Free Transportation Engineering MCQs with Answers

80 Transportation Engineering MCQs from Civil Engineering, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

Transportation engineering covers highway planning and alignment, traffic studies, road geometric design, pavement materials and flexible or rigid pavement construction. It also includes railway, airport and traffic engineering concepts such as sight distance, superelevation, signals, capacity and level of service, distinguishing pavement failure from poor geometric design.

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80 questions · page 2 of 4

  • A. Overtake safely without conflicting with opposing traffic
  • B. Stop before reaching a roadside hazard
  • C. Enter a highway from an adjoining property
  • D. Pass through a signalized intersection safely

Explanation: Overtaking sight distance allows a vehicle to pass a slower vehicle and return to its lane without interfering with an approaching…

Correct answer: Overtake safely without conflicting with opposing traffic
  • A. Steepest gradient permitted for emergency use
  • B. Maximum desirable gradient under normal conditions
  • C. Average gradient measured along the entire route
  • D. Gradient provided only at a horizontal curve

Explanation: The ruling gradient is the maximum desirable slope used in ordinary highway design, considering vehicle performance and operating…

Correct answer: Maximum desirable gradient under normal conditions
  • A. Design speed
  • B. Free-flow speed
  • C. Critical speed
  • D. Spot speed

Explanation: Flow equals speed multiplied by density, and its maximum value occurs at the critical speed.

Correct answer: Critical speed
  • A. Seal an unpaved subgrade before base placement
  • B. Reduce evaporation from fresh concrete
  • C. Improve the bearing capacity of weak soil
  • D. Bond an existing bituminous surface to a new layer

Explanation: A tack coat is a thin bituminous application used to bond two bituminous layers.

Correct answer: Bond an existing bituminous surface to a new layer
  • A. Permanent deformation under applied load
  • B. Water absorption by the aggregate
  • C. Abrasion of railway ballast particles
  • D. Shrinkage cracking in cement concrete

Explanation: Marshall stability is the maximum load carried by a compacted bituminous specimen at the specified test temperature and loading rate.

Correct answer: Permanent deformation under applied load
  • A. The chemical reaction between bitumen and aggregate
  • B. A difference in temperature between the top and bottom surfaces
  • C. The impact of vehicles at expansion joints
  • D. The unequal spacing of railway sleepers

Explanation: Temperature differences through the slab depth cause the concrete pavement to curl or warp, producing warping stresses.

Correct answer: A difference in temperature between the top and bottom surfaces
  • A. Join two rail ends with a fishplate
  • B. Provide electrical power to signalling equipment
  • C. Distribute sleeper loads and provide drainage
  • D. Maintain the exact length of each rail

Explanation: Ballast distributes loads from sleepers to the formation, provides drainage, and helps maintain track alignment.

Correct answer: Distribute sleeper loads and provide drainage
  • A. Passenger lounge and baggage hall
  • B. Control tower and weather station
  • C. Fuel farm and airport boundary
  • D. Runway and apron or terminal area

Explanation: Taxiways allow aircraft to move between runways and operational areas such as aprons, hangars, and terminals.

Correct answer: Runway and apron or terminal area
  • A. Stripping caused by loss of adhesion from water
  • B. Ravelling caused only by surface oxidation
  • C. Bleeding caused only by excessive road camber
  • D. Corrugation caused only by rail traffic

Explanation: Water can destroy the bond between bitumen and aggregate, producing stripping and weakening the pavement structure.

Correct answer: Stripping caused by loss of adhesion from water
  • A. The variation of pavement thickness along a route
  • B. The movement pattern between traffic zones
  • C. The cross slope of a road surface
  • D. The distribution of stresses beneath a wheel load

Explanation: A desire-line diagram represents the major origin and destination movements between traffic analysis zones.

Correct answer: The movement pattern between traffic zones
  • A. Final location survey
  • B. Preliminary survey
  • C. Reconnaissance survey
  • D. Construction staking survey

Explanation: A reconnaissance survey examines the terrain, obstacles, settlements and broad route possibilities.

Correct answer: Reconnaissance survey
  • A. Number of peak hours
  • B. Number of working days
  • C. Number of lane kilometres
  • D. Number of days in the year

Explanation: AADT represents the average traffic volume for a typical day over a full year.

Correct answer: Number of days in the year
  • A. 1,200 vehicles per hour
  • B. 900 vehicles per hour
  • C. 600 vehicles per hour
  • D. 3,600 vehicles per hour

Explanation: Flow is the reciprocal of time headway when expressed in consistent units.

Correct answer: 1,200 vehicles per hour
  • A. Permanent deformation of the subgrade
  • B. Loss of adhesion between bitumen and aggregate
  • C. Formation of transverse concrete cracks
  • D. Polishing of railway ballast particles

Explanation: Stripping is the separation of bitumen from aggregate, usually because water weakens the bond.

Correct answer: Loss of adhesion between bitumen and aggregate
  • A. Transfer wheel loads across a transverse joint
  • B. Permit free expansion at an expansion joint
  • C. Keep adjoining lanes from separating
  • D. Reduce the required concrete thickness

Explanation: Tie bars hold adjacent concrete slabs or lanes together and prevent the longitudinal joint from opening.

Correct answer: Keep adjoining lanes from separating
  • A. Rail cant
  • B. Formation width
  • C. Sleeper spacing
  • D. Track gauge

Explanation: Track gauge is the specified distance between the inner faces of the rails.

Correct answer: Track gauge
  • A. Aircraft parking, loading and servicing
  • B. Aircraft takeoff and landing
  • C. Controlling runway lighting systems
  • D. Storing excavated runway soil

Explanation: The apron is the paved area where aircraft park and receive services such as boarding, loading, refuelling and maintenance.

Correct answer: Aircraft parking, loading and servicing
  • A. Increase the stopping sight distance
  • B. Drain rainwater away from the pavement
  • C. Reduce the length of a vertical curve
  • D. Provide extra width on a horizontal curve

Explanation: Camber gives the pavement a cross slope that allows rainwater to flow toward the edges.

Correct answer: Drain rainwater away from the pavement
  • A. Insufficient shoulder width
  • B. Excessive road camber
  • C. Insufficient superelevation
  • D. Excessive vertical gradient

Explanation: Insufficient superelevation leaves too much of the lateral demand to be resisted by tyre friction, increasing the risk of outward…

Correct answer: Insufficient superelevation
  • A. Permissive phase
  • B. Coordination phase
  • C. Flashing phase
  • D. Protected phase

Explanation: A protected phase gives a movement an exclusive right of way while conflicting traffic is stopped.

Correct answer: Protected phase