS Software 

ArcView 3.2 and its extensions were selected to be the main software. It is 

a GIS software with the ability of capturing, storing, updating, 

manipulating, analyzing, and referencing the information which describes 

the ground surface. In addition, ArcView deals with the graphical display 

and analysis of spatial feature data as presented in Figure (4). 

Each one of these layers has its attributes that contain the information about 

each feature in the layer. GIS connect the features with its attributes so it is 

very useful in highway alignment selection, especially in the analysis and 

evaluation phases. Further information about ArcView and the used 

extensions is available in Appendix A. 

 

 

 

 



 

 

25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.3.2 CADD Software Used 

The CADD software was selected to be used in this study because the GIS 

software is very limited in the geometric design. The geometric design is a 

main part of highway alignment selection. It is necessary in both the 

analysis and the evaluation phase. 

Softdesk 8.0 Civil-Survey (SDSK) software package was selected to be the 

CADD software. This software is a convenient way to handle data capture, 

drafting, and design for a large number of projects involving surveying, 

land-use planning, transportation, and infrastructure design.  

The main objective of using Softdesk in this study is to design the 

horizontal alignments and the vertical alignments. The profile for a given 

highway centerline can be easily produced. This profile will be useful to 

generate the design surface that contains the elevation points (Design 

points) of the final design surface of the highway. The elevation of these 

Customers

Streets

Parcels

Elevation 

Land usage 

Real world 

Figure (4) Layers of Different Features as Represented in ArcView  
 
 Source (Townsend, 2004)  
 



 

 

26

points will be obtained from the profile. Figure (5) shows an example of 

expected output from Softdesk 8.0. 

3.4 GIS Model Building 

The disruption of different environmental areas, such as agricultural, forest, 

biodiversity areas, and water resources, caused by the suggested highway 

should be minimized. Environmental impact studies are therefore required 

before the final selection of a highway alignment. In this study, the 

suggestion and the selection of highway alignment process is done using 

the GIS model. In this model, several phases are followed to generate 

alternatives of highway and then to select the best one of these alternatives. 

These phases are shown in Figure (6) and are explained in the following 

sections. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure (5) Sample of SDSK Output 

(b)Vertical Alignment 

(c) Design Surface 

(a) Horizontal Alignment 

  R1 

Centerline 

ROW 

Design Surface 

Ground Surface 

R1 
L1 
D1 
T1 



 

 

28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAD Software 

• Define the Ground 
Surface 

• Design the Horizontal 
and Vertical Alignments  

• Define the Design 
Highway Surface 

• Export the Design Surface 

Define Centerline 

• Exploration for Continuous Path 

• Preliminary Centerline 

• Final Centerline 

Evaluation  

• Evaluation and Final Route 

Selection 

GIS Software 

Define Limitations 

• Forbidden Areas 

• Permissible Areas 

Input Data 

• Topography  

• Environmental Data 

• Built-up Areas and Population 

• Political Data 

• Cultural Sites                                 

Analysis 
The final outputs of this process are 
represented in tables, figures and charts for: 

• Impacted Areas 
• Earthworks Volumes 
• Impacted Point Features 
• Population Served 
• Impacted Noise Areas 
 

Figure (6) Flowchart  of the Developed GIS Model 

Define Centerline 

• Exploration for continuous Path 

• Preliminary Centerline 

• Final Centerline 



 

 

29

3.4.1 Input Data Phase 

In this study, the GIS model for alignment selection is built on a 

comprehensive body of information. This information was prepared to be 

used as a base map for the study area. This data contains: 

1.   The study area boundaries 

2. The data layers and the features of each layer. 

• Environmental Data which contains: 

1. Agricultural Areas 

2. Forests 

3. Biodiversity Areas 

4. Natural Reserves 

5. Water Resources: Surface water resources, Wells and Springs 

• Built up Areas and Population 

• Topographic Data 

• Political Areas: Settlements and Isolation Wall 

• Geological Maps 

• Cultural Sites 

3. The attributes data needed for each feature that contain the data about 

each feature. These data represent the sensitivity of the features. 



 

 

30

The developed GIS model connects the features with their related data 

which make the analysis and evaluation processes easier. 

3.4.2 Define Alternatives Phase 

The most difficult phase of any highway project is selecting its centerline. 

In this phase of the developed GIS model, several centerlines will be 

suggested depending on different limitations to be analyzed and evaluated 

in the next phases. These centerlines are generated through these steps:  

1. Exploration:  

In this step, exploratory trials are done to find out a continuous path, 

between the origin and the destination of the intended highway that avoids 

the predefined sensitive areas. This exploration can be done using one of 

two methods Red and Green Method (RGM) and Graduate Color Method 

(GCM): 

• Red and Green Method:  

In this method, the study area is divided into two types of area, Forbidden 

and Permissible areas. Forbidden areas are the areas where the intended 

highway is completely prohibited to pass through, while the Permissible 

areas are the areas where the highway is allowed to pass. In this method, 

there is no graduation neither in the prohibition nor in the permission. 

Therefore, all Forbidden areas have the same degree of prohibition and the 

Permissible areas have the same degree of permission as well. Figure (7) 

shows the flowchart of this method. 

 

 

 



 

 

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buffer 2 

Redefine the 
Changeable Areas 

End of Exploration 
Phase 

Check for Continuous Path 
 
                                      No Yes

Check for Continuous Path 
 
                                      No Yes

Check for Continuous Path 
 
                                      No Yes

Buffer 1 

Union Union 

Start Exploration 

Permanent 
Including Areas Changeable 

Areas 

Permanent 
Excluded Areas 

Figure (7) Flowchart of Red and Green Method 



 

 

32

• Graduated Color Method 

According to this method, the study area is divided into five different 

classes according to its sensitivity. The classes are colored red, orange and 

green to indicate the degree of restriction:  

 

 

 

 

 

The user of this method has to use his judgment to decide which path will 

have more advantages, trying all the way to avoid red colored areas. 

In general, there are no limitations or special conditions to use one of these 

two methods. In this study, both methods RGM and GCM will be used to 

generate three highway alternatives. 

2. Define Preliminary Centerline 

 In this step, a new line theme is added to the view that contains the 

continuous path, which has been generated in the previous step, to draw a 

line within the boundaries of the continuous path. This line represents the 

preliminary centerline of the suggested highway. The preliminary 

centerline is drawn with the help of a 3D model of the included areas and 

with help of PE extension as well. This  assures that the sensitive areas and 

the steep slopes are avoided. 

 

Dark Red: completely restricted areas 

Light Red: restricted areas 

Orange: in between area 

Light Green: recommended areas 

Dark Green: the strongly recommended area 



 

 

33

3.  Define Final Centerline 

Depending on the preliminary centerline, a new line is drawn in this step 

with the help of contour map of the study area; this line represents the final 

centerline of the highway. This centerline overlaps the preliminary 

centerline in most of its parts with limited modifications.  

3.4.3 Design Phase  

The final centerline, which has been created in the previous phase, will be 

imported to the Softdesk 8.0 to generate a new surface that represents the 

design surface of the suggested route shown in Figure(5) in the previous 

section. This surface will be created after the horizontal and vertical curves 

are designed. Horizontal alignment is straight sections of the road are 

connected by horizontal curves. These curves are usually segments of 

circles, which have radii that provide for smooth flow of traffic along the 

curve. The vertical alignment of a highway consists of straight sections of 

the highway known as grades, or tangents, connected by vertical curves. 

These tangents and curves are drawn on the profile of the center line. 

Vertical curves are used to provide a gradual change from one tangent 

grade to another, so that vehicles may run smoothly as they traverse the 

highway. The designated centerline and  surface will be exported to the 

GIS software as dxf file. 

3.4.4 Analysis Phase 

In this phase, all calculations related to the new designated highway will be 

done such as the impaction of environment and cultural sites, earthwork 

calculations, population served by the designated highway and other 

calculations. The final outputs of this process are tables, charts and maps. 

The results of this phase will be the input of the next and final phase of the 



 

 

34

GIS model; the Evaluation and Final Selection phase. Briefly, all 

calculations are described in the following points: 

• Impacts of Environment 

All areas of different agriculture, forests, biodiversity, natural reserves will 

be calculated and presenting in maps, charts and tables. Impacted water 

resources that are located within the right of way for each alternative will 

be determined also.  

• Earthwork calculations                                                       

The design surface, generated in the CADD software, will be imported to 

the ArcView to calculate the cut and fill volumes. Using the 3D spatial 

analyst extension a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) will be built for 

the study area using the available contour map. This TIN represents the 

ground surface topography. Other TIN will be built for the design surface 

using the design points. The difference between these two surfaces 

represents the volumes of cut and fill. 

• Population Served within Five Kilometers 

Number of served people within five kilometer from the centerline of the 

alternate highways will be estimated. This number will be one of the most 

important criteria in the evaluation process 

• Impacted Areas by Traffic Noise 

The level of highway traffic noise depends in general on three things: (1) 

the volume of the traffic, (2) the speed of the traffic, and (3) the number of 

trucks in the flow of the traffic. In addition, traffic noise levels are reduced 

by distance, terrain, vegetation, and natural and manmade obstacles. In this 

study, the only factor of noise that was taken into the consideration was the 



 

 

35

distance between the highway and built-up areas. According to the 

'Highway Traffic Analysis and Abatement Policy and Guidance' study that 

was prepared by US Department of Transportation, traffic noise is not 

usually a serious problem for people who live more than 150 meters from 

heavily traveled freeways or more than 30 to 60 meters from lightly 

traveled roads (USDOT, 1995). Therefore, the built-up areas within 150m 

were determined and analyzed in this study. 

• Other Calculations 

The number of impacted cultural sites, the length of each alternate 

highway, and the number of geological faults that are crossed by the 

alternatives will be determined. 

3.4.5 Evaluation and Final Selection Phase 

The evaluation process depends on the results of the analysis conducted in 

the step by step procedure described above.  

The final selection depends on the results in the evaluation process the 

optimum alternative will be selected depending on a weighting system. 

This system is detailed in the next section. 

3.5 Weighting System 

The user can evaluate a given alignment using information resulted from 

the analyses process. The evaluation process is intended to provide the 

decision makers with a comparison of the impacts of each alternative in 

order to allow them to make an informed decision about the final selection. 

The alternative highway alignments are evaluated based on an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) that was performed between October 



 

 

36

2000 and January 2001 for proposed Nablus-Jenin highway (Wilbur Smith 

Associates and Universal Group for Engineering and Consulting, 2000). 

3.5.1 Environmental Assessment (EA) 

This EA was performed for Nablus-Jenin proposed highway to address, in 

detail, the reasonably foreseeable significant effects, both beneficial and 

adverse, that the proposed project is expected to have on social, economic, 

and ecological environment. The EA is intended to provide the decision 

makers with a comparison of the significant environmental effects of the 

project in order to allow them to make an informed decision. The 

assessment includes decisions of efforts to avoid or minimize the adverse 

effects and methods to maximize the positive effects.  

In this EA, an examination and ranking of the potential impacts was 

conducted. This ranking was based upon concerns expressed by the 

Ministry of Environmental affairs (MEnA) and the Ministry of Planning 

and International Corporation (MOPIC), and during interviews with 

relevant Palestinian governmental agencies and on information obtained 

during two public scoping meetings, interviews with important groups who 

did not attend the scoping meetings, and the social survey. A ranked listing, 

from most important to least important, of the various categories of 

impacts, from the public and involved government agencies, is listed in 

Table (1). A weighting system was developed in this EA and listed in Table 

(2). This system aimed to evaluate each alternative based on a combination 

of information listed in Table (1); in addition to information obtained by 

individual expert’s surveys. The weighting mechanism was supported 

during a panel meeting of the experts who participated in the preparation of 

the EA. 



 

 

37
Table (1) Important Considerations from the Public and Involved             
Government Agencies 
Scoping Meetings (Sept 4 
and 6, 2000) and 
Interviews (Sept, 2000) 

Social Survey (Oct 25 -
Nov 20, 2000) 

 

MEnA From the 
Emergency Natural 
Resources Protection Plan 

MOPIC    
From 
Regional 
Plan 

Agricultural Lands Agricultural Lands 
Water Resources/ Water 
Quality/ Land Degradation 

 

Agricultural Lands 

Water Resources Relocations Water Resources/ 
Recharge Areas 

Safety Water Resources Mineral Resources 

Compensate for Property 
Lost 

 

Landscape / Vistas 

 
Air and Noise Pollution/ 
Natural Resources/ 
Biodiversity Areas 

 

Ecologically 
Sensitive Areas / 
Forests 

Access to Travel 

 

Access to Travel 

 

Significant or 
Exceptional 
Landscape 

Wildlife Habitat Biodiversity Areas Cultural Heritage 
Environmental Pollution Mineral Resources Landscape/ Vistas 

Archaeology Sites 

 

Minimizing Air, 
Water, Noise, and 
Land Pollution 

 

Archaeology Sites Archaeology Sites 

Future Land-Use Forests/Open Space 

Source: WSA and UG, 2000 

In Table (2), it should be noticed that the adverse effects, such impacted 

agricultural areas, unavoidable cultural sites…etc, take positive number of 

points. On the other hand, the beneficial effects, such the number of served 

people by the highway, take negative number of points. Therefore, the best 

alternative will be the alternative collects the least number of points. 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

38
Table (2) Impact Weighting System Source 
Impact Category Value Points 

 Structures Relocated Number 25 

Unavoidable Cultural Resources Number 25 

population Served within 2km thousands 15 

Water Resources Impacted Number 10 

Ecologically Significant Areas 10 dunums  9 

Impacts to Forest Areas 10 dunums  9 

 Impacts to Exceptional Areas 10 dunums  7 

Safety Issues Relative  7 

 Air / Noise Pollution Relative  5 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 1 10 dunums  6 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 2 10 dunums  5 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 3 10 dunums  4 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 4 10 dunums  3 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 5 10 dunums  2 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 6 10 dunums  1 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 7 10 dunums  0 

Total Impacts to Soil Class 8 10 dunums  0 

Total Cost to Construct $US million  3 

 Combined Utilities Crossed Number  2 

Source: WSA and UG, 2000 

3.5.2 Modified Weighting and Ranking System 

This system was modified to be used in the evaluation process of the 

suggested alternatives in this study as illustrated in Table (3). 

The modifications and the reason behind such modifications, are discussed 

in the following points: 

1. The agricultural areas’ classes were reduced from eight to three. This 

is because the  soil was classified in eight classes depends on 

American System in EA. But in this study the available lands are 

divided depending on  MOPIC Regional Plan to three classes, High, 



 

 

39

Moderate, and Low agricultural value (MOPIC, 1996). High 

agricultural value, in the modified system, correspond soil Class 1, 

Class 2, and Class 3, in the EA weighting system. Moderate 

agricultural value lands correspond Class 4, Class 5, and Class 6. 

Finally, Low agricultural value correspond Class 7 and Class 8. 

Therefore, in the modified weighting system, High value is given 15 

points, Moderate value is given 6 points, and Low value is given no 

points. 

           Table (3) Modified Impact Weighting System 

Impact Category   Unit Points 
High Agriculture 10 dunum 15 
Moderate Agriculture 10 dunum   6 
Forest Areas 10 dunum   9 
Biodiversity Areas 10 dunum   9 
Natural Reserves Areas 10 dunum  9 
Total Areas 10 dunum   1 
Water Resources number 10 
Cultural Sites number 25 
Length of Highway km   6 
Cut and Fill Millions of m3 10 
Population served within 5
km for each side of the 
centerline 

Thousand   6 

2. In the EA for the proposed Nablus-Jenin highway, $1million of 

constructions’ cost was given 3 points. In this study there are no 

constructions’ cost calculations but the cost is evaluated in terms of 

length of the suggested highway. If the cost of 1Km is $2million, so 

6 points are given for each 1km of the length of the suggested 

highway. 

 



 

 

40

3. If $1 million is given 3 points and the cost of 1m3 of cut or fill is 

ranged from $3 to $4, so one point is given for 100,000 m3 of cut or 

fill  

4. Total impacted areas are evaluated in this modified system and given 

one point, for these reasons: 

• It is necessary to distinguish between the different alternative 

depending on the total impacted areas especially because Low 

agricultural value land are given no points 

• Length of highway does not evaluate total impacted lands 

because it evaluates the constructional and operational costs 

5. EA concluded the number of people served within two kilometers. 

This approach is not sufficient to give a reasonable impression about 

the actual people served. In this study, the population within five 

kilometers will be estimated, a more reasonable approach. The 

number of people served within five kilometers is much larger than 

the ones served within two kilometers. As a result, the number of  

points belonging to the served population was reduced from 15 for 

two kilometers to six for five kilometer to indicate the ratio between 

the number of kilometers and the number of points. This creates a 

more reasonable balance in weight between the various criteria in the 

modified weighting system.  



 

 

41

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR 

APPLICATION 

 



 

 

42

Chapter Four 

APPLICATION 

4.1 Introduction 

The developed GIS model is used in an application that aims to select the 

best alternative of three suggested highway alignments. This selected 

highway is supposed to connect Nablus and Jenin, the two major cities in 

the north of West Bank. Therefore, all data about the area between these 

two cites was collected and prepared to be the input of the developed 

model. In this chapter, all layers of the collected data were overlapped and 

the three alternatives were generated and designed. The impacts of each 

alternative were determined through the evaluated process and then 

evaluated before the final selection was made depending on the evaluation 

results.  

4.2 Existing Roads Conditions  

Terrain and historic use have led to the development and use of two main 

roads that can be traveled between Nablus and Jenin. The western road that 

passes through the mountainous areas in the west of the study area which is 

about 38.5 km. The second road is that road in the eastern part of the study 

areas and 39.0 km as shown in Figure (8).  

In order to travel from Nablus to Jenin, one must first skirt the peak of 

Mount Ebal. Whether one chooses either the east route or the west route, 

the next obstacle is the Marj Sanoor. This closed drainage basin is 

impassable during the heavy rainy season. During wet years, it may 

accumulate and hold water through late summer. 



 

 

43

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

  
Figure (8) Existing Roads Connecting Nablus and Jenin 
 



 

 

44

On the other hand, these two routes have many geometric deficiencies so 

that the majority of both roads lack basic safety features. The poor 

conditions of existing roads contributes to increased travel times, increased 

vehicle maintenance costs, increased congestion, and increased pollution 

emissions from vehicles.  

Some of these deficiencies are listed in the following points: 

1. The current road is paved with asphalt surface approximately six 

meters in width that was overlaid on the original packed earth trails. 

The widest areas occur on curves in mountainous terrain. 

2. There was limited cut and fill to improve horizontal or vertical sight 

distances or minimize grades. The grades and horizontal curvature 

followed natural terrain and in some areas, sight distance is not 

sufficient. 

3. Intersections with other roads occur at whatever angle  without any 

effort to make a safe right angle intersection.  

4.3 Data Collection 

Most of collected data was obtained from national agencies or institutions 

in two ways: direct from the agencies either in softcopy or in hardcopy, or 

obtaining data from the agencies websites. The data was obtained in two 

forms: maps and tables.  

1. Maps: these maps covered the different parts of the study area, 

which were represented in GIS shape file (layers). Layers data were 

overlaid in high accuracy because they had the same scale and 



 

 

45

projection.  These layers were classified according to their features 

into three types of layers: 

• Polygon Layers: contain polygon features such different areas 

of agriculture, biodiversity, forest … etc. 

• Line Layers: these layers contain the line feature such roads 

and geologic faults. 

• Point Layers: contain the point features such the cultural sites, 

springs, wells…..etc. 

2. Tables: data about each layer was contained in tables. These tables 

were either attached with related layer, such the attributes of 

agricultural, biodiversity, wells, spring….etc, or obtained separately 

without being attached with other layers such population of 

Palestinian built-up areas. 

All collected data are detailed in the following sections.  

4.3.1. Topography 

The topography of the study area can be divided into three parts: The 

eastern slopes, mountain crests, and western slopes. The eastern slopes are 

located between the Jordan Valley, which is located between Jordan River 

in the east of the study area, and the mountains. They are characterized by 

steep slopes, which contribute to forming young wadi such wadi El Badan. 

Mountain crests form the watershed line and separate the eastern and 

western slopes. Elevation ranges on average between 750 and 800 meters 

above sea level. Western slopes are located in the western part of the study 

area. They are characterized by gentle slopes. A contour map with 10m 



 

 

46

interval was obtained in GIS shape file format from Palestinian Geographic 

Information Center (PIGC). This map covers all parts of the West Bank as 

shown in Figure (1) in Appendix B.  

4.3.2 Agricultural Lands 

Data about agricultural lands was obtained in one layer from MOPIC. In 

this layer, the study area was classified into three classes according to the 

MOPIC Regional Plan depending on their agricultural value as shown in 

Figure (9). These classes are: 

• High value class  

These lands should be protected from all development other than 

agriculture as much as possible. Theses lands represent 33.2% of all 

agriculture lands in the study area, most of them are concentrated in 

the eastern part of the study area. 

• Moderate value 

Theses lands contribute 32.5% of all agriculture lands. These lands 

can be used for other developments besides the agriculture. 

• Low value  

These lands have very low agricultural value and present 34.3% of 

agricultural lands. Most of these lands are concentrated in the eastern 

part of the study area. 

4.3.3 Natural Reserves, Forests and Biodiversity Areas 

Currently, nine nature reserves in the study area that occupy a total 

area of approximately 53.6km2 which is about 5.4% of study area. In 

addition, there are ten forests in the study area, with a total area of 

about 4.1 km2,which is not more than 0.4% of total study area.  



 

 

47

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Agricultural Lands
High Value
Low Value
Moderate Value

Start and EndN

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (9) Study Area Divided According to its Agricultural Value 



 

 

48

Biodiversity areas occupy a total area of approximately 47.2 km2 which 

contribute about 4.7% of all study area. Each one of these areas was 

obtained in different layer from MOPIC as shown in Figure (10). 

4.3.4 Palestinian Built-up Areas and Population 

There are 86 Palestinian built-up areas in the study area with projected 

population of 365,140 people in 2005 (PCBS, 1999). Table (1) in Appendix 

B summarizes the projected populations in the study area. These built-up 

areas occupy about 84 k m2 that represents about 8.4% of the study area as 

shown in Figure (11). 

4.3.5 Water Resources 

Data about several water resources in the study area was collected. These 

data was collected in two layer types; point layer and polygon layer as 

shown in Figure (12) and detailed bellow: 

• Point Layers (Springs and Wells)  

In the study area, there are about 44 springs and seeps and 13 wells. 

People of the study area utilize these springs and wells for different 

purposes such as domestic agricultural and recreation. These data was 

obtained in two separated layers from Palestinian Geographic 

Information Center as point layers. 

• Polygon Layer (Marj Sanoor) 

Marj Sanoor is a closed drainage basin that occupies about 17.1 km2 and 

exists approximately in the middle of the study area. During wet years, 

it may accumulate and hold water through late summer that gives it a 

high agricultural value. This polygon layer was obtained from MOPIC. 

 



 

 

49

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Natural Reserves
Forests
Biodiversity Areas
Start and EndN

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (10) Existing Biodiversity Areas, Forests, and Natural Reserves 



 

 

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Qabatiya

Tubas

Al Yamun

Arraba

 'Asira

Zababida

Deir Abu Da'if
Jenin

'Ajja

Siris
Jaba'

Salim

Burqa

Tammun

Raba

'Aqqaba
Meithalun

Beit Iba

Kufeirit

 'Azmut

Talluza

Yasid El Far'a

Umm at Tut
Al Mughayyir

Palestinian Built-up Areas
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Aljededah 

Burqin 

Tayasir 

Figure (11) Palestinian Built-up Areas in the Study Areas 
 



 

 

51

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

( (

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

( (

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(
(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

((

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

((

(

(

(

( (

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(
((( (

(

(

(

( (

(

(

(
(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(
(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

( (

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

((

(

(

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T $T

#

##

#
#

#
#

####

# #

#

###

#

##

#
#

#
#

#

#

#
#

#
#

# #
##

##

##

# #

Nablus

Jenin

Marj Sanour

# Spring

$T Well
(

Start and End

5 0 5 Kilometers

N

   Figure (12) Existing Water Resources in the Study Area 



 

 

52

4.3.6 Israeli Settlements and Separation Wall 

There are 15 Israeli settlements and military sites in the study area. These 

settlements occupy approximately 7.8 km2. While, the Separation Wall 

isolates about 75 km2 in its two parts; the western built part 3.4km2 and the 

eastern planned part 68.4km2. Data about Israeli settlements was obtained 

from MOPIC and about Separation Wall from PGIC as polygon layers as 

shown in Figure (13). 

4.3.7 Existing Roads  

The major north-south road is located in the study area. From Nablus the 

road leads to the northern part of West Bank to connect Nablus city with 

Jenin City. This road goes through western part of the study area. There is 

another road connects two cities that passes through Tubas and Qabatya 

towns in the eastern part of the study area. Data of existing roads was 

obtained as line layer from MOPIC as shown in Figure (14).   

4.3.8 Cultural Sites  

The study area of this application exists in the northern district of Palestine 

that played a considerable role throughout the whole history of the country. 

More than 450 cultural sites are available in the study area. This large 

number is justified because this area is one of the most famous and richest 

zones in Palestine. The cultural sites layer is obtained from MOPIC as 

point layer as shown in Figure (15).  

 

 

 

 

  



 

 

53

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Israeli Settlements
Isolated Areas
Seperation Wall
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

 Figure (13) Israeli Settlements, Separation Wall, and Isolated Areas 



 

 

54

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Existing Roads
BYPASS
MAIN
REGONAL
LOCAL
NEWROAD

Nablus-Jenin Roads
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (14) the Existing Road Network 



 

 

55

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T $T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T
$T$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T $T

$T

$T$T $T$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T $T
$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T $T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T $T

$T
$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T $T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T$T$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T$T$T$T$T$T $T$T$T$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T
$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T $T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T$T

$T $T$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T $T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T $T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T$T $T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T
$T

$T

$T

$T

$T

$T $T

$T

$T$T$T

$T

Nablus

Jenin

$T Cultural Sites
Start and End5 0 5 Kilometers

N

   Figure (15) Existing Cultural Sites in the Study Area 



 

 

56

4.3.9 Geology 

The rocks in the study area mainly consist of carbonates that include other 

sediments as chert, clay, gravel and some sandstone (ARIJ, 1996). In the 

study area, there is a complex fault system.  Most of these faults trend 

northwest to southwest and the majority of them are close to the vertical. 

The collected data related to the fault in the study area was obtained in line 

theme layer as shown in Figure (16) from West Bank profile (ARIJ, 1996). 

4.4 Data Preparation Phase 

Several processes were made on the collected data to prepare it to be input 

the GIS model. 

1. Removing Overlap 

 There was an overlap between different layers of land use because each 

layer had been prepared separately. Therefore, any two layers will overlap 

in area equal the small one of them. This overlap will create a problem 

when impacted areas will be calculated and evaluated in the Analysis phase 

and the Evaluation phase respectively. That is because the impacted 

overlapped areas will be calculated twice.  

For example, if there is an overlap between agricultural land and forest 

area, the impacted area will be calculated, in the Analysis Phase, as 

agricultural area, and the same area will be calculated as forest area. In 

addition, the same area will be evaluated twice in the Evaluation Process. 

This problem is simplified as shown Figure (17). In this figure if Layer A is 

put over Layer B, Layer A will completely hide B as shown in Result 

(A+B). While if Layer C is added to Layer D, the result will be as in Result 

(C+D). 

 



 

 

57

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Geologic Faults
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (16) Geologic Faults in the Study Area 



 

 

58

This problem was solved through these sequential steps: 

Step 1:  

Removing the overlap between agricultural areas layer and other layers 

(Natural Reserves, Forest, Biodiversity, Settlement…etc) by subtracting 

each layer from agriculture layer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2:   

Subtracting all layers, that overlap the Natural Reserves layer, from this 

layer. 

Step 3:   

Subtracting all layers, that overlap the Biodiversity layer, from this layer.   

Step 4:   

Subtracting all layers, that overlap the Forest layer, from this layer.   

 

          Layer A                              Layer B                            Result A+B 

 

 

 

            Layer C                          Layer D                              Result C+D 

 

Figure (17) Simplification of Overlapping Problem 

 
 



 

 

59

Step 5:   

Subtracting all layers, that overlap Marj Sanoor layer, from this layer. 

Step 6:   

Subtracting all layers, that overlap the Palestinian Built up Areas layer, 

from this layer.   

The result of these sequential steps is shown in Figure (18). 

2. Creating Buffer Zones 

This process aims to create buffer zones around four types of features in the 

study area. These features and their buffer are listed in Table (4).  

For political reasons, 300m buffer zones around settlement and Isolation 

Wall were made. These features lies in districts classified, according to 

Oslo agreement, as C areas which is completely controlled by Israeli 

Occupation Authorities. In this area, ROW is 240m according to the data  
 

Table (4): Buffer Zone around Some Restricted Features 

That was collected from Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and 

Housing, and 60m due to the ignorance of the administrative boundaries of 

Feature Name Feature Type Buffer in (m) 

Israeli Settlement Polygon 300 

Separation Wall Line 300 

Spring Point 100 

Well Point 100 

Cultural Site Point 100 



 

 

60

these features. Buffer zones around other features that are point features, 

were selected to be 100m to protect them of being within the ROW for the 

proposed highway. 

3. Contour Map Preparation 

The obtained contour map covers all areas of West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

The contour lines for the study area was extracted by creating a 3D model, 

using ArcView 3D Analyst, for West bank and then added the study area 

boundaries to this model to extract a 3D model for the study area. This 

model was themed using legend editor with 100m interval as shown in 

Figure (19). Therefore, contour map with ten meter interval was extracted 

for the study area from the TIN, which had been generated in the previous 

step. 

4.  Permanent Forbidden and Permissible Areas Division 

In this Application, study area is divided into Forbidden areas, where the 

suggested highway is prohibited to pass through, and Permissible areas, 

where it is allow to pass through. Permanent Forbidden Areas are the areas 

where the suggested highway is completely prohibited to pass through in 

all cases and under any condition. These areas are: 

a. Palestinian built-up areas 

b. Israeli settlements and their 300m buffer zones 

c. Isolated areas by the Separation Wall and its 300m buffer zone 

d. Surface water features: Marj Sanoor 

e. Point features and their 100m buffer zone 



 

 

61

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

N

Biodiversity
Forest
High Agriculture
Low Agriculture
Marj sanoor
Moderate Agricul
Natural reserves
Pal builtup
Settlement
Isolated Area

Seperation Wall
Start and End

5 0 5 Kilometers

 Figure (18) Final Layers of the Study Area Features 



 

 

62

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Figure (19) 3D Model of Study Area 
 



 

 

63

On the other hand, the Permanent Permissible Areas are the areas where the 

suggested highway is completely allowed to pass through in all cases and 

under any condition. These areas are listed below: 

a. Low Agricultural Value 

b. Moderate Agriculture Value 

4.5 Alternatives Generation Phase 

This phase is the most difficult and important phase in the application. All 

limitations and restrictions will be taken into consideration to generate 

several alternatives of highway, one of them will be the best suggested 

highway. This phase consists three steps; Exploration for Continuous Path, 

Preliminary Centerline Selection, and Final Centerline Selection. These 

steps are discussed in the following sections. 

Before further identifications of the possible alternatives, it has to be stated 

that the option related to the existing roads, Western or Eastern road, was 

investigated and found to be uneconomical and unreasonable for the 

following reasons: 

• They pass through rough topography with steep slopes in both west 

and east parts, so it is very difficult to modify them to meet the 

highway standards in neither sight distance nor design speed. 

• It is very difficult for these roads to be modified to have standard 

cross section because they pass through many built-up areas that 

could obstacle widening the new highway, and cause traffic 

congestion and safety problems. 

• Improving the existing roads might significantly harm the economic 



 

 

64

conditions in the region by displacing businesses and residences. 

This is because the built-up areas utilize a linear development pattern 

adjacent to the road system and so relocation of many businesses and 

residences would be necessary to widen the roadway. In addition, 

many structures must be demolished, which is unacceptable from 

neither economical nor social aspects. 

4.5.1 Exploration for Continuous Path  

Exploration is the first step of looking for the intended route. Three 

alternatives were generated for this application. Two of these alternatives 

were generated using Red and Green Method (RGM), while the other using 

Graduate Color Method (GCM). 

1. Generating Alternatives One and Two Using RGM 

Alternative One and Alternative Two were developed in the eastern part of 

the study area using RGM. These  two alternatives were generated through 

several trials of modifying the restrictions on the suggested route. The main 

objective of these trials is to exctract a continuous path of permissible areas 

between the start and the end of the suggested road.  

Trial 1 

In this trial the restrictions on the suggested center line are maximized. In 

addition to the permanent Forbidden areas, these areas were Forbidden: 

• High Agriculture Value Areas   

• Biodiversity, Forest, and Natural Reserves areas 

• Areas of ground slopes more than 10%; here it must be noticed that 

(10%) is the maximum allowable slope of the ground where the 



 

 

65

intended highway will be aligned and it is not the finish design 

surface of the highway. Cut and/or fill will reduce this slope to match 

the standard highway grades. 

• Buffer zones of Wells, Springs, and Cultural sites 

The remaining areas are Permissible areas, which they are either permanent 

Permissible or areas of slope less than 10%. 

 Step 1 

Study area was divided according to the restrictions above. The resulted 

area is shown in Figure (20) the Permissible areas are not continuous in the 

eastern part of the study area and in the northern part. So the study, in this 

trial, will concentrate on the selected area. This area is surrounded by 

selected boundaries as shown in the same figure. 

Step 2 

Using Spatial Analyst Extension, the areas with slope more than 10% were 

extracted from the selected area in step1 as shown in Figure (21). 

Results 

It is noticed in Figure (21) that there are considerable gaps between the 

start and end (Nablus and Jenin) of the road and the permissible areas. In 

addition, there is no continuity among the including area parts. So no 

alternative has been generated in this trial and it must be modified. 

Trial 2 

This trial aims to reduce the gaps among the Permissible areas in trial1 and 

to generate a continuous path between start and end of the suggested road 

through these steps. The restriction on the Permissible and Forbidden areas 



 

 

66

were modified by converting Biodiversity, Forests, and Natural reserves 

from Forbidden to Permissible areas as shown in Figure (22).  As shown in 

this figure there is a good but not full continuty between Nablus in the 

south and Jenin in the north through the western part of the study area. This 

continuty is borderd by blue line in the same figure. 

Step 2 

In this step, areas with slope more than 10% were extracted from selected 

area as shown in Figure (23).  Spaces among parts of Permissible areas are 

still available. These spaces are the result of rough topography in the 

selected areas that contains slopes steeper than 10%. 

Step 3 

Here is a trial of connecting between parts of Permissible areas by craeting 

(50m) buffer zones around each part of these areas as shown in Figure(24). 

Results 

The spaces are reduced but continuous path cannot be obtained yet. As 

shown in Figure (24) there are several seperation between Permissible 

areas inside the blue square. Therefore, major modifications must be done 

to avoid the steep slopes in the western part of the study area. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

67

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Permissible  Areas
Forbidden Areas
Bounderies of Selected Area
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (20) Forbidden and Permissible Areas for Trial1 
 



 

 

68

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Permissible Areas
Forbidden Areas
Bounderies of Selected Area
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

 

Figure (21) Final Forbidden and Permissible Areas for Trial 1 
 



 

 

69

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Permissibale Area
Forbidden Areas
Bounderies of Selected Area
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

  Figure (22) Forbidden and Permissible Areas for Trial 2 



 

 

70

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Permissibe Areas
Bounderies of Selected Areas
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (23) Net Selected Area in Trial 2 
 



 

 

71

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Permissible Areas with 50m Buffer
Bounderies of Selected Areas
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (24) Selected Permissible Areas with 50m Buffer in Trial 2 
 



 

 

72

To avoid the rough topography of the western parts of the study area, the 

study was steered towards the eastern parts that have almost gentle slopes. 

High agricultural value lands, in this trial, were considered as Permissible 

areas. The new conditions of this trial are listed bellow: 

1. Forbidden Areas: 

• Permanent Forbidden Areas 

• Areas with slopes more than 15% 

2. Permissible Areas: 

•  Permanent Permissible Areas 

• High agricultural value lands 

• Biodiversity, Forests, and Natural Reserves 

• Areas with slopes less than 15% 

The same steps were followed to generate new alternatives in the selected 

area shown in Figure (25). Two continuous paths were extracted in this trial 

as shown in Figure (26).  

2. Generating Alternative Three Using GCM 

Alternative Three was developed in the middle part of the study area using 

GCM. In this method, a continuous strip was generated through three steps 

as explained bellow: 

 

  



 

 

73

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Permissive Area
Forbidden Area
Bounderies of Selected Area
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

 
Figure (25) The Permissible and Forbidden Areas According to Trial 3 
 



 

 

74

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Permissible Areas with 20m Buffer
Continuous Path 2
Continuous Path1
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (26) Extracted Continuous Paths in Trial 3 
 



 

 

75

Step 1: 

The study area was classified to five classes according to its sensitivity. 

Each class was given different color that is graduated from dark red for the 

permanent Forbidden areas and areas with slope more than 25% to dark 

green to the permanent Permissible area. Figure 27 shows the classified 

areas as follow: 

Class 1: This class contains the permanent Forbidden areas and areas of 

slope more than 25%. This class is completely restricted so the road is 

completely forbidden to pass through this class. 

Class 2: Bright red color and contains the following areas: 

• High agricultural value lands 

• Areas with slope ranging between 15% to 25% 

Class 3:  This class is given orange color and contains the following areas 

• Biodiversity, Forest, and Natural Reserves 

• Areas with slope more than 10% and less than 15% 

Class 4: Contains Moderate agricultural value and areas with slope 

between 5% and 10%. It took bright green color 

Class 5: Contains Low agricultural value and areas with slope between 0% 

and 5%. This class is the most preferable for the road to pass through and it 

took dark green color.  

Step 2:   

A strip of 500 to 1000m in width was selected by examining the areas of 

graduated color map with all layers considering the output of Step 1.  



 

 

76

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

N

Class6
Class5
Class4
Class3
Class1
Bounderies of Path3
Preliminary Centerline 3
Start and End

N

5 0 5 Kilometers

Figure (27) The Study Area Classified According to the GCM 
 



 

 

77

This strip was selected depending on the complete avoidance of the dark 

red color and giving the priority to the green color. 

Step 3: 

A Preliminary centerline of suggested highway alternative was drawn 

within the selected strip in the previous step as shown in Figure (27). This 

centerline will be modified in next two phases Preliminary, and Final 

Centerline Selection Phases, respectively. 

4.5.2 Preliminary Centerline Selection 

A 3D model for selected area was made for Alternative One. The borders 

of the continuous path were added to this model and the preliminary 

centerline was determined using Profile Extractor extension (PE). In this 

step, PE helped in selecting the best centerline within the continuous path 

boundaries, which had been generated in the previous step and added to the 

3D model. In addition, PE helped in selecting centerline with least slope by 

generating an immediate profile for each suggested segment of the 

preliminary centerline. Sample of this step output is shown in Figure (28) 

and the preliminary centerlines of Alternatives One and Two are shown in 

Figure (29). 

The preliminary centerline is out of the selected continuous path in one 

place. In this place, the continuous path is located in a deep Wadi in the 

north of Nablus, which was very clear in the 3D model. The preliminary 

centerline moved to the west of the selected part as illustrated in the same 

figure. Other parts of the preliminary centerline are completely within the 

continuous path. The same steps were followed for Alternative three as 

shown in Figure (1) Appendix C. 



 

 

78

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 A 

 B 

___ Continuous Path Boundaries 
 

___  First Suggested Line between A and B 
 

___  Second Suggested Line between A and B 
 

a) Immediate Profile of Blue Line by PE 

b) Immediate Profile of Red Line by PE 

 
Figure (28) Sample of Using PE in Selecting the Preliminary Centerline 



 

 

79

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Figure (29) Preliminary Centerlines of Alternative One and Two 
 



 

 

80

4.5.3 Final Centerline Selection 

The final location of the centerline was determined for each preliminary 

centerline that had been generated in the previous stage, using contour map 

with 10m interval. 

The final centerline of the first alternative is shown in Figure (30). Limited 

modifications were done to reduce the length of the centerline or to remove 

the zic-zac places. Final centerlines of Alternative Three is illustrated in 

Figure (2) Appendix C. 

4.6 Design Phase 

After these in detailed phases, the final centerlines were ready to be 

designed in Softdesk (SDSK) CADD software. Using special extension in 

ArcView, the input of SDSK software was converted from shape files to 

dxf files. These files contain: 

1. Final centerline of each alternatives 

2. Strip of DTM points, one km in width, this strip represented the 

ground topography of each alternative 

In SDSK software, horizontal and vertical alignments were designed and 

the design surface was generated, depending on the following design 

consideration, assumptions, and criteria. 

 

 

 

 



 

 

81

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nablus

Jenin

Contours (10m interval)
Preliminary Centerline2
Final Centerline 2
Preliminary Centerline1
Final Centerline1
Start and End

N

 

Figure (30) Final Centerlines of Alternatives Two and Three 
 



 

 

82

4.6.1 General Design Considerations and Assumptions 

The contour map that was used in the study with 10m contour interval. This 

interval was not large enough to produce detailed geometric design of the 

generated highway alternatives. On the other hand, this study did not aim to 

design the cross section elements, such as travel lanes, median, or drainage 

facilities, because the main objective of this study is to select a proper route 

but not to design it in detail.  Therefore, referring to Geometric Design of 

Nablus-Tubas Highway Study, which was done on a suggested highway 

between Nablus and Tubas, ROW and cross section elements were 

obtained (Gbr, Hassouneh, and Qanazei, 2004). These criteria, 

considerations, and assumptions were applicable for all alternatives 

generated in this application. 

Functional Classification 

The proposed highway is classified as a rural principal arterial. It is rural 

because it goes through rural areas and it is principal arterial because it 

connects between the two major cities of Nablus and Jenin with population 

more than 25,000 people, (Garber and Hoel, 2002). 

Right of Way 

Referring to the Geometric Design of Nablus-Tubas Highway Study the 

recommended ROW was 40m with width of paved area 24m, (Gbr, 

Hassouneh, and Qanazei, 2004). Paved area is divided as listed in Table(5).  
 

Table (5) The Cross-section Components 
Components Four Travel lanes Median Two Shoulders 

Total Width (m) 15 3 6 



 

 

83

It should be noticed that 40 meters width is the minimum ROW that could 

increase to reach (84 m) depending on the cut and fill depth and on the side 

slopes as explained.  

Cut and Fill Depth  

For technical and economical reasons, maximum cut and fill depth is used 

as 30m (Gbr, Hassouneh, and Qanazei, 2004).  

Side Slopes  

According to AASHTO, it is recommended that side slopes for flat and 

rolling terrain to be (2:1) and (1:1.75) for steep terrain with cut and fill 

depth exceeds 6m, (AASHTO, 2001). In this study, a (2:1) slope was used 

as the general side slope for both cut and/or fill but it may reach a slope of 

(1:1) in some parts of designed alternatives, where steep slopes of 

topography are available. According to these conditions the minimum 

ROW equal 40m and the maximum ROW will reach 84m as illustrated in 

Figure (31). 

Design Speed 

Design speed is the selected speed to determine the various geometric 

features of the roadway and it depends on three factors (Garber and Hoel, 

2002): 

1. Functional classification of the highway. 

2. Topography of the area in which the highway is located. 

3. Land use of the adjacent area. 

 

 



 

 

84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROW=40m 

1:11:1 

30m 30m 

30m 30m 

Paved Area=24m 

Max ROW= 84m 

Min ROW=40m 
 

  
 

CL 

Min ROW= 40m 

 

 

CL 

2:1 
2:1  

Paved Area=24m 

 

a) Min ROW in Cut and Fill Case 

b) Max ROW in Cut Case 

 
Figure (31) ROW Cases 
 



 

 

85

In this study, the proposed highway is classified as a rural principal arterial 

and the topography of the area, in which the highway is located, is rough, 

design speed for these conditions is normally ranged from 60 km/h to 120 

km/h, (Garber and Lester, 2002). In this study, the speed used is 80 km/h 

due to the rough topography and high construction costs. 

4.6.2 Horizontal Alignment Design 

The minimum radius of a horizontal curve depends on the design speed of 

the highway V, the superelevation e, and the coefficient of side friction fs, 

(AASHTO, 2001). This relationship is shown below: 

     Rmin =           V2 

                    127(emax + fs) 

For the highway alternatives in this study, the design speed is 80 km/h, the 

selected maximum rate of super elevation emax=8%, and the side friction 

fs =0.14, so the minimum radius of curvature Rmin = 230 meters. 

4.6.3 Vertical Alignment Design 

Sight Distance 

For the highway alternatives in this study, stopping sight distance is 

necessary to determine the length of vertical curve. PSD is not a criterion in 

this study because the highway alternatives are two lanes each direction. 

Grades 

Grades in rural arterial generally are in range of 4 % to 7 %, depending on 

the terrain classification (AASHTO, 2001). In the study area, very rough 

terrain is available, so there are grades more than 7 % and the maximum 

grade reach to 9 % in some parts of designed alternatives. 



 

 

86

Minimum Length of Vertical Alignment 

Length of Vertical Alignment depends on the sight distance as shown in 

Table (6) below, (AASHTO, 2001). 

Table (6) Equations for the Minimum Length of Crest and Sag Vertical             
Curve 

Curve Type 
Minimum Length Equation 

S>L S<L 

Crest 2S-404/A AS2/404 

Sag 2S-(120+3.5S)/A AS2/(120+3.5S) 

S: sight distance (m). 

A: a algebraic difference. 

L: minimum length of vertical curve (m). 

The previous equations can be written as: 

L=kA 

K: the length of the vertical curve per percent change in A  

A: algebraic difference of grades, Gl -G2 

For the highway alternatives, with design speed of 80 km/h, K values are 

shown in Table (7)  (AASHTO, 2001). 

 

 

 



 

 

87
Table (7) Rate of Vertical Curvature for Crest and Sag Vertical Curves  

Curve Type SSD (m) 
Rate of Vertical Curvature K 
Calculated Design 

Crest 130 25.7 26 
Sag 130 29.4 30 

Depending on the previous criteria, the following elements were designed: 

1. Horizontal Alignments: After the final centerline of each alternative was 

imported from ArcView to SDSK, the horizontal curves were designed. 

Therefore, the designed centerline with its curves was exported to the 

ArcView to check if there is any interaction between the new centerline 

and the Forbidden areas. The new three centerlines didn’t pass through any 

forbidden area. After this chick, each centerline was exported to SDSK to 

continue the design of vertical alignment.  

2. Vertical Alignments: These vertical alignments were designed using the 

profile of each designed centerline.