New Edition Geometric Design Guide Approved for Publishing

A new edition of the Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads (GDG) has been approved by the Chief Engineers’ Council of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC).

It is expected to be published and available for sale in English starting early in 2017, and six to nine months later in French. 

The GDG is a fundamental reference document for roadway design practitioners which is used to varying extents by every jurisdiction in Canada. Originally released in 1963, with the most recent edition dating from 1999, the Guide has contributed to the consistent and safe development and expansion of regional, provincial, and national roadway and highway systems in Canada.

Under the auspices of TAC’s Geometric Design Standing Committee and Chief Engineers’ Council, a project was initiated to prepare a new edition. Over the last three years, a project steering committee representing 26 funding partners has worked with a consulting team from WSP/MMM Group and Stantec Consulting to prepare the new edition.

In addition to refreshing the entire document, new contents were developed regarding design exceptions, roadside design, human factors, intersections, roundabouts and active transportation. 

The new GDG will be a practical, easy-to-read document for practitioners who are designing, building, rehabilitating and managing roads. It will consist of ten chapters, which will be sold individually and in one or more sets, in e-book and print formats:

• Chapter 1 – Design Philosophy
• Chapter 2 – Design Control, Classification and Consistency 
• Chapter 3 – Alignment and Lane Configurations
• Chapter 4 – Cross Section Elements
• Chapter 5 – Bicycle Integrated Design
• Chapter 6 – Pedestrian Integrated Design
• Chapter 7 – Roadside Design
• Chapter 8 – Access
• Chapter 9 – Intersections
• Chapter 10 – Interchanges           

Webinars will be offered to provide an overview of the new content and to highlight changes from the 1999 edition.

Thanks to the project funding partners for their support: Alberta Transportation; British Columbia Transportation and Infrastructure; Manitoba Infrastructure; New Brunswick Transportation and Infrastructure; Newfoundland and Labrador Transportation and Works; Northwest Territories Department of Transportation; Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal; Prince Edward Island Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy; Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure; Transport Canada; Ministry of Transportation, Ontario; Ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de l’Électrification des transports du Québec; Yukon Highways and Public Works; Canadian Society for Civil Engineering; Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC); TransLink; Halifax Regional Municipality; Region of Peel – Public Health; and the cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Moncton, Montréal, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver, Waterloo, and Winnipeg.