International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395 -0056 Volume: 02 Issue: 07 | Oct-2015 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072 © 2015, IRJET ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal Page 25 Enhancing Road Curves Using Geographic Information Systems Dr. Mulla Alkhuder 1 , Nawras Watfa 2 , Aws Zuhair Sameen 3 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Engineering Collage,Alfurat University, Damascus, Syria 2 PhD Student, limkokwing University, Selangor, Malaysia 3 PhD Student, Department of Electrical, Electronics and Systems, Faculty of Engineering, the National University of Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia ---------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract - When initiating the study and design of a new path for a given road, achieving technical norms and specifications to ensure the safe and smooth movement, is not something complicated, as the freedom to choose the path allows the engineer to achieve all specifications in terms of radiuses and vision distances according to the desired design speed. The real challenge remains is to improve motion conditions at the existing road curves, and actually invested in order to meet (or get close as much as possible) technical norms compatible with the design speed on the road.The importance of GIS lies in the ability of dealing with the road axis points within a three- dimensional environment where the path of the road can be modified (by deleting some points from the path or adding new points) in such a manner that the new path meets the required norms introduced by the engineer. Key Words: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Position Systems (GPS), Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), KML. 1. INTRODUCTION The traffic network in Syria is one of the good traffic networks, but with the increasing intensity in the central roads, it was necessary to raise the level of these roads [1]. One of the methods used is to improve the road curves. Improvement curves process is less expensive and shorter in time than the process of path changing, in order to avoid entering into the issues of land acquisition and payment large costs resulting from this acquisition [2]. Improving curves leads to the mitigation of large human and material loss of traffic accidents.In the old methods that used to improve curves which relies on drawing a circular curve that almost matches the real curved, find two tangents for each curve, and increase the radius based on these tangents [3]. These methods cannot deal with the cascade of horizontal curves, the cascade curves vertical, or the overlay of horizontal curves with vertical curves at the same time [4, 5].This research investigate an accurate computer program that features speed and ease of use in order to improve the curves along the route, particularly for special cases, such as curves cascade and overlay. This program allows the engineer to determine the level of service on the road, curves, radiuses and vision distances.The practical part includes improving traffic conditions on a central road in Al-Sweida’a province; Al- Sweida’a - Salkhad road with 23 km length. This road, like most central roads, was previously local and has been converted to central by conducting some improvements, such as widening the road or adding a traffic lane [6]. However, these roads didn’t meet the required technical specifications of the central roads, in terms of radiuses of vertical and horizontal curves. In a step forward to bring traffic conditions of this road to the closest with the technical specifications of the central roads, the new method are applied on this road to improve its curves [7]. 2. METHODS 2.1 Research Steps Creating the axis of the route within the GIS program and directing the map, according to the Syrian stereographic projection system. This path can be drawn in two ways: 1- Google earth Axis. Using the axis of the plotted route with Google Earth program. The file was saved in .kml format. Thus, a set of projection points is formed according to the global projection system UTM, and then the file will be export to GIS program. If the file with .kml format was opened by word-processing program; Microsoft Word, the points arranged consecutively according to the cascade of path points plotted. Figure 1 shows the file.kml opened in word.